Chapter by chapter
1Paul confronts a divided church with the crucified Christ, whose saving power overturns human wisdom and claims to status.2Paul centers his preaching on Christ crucified and explains why knowing God’s wisdom depends on God’s Spirit.3Paul confronts the church’s factions by showing that its servants, growth, and shared life belong under God’s rule.4Paul confronts Corinthian pride by placing Christian leaders under God’s judgment and setting apostolic suffering beside the church’s self-importance.5Paul confronts the church’s tolerance of grave wrongdoing and grounds its duty to pursue holiness in Christ’s sacrifice.6Paul confronts fraud and sexual immorality by showing how belonging to Christ governs disputes and the use of the body.7Paul weighs marriage and singleness under God’s call, seeking faithfulness in existing commitments and undivided devotion to the Lord.8Paul places knowledge and freedom under the demands of love, warning that wounding another believer’s conscience is sin against Christ.9Paul shows how freedom and rightful support can be surrendered for the Good News, with self-control shaping his own service.10Paul uses Israel’s failures to warn against idolatry and directs Christian freedom toward God’s glory and the good of others.11Paul brings the Corinthians’ worship under Christ’s authority, confronting dishonor in their gatherings and contempt for those who lack food.12Paul shows that the Spirit’s varied gifts bind believers into one body, where every member belongs and needs care.13Paul places love above spiritual achievement and shows why it remains when partial knowledge and gifts pass away.14Paul directs spiritual gifts toward building up the church through understandable speech, discernment, and worship governed by God’s peace.15Paul grounds the resurrection of believers and the worth of their present labor in Christ’s resurrection and victory over death.16Paul brings the letter to a close by joining practical care for believers with steadfast faith and love for Christ.
Read 1 Corinthians with a pen in hand.
Psalmlog builds a reading plan through 1 Corinthians and turns each day's passage into an entry with one next step.
Nearby books← Romans2 Corinthians →The whole map
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).