Context: 1 Corinthians was written by Paul from Ephesus (~54 AD) to the young Church in Corinth — a cosmopolitan, port city of moral libertinism, famous for the temple of Aphrodite. The letter responds to reports of divisions and a list of questions sent by the Corinthians themselves. It is extraordinarily rich, practical, and varied.

Content: Chapters 1–4 address partisan divisions with the theology of the cross that inverts the wisdom of the world: "the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing." Chapters 5–6 address sexual immorality and lawsuits between brothers. Chapter 7 addresses marriage and celibacy. Chapters 8–10 address Christian freedom limited by love for the weaker brother.

The central chapters: Chapter 11 addresses worship and the Lord's Supper. Chapters 12–14 are the most complete treatment of spiritual gifts in the NT — framed by chapter 13, the hymn to love (agapê), which Paul presents as "the more excellent way" above any gift. Chapter 15 is the most extensive defense of bodily resurrection in the NT: "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" — the resurrection is not peripheral to the gospel, it is its heart.