Who wrote 1 Corinthians, and when?
Paul, with Sosthenes. About AD 54–55, from Ephesus.
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, and the letter names Sosthenes as a co-sender, possibly the synagogue leader mentioned in Acts 18:17. The Pauline authorship of this letter is accepted almost universally. Paul wrote from Ephesus, where he stayed for a long period during his third missionary journey (see 1 Corinthians 16:8), and most scholars date the letter to about AD 54 or 55. It is not Paul's first letter to Corinth. He mentions an earlier one that has not survived (see 5:9). So 1 Corinthians is really the second in a series, written in reply to a letter the Corinthians had sent him and to worrying reports from visitors.
Who was 1 Corinthians written to?
The church in Corinth, a wealthy, cosmopolitan port city known for its immorality.
The first readers were the Christians of Corinth, a busy port city on the narrow strip of land joining northern and southern Greece. Corinth had been rebuilt by Rome and was full of traders, sailors, freed slaves and new money. It was known across the ancient world for loose living. Paul had planted the church there over about eighteen months (see Acts 18:1-18). The believers were mostly Gentile, from a range of social classes, and they were gifted and lively. They were also proud, divided into fan clubs around favourite teachers, tolerant of serious sin, quick to sue each other and confused about worship, marriage, food, spiritual gifts and the resurrection. Much of the letter answers their own questions.
What was happening at the time?
Paul planted the Corinthian church and stayed eighteen months. Now reports and a letter from them raise problem after problem: factions around favourite teachers, a man living with his stepmother, lawsuits, sexual immorality, questions about marriage, food offered to idols, chaos in worship and the Lord’s Supper, misuse of spiritual gifts, and some who denied the resurrection.
Why was 1 Corinthians written?
To correct disorder in the church by applying the message of the cross to every part of its life.
Paul wrote to put a disordered church back in order. Rather than issuing a list of rules, he applies one idea to every problem: the message of the cross. The cross looks weak and foolish to the world, yet it is God's power and wisdom. A church shaped by the cross will not boast in clever leaders, will take holiness seriously, will put the good of others above personal rights, and will use its gifts to build others up in love. The letter ends with the resurrection, because a church that forgets Christ was raised will lose its hope. In the wider story of the Bible, 1 Corinthians shows what it looks like when the good news lands in a pagan city and begins to reshape ordinary lives.
How to read 1 Corinthians today
Start with chapters 1 to 4 to see how Paul thinks, then read the rest as a series of practical case studies. Watch for phrases that mark a new topic, often introduced by the words about matters you wrote about. Chapter 13 on love is famous, but read it inside chapters 12 to 14, where it addresses a real fight over spiritual gifts. Chapter 15 on the resurrection is worth reading twice. Some passages on head coverings, gifts and the role of women are read differently by different Christians today; notice the principle Paul gives and do not force a single modern rule out of it. As you read, pray that your church would be known for love rather than for talent.
The key verse in 1 Corinthians
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.
Passages worth knowing in 1 Corinthians
- 1 Corinthians 1–2
The foolishness of the cross
God chose the weak to shame the strong.
- 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Your body is a temple
You were bought at a price.
- 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
The Lord’s Supper
Do this in remembrance of me.
- 1 Corinthians 12
One body, many gifts
The Spirit distributes gifts for the common good.
- 1 Corinthians 13
Love
The greatest of these is love.
- 1 Corinthians 15
The resurrection
If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile.
The main themes of 1 Corinthians
- The cross
- Unity
- Holiness
- Spiritual gifts
- Love
- Resurrection
An outline of 1 Corinthians
| Section | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Divisions and the cross | 1–4 |
| Moral problems | 5–7 |
| Idols, freedom and worship | 8–14 |
| The resurrection | 15–16 |