1 CorinthiansChapter 1

+ Secondary text Original text Next →Contribute

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and Sosthenes our brother,

to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all who everywhere call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ — their Lord and ours:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given you in Christ Jesus,

for in him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge,

since the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you.

So you lack no spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who will also keep you firm to the end, blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, and by him you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.

For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe's people, that there is quarreling among you.

What I mean is this: each of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ."

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,* *Some manuscripts read simply "I give thanks," without "God."

so no one can say you were baptized in my name.

I did baptize the household of Stephanas as well; beyond that, I do not recall baptizing anyone else.

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel — and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through its wisdom, God was pleased through the foolishness of what we preach to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,

but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For God's foolishness is wiser than human beings, and God's weakness is stronger than human beings.

Consider your calling, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

God chose what is low and despised in the world, the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

so that no one may boast before God.

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — our righteousness, holiness, and redemption —

so that, as it is written: "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Lookup

Summary3

Chapter 1

Main Theme: Paul exhorts the church in Corinth to unity in Christ and shows that the message of the cross is God's wisdom and power.

Content: Paul greets the church and thanks God for the spiritual gifts they have received in Christ. He then addresses the divisions among them, where some say "I belong to Paul," others to Apollos, Cephas, or Christ. Paul asks rhetorically whether Christ is divided, and reminds them that he was sent to preach the gospel, not to baptize. He contrasts the wisdom of the world with the "foolishness" of the cross, which is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, but God's power and wisdom to those who are called. God chose what is weak and despised in order to shame what is strong, so that no one may boast before Him, but only boast in the Lord.

Key Words/Images:

Divisions (σχίσματα): The church was divided into factions around various leaders, which Paul strongly warns against.
The message of the cross (ὁ λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ): The message about the crucified Christ appears as foolishness to the world, yet it is God's saving power.
God's wisdom vs. worldly wisdom: God has made the wisdom of this world into foolishness and reveals His true wisdom through Christ.
The calling (κλῆσις): Believers are called by the faithful God to fellowship with Christ—not many who are wise or powerful, but those who are weak and despised.

About 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians

About the book: First Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, a city known for its moral decay and religious diversity. The letter addresses specific problems within the congregation, including divisions, sexual immorality, and misunderstandings about spiritual gifts and the resurrection.

Main theme: Paul urges the church toward unity in Christ, holy living, and a correct understanding of the gospel concerning the cross and the resurrection.

Outline:

Introduction and thanksgiving (1:1–9)
Divisions in the church and the wisdom of the cross (1:10–2:16)
Servants of Christ and God’s temple (3–4)
Sexual immorality and church discipline (5)
Lawsuits and the body as God’s temple (6)
Marriage, divorce, and the unmarried life (7)
Food offered to idols and Christian freedom (8–10)
Worship: head coverings and the Lord’s Supper (11)
Spiritual gifts and the body of Christ (12)
The way of love (13)
Speaking in tongues and prophecy in the church (14)
The resurrection from the dead (15)
Collection, travel plans, and final greetings (16)

Key themes:

Unity in Christ: The church is called to stand together and avoid divisions based on human leaders (1:10–13; 3:1–9).
The wisdom of the cross: God’s power is revealed through the "foolishness" of the cross, not through worldly wisdom (1:18–25).
Holiness and the body: Believers’ bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and should be honored through moral purity (6:19–20).
Love as supreme: All spiritual gifts are worthless without love, which is described as patient, kind, and enduring (13:1–13).
The hope of resurrection: Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith and the guarantee of the future resurrection of believers (15:3–22).

Historical context

Historical and Cultural Context for 1 Corinthians 1

People

Sosthenes (v. 1) is mentioned as a co-sender of the letter. This is likely the same Sosthenes referred to in Acts 18:17 as a synagogue ruler in Corinth. According to Luke, he was beaten by the crowd before the tribunal of proconsul Gallio. If it is the same person, he later became a Christian and joined Paul—a remarkable conversion story from synagogue leader to Christian "brother."

Chloe's people (v. 11) are a group who brought news to Paul about divisions in Corinth. Chloe (Greek Χλόη, "green shoot") was a name associated with the goddess Demeter, suggesting a Greco-pagan background. The fact that the group is identified by her name indicates she was a female head of household—either a wealthy widow or a freedwoman who conducted business. Her "people" may have been slaves, freedpersons, or family members traveling between Corinth and Ephesus (where Paul was likely located).

Crispus (v. 14) is identified in Acts 18:8 as a synagogue ruler who came to faith along with his entire household. He was one of the few people Paul baptized personally. Gaius (v. 14)—one of the few individuals Paul baptized personally in Corinth. Possibly identical to the Gaius mentioned in Romans 16:23, who hosted the church. Stephanas' household (v. 16)—Paul recalls that he also baptized this group. They are referred to later in the letter (16:15) as "the firstfruits of Achaia."

Events and Customs

Factionalism (v. 12)—members identifying themselves with different leaders ("I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos")—reflects a widespread practice in Greco-Roman culture. Philosophical schools and rhetorical teachers gathered followers around them, and students defined their identity through affiliation with a particular master. In Corinth, a city known for its rhetorical culture, it was natural that new converts transferred this mindset into church life. Cephas (Aramaic for "rock," Peter) may represent a Jewish-Christian faction, while the "Christ group" possibly consisted of those who claimed to stand above all human leaders.

Baptism in someone's name (vv. 13–15) was an act that created allegiance. Paul's concern that some might claim to be baptized "in Paul's name" shows that the baptismal rite could be misunderstood as a loyalty pact to the one performing it—similar to patron-client relationships in Roman culture.

Key Terms

Σχίσματα (schismata, v. 10)—"divisions" or "splits"—is used here not of formal schisms but of partisanship and cliques within the church. The word could refer to tears in clothing or cracks in rocks, illustrating how the unity of the church was beginning to unravel.

Σοφία λόγου (sophia logou, v. 17)—"wisdom of words" or "eloquence"—refers to the rhetorical skill highly valued in Greek culture. Corinth was a center for sophistic rhetoric, and speakers competed for followers based on eloquence. Paul distances himself from this approach to protect "the message of the cross" (λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ).

Σκάνδαλον (skandalon, v. 23)—"stumbling block" or "offense"—for Jews meant the idea of a crucified Messiah, since the law declared that "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Deut 21:23). Μωρία (mōria)—"foolishness"—was the Gentile assessment: a executed criminal as divine wisdom was absurd in Greek philosophical thought.

People8

Apollos1 God3 Paul3 Jesus4 Stephanas1 Gaius1 Peter1 Crispus (synagogue ruler)1

See all people →

Key words

No key words yet for this chapter.

Timeline1