1After these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth. 2He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, 3and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers. 4He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
5When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”
7He departed there and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. 9The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent; 10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
11He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”
14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; 15but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.” 16So he drove them from the judgment seat.
17Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.
18Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. 19He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; 21but taking his leave of them, he said, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. 23Having spent some time there, he departed and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples. 24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures. 25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him; and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28for he powerfully refuted the Jews, publicly showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
How many letters did the apostle Paul write to the church at Corinth? The evidence indicates that he wrote at least four epistles to the Corinthian believers. Two of them are present in the New Testament canon: 1 and 2 Corinthians. But two other letters written by Paul to the church at Corinth are lost to us: a “previous letter” and a “severe letter.” Paul mentioned the “previous letter” in 1 Cor 5:9-11, whereas he spoke of the “severe letter” in 2 Cor 2:3-4, 9; 7:8, 12.
The occasion behind these letters may have gone like this. Paul’s founding visit to Corinth is in Acts 18 (c. A.D. 50-52). A couple of years later, while Paul was in Ephesus, he wrote the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5). Though the contents of this letter are unknown, it surely dealt with the problem of sexual immorality in the church. Paul’s words in 1 Cor 5 suggest that the Corinthians had misunderstood his directives in this letter. This misunderstanding led to the writing of the canonical 1 Corinthians (c. A.D. 55). This letter was occasioned by several events: (1) Paul has heard from Chloe’s people (1:11) that a factional spirit has developed in Corinth; (2) he also received a letter from the Corinthian church to which he begins to respond in 1 Cor 7. He takes up the items in their letter one by one, most of them introduced by the words “now about” (7:1, 25, 8:1, 12:1, 16:1, 12). Most likely, this letter from Corinth was written as a response to Paul’s “previous letter” and was carried to Paul by three men from Corinth (16:15-17). This Corinthian delegation may have also brought oral reports about the situation in Corinth. After they received 1 Corinthians, the Christians at Corinth probably took care of most of the practical abuses that Paul had mentioned. For example, he says nothing further about abuses of the Lord’s Supper in 2 Corinthians. However, despite this improvement, the situation in Corinth deteriorated. This crisis led to Paul’s “painful visit” (2 Cor 2:1; 12:14, 21; 13:1-2). Most likely, the crisis resulted from the efforts of outsiders who opposed Paul, arrived in Corinth, and had begun to criticize him openly. A particular individual was apparently quite vocal in his opposition to Paul. After returning to Ephesus, Paul penned a “severe letter” in which he instructed the Corinthian church to punish this ringleader (2 Cor 2:4-9; 7:8-12). This letter is sent by Titus. Paul left Ephesus, and eventually he arrived in Macedonia where he meets Titus. Titus reported that the Corinthians had responded positively to the “severe letter” (2 Cor 7:5-16). Then, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (c. A.D. 56).
Many critical scholars also argue against the integrity of 1 and 2 Corinthians and say that these books themselves each consist of more than one letter. But, the context of 1 and 2 Corinthians and the available manuscript evidence do not support such theories.