First Epistle to the Corinthians

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Template:Books of the New Testament Template:Chapters in 1 Corinthians

The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. 1 Corinthians is a letter, or a conflation of several letters, from Paul of Tarsus and Sosthenes to the Christians of Corinth, Greece. It is one of the core group of Pauline epistles whose authenticity has never seriously been questioned.

1 Time and Place
2 Outline
3 Content
4 Notes
5 See also
6 External links

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Time and Place

It was written from Ephesus (16:8) about the time of the Passover in the third year of the apostle's sojourn there (Acts 19:10; 20:31), and when he had formed the purpose to visit Macedonia and then return to Corinth (probably AD 57). The news which had reached him, however, from Corinth frustrated his plan.

The traditional subscription to the epistle, translated in the Authorized Version, states that this epistle was written at Philippi, perhaps arising from a misinterpretation of 16:5, "For I do pass through Macedonia," as meaning, "I am passing through Macedonia." In 16:8 Paul declares his intention of staying in Ephesus until Pentecost.

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Outline

The epistle may be divided into six parts.<ref>Outline from [1].</ref>

Salutation (1:1-9)
Division in Corinth (1:10–4:21)
1. Facts of division
2. Causes of division
3. Cure for division
Immorality in Corinth (5:1–6:20)
1. Discipline an Immoral Brother
2. Resolving personal disputes
3. Sexual purity
Difficulties in Corinth (7:1–14:40)
1. Marriage
2. Christian liberty
3. Worship
Doctrine of Resurrection (15:1-58)
Closing (16:1-24)

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Content

He had heard of the abuses and contentions that had arisen among them: first from Apollos (Acts 19:1) and then from a letter they had written him on the subject, and also from some of the "household of Chloe," and from Stephanas and his two friends who had visited him (1:11; 16:17). (Since there was no regular postal service in the Roman Empire, some of those people probably brought the letter with them.) Paul thereupon wrote this letter, urging uniformity of belief ("that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you," 1:10) and correcting the erroneous opinions that had sprung up among them, and remedying the many abuses and disorderly practices that prevailed. Titus and a brother whose name is not given were probably the bearers of the letter (2 Cor 2:13; 8:6, 16–18).

This epistle "shows the powerful self-control of the apostle in spite of his physical weakness, his distressed circumstances, his incessant troubles, and his emotional nature. It was written, he tells us, in bitter anguish, 'out of much affliction and pressure of heart . . . and with streaming eyes' (2 Cor 2:4); yet he restrained the expression of his feelings, and wrote with a dignity and holy calm which he thought most calculated to win back his erring children. It gives a vivid picture of the early church . . . It entirely dissipates the dream that the apostolic church was in an exceptional condition of holiness of life or purity of doctrine."Template:Fact The apostle in this epistle unfolds and applies great principles fitted to guide the church of all ages in dealing with the same and kindred evils in whatever form they may appear.

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