In this letter to a church with people from many ethnic groups, we see some common problems that early Christians faced. Paul gives advice about how to deal with these problems. His advice shows important principles that shaped how he thought about daily Christian life. These principles were very different from the popular ideas of Paul’s time. They are also different from many popular ideas today. They still guide us as we face similar problems.
Setting
Corinth was widely known as an important city with many moral problems. This reputation was connected to its location.
The city stood on a narrow strip of land between mainland Greece and the Peloponnese, the large southern peninsula. This strip of land was about six to eight kilometers (four to five miles) wide. Corinth profited from travelers who passed through the city by land. It also profited from sailors who traveled between the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf.
Small trading boats often sailed between Italy and the eastern Mediterranean. To avoid dangerous storms at sea, especially in winter, some boat owners had their boats pulled across the narrow strip of land from one gulf to the other. These travelers often stayed in Corinth for one or two nights.
Because of this, Corinth became known as a port city with many forms of sexual sin and other immoral practices. There was even a Greek verb, korinthiazomai (which means "to act like a Corinthian"), that referred to sexual immorality. So it is not surprising that some of these problems entered the young church. Paul speaks strongly about sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians 5:1–13; 6:12–20).
The Romans conquered and destroyed old Corinth in 146 BC. About 100 years later, they rebuilt it as a Roman colony. Many of the people who lived there were former Roman slaves.
By the time Paul visited Corinth, it was a city with people from many cultures. Romans, Greeks, Jews, and other ethnic groups from around the Mediterranean lived there. Many international visitors also passed through the city. Because of this, the young church in Corinth included people from many ethnic groups. This may have helped create some of the tensions in the church. Paul rebukes them for forming groups against each other in 1:10–12; 3:1–4).
Paul first came to Corinth during his second missionary journey, around AD 50. He arrived after working in Macedonia, a northern province, and in Athens. Paul saw that Corinth was an important place for sharing the good news about Jesus. So he stayed there for 18 months, from about AD 50 to AD 52 (see Acts 18:1–17).
Some Jews brought Paul to court and accused him of breaking the law. But Gallio, the Roman governor, dismissed the case. He said it was a religious dispute. After this, Paul was free to keep sharing the good news about Jesus. Many people believed his message, and Paul started a church in Corinth before he left.
Over the next five years, Paul wrote to the Corinthians several times about difficult problems. He also visited them to help resolve some of these problems.
This letter was written sometime between AD 53 and AD 56. Paul sent it from Ephesus, a city in the province of Asia, in what is now western Turkey. He stayed there for two to three years during his third missionary journey.
Summary
Paul deals with many problems and questions in the young church. Some of these problems came from the city of Corinth itself. Paul gives clear advice about how to respond to them.
His advice shows the basic principles that shaped his view of Christian life. These principles are rooted in the good news about Jesus.
Paul addressed these issues:
Criticism of Paul’s simple way of sharing the good news about Jesus, without using impressive human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:1–4:21)
A serious case of sexual immorality in the church (5:1–13)
Believers taking other believers to court before judges who did not worship the God of Israel (6:1–20)
Problems related to sexual immorality (6:1–20)
Questions about marriage, divorce, and remaining single (7:1–40)
Whether believers may eat meat that had been offered to idols (8:1–10:33)
Proper clothing for women who served publicly in the church (11:1–34)
Disrespectful behavior when receiving the Lord’s Supper, the shared meal that remembers the death of Jesus (11:1–34)
Wrong ideas about spiritual gifts, which are abilities the Holy Spirit gives to serve the church (12:1–14:40)
Doubts about the future resurrection of the dead, when God will raise the dead to life (15:1–58)
Author
Most scholars accept Paul as the writer of 1 Corinthians. However, some scholars question whether 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 was part of Paul’s original letter (see the study note on those verses).
Paul followed a common practice in the ancient world. He used an amanuensis (secretary), a person who wrote down the letter for him. Paul then added a note in his own handwriting at the end of the letter (see 16:21).
Date and Occasion of Writing
Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth during his third missionary journey. At that time, he was staying in Ephesus for two to three years, around AD 53 to AD 56 (see Acts 19:1–41). Paul had already written an earlier letter to the church in Corinth (see 1 Corinthians 5:9). The Corinthians had also written back to Paul. They asked for his advice about several matters (see, for example, 7:1). Paul had also received reports about the church’s problems. Some visitors from Corinth had come to him and told him what was happening there (see 1:11; 16:15–17).
This letter is Paul’s answer to those reports and questions. It gives advice about specific problems in the church. Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus may have delivered the letter when they returned to Corinth (see 16:15–17).
Some problems were not fully resolved. Because of this, Paul later visited Corinth again. He also wrote them a strong letter, but we do not have that letter today. Paul refers to this visit and letter in 2 Corinthians. This letter is emotional and personal. Paul wrote it from Macedonia soon after he left Ephesus. He was preparing to visit the church in Corinth again (see 2 Corinthians 2:1–11; 7:8–10; 2 Corinthians Book Introduction, “Date and Occasion of Writing”).
Meaning and Message
In 1 Corinthians, we see what life was like in the early church. We see some of the daily problems that early Christians faced as they lived among people who worshiped other gods. We also see how they dealt with these problems.
Motivation for Christian Behavior
Paul deals with problems in the churches from a Christian point of view. His teaching is rooted in the good news of God’s grace. For Paul, Christian behavior is based on Christian teaching about God. It is grounded in the message of Christ and the cross. Paul’s advice about Christian living is not only practical. It is based on the believer’s relationship with Christ. Paul’s own life had been completely changed by God’s grace in Christ.
For example, Paul speaks about sexual immorality in 5:1–6:20. He reminds the church that Christ’s sacrifice has made believers new. Because of this, they should live in a new way. Paul does not simply tell them to obey the law of Moses. Instead, he tells them to understand who they are in Christ. They are united with Christ. They are also the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit, the place where God’s Spirit lives (6:15–20).
When Paul tells believers not to take one another to courts run by people who do not worship God, he is partly concerned about their witness as Christians (6:1–8). He urges them to give up their rights because they love others, just as Christ did. Christ’s death taught Paul that Christian love gives itself for others.
When Paul gives advice about marriage, he encourages unmarried believers in that situation to remain single if they can (7:1–40). This would help them serve Christ more fully. Christ has claimed Christians as his own. Because of this, they can no longer live only for themselves.
When Paul speaks about whether believers may eat meat offered to idols, he does not simply make a rule (8:1–13; 10:1–11:1). He says that believers are free in Christ to eat any food. But Paul also teaches that love for others is more important than personal rights. Believers should be willing not to do something if it would harm another person’s faith. Like Christ, believers should let sacrificial love guide all their relationships. Sacrificial love means giving up something for the good of others.
For Paul, Christian behavior is a grateful response to God’s mercy and grace. God has shown this mercy and grace in Christ and in the good news about Jesus. The whole life of a believer should show love for God and love for others (see 10:31–33). This is similar to the two great commands Jesus gave about love (Matthew 22:36–40; Luke 10:25–37). In 1 Corinthians, we see clearly how Paul applies these lasting principles to many practical problems.
Paul’s Understanding of Preaching the Gospel
Some people criticized Paul’s simple way of sharing the good news about Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:1–4:21). They thought his message was not polished or intellectual enough. Paul answers by stressing that only God can change a person’s heart (inner life). The true power is not in human wisdom or persuasive speech. The true power is in the message of God’s grace and in the work of God’s Spirit.
Conversion, or turning to God, does not happen because one person changes another person’s mind. It happens because God changes a person’s heart.
Unity and Love in the Church
Unity among believers is an important theme in this letter. Many of the problems Paul addresses seem to have divided the church. These problems include:
groups forming against each other (1:10–4:21),
lawsuits between believers (6:1–12),
different views about food offered to idols (8:1–11:1),
different views about proper clothing for women serving publicly (11:2–16), and
problems in sharing the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34).
Believers are joined together as members of Christ’s body. They share a common commitment to Christ as Lord. They also share the experience of God’s Spirit. Because of this, they should live together in unity.
This letter includes Paul’s well-known chapter on Christian love (chapter 13). It shows that believers should treat one another with sacrificial love. Sacrificial love means giving oneself for the good of others. This is the kind of love Christ showed.
Marriage, Divorce, and the Single Life
Paul writes about this in the context of the difficult situation Christians faced in the first century. He also believed that Christ would return soon (see 7:25–31). Because of this, Paul encourages single believers to remain single if they can.
Paul sees singleness as a way to serve Christ with full attention (see 7:32–35). Marriage and celibacy, or remaining unmarried for the sake of serving God, are not the final goal. They are two different ways believers can serve the greater purpose of Christ’s work in the world.
The Lord’s Supper
This letter helps us understand how early Christians understood and practiced the Lord’s Supper, the shared meal that remembers the death of Jesus. It is also called the Eucharist or Communion. This letter gives the longest teaching on the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament (chapters 10–11).
The Church As a Body
Paul understands the church as a living body led by the Holy Spirit. This body has many different parts. Each part has its own work to do (chapters 12, 14). In the early days of the Christian movement, the church did have recognized leaders. Even so, Paul describes the gathered church as a community in which the Spirit gave different gifts to different people. These gifts helped believers serve one another in ways that worked together. Each person had a part in helping the body grow stronger. Each person also depended on the Holy Spirit for power and guidance in this work.
The Resurrection
Among the New Testament writings, this letter gives the fullest teaching about resurrection (chapter 15). It includes the fullest list of people who saw Jesus after he rose from the dead. It also explains why believers will be raised in the future. And it teaches what resurrection bodies will be like.