Introduction to 1 Corinthians

First Corinthians is all about living like followers of Christ. A couple of years after Paul established a group of believers in Corinth, he received word that they were losing their way. In 1 Corinthians, Paul gives them practical advice on how to live as Christians in the midst of a culture that pressures them to compromise.

Background

Paul founded the church in Corinth around ad 50–51 (Acts 18:1–11). As he moved on with his missionary activity, he spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 20:31). While he was there (1 Cor 16:8), he heard that things were not going well in Corinth—believers were quarrelling (1:11; 5:1). Paul wrote at least one letter to try to straighten things out (5:9), but it did not solve the problem—so he wrote what we call 1 Corinthians and sent it with his associate Timothy (4:17). The letter probably was written toward the end of Paul’s stay in Ephesus, around ad 54–55.

Corinth was in Greece, but during Paul’s time the city was part of the Roman Empire. It was a major commercial center, had a bustling port, and as the third largest city in the Roman Empire, was a cosmopolitan city; it also was known for its sexual permissiveness. Many of the problems Paul addresses come from the Corinthian Christians’ tendency to reflect the values of their city rather than those of the body of Christ (6:15).

Structure

Like a typical Graeco-Roman letter, 1 Corinthians has an opening (1:1–9), a body (1:10–15:58), and a closing (16:1–24). Paul begins the letter by greeting the Corinthians as saints—people made holy by Jesus—and giving thanks for them. In the first part of the letter’s body (1:10–6:20), Paul responds to things that he has heard in Ephesus about the Corinthians. They didn’t report these things themselves. They have acted divisively, assessing their leaders based on their own definition of what it means to be wise and spiritual. Paul responds that their views don’t fit with the gospel he preached to them (1:10–4:21). Then he addresses other issues he has heard about: incest, lawsuits, and sexual immorality (5:1–6:20).

The second part of the letter’s body (7:1–15:58) discusses issues raised in the Corinthians’ letter to Paul. He responds to them about marriage (7:1–40), food sacrificed to idols (8:1–11:1), conduct in worship (11:2–34), the practice of spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40), and resurrection (15:1–58). Paul concludes the letter by going over some personal items, including his travel plans and the offering he was collecting for the impoverished church in Jerusalem (16:1–24).

Outline

• Introduction (1:1–9)

• Paul responds to reports of the Corinthians’ conduct (1:10–6:20)

• Paul responds to the Corinthians’ letter (7:1–15:58)

• Concluding matters (16:1–24)

Themes

In 1 Corinthians, Paul emphasizes how to live as a Christian community, which differs from the values of secular culture. The Corinthians had heard the story of Jesus and embraced it with enthusiasm, but over time it had been twisted. Their culture’s stories were distorting their views about following Jesus.

Paul strongly criticizes the believers’ misguided attempts to live according to Christian values, pointing them instead to life in the Spirit of God, based on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ (6:11). The Corinthians think they know what wisdom is, but their wisdom looks no different from their culture’s. They think they know what being spiritual means, but their spirituality leads them to be divisive, immoral, and selfish. By contrast, truly living in the Spirit leads to unity, to putting others first, and to living a holy life. Paul tells the believers to see themselves as a community, and as individuals, as God’s temple—as members of Christ’s body (3:16; 6:15).

Like the Corinthians, we live in a world filled with ideas and practices that are at odds with the gospel. Every day, we hear stories about what it means to be wise and spiritual based on our secular culture, and these often cause us to misunderstand our place in the world or distort the gospel for our own purposes (compare chs. 8; 10). Paul challenges our desires to be sophisticated and powerful and shows them to be empty counterfeits. We are challenged to walk away from immorality and live as God’s people, empowered by the Holy Spirit (chs. 5; 12–14). We are to embrace the power of the resurrection and work for the Lord (1:2, 9; 7:17; 15).

Further Reading

Paul the Apostle CLBD

Corinth CLBD