Final answer:
The Christians in Corinth believed that they had already received the full benefits of salvation, a belief influenced by the early Christian theology shaped by Paul the Apostle. Salvation encompassed the promise of eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus, who was central to God's plan for human redemption.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Christians in Corinth appear to have believed that they already enjoyed the full benefits of salvation. This belief likely stemmed from their interpretation of the early Christian teachings that emphasized spiritual liberation and the promise of eternal life through Christ. Paul the Apostle, who significantly shaped Christian doctrine, taught that Jesus's death and resurrection were central to God's plan of salvation for humanity.
According to early Christian theology, as put forth by Paul and reflected in the New Testament gospels, Jesus's followers were assured of participation in the blessings of Christ and the church – an assurance that extended beyond the grave. It was believed that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross opened the way for the redemption of sins and the potential for eternal life in heaven. Thus, the Corinthians' belief in having already realized full salvation was part of a wider context in which the early Christians viewed death and resurrection as key to their faith.
This interpretation can also be seen in the early Christian art of the third century, which often used Old Testament stories as prefigurations of Christ's own death and resurrection rather than depicting the events directly. Early Christianity, then, was deeply rooted in the themes of death and resurrection, with followers living in the expectation of the spiritual promises believed to be fulfilled through Jesus, seen as the second Adam, who made redemption possible.