Was the church at Corinth a spiritual church compared to Ephesus and Philippi?
No. Paul makes plain that the Corinthians were still carnal, not a spiritual church like Ephesus or Philippi. They were instead a church beset with all kinds of problems, including divisions in which some claimed to follow Paul, Apollos, Peter, or even Christ.
Les explains that the Corinthians were still so carnal; they were not a spiritual church like Ephesus or Philippi, but a church beset with all kinds of problems. The first problem was divisions: some said they followed Paul, some Apollos, some Peter, and some even Christ. Paul had to address this and defend his apostleship. Les points out that Paul constantly defended his apostleship because in his early ministry he went first to the Jew, to the synagogue, and then to Gentiles, yet faced the slur that he was an imposter and a renegade Jew. Even so, the Corinthians were still co-laborers with the Apostle, and believers are likewise co-laborers together to bring to fruition the eternal will of God.