At a glance
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Authorship | Paul and Sosthenes |
| Date | ~54-55 AD (from Ephesus) |
| Audience | Corinthian church (founded by Paul; Acts 18) |
| Genre | Epistle |
| Purpose | Address divisions and immorality and worship and resurrection issues |
| Chapters | 16 |
Outline
| Section | Chapters | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Divisions | 1-4 | Quarreling over leaders |
| Immorality | 5-6 | Incest case; lawsuits; sexual immorality |
| Marriage and singleness | 7 | Practical counsel |
| Food offered to idols | 8-10 | Christian liberty and love |
| Worship issues | 11-14 | Head coverings; Lord's Supper; spiritual gifts; tongues; love (1 Corinthians 13) |
| Resurrection | 15 | Christ's and believers' resurrection |
| Closing | 16 | Collection and travel plans |
Main themes
| Theme | Description |
|---|---|
| Unity in Christ | Healing divisions |
| Christian sexual ethics | Pure conduct |
| Spiritual gifts | For body's edification |
| Love | 1 Corinthians 13 supreme |
| Resurrection | 1 Corinthians 15 magnum opus |
| Christian liberty and love | Don't cause weaker brother to stumble |
Key passages
- 1 Corinthians 1:18, message of cross
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, body as temple of Spirit
- 1 Corinthians 7, marriage and singleness counsel
- 1 Corinthians 10:13, temptation and way of escape
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Lord's Supper
- 1 Corinthians 12, body and spiritual gifts
- 1 Corinthians 13, love chapter
- 1 Corinthians 15, resurrection magnum opus