The congregation in Corinth consisted primarily of Gentile Christians who had converted through previous interaction with Paul, yet they profoundly misapplied Christian teachings in general and Paul’s instructions in particular.
The Corinthian church faced mounting challenges: divisions and factions, sexual immorality, participation in pagan rituals, controversies over the Lord’s Supper, and speaking in tongues, along with the recurring threat of Gnosticism.
Paul’s words of advice, encouragement, and reproach for the church in Corinth remain fitting and useful for contemporary challenges in the church, and Harrisville’s commentary on 1 Corinthians brings Paul’s words to the fore.
