See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians

The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. It is one of 4 letters to the Corinthians written by Paul. The previous letter, which has probably not survived, is referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9 and a "letter of tears" is referred to in 2 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians is a letter, or a conflation of several letters, from Paul of Tarsus and Sosthenes to the Christians of Corinth, Greece, one of the core group of Pauline epistles whose authenticity has never seriously been questioned.

It was written from Ephesus (16:8) about the time of the Passover in the third year of the apostle's sojourn there (Acts 19:10; 20:31), and when he had formed the purpose to visit Macedonia and then return to Corinth (probably AD 57).

The news which had reached him, however, from Corinth frustrated his plan. He had heard of the abuses and contentions that had arisen among them: first from Apollos (Acts

The epistle may be divided into four parts:

1. The apostle deals with the subject of the lamentable divisions and party strifes that had arisen among them (chs. 1–4).
2. He next treats of a case of incest that had become notorious among them, and of members of the church who had sued one another, to be judged in a court of law rather than before the saints of the Christian community, and of fornication (chs. 5–6).
3. In the third part, he discusses various questions of doctrine and Christian ethics, in reply to certain communications they had made to him. Paul discusses marriage and the preferable state of continence, the irrelevance of circumcision, the eating of meats that have been offered to an idol, the necessities of a woman covering her head and a
   
   
   
   man uncovering his, and other particular matters. Chapter 9 is a self-defense. Among other things this section is the most thorough discussion of spiritual gifts, including prophecy and glossolalia, in the entire New Testament. Paul does not condemn them but urges their orderly use, and also contrasts them with the higher spiritual gifts of faith, hope and love. Paul also rectifies certain flagrant abuses regarding the celebration of the Eucharist (chs. 7–14).
   The lines 14:33–34 deal with the role and behavior of women in the church, that women are to keep silent, and are regarded by some to be an interpolation written by someone other than Paul. Some believe that the topic of line 33, of prophesying, appears to be disrupted by the dialogue concerning women, only to be picked up again at line 14:36. Further, these restrictions against women's authority mirror the language and tone of similar restrictions in First Timothy, which is considered by most scholars to be of non-Pauline origin.
4. The concluding part (chs. 15–16) contains an elaborate defense of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, which had been called into question by some among them, followed by some general instructions, intimations, and greetings.

This epistle "shows the powerful self-control of the apostle in spite of his physical weakness, his distressed circumstances, his incessant troubles, and his emotional nature. It was written, he tells us, in bitter anguish, 'out of much affliction and pressure of heart . . . and with streaming eyes' (2 Cor 2:4); yet he restrained the expression of his feelings, and wrote with a dignity and holy calm which he thought most calculated to win back his erring children. It gives a vivid picture of the early church . . . It entirely dissipates the dream that the apostolic church was in an exceptional condition of holiness of life or purity of doctrine." The apostle in this epistle unfolds and applies great principles fitted to guide the church of all ages in dealing with the same and kindred evils in whatever form they may appear.

The traditional subscription to the epistle, translated in the Authorized Version, states that this epistle was written at Philippi, perhaps arising from a misinterpretation of 16:5, "For I do pass through Macedonia," as meaning, "I am passing through Macedonia." In 16:8 Paul declares his intention of staying in Ephesus until Pentecost.

See also

• 1 Corinthians 13:1 - the tongues of men and angels verse

Related articles:

• 1 Corinthians

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.