Bible Commentary / New Testament Lite
1 Corinthians Lite Commentary
1 Corinthians is Paul’s corrective pastoral letter to a gifted but deeply troubled church. He writes to address factionalism, pride, sexual immorality, lawsuits, marriage questions, Christian liberty, abuses at the Lord’s Supper, misuse of spiritual gifts, and denial or confusion regarding bodily resurrection. The let…
Lite literary units
1 Corinthians 1:1 - 1 Corinthians 1:9
Greeting and thanksgiving
Paul opens by reminding the Corinthians who they are because of God’s grace. They are God’s church in Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy ones, and joined with all believers everywhere who call on Jesus as Lord. He thank…
1:10-17
Divisions in the church and the message of Christ
Paul rebukes the Corinthians for dividing themselves around human leaders. The church belongs to the one crucified Christ, so neither baptism nor preaching should ever be used to create loyalty to ministers rather than to Him. Therefore th…
1 Corinthians 1:18 - 1 Corinthians 2:16
Wisdom of God vs. wisdom of the world
Paul shows that God’s wisdom is made known in Christ crucified, not in the world’s standards of status, eloquence, or intellectual pride. The cross exposes the difference between those who reject God’s way and those who receive it, and onl…
1 Corinthians 3:1 - 1 Corinthians 4:21
Apostles and servants of Christ
Paul confronts the Corinthians’ pride and divisions by showing that their party spirit reveals spiritual immaturity. Christian leaders are servants and stewards under God, Christ alone is the foundation, and the Lord will judge both the qu…
1 Corinthians 5:1 - 1 Corinthians 5:13
Immorality in the church and discipline
Paul commands the Corinthian church to remove from fellowship a professing believer who is openly continuing in serious sexual sin. The church must judge clear, scandalous sin within its own body, guard its holiness in light of Christ’s sa…
1 Corinthians 6:1 - 1 Corinthians 6:20
Lawsuits among believers and moral instruction
Because believers have been washed, sanctified, justified, joined to Christ, and claimed by God for resurrection life, they must not handle disputes or use their bodies by the standards of the unbelieving world. That means ordinary lawsuit…
1 Corinthians 7:1 - 1 Corinthians 7:40
Marriage, singleness, and sexual ethics
Paul teaches that both marriage and singleness are good gifts from God. Believers are to live with sexual purity, marital faithfulness, peace, and wholehearted devotion to the Lord within the life situation God has given them.
8:1-13
Food sacrificed to idols; conscience and knowledge
Paul agrees that idols are nothing and that food does not make us more or less acceptable to God. But that truth does not settle the matter. Christian freedom must be governed by love, because using our liberty in a way that foreseeably le…
1 Corinthians 9:1 - 1 Corinthians 9:27
Paul's rights and example of ministry
Paul truly had the right to receive support as an apostle, yet he chose not to use that right in Corinth so the gospel would not be hindered. His example shows that Christian freedom is not measured by insisting on our rights, but by using…
10:14-33
The Lord's Supper and self-examination
Paul commands believers to flee idolatry because sharing in a worship meal expresses real fellowship and allegiance. Christians cannot partake of the Lord’s table and also join pagan sacrificial meals. At the same time, ordinary food may b…
11:1-34
Orderly worship and proper conduct of women
Paul addresses two serious failures in the church’s gatherings: conduct that obscured God’s order for men and women in worship, and a selfish observance of the Lord’s Supper that dishonored Christ and shamed fellow believers. His concern i…
12:1-31
Spiritual gifts and the body of Christ
The Holy Spirit gives different gifts to different believers for the good of Christ’s one body, not for personal status. So no Christian should think he does not belong because his gift seems small, and no Christian should look down on oth…
1 Corinthians 13:1 - 1 Corinthians 13:13
Love as the supreme gift
Paul teaches that love is the necessary measure of every spiritual gift and every act of service. Even the most impressive speech, knowledge, faith, or sacrifice is worthless without love, because gifts belong to this present partial age,…
1 Corinthians 15:1 - 1 Corinthians 15:58
Resurrection of the dead
Paul makes clear that the resurrection stands at the heart of the gospel. Because Christ truly died for our sins, was buried, was raised, and appeared to many witnesses, those who belong to Him will also be raised. Therefore believers must…
1 Corinthians 16:1 - 1 Corinthians 16:24
Final exhortations and greetings
Paul closes by showing what a corrected church should look like in ordinary church life. The Corinthians must prepare their gift for needy believers in an orderly and honest way, receive the Lord’s servants rightly, stand firm in the faith…