Woman's Role in the Church

Paul and The Corinthians

The City of Corinth was a seaport, moving ships across the isthmus, moving cargo between Italy and Asia Minor.
Greek name "Korinthos" means "ornament."
The city was destroyed by the Roman General Mummius, in 146 B.C. It was rebuilt by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. and gained the status as a Roman colony.
Apostle Paul's visited Corinth on his 2nd missionary journey in 50 A.D. (Acts 18:1-18).
Corinth was in Paul's day a city famous for its wealth, sensuality, and pleasure seeking.
In Paul's day, the population in Corinth estimated from 100,000 to 700,000. There were Romans, Greeks, Jews, and Orientals.

Corinth was a city of many gods and various cults.
At Corinth, the great temple high acropolis was Aphrodite's. There were more than a thousand temple prostitutes, the 'girls of hospitality,' the city's chief attraction. Aphrodite was known as the goddess of beauty and love. It also identified as the Roman goddess Venus. 'To Corinthianize' (in Greek, Korinthiazomai) was synonymous with sexual immorality. Paul wrote the indictment of contemporary immorality in the first chapter of Romans after two years in Corinth, and it is about Corinth not Rome (Roman 1:18-32).
Judaism was another dominant religion in Corinth. In Act 18:1-18, we found "Paul argued in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded Jew and Greek."

Paul visited Corinth on his 2nd missionary journey on 50 A.D.
Acts 18 reports that a couple who had been driven out of Rome, Priscilla and Aquila, were in Corinth when Paul arrived there. They met Paul and associated with him because of the same trade in tentmaking (Acts 18:1-13.)
Paul argued in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks (Acts 18:4). But the Jews did not believe Paul's testimony that the Christ was Jesus (Acts 18:5.)
But Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his household, and many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. Paul stayed there one and half years teaching them the word of God (Acts 18:8-11.)
High tension built up between Paul and the Jews during his stay. They hated Paul because he was teaching "men to worship God contrary to the Law" (Acts 18:12.)
The Jews made a united attack upon Paul and brought him before the tribunal. But the Roman Proconsul Gallio did nothing about it and drove them out of the tribunal (Acts 18:12-17.)
Many days later, Paul left for Syria and Ephesus (Acts 18:18 to 19:1.)
The next topic of study is on Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.