# The book of 1 Corinthians

> 1 Corinthians is Paul’s letter to a gifted, divided church. He answers their questions and corrects their problems: factions, lawsuits, sex, food offered to idols, worship, and the resurrection. In the middle is his poem on love.

Source: https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/about
Section: Letters of Paul · 16 chapters

## Who wrote 1 Corinthians?

Paul, with Sosthenes. Scholars agree it is Paul’s.

## When was it written?

About AD 54–55, from Ephesus.

## Main themes

- **Christ crucified.** The cross looks foolish and is God’s wisdom.
- **One body.** Many gifts, one Spirit, and every part needed.
- **Love.** Chapter 13: without love, gifts are noise.
- **The resurrection.** If Christ is not raised, faith is futile. But he is.

## Outline

- Chapters 1–4: [Divisions and the wisdom of the cross](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/1)
- Chapters 5–7: [Sex, lawsuits, and marriage](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/5)
- Chapters 8–10: [Food offered to idols and freedom](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/8)
- Chapters 11–14: [Worship, gifts, and love](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/11)
- Chapters 15–16: [The resurrection and closing words](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/15)

## Key verses

Quoted from the Lumin Translation.

> 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.
> — [1 Corinthians 1:18](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/1#18)

> No temptation has seized you except the kind that human beings commonly face. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out, so that you can bear up under it.
> — [1 Corinthians 10:13](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/10#13)

> Love is patient; it is kind. Love does not envy; love does not brag; it is not puffed up. It does not behave disgracefully, it does not pursue its own advantage, it is not quick to anger, it does not keep an account of wrongs. It takes no delight in injustice, but shares the joy of the truth. It bears everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything.
> — [1 Corinthians 13:4-7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/13#4)

> For first and foremost I handed on to you what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in keeping with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he has been raised on the third day in keeping with the Scriptures,
> — [1 Corinthians 15:3-4](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/15#3)

## Where to start

Read chapter 13, then chapter 15 on the resurrection. [Read 1 Corinthians 13](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/13.md)

Read the whole book: https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/1.md
Ask about it: https://www.lumin.faith/ask.md