Introduction to 1st Corinthians

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1st Corinthians is the first of two letters written by Paul (formerly Saul) of Tarsus to a congregation he himself had started in the city of Corinth. It is among the best known and often turned to books in the Bible. This letter (note the formulaic letter opening with the characteristic salutation and thanksgiving in verses 1-9) is remarkable for several reasons:

1. It presents the basics of the Christian faith in an articulate and compelling way from the very beginning of the history of the Church.

2. We receive great insights into what at least this early Church was like through Paul's very specific teachings to the Corinthians in this letter.

3. We learn a lot about Paul himself who was the driving force behind the early development of the Church and consequently the shaping of much of its theology.

Corinth, in present day Greece, was a major city in the Roman province of Achaia at this time. Corinth stood at a narrow isthmus which made it a strategic point for transportation, so it was a very cosmopolitan, diverse and - by all reports - a decadent city. Paul established a congregation there, but then started hearing reports of arguments, divisions, deviant teaching and behavior, even attacks on his own authority as a teacher of the Gospel (message) of Jesus the Christ. Not being there any longer, but in Ephesus, another major city just across the Aegean Sea in present day Turkey, he felt compelled to write this extensive letter to share the foundations of the faith and to comment on questions and disputes among the immature believers in the church of Corinth.

This letter was probably written between 52-56 A.D., a mere 20-25 years after the crucifixion of Jesus.

There are many ways to outline this letter. Here at Jacob's Well in June 2008, we are breaking it up into four sections that basically deal with the wisdom of God as opposed to our human wisdom (chapters 1-4); God's ultimate claim on our behavior even in a context of grace where nothing we can do justifies us before God (chapters 5-8); the idea of freely accepting the role of servant of God and others even though we are truly freed by Christ (chapters 9-10); and finally the way God creates, equips and calls us together as a Church and what holds us together (chapters 11-16). To read more about the themes of these weeks see www.jacobs-well.net/screwedup

To read 1st Corinthians online there are many websites. Biblegateway.com has many translations available. For ease of reading we suggest The Message or the Contemporary English Version (CEV). If you are wanting to do more study as you read try the New International Version (NIV) or the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Here is a LINK. You will see how easy it is to change translation or select chapters.