The Book of 1 Corinthians
First Corinthians is Paul's letter to a young, gifted, and badly divided church living in a proud and immoral city. They were enriched in speech and knowledge, yet split into factions, tolerant of scandal, careless with one another, and confused about marriage, idol-meat, worship, spiritual gifts, and even the resurrection. Into this mess Paul brings one clarifying message: Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God, and the cross reshapes everything—how we handle conflict, our bodies, our freedom, our gatherings, and our gifts. The letter rises to its famous heights in the hymn to love (chapter 13) and the triumphant hope of the empty tomb (chapter 15), where death itself is swallowed up in victory.
Marking chapters complete and saving your progress across visits will arrive with member sign-in.
Whole-Book Overview
See the whole sweep of 1 Corinthians, from a divided church captivated by worldly wisdom to a people called to be one body, marked by holiness and love, and anchored in the resurrection of Christ.
Open overview → Chapter 1The Foolishness of the Cross
Paul thanks God for a gifted church, then confronts its divisions by exalting Christ crucified as the wisdom and power of God.
Open study → Chapter 2Wisdom From the Spirit
Paul came preaching only Christ crucified in weakness, so that the church's faith would rest on God's power and the Spirit's revealed wisdom.
Open study → Chapter 3Servants and One Foundation
Paul calls the still-fleshly church to stop boasting in leaders, who are only servants, and to build carefully on the one foundation, Jesus Christ.
Open study → Chapter 4Stewards of God's Mysteries
Paul portrays the apostles as humble, suffering stewards, rebukes the church's pride, and writes as a father longing to come to them.
Open study → Chapter 5Purge the Old Yeast
Confronted with a scandalous sin the church tolerated with pride, Paul calls for loving discipline so the whole community stays pure.
Open study → Chapter 6Bought With a Price
Paul rebukes believers for suing one another and for sexual sin, reminding them their bodies belong to the Lord and house the Spirit.
Open study → Chapter 7On Marriage and Singleness
Paul gives wise counsel on marriage, sexual faithfulness, divorce, and singleness, urging undivided devotion to the Lord in whatever calling we are in.
Open study → Chapter 8Knowledge or Love
On food offered to idols, Paul teaches that knowledge can puff up while love builds up, and that we must protect the weaker brother's conscience.
Open study → Chapter 9Rights Laid Down
Paul defends his apostleship yet shows how he surrenders his rights, becoming all things to all people and disciplining himself to win the race.
Open study → Chapter 10Warnings and Glory
Israel's failures warn the overconfident; Paul calls the church to flee idolatry, value the Lord's table, and do everything for God's glory.
Open study → Chapter 11Worship and the Lord's Table
Paul addresses order in worship and rebukes abuses at the Lord's Supper, calling the church to examine itself and discern the body.
Open study → Chapter 12One Body, Many Gifts
Paul teaches that the Spirit gives diverse gifts to one body, where every member is needed and no one can claim to be unnecessary.
Open study → Chapter 13The More Excellent Way
Paul exalts love as the indispensable heart of every gift, the virtue that never fails and remains greater even than faith and hope.
Open study → Chapter 14Order in the Assembly
Paul ranks prophecy above tongues and calls for intelligible, orderly worship, since God is a God of peace and all should be built up.
Open study → Chapter 15Raised in Victory
Paul defends the bodily resurrection of Christ and believers, declaring that death is defeated and our labor in the Lord is never in vain.
Open study → Chapter 16Stand Firm in Love
Paul closes with instructions on giving, travel plans, and commendations, urging the church to be watchful, strong, and to do everything in love.
Open study →Study together
Gather a group, work through a chapter at a time, and journey through 1 Corinthians together. Invite a friend to join you.