1 Corinthians is book 7 of the 27 books of the New Testament and belongs to the Paul's Letters section. See how it fits with the rest in our guide to all 66 books of the Bible.
Quick facts
- Section
- New Testament · Paul's Letters
- Genre
- Letter (epistle): pastoral correction and instruction
- Author (traditional)
- The apostle Paul, writing with Sosthenes (1:1).
- Other views on authorship
- Paul's authorship is universally accepted; some suggest the letter may combine more than one piece of correspondence, but most read it as a unity.
- Date (traditional)
- About AD 55, written from Ephesus during Paul's third journey.
- Other views on dating
- Usually dated AD 53–55, matching the traditional setting.
- Chapters
- 16
- Verses
- 437
- Reading time
- About 46 minutes (9,247 words in the BSB)
What is 1 Corinthians about?
Corinth was a wealthy, cosmopolitan port city in Greece, known for trade, status-seeking and loose morals. Paul had founded the church there and stayed about eighteen months (Acts 18). After he left, reports reached him of rival factions, and the believers also sent him a letter full of questions. 1 Corinthians is his reply.
In chapters 1–6 Paul deals with what he has heard: believers lining up behind favourite leaders, pride in human wisdom, a case of incest the church was tolerating, members suing one another, and visits to prostitutes. His answer each time goes back to the message of the crucified Christ, which turns worldly ideas of wisdom and power upside down.
From chapter 7 he answers their questions: marriage and singleness, whether to eat meat sacrificed to idols, head coverings and order in worship, the Lord's Supper, and the use of spiritual gifts like tongues and prophecy. In the middle sits chapter 13, the famous portrait of love. Chapter 15 then gives the New Testament's fullest teaching on the resurrection of Christ and of believers.
Outline of 1 Corinthians
| ChaptersCh. | Section |
|---|---|
| 1–4 | Divisions and the wisdom of the cross Paul confronts factions and shows that God's wisdom looks foolish to the world. |
| 5–6 | Moral failures Church discipline, lawsuits between believers, and sexual purity. |
| 7 | Marriage and singleness Practical guidance for married, unmarried and widowed believers. |
| 8–10 | Freedom and food offered to idols Knowledge must give way to love for the weaker believer. |
| 11–14 | Worship and spiritual gifts The Lord's Supper, many gifts in one body, and the way of love. |
| 15 | The resurrection Christ is raised, and so will his people be, with transformed bodies. |
| 16 | Collection and farewells Giving for Jerusalem, travel plans and greetings. |
Key themes
- Unity in Christ. Paul pictures the church as one body with many parts. Each member is needed, and status games have no place.
- The message of the cross. A crucified Messiah seems weak and foolish, yet it is the power and wisdom of God that undoes human pride.
- Love above knowledge and gifts. Chapter 13 shows that even the most impressive gifts are worthless without love, which is patient, kind and lasting.
- Holiness in the body. Because believers belong to Christ and their bodies are temples of the Spirit, how they live sexually and socially matters.
- Resurrection hope. Without Christ's resurrection faith is empty; with it, death is defeated and work for the Lord is never wasted.
Key people and places
- Paul — Founder of the church in Corinth.
- Apollos — Gifted teacher whose followers formed a faction.
- Peter (Cephas) — Named among the leaders the Corinthians ranked.
- Sosthenes — Co-sender of the letter.
- Chloe's household — Reported the quarrels to Paul.
Places: Corinth, Ephesus, Jerusalem, Macedonia.
Key verses in 1 Corinthians
Quoted from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.”
“The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.”
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”
How 1 Corinthians fits the big story
1 Corinthians shows what happens when the gospel lands in a proud, pleasure-loving city. It follows naturally after Romans: Romans explains the gospel, Corinthians shows a church learning to live it. Paul draws on Israel's wilderness story in Exodus and Numbers as a warning, and his teaching on the resurrection ties Christ to Adam in Genesis. Chapter 15 contains one of the earliest creeds of the church, listing witnesses to the risen Jesus. The story of Paul's relationship with this church continues in 2 Corinthians.
How to read 1 Corinthians
At 2 chapters a day you can read 1 Corinthians in 8 days. Notice the phrases 'now concerning' and 'now about' (7:1, 8:1, 12:1, 16:1) — each marks Paul's answer to one of the Corinthians' questions. Read chapter 13 in the context of chapters 12 and 14, where it belongs.