What made the Corinthian church unique among the churches Paul wrote to?
The Corinthian congregation was unique because it existed in a bustling commercial city situated between two seaports, exposed to wealth, culture, and travelers from across the known world. Corinth was steeped in pagan idolatry and gross immorality, and these believers had only recently been converted out of that lifestyle.
Les explains that the background for the letter to the Corinthians must be emphasized: this was a unique situation and a unique congregation of believers, unlike anything else Paul experienced. Corinth was a bustling commercial city located between two seaports, so people came in from all over the then-known world, with a tremendous exchange of money, wealth, and culture. But the main thing to understand is that Corinth was steeped in paganism, idolatrous worship of the Greek gods and goddesses, and gross immorality. The Corinthian believers had just recently been converted out of that kind of lifestyle.