As we transition from Season 2 into Season 3, this episode serves as a bridge—grounding us in the historical and spiritual backdrop of Corinth and the church the apostle Paul was addressing in his letters.
Corinth was a wealthy, influential, and morally complex city, shaped by commerce, culture, and constant movement of people and ideas. The church planted there reflected its surroundings—diverse, gifted, yet deeply challenged by division, pride, immorality, and confusion about what it meant to live faithfully in Christ. Paul’s letters were not written in abstraction, but in response to real people, real struggles, and a real gospel mission unfolding in a difficult place.
In this episode, we walk through the background of Corinth, the pressures facing the early church, and the pastoral heart behind Paul’s words. Understanding the world they lived in helps us better grasp the weight of his instruction, correction, and encouragement—and prepares us for the themes we’ll explore in Season 3.
This conversation sets the stage for what’s ahead, reminding us that the gospel does its most powerful work not in ideal conditions, but in broken ones—and that the challenges faced by the Corinthian church are not as distant from our own as we might think.