Do people today treat Paul the same way the early churches did?
Yes. Many today treat Paul the same way the early churches did, prompted by Judaizers who insisted believers must also practice Judaism, be circumcised, and keep the law, not trusting Paul's gospel of grace alone. They reject his apostleship and add legal requirements to salvation, just as the early churches were troubled by Judaizers.
Les explains that many people today still treat Paul the way the early churches did, and they are prompted by Judaizers. A Judaizer was a believer that Jesus was the Christ, saved under the kingdom gospel, but did not comprehend the grace of God or that the law had been satisfied and totally set aside. These Judaizers followed Paul, telling his converts they could not be saved on Paul's gospel alone, but had to practice Judaism, be circumcised, and keep the law. This just about drove the apostle up the wall, and he suffered because of it. Earlier, Jews attacked Paul, saying he never walked with Jesus like Peter did, calling him an upstart bringing this on his own. So Paul had to defend his apostleship, repeatedly referring to his sufferings so Gentiles could get the message of grace. Les notes this is basically the theme of the first six chapters, as Paul again defends his apostleship and shows the Corinthians all he went through for the gospel.