1 Corinthians

Introduction

First Corinthians is a letter written by the apostle Paul around AD 55 from Ephesus to the church he had founded in Corinth several years earlier (Acts 18:1-11). Corinth was a major Roman port city in Greece, renowned for its wealth, cultural diversity, and moral permissiveness. The church there was largely Gentile and reflected the city's character — it was gifted but deeply divided, with factions forming around favorite teachers, members tolerating sexual immorality, believers suing one another in pagan courts, and confusion swirling around spiritual gifts, worship practices, and the resurrection of the dead.

Paul wrote this letter in response to both reports he had received (from members of Chloe's household, 1 Corinthians 1:11) and a letter the Corinthians had sent him with specific questions (1 Corinthians 7:1). The result is a thoroughly practical letter — a sustained effort to show what the gospel of Jesus Christ looks like when applied to the ordinary conflicts of church life. Paul's central claim is that the cross redefines wisdom, power, love, and hope, and that a community shaped by the crucified and risen Lord must live differently from the world around it.

Structure

First Corinthians addresses a series of problems and questions in roughly two halves: issues Paul has heard about (chapters 1-6) and issues the Corinthians wrote to him about (chapters 7-16).

Part 1: Problems Reported to Paul (Chapters 1-6)

• Divisions in the Church (1 Corinthians 1:10-4:21) — Factions have formed around Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ; Paul argues that the cross demolishes all human boasting, that the apostles are merely servants, and that true wisdom comes from the Spirit, not from worldly eloquence
• Moral Failures (5-6) — A case of incest is being tolerated, believers are suing each other before pagan judges, and some are visiting prostitutes; Paul calls the church to discipline, holiness, and the recognition that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit

Part 2: Responses to the Corinthians' Questions (Chapters 7-16)

• Marriage and Singleness (7) — Paul addresses questions about marriage, divorce, and celibacy, counseling believers to remain in the situation in which God called them
• Food Offered to Idols (8-10) — Knowledge about idols must be governed by love for weaker believers; Paul uses his own example of forgoing apostolic rights, and warns against idolatry using Israel's history
• Worship and Order (11-14) — Head coverings and gender roles in worship (1 Corinthians 11:2-16), abuses at the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34), the nature and use of spiritual gifts within the body of Christ (12-14), and the supremacy of love over all gifts (13)
• The Resurrection (15) — The theological heart of the letter's conclusion: Christ has been raised, and because He has, all who belong to Him will be raised; Paul describes the nature of the resurrection body and declares victory over death
• Final Matters (16) — Instructions about the collection for the Jerusalem church, travel plans, and closing greetings

Chapter Summaries

1. 1Paul greets the Corinthians, gives thanks for God's gifts to them, then confronts the divisions in the church and declares that the message of the cross is foolishness to the world but the power and wisdom of God.
2. 2Paul recalls that he came to Corinth not with eloquent wisdom but with the simple message of Christ crucified, and explains that true spiritual wisdom is revealed by the Spirit and discerned only by those who have the Spirit.
3. 3Paul rebukes the Corinthians as spiritual infants still driven by jealousy and quarreling, reminds them that he and Apollos are merely servants, and warns that God will destroy anyone who destroys His temple — the church.
4. 4Paul urges the Corinthians to view the apostles as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries, contrasts their arrogance with the apostles' suffering, and warns them as a father that he will come to them with discipline if necessary.
5. 5Paul confronts the church for tolerating a man living with his father's wife, commands them to expel the unrepentant sinner from their fellowship, and reminds them that a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
6. 6Paul rebukes believers for taking their disputes to pagan courts instead of settling them within the church, and warns that the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God, declaring that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
7. 7Paul addresses questions about marriage, advising married couples not to deprive each other, permitting separation only in limited cases, counseling the unmarried and widows, and teaching that each person should live in the situation God has assigned.
8. 8Paul acknowledges that "we all have knowledge" about idols being nothing, but warns that knowledge without love puffs up, and that eating idol food can become a stumbling block to weaker believers whose consciences are wounded.
9. 9Paul defends his apostolic rights — including the right to financial support — but explains that he voluntarily gives them up so as not to hinder the gospel, comparing himself to an athlete who disciplines his body to win the prize.
10. 10Paul warns against overconfidence by recounting how Israel was blessed yet fell into idolatry and was destroyed, commands the Corinthians to flee from idolatry, and gives practical guidance on eating food offered to idols with a clear conscience.
11. 11Paul addresses head coverings in worship, affirming a created order between men and women, then sharply rebukes the Corinthians for their selfish behavior at the Lord's Supper, where the rich eat and drink while the poor go hungry.
12. 12Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit distributes different spiritual gifts to each believer, and that the church functions as one body with many members — no gift is unimportant, and no member can say to another, "I have no need of you."
13. 13Paul exalts love as the most excellent way: without love, even the greatest gifts are nothing; love is patient and kind, it does not envy or boast; and when the perfect comes, prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will pass away, but love will remain.
14. 14Paul urges the Corinthians to pursue prophecy over tongues because prophecy builds up the whole church, and he gives practical instructions for orderly worship so that everything is done for edification.
15. 15Paul sets forth the gospel of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection as the foundation of the faith, argues that if Christ has not been raised then faith is futile, describes the coming resurrection and the transformation of mortal bodies into imperishable ones, and declares victory over death through Jesus Christ.
16. 16Paul gives instructions for the weekly collection for the saints in Jerusalem, shares his travel plans to visit Corinth through Macedonia, commends Timothy and Apollos, and closes with exhortations to stand firm in the faith and do everything in love.