In consequence, problems abounded in a church full of infants in the Lord. They wouldn’t follow their leaders. They bad-mouthed Paul. They fought with one another and made worship a thing of entertainment more than majesty. They scorned the poor and “spiritual weak” in their midst. They lorded it over one another in various ways.

Poor Corinthians, we think, upon getting through the last chapter of Paul’s letters to them. I wouldn’t have wanted to be them.

I wonder if we feel the same way about our struggling churches today?

Not beyond the reach of grace

But, because the Corinthians were at no time beyond the reach of God’s grace, there was always hope that things could improve. And, as it happened, by the grace of God they did.

Some years after the death of the Apostle Paul, Clement, one of Paul’s traveling companions, became pastor of the church in Rome. This was late in the first century, around 90 AD.

A problem arose in the Corinthian church – no surprise there, we say – and the leaders wrote to Clement for advice. Clement took up his pen to correct the situation, and, in the process, he gave us a glimpse of what a struggling church, which had taken seriously Paul’s charge, had become.

Clement’s portrait of the Corinthians in his first epistle presents a completely different look at this struggling church than what we find in 1 and 2 Corinthians. For, having taken Paul’s words to heart, the Corinthian church became a model of a healthy, growing church in less than a generation!

Clement extolled their gentleness and love for one another; praised them for their hospitality, which was known around the world; remarked the order and majesty of their worship; honored their holy leaders and elders; and commented on the peace, joy, and love that infused everything they did. They had become a shining witness and glory-filled example to people in Corinth and beyond.

Are we talking about the same people Paul took to the woodshed? We are!

By God’s grace the Corinthians received the apostle’s difficult challenge and took him seriously. They returned to the Word, and only the Word in all their life together as a community.

They watched carefully over what they were taught and labored to resist every temptation that came their way.

They got back to the Lord and His Word and stood fast in Him against the devil and every detractor.

They became anchored in His strength and abounded in His love.

They ceased being a church that was struggling to stay alive and became a church struggling together for the Kingdom of the Lord.

By every measure with which Paul had upbraided them, the Corinthians had upgraded their walk with the Lord and their life as a community of His people. They took Paul at his Word, and discovered afresh the hope of glory in Jesus Christ.

So there’s hope for us, beloved, that the God of grace may yet revive and renew us and make us the “joy of the whole earth” (Ps. 4.1) once again. But we must take seriously the apostle’s charge to our struggling churches, each one of us seeking the Lord earnestly, saying as He opens our hearts anew, “Here am I, Lord; send me.”

Next steps

What’s one thing you can do to take Paul’s challenge into your life as a believer and member of your church? Get together with some fellow church members, share your answer to this question, then join together in prayer for your church.

Additional Resources

Download this week’s study, Hope for the Church.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

Need vision for a revived church? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, Preparing Your Church for Revival, from our online store.

And men, download our free brief paper, “Men of the Church: A Solemn Warning,” by clicking here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.