BIBLE BOOK GUIDE
1 Corinthians
16 chapters
In a Corinthian church torn by division, sin, and confusion, Paul centers everything on Christ and Him crucified, rebuilding the community's unity, holiness, and love.
1 Corinthians
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Why this book was written
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church from Ephesus during his third missionary journey. Reports and a letter from Corinth had revealed factions, moral disorders, misuse of the Lord's Supper, confusion over spiritual gifts, and doubts about the resurrection. His aim was to correct error, answer their questions, restore a Christ-centered unity, and strengthen the believers' faith and hope.
Structure
- 1–4The Cross and the Unity of the Church
- 5–7Holiness of Life and the Sanctification of Marriage
- 8–11Freedom, Love, and the Christian Conscience
- 12–14Spiritual Gifts and Love
- 15–16The Certainty of the Resurrection and Practical Exhortations
Major themes
Unity and Division in the Church
Paul exhorts the Corinthian church against factions and insists that everything be done for the edification of the church (1 Cor 1:10-17; 3:1-9; 12:12-27).
The Wisdom and Foolishness of the Cross
The message of the cross is foolishness to those perishing but the power of God to those being saved; God's weakness is stronger than human strength (1 Cor 1:18-25; 2:1-5).
Holiness and Spiritual Gifts
Believers' bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, to be kept holy and free from sexual immorality; spiritual gifts are given for building up the body (1 Cor 6:12-20; 12:1–14:40).
Love as the Supreme Way
Chapter 13 presents love as surpassing all gifts and knowledge, an everlasting way that never ends (1 Cor 13:1-13).
The Hope of Resurrection
If Christ has not been raised, faith is futile; but believers will be raised with Christ into glorified bodies (1 Cor 15:1-58).
Gospel and Daily Ethical Order
Paul addresses marriage, food, worship, money, and the Lord's Day gathering, doing all things for the glory of God (1 Cor 7:1-40; 10:23–11:34; 16:1-4).
How it points to Christ
1 Corinthians exalts Christ and Him crucified (1:23; 2:2), presenting Jesus as God's power and wisdom. He is the Passover lamb sacrificed for us (5:7), the firstfruits of the resurrection (15:20-23), and through His Spirit He indwells the church as His body and temple (3:16; 6:19), uniting believers to Himself and to one another.
Key verses
- 1:18The message of the cross is the power of God, overturning all human reliance on wisdom and strength.
- 6:19–20Believers' bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, calling them to glorify God in holiness.
- 10:31Whatever we do, do all to the glory of God—the supreme principle of the Christian life.
- 13:13Faith, hope, and love abide, and the greatest of these is love.
- 15:3–4Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised the third day—the heart of the gospel.
- 15:58Because of the resurrection, believers are urged to be steadfast, immovable, and abounding in the work of the Lord.
- 3:11No other foundation can be laid than Jesus Christ already laid.
- 12:27The church is the body of Christ, with believers as its members, revealing the truth of unity.
Reflections on 1 Corinthians
People in this book
Questions for reflection
- ·When I am tempted to elevate certain leaders or gifts above others, how do I return to the simplicity of the cross and the fact that Christ alone is the foundation?
- ·Chapter 13 describes love as patient and all-trusting—does my love still carry pride and self-righteousness?
- ·If Christ truly rose from the dead, how does this change the way I face suffering, death, and daily pressures?
- ·Is my body treated as a temple of the Holy Spirit—what areas of speech, desire, or habit need repentance?
- ·In exercising spiritual gifts, am I seeking self-display or the edification of the church and the manifestation of Christ's body?
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Chapter 11
1Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.
2Now I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.
3But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head.
5But every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoreth her head; for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven.
6For if a woman is not veiled, let her also be shorn: but if it is a shame to a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be veiled.
7For a man indeed ought not to have his head veiled, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man:
9for neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man:
10for this cause ought the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11Nevertheless, neither is the woman without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the Lord.
12For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also by the woman; but all things are of God.
13Judge ye in yourselves: is it seemly that a woman pray unto God unveiled?
14Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a dishonor to him?
15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16But if any man seemeth to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
17But in giving you this charge, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better but for the worse.
18For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and I partly believe it.
19For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you.
20When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord's supper:
21for in your eating each one taketh before other his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
22What, have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you? In this I praise you not.
23For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread;
24and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come.
27Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
29For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body.
30For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
31But if we discerned ourselves, we should not be judged.
32But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, wait one for another.
34If any man is hungry, let him eat at home; that your coming together be not unto judgment. And the rest will I set in order whensoever I come.
