Tables of Contents
Paul starts his letter to the church at Corinth with a warm greeting, expressing his gratitude for work Christ Jesus already began in them. Within a few lines, he immediately shifts to the purpose of his writing – to correct some misunderstandings and misapplication of God’s word. In this chapter, he begins to lay a foundation of truths and rebukes in a pattern that he will repeat throughout the letter.
Paul’s first chapter set a clear tone for the rest of the letter: correction and encouragement. In the following two chapters, he focuses on two key issues: wisdom and growth. His discussion of these two topics early on in his letter seem to be strategic as his later topics require a rejection of worldly wisdom and a commitment to grow in Christ to best understand them.
In chapter four, Paul bridges his discussion in chapter one with those he presented in chapters two and three. Specifically, he links the work of the Church leaders with the wisdom of God, emphasizing how God uses their humility to establish and strengthen the Church.
In chapters five and six, Paul addresses issues where the Believers are acting worse than non-Believers. One in particular – sexual immorality – he considers egregious and calls for the church to act immediately. In both chapters, he underscores the need for the Believers to remain committed to the purity and unity God expects of his children.
In this chapter, Paul continues his teaching on sexual relations, turning his attention to married couples, widows, and virgins. He also takes time to consider specific circumstances involving marriages between Believers and non-Believers.
Chapters eight and nine carry a unified theme of responsibility. In eight, Paul discusses the need for Believers to think about how their actions impact others, especially as it relates to food. In nine, Paul addresses how he uses his freedoms responsibly for the benefit of the Church as a whole and calls all Believers to be equally responsible.
Paul moves from discussions around personal responsibility to organizational effectiveness. The Corinthian culture was filled with idol practices and worldly reasoning that was making its way into the young church. Paul needed to correct their way of thinking so the body could stay unified.
What Paul started in chapter 11 on organizational effectiveness, he continues into chapter 12 with a look at spiritual gifts. In chapter 1, he briefly mentioned that he taught Christ so they would not be lacking in any spiritual gift. He picks that conversation back up in chapter 12 to focus on the variety of gifts God gives and then leads into the most excellent way to share those gifts: love.
Paul’s discussion on gifts and love in the previous two chapters opened the door for a main point he makes in chapter 14: how to use the gifts in a way that builds the church up and promotes unity through orderly worship. Unlike churches today, the house churches at Corinth did not appear to have a specific leader responsible for guiding worship.
To conclude his letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses two remaining items: resurrection and collections. In regards to resurrection, he sought to remove any doubt about Christ’s resurrection and how that impacts our eternity. In regards to collections, his goal was to ensure the Corinthians were ready for his arrival when he visited.