Last year, as I was preaching through the book of 1 Corinthians, I was struck by the fact that Paul's letter was in large part a series of answers to various questions he received from the church.

Members of the church at Corinth were so distressed about various factions, controversies, and false doctrines in the church that they visited Paul to seek his counsel (Acts 16:17; 1 Cor. 1:11; 8:1; 11:18). The Corinthian church also sent Paul a letter with a number of questions that they wanted his opinion on. The situation at Corinth escalated so greatly that Paul had Timothy deliver his letter of responses on his behalf (1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10).