The genuineness of the two Letters to the Corinthians has
never been seriously disputed. The first was written by the
Apostle Paul, probably in the early spring of 56 A.D., just
before he left Ephesus for Troas in the course of his third
missionary tour (Ac 19). The Church in Corinth had been founded
by him during his previous tour (Ac 18). After some hesitation he
had been induced to preach in Corinth, and in spite of the
opposition of the Jews such great success attended his efforts
that he remained there for more than eighteen months. The furious
attack upon him which was frustrated by Gallio gave impetus to
the new cause, so that when the Apostle left, there was a
comparatively strong Church there, consisting mostly of Greeks,
but including not a few Jews also. The dangers, however, arising
out of the temperament and circumstances of the Corinthians soon
manifested themselves. The city was the capital of Roman Greece,
a wealthy commercial centre, and the home of a restless,
superficial intellectualism. Exuberant verbosity, selfish
display, excesses at the Lord's table, unseemly behaviour of
women at meetings for worship, and also abuse of spiritual gifts,
were complicated by heathen influences and the corrupting customs
of idolatry. Hence the Apostle's pleas, rebukes, and
exhortations. Most noteworthy of all is his forceful treatment of
the subject of the Resurrection of Christ; and this only a
quarter of a century after the event. Of the Letter mentioned in
5:9 we know nothing.