In ancient Greece this phrase was an insult cast at vagrants, drunkards and sexual deviates. The city of Corinth was infamous as a center of intellectual pride and moral laxity. Any church planted there was bound to have problems. The Corinthian church was no exception.
Snobbishness, factionalism, insensitivity to other believers, doctrinal looseness and over-exuberance all flourished in the Corinthian church. When the apostle Paul heard about the difficulties, he was grieved because he had founded the church and felt closely tied to it. He therefore wrote an intense and pointed letter.
In this fresh and gripping exposition of 1 Corinthians, David Prior plainly shows the relevance of Paul's letter for our times. His hope is that all churches may better live out the lordship of Christ in today's cosmopolitan world.