Paul opens by thanking God for enriching the Corinthians with every spiritual gift, confident that Christ will sustain them. Yet he quickly turns to their divisions: members have aligned themselves with different leaders, forgetting that all belong to Christ alone. Paul reminds them that his mission was not to gather followers but to preach the gospel—the message of the cross that seems foolish to the world yet reveals the wisdom and power of God. God’s choice of the weak and despised exposes the emptiness of human pride, so that no one may boast except in the Lord.
Paul begins with gratitude but pivots to his main concern: prideful divisions rooted in worldly values. Both Greek eloquence and Jewish status-seeking obscure the humility of the cross. The gospel overturns every hierarchy, exalting weakness and calling the church to unity under Christ alone.
25: For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Paul reminds the Corinthians that his preaching was not marked by eloquence but by weakness and dependence on the Spirit’s power, so their faith would rest on God rather than persuasion. The “wisdom” he does proclaim is God’s hidden wisdom of salvation, now revealed in the crucified Christ. The rulers of this age, blind to such wisdom, crucified the Lord of glory—fulfilling rather than defeating God’s purpose. Quoting [[Isaiah 64#v4]] (“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard”), Paul declares that this divine wisdom lay beyond human discovery until the Spirit revealed it. The same Spirit now enables believers to grasp what God has freely given.
True understanding of the gospel does not come through intellect or status but through revelation. The Spirit who knows the depths of God also teaches believers, joining human words to divine truth. What the world calls folly, the Spirit unveils as God’s deepest wisdom, uniting believers in dependence on Him.
12: Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
Paul rebukes the Corinthians for remaining spiritual infants—still driven by jealousy and pride. Their divisions over teachers show they are guided by worldly values, not the Spirit. Paul and Apollos are merely servants: one plants, another waters, but only God gives growth. The gospel is the only foundation; each believer builds upon it, and God will test every work by fire. Those who build faithfully will receive reward, while those who corrupt the church will face judgment. The Corinthians themselves are God’s temple, indwelt by His Spirit; therefore, they must not boast in human wisdom but in Christ alone.
Spiritual maturity is measured by unity, not knowledge. The “gold, silver, and precious stones” recall the splendor of Solomon’s temple, now fulfilled in the living temple of the church. As Genesis gave all things for humanity’s good, so God gives all things in Christ, that His people may build together for His glory.
7: So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
Paul calls himself and the other apostles “servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries,” accountable to the Lord alone. Therefore, human judgment—even self-judgment—is premature; only God sees the heart. Quoting Scripture again, Paul reminds the Corinthians that everything they have is received, not earned. With biting irony he contrasts their pride and self-sufficiency with the apostles’ poverty, weakness, and suffering. Yet he writes not to shame them but as a father urging his children to imitate his Christ-like humility. He has sent Timothy to remind them of this gospel life, and when he comes himself, he will test not eloquent speech but the power of the Spirit among them.
Paul again rebukes the Corinthians for having worldly values. True apostleship and mature faith look like faithful stewardship, not status. Paul’s irony exposes pride, while his fatherly love calls the Corinthians back to the cross’s pattern: weakness through which God’s power is revealed.
7: What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
Paul rebukes the church for tolerating sexual sin between a man and his father’s wife and commands them to remove him from the fellowshipo. Their pride in their tolerance endangers the whole community, for sin spreads like leaven through dough. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed to save the church; therefore the church should live as uncorrupted people, marked by sincerity and truth. Paul clarifies that his earlier warning not to associate with the immoral referred not to unbelieves, which would be impossible, but to anyone claiming to be a believer who persists in such sin. God judges those outside, but the church must judge within.
Discipline protects both holiness and hope. By removing unrepentant sin, the church preserves its witness, guards its members, and seeks the offernder’s ultimate salvation. Paul’s Passover image roots this command in God’s ancient call, through Moses, for purity among His redeemed people.
8: Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Paul rebukes the Corinthians for bringing lawsuits before secular courts instead of resolving them within the church. Believers who will one day judge the world should be wise enough to settle their own disputes. By defrauding one another, they act like the unrighteous who will not inherit God’s kingdom. Turning to sexual immorality, Paul challenges the slogan, “All things are lawful for me,” reminding them that the body is not meant for sin but for the Lord. Union with Christ makes sexual sin uniquely corrupting, for the believer’s body is a member of Christ Himself. God will raise our bodies as He raised Jesus; therefore, they are temples of the Holy Spirit, bought at a price.
Both lawsuits and lust deny the sacredness of the body—corporate and personal—that belongs to God. Since Christ has redeemed it, believers must use the body to display His glory, not their rights or desires.
20: For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Answering questions from the Corinthians, Paul teaches that sexual intimacy belongs within marriage, where husband and wife share mutual authority over their bodies. Both marriage and celibacy are gifts from God. Upholding Jesus’s command against divorce, Paul allows that an unbelieving spouse who departs should be released, for God calls His people to peace. In a world under “present distress,” believers should remain as they are—married or single, circumcised or not, servant or free—since outward conditions should not alter devotion to Christ. Singleness offers undivided service to the Lord, yet marriage is honorable for those called to it.
Paul grounds every decision about marriage, vocation, and status in one conviction: the form of this world is passing away. Because eternal realities outweigh temporary arrangements, Christians should live contentedly and faithfully in whatever situation God assigns, devoted wholly to Him.
31: For the present form of this world is passing away.
Turning to food sacrificed to idols, Paul reminds the Corinthians that knowledge without love leads to pride. Mature believers know that idols are nothing and that “there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ.” Yet some, whose consciences remain tender, may misunderstand such eating as participation in idolatry. To wound them is to deny Christ’s sacrifice for them. Therefore, the exercise of Christian freedom must always yield to love for others, even if it means giving up legitimate rights for their sake.
The question of food becomes a test of love. True knowledge recognizes not only God’s unique holiness but also mutual responsibility within Christ’s body. Freedom is never self-serving; it is redefined by the cross, where Christ relinquished His own rights for the salvation of others. The strong must protect the weak, building up rather than boasting.
13: Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
Continuing his teaching on surrendering rights, Paul uses himself as an example. As an apostle he has every right to receive support from those he serves, just as soldiers, farmers, and priests share in their work’s rewards. Yet he refuses payment so that the gospel may be offered free of charge and above reproach. To reach all people, he adapts to their customs—becoming “all things to all people,” within God’s law—that some might be saved. He compares his self-discipline to the athletes of the Isthmian Games near Corinth, who train rigorously for a perishable wreath. In the same way, Paul disciplines himself to win an imperishable crown—the salvation of others.
Paul shows that true freedom expresses itself through voluntary restraint. Rights yield to love, and discipline becomes devotion. The gospel advances when its servants mirror the self-giving pattern of Christ Himself.
23: I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Paul warns the Corinthians by recalling Israel’s wilderness failures. Though the Israelites shared in God’s “baptism” through the cloud and the sea, ate spiritual food, and drank from the spiritual Rock—Christ Himself—they fell into idolatry, sexual immorality, and grumbling, and perished in judgment. These stories were written for our instruction, that we might not repeat their arrogance. The cup and bread of the Lord’s Supper unite believers with Christ; therefore, sharing pagan feasts amounts to fellowship with demons. The food itself is not sinful, but believers must flee idolatry and act for others’ good. Whatever they eat or drink should glorify God and strengthen their witness.
Israel’s history warns that privilege does not guarantee perseverance. God is faithful to provide escape from temptation, but His people must choose faithfulness. Christian freedom is measured by love: glorifying God, protecting the weak, and avoiding every form of idolatry.
31: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Paul corrects disorders in worship. First, regarding head coverings, he calls men and women to honor one another and God through culturally appropriate conduct that distinguishes Christian worship from pagan ritual. Men must not imitate pagan rituals by praying with covered heads, and married women should show their marital status by covering theirs. These symbols reflect the created order and distinguish Christian worship from temple prostitution and other cultic rites. Yet Paul reminds them that in the Lord, man and woman are mutually dependent. Second, he rebukes their abuse of the Lord’s Supper: the wealthy feast while the poor go hungry, failing to honor the body of Christ. The Supper proclaims the Lord’s death until He comes and must be shared in reverence and unity.
Worship should reveal both holiness and harmony. Outward conduct must reflect inward devotion, honoring God’s design for marriage and the unity of Christ’s body.
26: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Paul turns to spiritual gifts, reminding the Corinthians that every ability comes from the same God—one Spirit who distributes, one Lord who directs, one Father who empowers. Gifts differ, but all are given “for the common good.” The church is like a body: each member essential, each dependent on the others. Whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, all were baptized by one Spirit into one body. The parts that seem weaker are indispensable and treated with greater honor, for God has arranged them so that the body may have no division. When one member suffers, all suffer together. Paul urges them to desire the gifts that most build up the church—and then promises to show them a still more excellent way.
Spiritual gifts reveal the Spirit’s diversity and God’s design for unity, but their true purpose is love. Every gift serves the body only when motivated by love—the greater gift that perfects all others and prepares for Paul’s next teaching.
12: For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Continuing from “the more excellent way,” Paul declares that every spiritual gift—tongues, prophecy, knowledge, generosity—is worthless without love. Love alone gives meaning to the gifts and teaches believers how to act toward one another: patient, kind, humble, rejoicing in truth, enduring all things. Other gifts are temporary, mere reflections of divine reality, but love never ends. When the perfect comes, the full knowledge of Christ in the resurrection, partial things will cease. Just as a child matures into adulthood, so our limited understanding will give way to seeing “face to face,” like a mirror once dim now clear. Faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is love.
Love is the fulfillment of all spiritual gifts and the lasting bond of the church. It bridges the present age of partial knowledge and the coming fullness of God’s presence, where love alone endures.
12: For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Paul concludes his teaching on spiritual gifts by stressing that all must serve to build up the church. He contrasts tongues, which edify only the speaker unless interpreted, with prophecy, which strengthens, encourages, and convicts the whole assembly. Therefore, tongues must be interpreted, and prophecy given in turn, so that all may learn and be encouraged. Worship should avoid chaos: hymns, teachings, and revelations offered in order, not everyone speaking at once. Paul adds that women should not interrupt the gathering with disruptive questions but wait to discuss at home, for God is a God of peace, not confusion. Above all, Paul insists that his instructions carry the Lord’s authority.
Spiritual gifts, motivated by love, are to be practiced with order and humility so the church is built up and unbelievers are drawn to faith. The guiding principle is clear: “all things decently and in order.”
12: So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
Paul defends the resurrection as the heart of the gospel he received and preached: Christ died for our sins, was buried, rose on the third day, and appeared to many witnesses. If Christ was raised, so will His people be; to deny our resurrection is to deny His. Christ is the “firstfruits” of those who have died—His rising guarantees ours. As death came through Adam, resurrection comes through Christ. Our bodies, like seeds sown in weakness, will be raised imperishable and glorious. When the mortal puts on immortality, death itself will be swallowed up in victory, and we will proclaim, “O death, where is your sting?” Therefore, Paul urges steadfast faith and labor in the Lord, knowing such work is never in vain.
Resurrection is the gospel’s climax: Christ’s victory over death ensures our own. It transforms despair into endurance and makes every act of faith eternally worthwhile.
58: Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Paul closes with practical instructions and personal warmth. He urges the Corinthians to set aside money each week for the believers in Jerusalem, a gift that will unite Gentile and Jewish Christians in mutual love. He plans to remain in Ephesus for fruitful work, then travel through Macedonia to visit them, sending Timothy ahead and encouraging Apollos to come later. He exhorts them to stay alert, stand firm in faith, act with courage, and let all they do be done in love. Final greetings from the churches of Asia and from Aquila and Priscilla remind them they belong to a wider family in Christ. Paul signs the letter with his own hand, sealing it with grace.
The letter ends as it began—with love that builds up. Generosity, steadfast faith, and mutual care are the marks of a Spirit-filled church unified in Christ.
14: Let all that you do be done in love.
Want to try the Chapter By Chapter approach for yourself?