What was the religious background of the Corinthian believers before they heard the gospel?
Before hearing the gospel, the Corinthian believers had come out of abject paganism. They had no moral foundations, no concept of the one true Creator God, and were ignorant of such things. Unlike Israel, they did not possess the Old Testament. They had only recently heard the apostle preach God's saving grace.
Les explains that the Corinthians had come out of abject paganism. They had no moral foundations, no concept of the one true Creator God, and were ignorant of these things. They did not have the Old Testament as Israel did. They had just recently heard the apostle preach the gospel of God's saving grace and were set at liberty, but they had not really consummated all of the grace of God that would give them victory over their past lifestyle. They were still dipping back into their old lifestyle, which grieved the apostle. Yet he understood their circumstances and knew they could not suddenly live like Peter, James, and John; it would take time.