1 Corinthians 1

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First Corinthians 1 opens Paul's letter to a gifted, divided, and worldly church with thanks for their grace and a plea for their unity. They have split into factions around Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ, and Paul answers with a question: "Is Christ divided?" He then lays down the letter's foundation, the message of the cross, which is foolishness to the perishing and the power of God to the saved. Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom; Paul preaches Christ crucified. God chose the foolish, weak, and lowly things of the world so that no one may boast except in the Lord.

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First Corinthians 1 is addressed to a church with every gift and no unity. Paul begins graciously, thanking God for the grace at work in Corinth and assuring the church that God will sustain them to the end. Then he names the problem. Chloe's people have told him that the congregation has split into camps, each claiming a leader: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, even Christ as one party among others. Paul's response is a series of questions that expose the absurdity. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? He is relieved to have baptized almost no one there, because his job was to preach, and to preach in a way that did not empty the cross of its power by dressing it in clever words. From there the chapter becomes the letter's foundation. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing and the power of God to those being saved. Jews want signs, Greeks want wisdom, and Paul offers a crucified Messiah, a stumbling block to one and a joke to the other, and the power and wisdom of God to anyone who is called. Then he asks the Corinthians to look at themselves. Not many of them were wise, powerful, or well born. God chose them precisely so that no one could boast in his presence. If anyone boasts, Paul says, quoting Jeremiah, let him boast in the Lord.

Passages clés

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Isaiah 29:14 Jeremiah 9:23-24

Historical and literary context

Corinth was a wealthy, cosmopolitan port with a reputation for status-seeking and sexual license, and its church, founded by Paul around AD 50, reflected the city. Traveling teachers were judged by rhetorical polish, and the church had begun ranking its leaders the same way. Paul writes from Ephesus a few years later, having heard reports from Chloe's household. His quotations of Isaiah 29 and Jeremiah 9 frame the Corinthian problem as the ancient problem of human wisdom and boasting confronted by God.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 3 greet the church as sanctified and called to be holy, with all who call on the Lord everywhere. Verses 4 to 9 give thanks for their gifts and promise that God will sustain them to the end. Verses 10 to 17 name the divisions, the party slogans, Paul's relief that he baptized so few, and his commission to preach rather than baptize, lest the cross be emptied. Verses 18 to 25 set the message of the cross against the wisdom of the world, with Jews demanding signs and Greeks seeking wisdom. Verses 26 to 31 point to the Corinthians' own calling, not many wise, powerful, or noble, as proof that God chooses the lowly so that boasting can only be in the Lord.

Why this chapter matters

The chapter contains the New Testament's classic statement of the scandal of the cross: a crucified Messiah is a stumbling block and a joke by every human measure, and the power and wisdom of God by God's. It has shaped Christian thinking about the relation between faith and human wisdom ever since. Its diagnosis of church division as a form of boasting, attaching oneself to a leader to borrow his status, remains uncomfortably current. And its reminder that most of the first Christians were not wise, powerful, or well born is one of Scripture's clearest statements of grace as God's choice of the unimpressive.

Interpretive tension to watch

Paul seems to dismiss wisdom, yet chapter 2 will claim a wisdom "among the mature," and the letter is itself a highly reasoned argument. The wisdom he rejects is the world's wisdom used as a standard for judging God; the wisdom he commends is Christ himself, "who has become for us wisdom from God." Keeping that distinction prevents the chapter from being read as anti-intellectual.

Questions pour ce chapitre

The Corinthians divided over which leader to follow. What are the equivalent slogans in churches today, and what status does each one borrow?
Why is a crucified Messiah foolishness to the world, and why does Paul refuse to make it more palatable?
Paul tells the Corinthians to consider the time of their calling: not many were wise, powerful, or noble. What does God's choice of the lowly say about how he works?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Ajouter aux notes

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. 10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 26 Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast in His presence. 30 It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

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