The presence of a person by the name of Sosthenes as co-writer with Paul of
I Corinthians is intriguing. Although by no means an un-known name at the time, it is sufficiently uncommon for us to assume that this is the same Sosthenes who replaced Crispus as ruler of the synagogue in Corinth when the latter turned to Christ. The fact that Paul included Sosthenes without comment indicated that he was well known to the Christians at Corinth. The conversion to Christ of two leading officials in the Jewish community one after the other must have thrown them all into some disarray. A parallel situation emerged at Oxford University in the early 1960’s in the heyday of the Humanist Society. Its president was converted to Christ, which led to an extraordinary general meeting of the Society. The person then elected was himself converted within a few weeks, thus necessitating another extraordinary general meeting. The Sosthenes affair should spur our faith in presenting the claim of Jesus Christ to those who seem most entrenched in the official opposition.
-David Prior The Message of I Corinthians
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