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1 Corinthians – A Call to Holy Unity

Overview Paragraph

1 Corinthians is Paul’s pastoral and corrective letter to the church in Corinth, a gifted yet deeply troubled congregation. Written from Ephesus, the letter confronts divisions, moral compromise, pride, worldliness, and confusion about worship and spiritual gifts. Paul calls the believers to live out the gospel with maturity, humility, and love, showing how Christ’s cross reshapes every aspect of life: relationships, sexuality, marriage, lawsuits, food, worship, spiritual gifts, generosity, and the hope of resurrection. At its heart, the letter urges the church to turn from human wisdom and self-exaltation and to walk instead in the self-giving love and resurrection power revealed in Jesus Christ.

Themes

  • Unity in the Gospel — The church must resist factions and find unity in Christ rather than in personalities or human wisdom (1:10–17; 3:1–9).
  • The Wisdom of the Cross — God’s wisdom is revealed in Christ crucified, overturning worldly pride (1:18–31; 2:1–5).
  • Holiness in Daily Life — God calls His people to sexual purity, integrity, and obedience as His holy temple (5:1–13; 6:12–20).
  • Marriage, Singleness, and Christian Freedom — Practical teaching on living faithfully in one’s calling and using freedom to serve others (ch. 7–10).
  • Orderly Worship — Instruction on corporate worship, spiritual gifts, and the Lord’s Supper with Christlike love as the foundation (ch. 11–14).
  • The Primacy of Love — All gifts and service are empty without sacrificial love (chapter 13).
  • The Resurrection of Christ and Believers — The resurrection is central to the gospel and guarantees the believer’s future hope (chapter 15).
  • Generous Stewardship — Believers should give generously and joyfully in support of gospel ministry (16:1–4).

Key Verses

  • 1 Corinthians 15:58— “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…”
  • 1 Corinthians 1:18— “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
  • 1 Corinthians 3:11 — “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
  • 1 Corinthians 6:19–20— “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
  • 1 Corinthians 10:31— “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
  • 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 — Paul’s description of Christlike love.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:3–4— The core gospel: Christ died, was buried, and was raised on the third day.

Bible Lessons

1 Corinthians 1 – United in Christ, Not Divided by Leaders

Paul confronts the church’s divisions and reminds them that their unity and calling are rooted in the power of the cross, not in human wisdom.

1 Corinthians 1:1, Introduction
1 Corinthians 1:2-3, Saints Who Are Sanctified in Christ Jesus
1 Corinthians 1:4-9, Thanking God for Grace Extended to Them
1 Corinthians 1:10-12, I Am Follow Who?
1 Corinthians 1:13-17, Is Christ Divided?
1 Corinthians 1:18-19, Cross: Folly to Perishing; Power to Saved
1 Corinthians 1:20-25, Jesus Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
1 Corinthians 1:26-31, God Chose What Is Considered Foolish

1 Corinthians 2 – True Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

Paul contrasts worldly wisdom with the spiritual wisdom God reveals through the Holy Spirit to those who believe.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Paul’s Condition
1 Corinthians 2:6-9, Wisdom Given to the Mature​
1 Corinthians 2:10-13, The Spirit Reveals and Gives Understanding
1 Corinthians 2:14-16, Natural and Spiritual People

1 Corinthians 3 – God’s Field and God’s Building

Paul explains that church leaders are merely servants, and believers must build their lives on Christ alone to receive an eternal reward.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Spiritual People or of the Flesh
1 Corinthians 3:5-9, God Gives the Growth
1 Corinthians 3:10-15, How Are We Building?
1 Corinthians 3:16-23, We Are God’s Temple

1 Corinthians 4 – Faithful Servants of Christ

Paul defends his apostleship and urges the Corinthians to imitate his humility and faithfulness rather than the pride of worldly leaders.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Servants and Stewards
1 Corinthians 4:6-7, All We Have Is from God
1 Corinthians 4:8-13, Fools for Christ’s Sake
1 Corinthians 4:14-21, Words Empowered by the Spirit

1 Corinthians 5 – Discipline in the Church

Paul commands the church to address a case of blatant immorality by exercising loving but firm church discipline.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2, Gross Sexual Immorality
1 Corinthians 5:3-5, Delivered Over to Satan
1 Corinthians 5:6-8, Remove the Old Leaven of Malice and Evil
1 Corinthians 5:9-13, How to Associate with Sinners

1 Corinthians 6 – Resolving Conflict and Honoring God with the Body

Paul rebukes believers for suing each other and for sexual sin, calling them to glorify God with their bodies as those bought with a price.

1 Corinthians 6:1-8, Grievance Over Fraud
1 Corinthians 6:1-8, The Need to Love and Forgive
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Who Will Inherit God’s Kingdom?
1 Corinthians 6:12-14, The Body Is Meant for the Lord’s Use
1 Corinthians 6:15-20, Sin Against Your Body

1 Corinthians 7 – Marriage, Singleness, and Devotion to the Lord

Paul provides guidance on marriage, singleness, and contentment, urging believers to live undistracted in devotion to Christ.

1 Corinthians 7:1-5, Confine Sex to Marriage
1 Corinthians 7:6-11, The Gift of Being Single or Married
1 Corinthians 7:12-16, Handling Unbelief in Marriage
1 Corinthians 7:17-24, Our Condition at the Time of Being Called
1 Corinthians 7:25-31, Remain as You Are
1 Corinthians 7:32-35, The Additional Anxiety of Being Married
1 Corinthians 7:36-40, Proper Relation for One Towards His Betrothed

1 Corinthians 8 – Knowledge, Love, and Christian Liberty

Paul teaches that love must guide the use of Christian liberties, especially regarding food sacrificed to idols.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3, Food Offered to Idols – Introduction
1 Corinthians 8:4-6, Food Offered to Idols Is Good to Eat
1 Corinthians 8:7-13, Do Not Cause the One Weak in Faith to Stumble

1 Corinthians 9 – Paul’s Rights and His Self-Discipline

Paul explains his willingness to give up his rights for the sake of the gospel and urges believers to run the spiritual race with discipline.

1 Corinthians 9:1-2, Paul as an Apostle
1 Corinthians 9:3-7, The Right for Financial Support
1 Corinthians 9:8-12a, Sow Spiritually and Reap Materially
1 Corinthians 9:12b-14, The Right to Receive Support
1 Corinthians 9:15-18, Entrusted with a Stewardship to Preach
1 Corinthians 9:19-23, The Goal to Save Some
1 Corinthians 9:24-27, The Athletic Metaphor

1 Corinthians 10 – Warnings from Israel’s History

Paul warns the church not to repeat Israel’s sins and calls them to flee idolatry and live for God’s glory in all things.

1 Corinthians 10:1-5, The Disobedient Israelites
1 Corinthians 10:6-13, Learn from Past Examples
1 Corinthians 10:14-17, Introduction of the Lord’s Supper
1 Corinthians 10:18-22, Who Are You Worshiping?
1 Corinthians 10:23-27, Freedom to Eat Sacrificed Meat
1 Corinthians 10:28-11:1, Be Imitators of Me

1 Corinthians 11 – Worship, Headship, and the Lord’s Supper

Paul corrects improper worship practices and calls believers to honor Christ through reverent observance of the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:2-6, Cultural Implications and Head Coverings
1 Corinthians 11:7-12, Woman from Man and Man from Woman
1 Corinthians 11:13-16, Judge for Yourselves
1 Corinthians 11:17-22, Factions Are Important but Must Be Controlled
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, The Lord’s Supper
1 Corinthians 11:27-34, Prepare for the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 12 – One Body, Many Gifts

Paul explains the diversity of spiritual gifts within the one body of Christ and the necessity of every member’s contribution.

1 Corinthians 12:1-3, Identifying the Source of Instruction
1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Manifestation of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:8-11, First Five Gifts of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:8-11, The Last Four Gifts of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Spirit Unites All Believers into One Body
1 Corinthians 12:14-20, Parts Must Work Together
1 Corinthians 12:21-26, All Gifts Are Needed
1 Corinthians 12:21-26, We Are All in This Together
1 Corinthians 12:27-31, A More Excellent Way

1 Corinthians 13 – The Way of Love

Paul shows that love is the greatest virtue and the essential motive behind all spiritual gifts and Christian actions.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Have Not Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, The Eight Characteristics of Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, The Fifteen Behaviors of Love
1 Corinthians 13:8-13, Faith, Hope, and Love

1 Corinthians 14 – Orderly Worship in the Church

Paul gives instructions for orderly, intelligible worship so that the church may be built up through prophecy and instruction.

1 Corinthians 14:1-5, Pursue Love, and Earnestly Desire the Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 14:6-12, When You Speak Be Sure You Are Understood
1 Corinthians 14:13-19, Five Words Verses Ten Thousand
1 Corinthians 14:20-25, Positive and Negative Signs
1 Corinthians 14:26-33a, Recommendations for Orderly Worship
1 Corinthians 14:33b-35, Woman’s Position in Church
1 Corinthians 14:36-40, Do All Things Decently and in Order

1 Corinthians 15 – The Resurrection of Christ and the Believer

Paul defends the truth of Christ’s resurrection and explains the future resurrection and victory of believers.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Christ Died Was Buried and Rose from the Dead
1 Corinthians 15:5-8, The Appearance of Jesus After the Resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:8-11, Paul Sees Jesus
1 Corinthians 15:12-19, If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then We Will
1 Corinthians 15:20-23, In Adam Death in Christ Life
1 Corinthians 15:24-28, When the End Comes
1 Corinthians 15:29-34, Baptizing on Behalf of the Dead
1 Corinthians 15:35-41, Kinds of Bodies
1 Corinthians 15:42-49, Two Kinds of Seed
1 Corinthians 15:50-54, We Shall Not All Sleep
1 Corinthians 15:55-58, The String of Death and the Power of Sin

1 Corinthians 16 – Final Instructions and Loving Fellowship

Paul closes with directions for giving, travel plans, commendations, and a call to stand firm in love and faith.

1 Corinthians 16:1-4, Paul’s Request for an Offering
1 Corinthians 16:5-12, Plans to Come for the Winter
1 Corinthians 16:13-14, Five Recommendations
​1 Corinthians 16:15-18, Be Subject to and Give Recognition
1 Corinthians 16:19-24, Greetings from Many