1 Corinthians
First Corinthians is pastoral theology forged in the mess of a real congregation. The church in bustling, cosmopolitan Corinth was fractured by rivalries, tolerant of scandal, confused about marriage, worship, and spiritual gifts, and shaky on the resurrection itself. Paul answers point by point, always steering back to the crucified Christ, God's foolishness that is wiser than human wisdom. Along the way he gives the church some of its greatest treasures: the words of institution for the Lord's Supper, the hymn to love in chapter thirteen, and the ringing resurrection argument of chapter fifteen.
The apostle Paul, with Sosthenes, writing from Ephesus
AD 53–55
The divided, gifted, struggling church Paul founded in Corinth
To call a fractured church back to unity under the cross and to order its life, worship, and hope around Christ.