Book Study: First Corinthians

Book Overview

1 Corinthians is Paul’s pastoral letter to a divided and spiritually troubled church in Corinth. The believers struggled with factions, immorality, lawsuits, confusion about marriage, food sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, worship practices, and misunderstandings about the resurrection. Paul writes to correct these issues by grounding everything in the gospel and calling the church to unity, holiness, and love. He emphasizes that true wisdom comes from God, not the world, and that Christian freedom must be guided by love for others. Paul explains the proper use of spiritual gifts, culminating in the famous “love chapter,” and he defends the bodily resurrection of Christ as the foundation of Christian hope.

Brief Chapter Summaries

1 Corinthians 1

Paul greets the church and addresses their divisions. He reminds them that the gospel, though foolish to the world, is the power and wisdom of God. He calls them to unity under Christ rather than human leaders.

1 Corinthians 2

Paul explains that his message rests on God’s power, not human wisdom. Spiritual truths are revealed by the Spirit, who enables believers to understand God’s wisdom.

1 Corinthians 3

Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their immaturity and divisions. He describes ministry as God’s work and warns that each person’s work will be tested by fire.

1 Corinthians 4

Paul defends his apostleship and urges humility. He reminds the Corinthians that true Christian leadership involves suffering, faithfulness, and imitation of Christ.

1 Corinthians 5

Paul confronts a case of sexual immorality and commands the church to discipline the offender. He warns them not to tolerate sin within the community.

1 Corinthians 6

Paul rebukes believers for taking each other to court. He teaches that Christians must flee immorality because their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 7

Paul gives guidance on marriage, singleness, and divorce, urging believers to remain faithful in whatever situation God has called them.

1 Corinthians 8

Paul addresses food sacrificed to idols, teaching that knowledge must be governed by love so as not to cause others to stumble.

1 Corinthians 9

Paul defends his rights as an apostle but explains why he gives them up for the sake of the gospel. He compares the Christian life to disciplined athletic training.

1 Corinthians 10

Paul warns against idolatry by recalling Israel’s failures. He teaches believers to glorify God in all things and avoid causing offense.

1 Corinthians 11

Paul addresses issues in worship, including head coverings and abuses of the Lord’s Supper. He calls for reverence and unity.

1 Corinthians 12

Paul teaches about spiritual gifts, emphasizing that all gifts come from the Spirit and are given for the good of the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 13

Paul describes love as the supreme Christian virtue. Without love, all gifts and actions are meaningless. Love endures forever.

1 Corinthians 14

Paul gives instructions for orderly worship, especially regarding prophecy and tongues, so that the church may be built up.

1 Corinthians 15

Paul defends the resurrection of Christ and explains the future resurrection of believers. He declares death defeated through Christ.

1 Corinthians 16

Paul gives final instructions about giving, travel plans, and greetings. He urges the church to stand firm in faith and love.

Key Verses

1 Corinthians 3:16

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

1 Corinthians 6:19–20

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

1 Corinthians 10:13

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

1 Corinthians 13:4–7

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up… Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

1 Corinthians 15:3–4

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

1 Corinthians 15:58

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”