First Corinthians is the most complete pastoral epistle of Paul. Addressed to a tumultuous Christian community in a cosmopolitan Greek metropolis, it deals in succession with divisions, the wisdom of the cross, sexual morality, marriage, food sacrificed to idols, worship (women's hair, the Lord's Supper), spiritual charisms (with the hymn to charity in chapter 13), and the resurrection of the dead (chapter 15). It is the only Pauline epistle that deals explicitly with the eucharist (1 Cor 11:23-26) and one of the major sources of cosmic christology (1 Cor 8:6; 15:20-28).
Overview
Author
Paul, accompanied by Sosthenes (1 Cor 1:1, perhaps the former synagogue leader of Acts 18:17). Unanimous authenticity: an undisputed epistle of the Pauline corpus.
Date of composition
C. AD 53-55, probably in the spring of 54 or 55, written from Ephesus during Paul's stay on his third missionary journey (1 Cor 16:8: "I will stay at Ephesus until Pentecost").
Addressees
The Church of Corinth, founded by Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1-18) during an eighteen-month stay (c. AD 50-52). A predominantly gentile-Christian community in a cosmopolitan commercial city (the sanctuary of Aphrodite Melainis with its temple servants, famous for its morals: korinthiazomai means "to prostitute oneself"), socially diverse (cf. 1 Cor 1:26-29: "not many wise, not many powerful, not many noble").
Place of composition
Ephesus, the metropolis of Asia where Paul stays for two years and three months (Acts 19:8-10) on his third missionary journey.
Occasion / context
Threefold: (1) an oral report from Chloe's people (1 Cor 1:11) informs Paul of divisions in the community; (2) a letter from the Corinthians (1 Cor 7:1 "concerning the things about which you wrote") poses several questions; (3) a delegation (Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, 1 Cor 16:17) brings further details. Paul responds point by point.
Original language
Careful Koine Greek, rich in diatribe argumentation, in Greek citations (poets, maxims) and Old Testament ones, in athletic metaphors (running, boxing: 1 Cor 9:24-27) and architectural ones (1 Cor 3:10-15).
Place in the canon
Received universally from the 2nd century. Clement of Rome (c. 96) cites it explicitly (1 Clement 47). Present in Marcion, the Muratorian Canon, and all the ancient manuscripts.
Authenticity and authorship criticism
The Pauline authenticity of 1 Corinthians is universally admitted. F. C. Baur (1845) counted it among the four undisputed Hauptbriefe. No serious modern critic has contested the authenticity.
The lost Corinthian correspondence. 1 Cor 5:9 mentions an earlier letter ("I wrote to you in the letter [προέγραψα ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ] not to associate with the sexually immoral") that has not been preserved. Some critics (Schmithals) have proposed recovering fragments of it in 2 Cor 6:14 – 7:1, but this hypothesis remains a minority one. According to the most common reconstruction, the complete Paul-Corinth correspondence comprised at least:
Letter A: 1 Cor 5:9 (the "earlier letter," lost);
Letter B: canonical 1 Corinthians;
Letter C: the "tearful letter" (2 Cor 2:3-4; 7:8), lost or partially preserved in 2 Cor 10-13 according to some;
Letter D: canonical 2 Corinthians (or its parts).
The integrity of 1 Corinthians. The majority of critics holds 1 Corinthians to be a unified letter. A few partition hypotheses (Weiss, Schmithals, Sellin) see in it two or three compiled letters, but this position is a minority one and has not convinced. The internal tensions (for example between 1 Cor 8 and 10 on food sacrificed to idols) are explained by the casuistic situation without requiring a documentary partition.
Structure. The generally recognised plan: prologue (1:1-9); the question of divisions and the wisdom of the cross (1:10 – 4:21); moral questions (5:1 – 6:20: porneia, lawsuits, the body); responses to the Corinthians' letter (7:1 – 16:4: marriage and virginity, food, worship, charisms, resurrection, collection); conclusion (16:5-24). The formula peri de ("concerning...") marks the questions treated (7:1,25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1,12).
The sociology of Corinth. Decisive studies: Gerd Theissen (The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity, 1982), Wayne Meeks (The First Urban Christians, 1983), Bruce Winter (After Paul Left Corinth, 2001). The social diversity of the community illuminates the conflicts (1 Cor 11:17-22: the Lord's Supper disturbed by class inequalities).
The Apollonian "party" and the wise. Apollos (Acts 18:24-28), a Jew of Alexandria, an eloquent preacher trained in Alexandrian rhetoric, came to Corinth after Paul. Some Corinthians prefer his eloquence (1 Cor 1:12: "I belong to Apollos"). Paul does not polemicise against Apollos himself (1 Cor 16:12, on good terms) but against partisanship.
Literary structure
Prologue: thanksgiving(1 Cor 1:1-9)
A joint salutation (Paul and Sosthenes, 1:1), the title of the Church: "sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1:2). Thanksgiving for the Corinthian charisms (1:4-9).
Divisions and the wisdom of the cross(1 Cor 1:10 – 4:21)
Partisan divisions (1:10-17: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, Christ). The folly of the cross vs. the wisdom of the world (1:18-31, citing Is 29:14; Jer 9:23). The weakness of Pauline preaching (2:1-5). The wisdom of God revealed by the Spirit (2:6-16). The Corinthians are infants (3:1-4). The image of the field and the building (3:5-17). The apostles as servants (4:1-21).
Moral questions: porneia, lawsuits, the body(1 Cor 5:1 – 6:20)
A case of incest: a man cohabits with his stepmother (5:1-13). Communal exclusion (5:9-13). Lawsuits before pagan tribunals (6:1-11). Christian freedom misunderstood as libertinism (6:12-20). The body is the temple of the Spirit; "therefore glorify God in your body" (6:19-20).
Marriage, virginity, celibacy(1 Cor 7:1-40)
A response to the first question: "it is good for a man not to touch a woman" (7:1, a citation from the ascetic Corinthians). But because of porneia, let each have his wife and each woman her husband (7:2). Reciprocal conjugal duty (7:3-5). Paul's preference for celibacy (7:7) but recognition of marriage. The maintenance of marriage with a non-Christian spouse (7:12-16, the "Pauline privilege"). A preference for virginity "because of the present distress" and the imminent eschatology (7:25-40).
Food sacrificed to idols: knowledge vs charity(1 Cor 8:1 – 11:1)
The second question: may one eat food sacrificed to idols? The principle: "knowledge puffs up, love builds up" (8:1). Paul's position: there are no idols, so the food is harmless; but charity towards the weak (8:7-13). Paul's example: he renounces his apostolic rights (chapter 9). Israel in the wilderness: a typological lesson (10:1-13). Eucharist and idolatry are incompatible (10:14-22). The conclusion: "all things are permitted, but not all things build up" (10:23). To glorify God in all things (10:31).
Worship: the veiling of women and the Lord's Supper(1 Cor 11:2-34)
The veiling of women in prophetic prayer (11:2-16, a difficult passage). The Lord's Supper: a critique of inequalities (11:17-22), the received tradition (11:23-26, the Pauline eucharistic formula), the discernment of the body (11:27-34).
Spiritual charisms(1 Cor 12:1 – 14:40)
The diversity of charisms, one single Spirit (12:1-11). One body, diverse members (12:12-31, the famous corporate metaphor). The hymn to charity (13:1-13, the poetic summit of the NT). The comparison of glossolalia and prophecy (14:1-40): prophecy is superior because it builds up the assembly.
The resurrection of the dead(1 Cor 15:1-58)
The primitive creed and the witnesses (15:1-11, one of the oldest Christian texts). The consequences if there is no resurrection (15:12-19). Christ the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (15:20-28). The consequences for baptism and the Christian life (15:29-34). The nature of the risen body (15:35-49): a spiritual body. The final transformation (15:50-58).
Collection, plans, greetings(1 Cor 16:1-24)
The collection for Jerusalem (16:1-4). Travel plans (16:5-9). Recommendations concerning Timothy and Apollos (16:10-12). Various greetings (16:13-24), Maranatha (16:22).
Principal theology
The eucharist: 1 Cor 11:23-26
1 Cor 11:23-26 is the oldest written attestation of the eucharistic institution (an epistle of 54-55, earlier than the gospels). Paul transmits a received tradition ("I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you," παρέλαβον ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου ὃ καὶ παρέδωκα ὑμῖν, 11:23):
"The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was handed over, took bread, and after giving thanks, broke it and said: 'This is my body which is for you; do this in remembrance of me' (τοῦτο μού ἐστιν τὸ σῶμα τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν· τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν). In the same way also the cup, after the supper, saying: 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me' (τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ αἵματι)."
Comparison with the gospels. Four versions of the institution narrative in the NT: Mk 14:22-25; Mt 26:26-29; Lk 22:15-20; 1 Cor 11:23-26. The Pauline and Lukan versions are close (with "new covenant" and "do this in remembrance of me"), Mark and Matthew are close to one another. The critical question: which is the oldest? Joachim Jeremias (Die Abendmahlsworte Jesu, 1949-1967) defends the priority of Mark; others (Heinz Schürmann) defend Luke-Paul. Probably two different liturgical traditions (the Jerusalem and the Antiochene).
"Memorial" and anamnesis. The Pauline ἀνάμνησις does not mean simple remembrance but efficacious re-presentation, in connection with the Old Testament memory (zikkaron) of the Passover. The Catholic tradition developed this notion into a sacrificial memorial (Council of Trent, session XXII, 1562, on the eucharistic sacrifice). The Reformed tradition received it more minimally as commemoration (Zwingli) or as dynamic presence through the Spirit (Calvin).
Real presence and discernment (11:27-29). "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" (11:27). This text grounds the whole eucharistic dogmatics. The confessional positions diverge (cf. the dispute below).
Eucharistic eschatology. "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (11:26). The eucharist is the anticipation of the messianic banquet (Rev 19:9: "Blessed are those invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb").
Spiritual charisms and the hymn to charity (1 Cor 12-14)
Chapters 12-14 form a unity on the charisms. Paul articulates there three points: (1) the diversity of gifts but the unity of the Body (chapter 12); (2) the superiority of charity over all the gifts (chapter 13); (3) the practical priority of prophecy over glossolalia for the edification of the assembly (chapter 14).
Lists of charisms. Paul offers three lists: 1 Cor 12:8-10 (utterance of wisdom, utterance of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment, glossolalia, interpretation); 12:28 (apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healings, helps, governments, glossolalia); 12:29-30. To be compared with Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11. The lists are not systematic but open.
The metaphor of the body (12:12-27). "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body" (12:12-13). This metaphor is central to Pauline ecclesiology and was received in Catholic theology (Mystici Corporis Christi, Pius XII, 1943), Orthodox, and Protestant.
The hymn to charity (1 Cor 13). The poetic summit of the NT. Structure: (a) charity as indispensable (13:1-3, with hyperboles: angelic glossolalia, omniscient prophecy, ultimate sacrifice); (b) the positive and negative qualities of charity (13:4-7, fifteen traits); (c) the permanence of charity against the fading of the gifts (13:8-13, the distinction now/then). The final triad "faith, hope, charity" (13:13) is Pauline (cf. 1 Thess 1:3; 5:8; Col 1:4-5).
Glossolalia and prophecy (chapter 14). Paul does not condemn glossolalia ("I wish that you all spoke in tongues," 14:5) but privileges prophecy for the edification of the assembly. Rules: interpretation required (14:13,27-28), liturgical order (14:40: "all things should be done decently and in order").
1 Cor 14:33b-36 on women. A textually disputed verse: "the women should keep silent in the assemblies" (14:34). Some manuscripts move it after 14:40. Several critics (Fee, Payne) consider it a post-Pauline gloss. The majority position: an authentic but contextual Pauline verse, perhaps linked to particular cases of disorder. A tension with 1 Cor 11:2-16 where women pray and prophesy publicly.
The resurrection of the dead (1 Cor 15)
1 Cor 15 is the longest New Testament exposition of bodily eschatology. Paul responds to certain Corinthians who denied the resurrection of the dead (15:12), probably on account of a Greek dualism that despised the body.
The primitive creed (15:3-8). "I delivered to you as of first importance (ἐν πρώτοις) what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve..." This passage is one of the oldest texts of Christianity: Paul received it probably at his conversion (c. 33-34); the creed itself goes back to the very first years after the death of Jesus. Four key verbs: died, buried, raised, appeared. Witnesses: Cephas, the Twelve, more than 500 brethren, James, all the apostles, and finally Paul.
The Pauline argument. If Christ is not raised, then: (a) Christian preaching is in vain (15:14); (b) Paul and the apostles are false witnesses (15:15); (c) faith is in vain (15:17); (d) the believers who have died are lost (15:18); (e) Christians are the most to be pitied of men (15:19). The resurrection of Christ is the sine qua non of the Christian faith.
Christ the firstfruits and the cosmic destiny (15:20-28). The risen Christ is the "firstfruits" (ἀπαρχή) of those who have fallen asleep. The Adam-Christ parallel: "as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ" (15:22). Christ reigns "until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (15:25, citing Ps 110:1). The last enemy destroyed is death (15:26). At the end, "the Son himself will be subjected to him who put all things under him, so that God may be all in all" (15:28, ἵνα ᾖ ὁ θεὸς τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν). This verse is one of the most disputed of Pauline christology.
The psychic body and the pneumatic body (15:35-49). Paul opposes the σῶμα ψυχικόν ("natural body," the body of Adam, the mortal body) to the σῶμα πνευματικόν ("spiritual body," the body of the risen Christ, the glorious body). "Spiritual" does not mean immaterial but transfigured by the Spirit. The Pauline resurrection is not the immortality of the Greek soul but bodily transformation. Christ is "the second Adam, a life-giving spirit" (15:45, a free citation of Gen 2:7).
Eschatological transformation (15:50-58). "Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." The final citation of Hos 13:14 and Is 25:8 ("death has been swallowed up in victory") is the Christian triumph over death.
1 Cor 15 grounds the whole of Christian eschatology. Karl Barth (The Resurrection of the Dead, 1924) made it his great theme: the resurrection is the horizon of all Christian speech. N. T. Wright (The Resurrection of the Son of God, 2003) renewed the historical study of the resurrection from 1 Cor 15.
Major theological disputes
The following disputes draw on the six great confessional voices (Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, Anabaptist), with interjections from Professor Tryphon Goldberg, the site's Jewish pedagogical persona.
The eucharist: real presence, transubstantiation, memorial?
1 Cor 11:23-29 grounds the whole of Christian eucharistic theology. But what exactly does Paul say? "This is my body": the physical presence of Christ? A transformation of the substance of the bread? A sacramental presence in the rite? A mere memorial? The confessions diverged radically on this point in the 16th century, and the eucharistic division remains the major obstacle to the visible unity of the Churches.
Catholic
The doctrine of transubstantiation defined at the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), specified at the Council of Trent (session XIII, 1551). Through the words of consecration and the action of the Holy Spirit, the substance of the bread and the wine is converted (transsubstantiari) into the substance of the body and blood of Christ, while the accidents (appearance, taste) remain. Christ is really, truly, substantially present (CCC § 1374). The eucharist is also a non-bloody sacrifice that re-presents the one sacrifice of the cross (Trent, session XXII, 1562; Sacrosanctum Concilium § 47, Vatican II). Communion traditionally under one species (under both species since Vatican II according to circumstances).
Orthodox
The Orthodox Church confesses the real presence of Christ in the eucharist but refuses the Latin philosophical definition. The Greek term used is metabolē (μεταβολή, transformation) or metabolizo. The Council of Constantinople of 1672 (Patriarch Dositheus) accepted the word transubstantiation (μετουσίωσις) in the Confession of Dositheus, but contemporary Orthodoxy (Lossky, Schmemann, Zizioulas) privileges the patristic grammar without entering into the scholastic distinctions. The epiclesis (invocation of the Spirit) is central. The divine liturgy is a cosmic and eschatological celebration. Communion under both species by a spoon.
Reformed
Calvin (Institutes, IV, 17) articulated the real spiritual presence of Christ in the eucharist through the action of the Holy Spirit. The bread and the wine are not the body and blood physically (against Luther), but neither are they mere symbols (against Zwingli): they are efficacious signs that, through the Spirit, really unite us to the heavenly body of Christ. This position is set down in the Heidelberg Catechism (1563, q. 75-79), the Second Helvetic Confession (1566, ch. XXI), the Westminster Confession (1647, ch. XXIX). The Consensus Tigurinus (1549) between Calvin and Bullinger reconciles the Zurich and Geneva Reformed. The WCRC signed the Joint Declaration on Justification in 2017, and is progressing towards a mutual eucharistic recognition with Catholics and Lutherans.
Lutheran
Luther defended the real presence of Christ in the eucharist, in, with, and under the bread and the wine (in, cum, sub). A refusal of transubstantiation (a useless scholastic metaphysics) but a strong affirmation that the bread and the wine are the body and blood of Christ, without a change of substance. Augsburg Confession (1530, art. X), Small and Large Catechisms (1529), Formula of Concord (1577, art. VII). The great debate with Zwingli at the Marburg Colloquy (1529): Luther traced "Hoc est corpus meum" on the table and refused to commune with those who did not confess the real presence. The contemporary Lutheran position: the Joint Declaration with the Catholics (1999), regional agreements with the Reformed (the Leuenberg Concord, 1973 — mutual eucharistic recognition between European Lutherans and Reformed).
Anglican
The official Anglican position (Thirty-Nine Articles, art. 28, 1571) receives the real presence but rejects transubstantiation as "repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions." Christ is received "only after an heavenly and spiritual manner; and the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith." This formulation, inspired by Calvin and Cranmer, aims at a via media between Catholicism and Zwinglianism. The Book of Common Prayer (1662) keeps a constructive ambiguity. The Oxford Movement (19th c.) and Anglo-Catholicism: a return to a more sacrificial eucharist. The current Anglican Communion: great diversity (Low, High, Broad Church).
Anabaptist
The Anabaptist tradition, from Zwingli (from whom the Anabaptists first took their position) and Conrad Grebel, defends a commemorative reading of the Supper. Bread and wine are commemorative signs of the death of Christ; no real presence in the Catholic or Lutheran sense. The Supper is a meal of fraternal communion, expressing the ethical commitment of the community (Schleitheim Confession, 1527, art. 3; Dordrecht Confession, 1632, art. 10). Menno Simons develops a minimalist sacramental theology. Today: Mennonites, Brethren, Baptists (who have in part evolved), Quakers (who have no material Supper). Contemporary theologian: John Howard Yoder, who reintroduces a communal and political dimension.
Synthesis
The eucharist remains the major obstacle to the visible unity of the Churches. Catholics (transubstantiation), Orthodox (metabolē), Lutherans (real presence in, cum, sub), Reformed (real spiritual presence), Anglicans (via media), Anabaptists (memorial) each have their scripturally grounded position. The ecumenical dialogue of the 20th-21st century has progressed greatly: BEM (Lima, 1982); Sacramentum Caritatis (Benedict XVI, 2007); the Catholic-Lutheran Agreement on the eucharist (1978, 1980); the Leuenberg Concord (1973) between Lutherans and Reformed. But full sacramental communion remains out of reach except among certain families (Lutherans-Reformed in Europe, Anglicans-Old Catholics, etc.). 1 Cor 11:23-29 remains a major ecumenical text for the future.
Celibacy and marriage (1 Cor 7): asceticism and Christian marriage
1 Cor 7 is the fundamental text on marriage and celibacy in Pauline thought. "It is good for a man not to touch a woman" (7:1, perhaps a citation from the Corinthians' letter). Paul prefers celibacy (7:7-8) but welcomes marriage. This tension between eschatological celibacy and ordinary marriage structures the whole of Christian spirituality and engendered major ecclesiological disputes (a celibate clergy, religious life, the marriage of priests).
Catholic
The Catholic Church developed a twofold valuation: (1) marriage as a sacrament (Council of Florence, 1439; Council of Trent, session XXIV, 1563), indissoluble, open to life; (2) consecrated celibacy as a superior charism in the order of eschatology (CCC § 1618-1620; Lumen Gentium § 42; Optatam Totius Vatican II). For the Latin clergy: obligatory celibacy (since the Second Lateran Council, 1139). The Eastern Catholic Church and certain married priests of the Latin rite (Anglicans who have come over): the marriage of priests is permitted. Consecrated virginity (women religious, the order of virgins) and monastic life have flourished since Anthony the Great (3rd-4th c.) and the foundation of the great orders (Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, etc.).
Orthodox
The Orthodox Church maintains episcopal celibacy (the bishops are chosen from among the monks) but permits the marriage of secular priests, on condition that it was contracted before ordination. Married deacons too. This twofold tradition (married priests + celibate monks) was defended against Latin pressures. Marriage is a sacrament (one of the seven mysteries), including the liturgical "crowning" (stephanoma). Divorce and remarriage are admitted exceptionally by oikonomia (pastoral economy, up to three remarriages at most, the third penitential). Consecrated virginity and monastic life (Mount Athos, Sinai, the Russian, Romanian, Serbian monasteries) remain central.
Reformed
Calvin (Institutes, IV, 12; IV, 19) rejects obligatory clerical celibacy as tyrannical and unscriptural. Marriage is creational (Gen 2:18-24) and sacred, but not a sacrament in the classical sense (Calvin recognises only baptism and the Supper as sacraments). The Reformed pastor must be able to marry, and marriage is celebrated by the Church not as a sacrament but as a blessing. Second Helvetic Confession (1566), Westminster Confession (1647). Today: the EPUF, the EERF, the Reformed Church of France, the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Geneva: married or celibate pastors of both sexes. The blessing of same-sex unions progressively integrated in several Reformed Churches (United Church of Christ in the USA, United Protestant Church of France 2015 — the blessing left to local conscience).
Lutheran
Luther freed nuns and priests from celibacy. He himself married Katharina von Bora (a former Cistercian nun) in 1525. The Augsburg Confession (1530, art. XXIII and XXVII) rejects obligatory clerical celibacy and monastic life as contrary to the Word of God. Marriage is a creational order (Schöpfungsordnung). Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Formula of Concord. Today: married Lutheran pastors of both sexes (or celibate by choice). The blessing of same-sex unions progressively (Sweden 2009, Norway 2017, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA 2009). A conservative minority position: the LCMS (Missouri).
Anglican
Anglicanism maintained the marriage of the clergy from the Reformation. Thirty-Nine Articles art. 32: "Bishops, Priests, and Deacons are not commanded by God's Law either to vow the estate of single life; they may marry at their own discretion." The restoration of monastic life in the Anglican Communion in the 19th century (the Oxford Movement, orders such as the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, founded 1866). Today: the practice of the marriage of priests and bishops (Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury enthroned 2026, is married). The blessing of same-sex unions progressively (the Scottish Episcopal Church 2017, the Church of England 2023 — Prayers of Love and Faith).
Anabaptist
The Anabaptists rejected from the 16th century clerical celibacy and Catholic monastic life as contrary to Scripture (Schleitheim 1527 does not treat it explicitly, but Menno Simons explicitly rejects obligatory celibacy). Christian marriage is valued as the basic cell of the community. The Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites maintain a very traditional family model. Contemporary position: great diversity. The Mennonite Church USA, the Mennonite Brethren are evolving on the blessing of same-sex unions (internal controversies). A persistent conservative position among the Amish, Hutterites, certain Mennonite branches.
Synthesis
Consecrated celibacy remains one of the great dividing lines between Catholics-Orthodox on the one hand and Protestants on the other. The Joint Declaration between Lutherans and Catholics did not address this question. The blessing of same-sex unions adds an internal fracture to each contemporary tradition. 1 Cor 7 remains a fundamental text for thinking Christian sexuality in an eschatological perspective: "the time is short... let those who have wives be as though they had none" (7:29). The tension between the Pauline eschatological urgency and the historical duration of Christianity still structures the Christian spirituality of marriage and celibacy.
Bodily resurrection: continuity or rupture?
1 Cor 15 defends the resurrection of the dead as a central dogma. But what is the exact nature of the risen body? "How are the dead raised, and with what body do they come?" (15:35). Paul responds with the images of the seed and the plant, of the sōma psychikon and the sōma pneumatikon. Physical bodily continuity or ontological transformation? The confessions diverged on the interpretation, and modernity posed new questions (what becomes of the soul between death and resurrection? The status of hell? The universalism of salvation?).
Catholic
The Catholic Church confesses the resurrection of the flesh (resurrectio carnis, the formula of the Creed). The risen body is continuous with the mortal body but transformed and glorified. The doctrine of the intermediate state: between death and the final resurrection, the soul subsists separated from the body (the immortality of the soul, dogmatised at the Fifth Lateran Council, 1513), passing through the particular judgement (purgatory for the non-saints, heaven for the saints, hell for the damned). Second Council of Lyon (1274), Florence (1439), Trent (1545-1563). Catechism § 989-1019. Contemporary position: Joseph Ratzinger (Eschatology, 1977), Karl Rahner. Spe Salvi (Benedict XVI, 2007) renews it.
Orthodox
Orthodoxy confesses bodily resurrection and the final judgement. The doctrine of purgatory is not an Orthodox dogma; the popular toll houses (the Russian Orthodox vision) are a theologoumenon, not a dogma. Saint Mark of Ephesus at the Council of Florence (1438-1439) refuses the two distinct Western fires. Theōsis is the horizon: participation in the divine life, already begun in baptism and communion, completed in the resurrection. Contemporary position: Vladimir Lossky, Sergei Bulgakov (close to a universalism), Christos Yannaras, Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos. Prayer for the departed is central.
Reformed
Calvin (Institutes III, 25) confesses bodily resurrection as a central dogma. He rejects purgatory (a "satanic fiction," Institutes III, 5, 6). The intermediate state: the souls of the faithful live with Christ until the resurrection, in happiness; the souls of the reprobate await the judgement (Psychopannychia, Calvin, 1542, against the Anabaptists who defended the sleep of the soul). Second Helvetic Confession (1566), Westminster Confession (1647, ch. XXXII-XXXIII). Contemporary position: Karl Barth (The Resurrection of the Dead, 1924), Jürgen Moltmann (Theology of Hope, 1964), Wolfhart Pannenberg, Cornelius Plantinga. The WCRC is open to a "hoped-for" universalism (cf. Barth).
Lutheran
Luther long defended the sleep of souls (Seelenschlaf): between death and resurrection, the soul sleeps in Christ, without conscious temporal experience, awaiting the final resurrection (cf. Letter to Amsdorf, 1522; cf. the interpretation of Phil 1:23 and Rev 6:9-11). The Augsburg Confession does not dogmatise the intermediate state. Later Lutheran theology (Melanchthon, Lutheran scholasticism) reintegrated the immortality of the soul. Today: diverse positions. Luther's Catechismus minor and maior mention the resurrection without intermediate detail. Contemporary theologians: Wolfhart Pannenberg, Eberhard Jüngel (Lutheran-Reformed).
Anglican
The Church of England (Thirty-Nine Articles, art. 22) explicitly rejects the Catholic doctrine of purgatory as "a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God." But the Anglican position is nuanced: the Book of Common Prayer prays for the dead. C. S. Lewis (The Great Divorce, 1945; Letters to Malcolm, 1964) proposes a metaphor in which purification continues after death, without dogmatising purgatory. N. T. Wright (Surprised by Hope, 2008) renews Anglican eschatology by accentuating bodily resurrection against the "spiritual escape" to heaven. The Anglican Communion is diverse on these questions.
Anabaptist
The 16th-century Anabaptists defended the sleep of souls (Seelenschlaf), influenced by the young Luther and the literal reading of the NT. Sebastian Franck, Caspar Schwenckfeld, Michael Servetus (a radical figure linked to the Anabaptists) defend it. A position rejected by Calvin (Psychopannychia, 1542). Today: most contemporary Mennonites accept a conscious intermediate state, but certain branches (notably those influenced by Adventism) maintain the sleep of the soul and the final annihilation of the ungodly. Annihilationism shared with the Plymouth Brethren, certain contemporary Baptists (John Stott).
Synthesis
Christian eschatology has long debated: (1) the intermediate state — Catholics (purgatory), Orthodox (without purgatory), Reformed-Lutherans (conscious presence with Christ), Anabaptists (sleep); (2) the risen body — physical continuity or transformation; (3) the fate of the damned — conscious eternity (the traditional view), annihilationism (Stott, Pinnock), universalism (hoped-for: Barth, Balthasar; dogmatic: Origen, Bulgakov). 1 Cor 15 remains the founding text. Contemporary theology (N. T. Wright, Pannenberg, Moltmann) accentuates bodily resurrection against a spiritualist fuga mundi. Christian spirituality is closer to the Jewish Shema and to the incarnation than to a Platonic dualism.
Historical reception
Patristic reception (2nd-5th c.)
Origen (Commentary on 1 Corinthians, c. 235-238, fragments) reads 1 Corinthians allegorically and according to his three senses (literal, moral, spiritual). John Chrysostom (Homilies on 1 Corinthians, 44 homilies) is the major patristic commentary, still read today: pastoral eloquence, an emphasis on communal ethics, a vigorous defence of bodily resurrection.
Theodoret of Cyrus comments. Ambrosiaster (Latin, 4th c.), Augustine (sermons and treatises, notably De civitate Dei XXII for the resurrection), Cyril of Alexandria. The eucharist receives its first elaborations in Ignatius of Antioch (Smyrnaeans 7), Justin (Apol. I, 65-67), Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. IV, 17-18).
Medieval reception
Thomas Aquinas (Super Primam Epistolam ad Corinthios, c. 1265-1268) comments on 1 Corinthians in the wake of Augustine and Aristotle. His eucharistic doctrine (S.Th. III, q. 73-83) systematises transubstantiation. On the resurrection: the numerical continuity of the mortal and risen body, an increase of qualities (clarity, impassibility, agility, subtlety — S.Th. Suppl. q. 82-85).
Bonaventure, Peter Lombard (Sentences IV) treat it in detail. The Glossa ordinaria compiles the patristic tradition. The eucharist receives a decisive doctrinal elaboration with the Fourth Lateran Council (1215, transubstantiation), Thomas, the Council of Constance (1414-1418) against Wycliffe, the Council of Basel-Florence.
Byzantine reception
The Byzantine exegesis of 1 Corinthians follows Chrysostom. Oecumenius, Theophylact of Ohrid, Euthymios Zigabenos comment. On the eucharist, the Mystagogical Catechesis of Cyril of Jerusalem (5th c.) remains foundational; Nicholas Cabasilas (Explanation of the Divine Liturgy, 14th c.) systematises. Gregory Palamas (Triads, 1338-1341) integrates the eucharist into his theology of the divine energies.
On the resurrection, Byzantine Orthodoxy remains faithful to Chrysostom and Maximus the Confessor. The Palamite Hesychia (Mount Athos) prepares the final theōsis.
Reformation reception
1 Corinthians is a major battleground of the Reformation. Luther comments on baptism (Sermon on the Sacrament of the Holy Body, 1519), the eucharist (Sermon on the Sacrament of the Body and Blood, 1526, which prepares the Confession Concerning Christ's Supper of 1528), the resurrection (lectures on 1 Cor 15, 1532-1533 — published 1534).
Calvin publishes his Commentary on 1 Corinthians in 1546: philological rigour, doctrinal sobriety, pastoral balance. His eucharistic reading articulates the real spiritual presence between Luther and Zwingli.
Zwingli defends in his Commentary on 1 Corinthians (1525) the symbolic reading of the eucharist: "hoc est corpus meum" means "hoc significat corpus meum." The dominant position among the Anabaptists thereafter.
On the Catholic side: Cornelius a Lapide (d. 1637), Estius. The Council of Trent defines the eucharist (sessions XIII and XXII) and purgatory (session XXV).
Modern reception (19th-21st c.)
The modern exegesis of 1 Corinthians went through several major orientations. (1) Gerd Theissen (The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity, 1982) renews the study through sociology: the Corinthian conflicts are also conflicts of class (elite vs. masses), of status, of education. (2) Wayne Meeks (The First Urban Christians, 1983) extends the sociological analysis.
(3) Gordon D. Fee (The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT, 1987, 2nd ed. 2014) remains a reference commentary, particularly attentive to pneumatology (the charisms) and to high christology (1 Cor 8:6; 15). (4) Anthony Thiselton (The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NIGTC, 2000) offers the most exhaustive commentary (1300 pages), articulating philology, hermeneutics, and theology.
(5) Dale Martin (The Corinthian Body, 1995) renews it through historical anthropology: the Pauline body is socially and cosmologically situated. (6) Richard Hays (First Corinthians, Interpretation, 1997) accentuates scriptural ethics and the imitation of Christ. (7) N. T. Wright (Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians, 2003; The Resurrection of the Son of God, 2003 on 1 Cor 15) renews the historical study of bodily resurrection.
(8) Contextual readings: feminist (Antoinette Clark Wire, The Corinthian Women Prophets, 1990), liberationist (Justo González), postcolonial, ecological. Additional major commentaries: Wolfgang Schrage (EKK, 4 vols., 1991-2001), Joseph Fitzmyer (AB, 2008), David Garland (BECNT, 2003), Roy Ciampa and Brian Rosner (PNTC, 2010), Richard Horsley (ANTC, 1998).
Selected bibliography
References selected according to the conventions of the SBL Handbook of Style (2nd ed., 2014).
Barrett, C. K. A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians. 2nd ed. BNTC. London : Black, 1971.
Ciampa, Roy E., and Brian S. Rosner. The First Letter to the Corinthians. PNTC. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2010.
Conzelmann, Hans. 1 Corinthians. Hermeneia. Philadelphia : Fortress, 1975.
Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. 2nd ed. NICNT. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2014.
Fitzmyer, Joseph A. First Corinthians : A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB 32. New Haven : Yale University Press, 2008.
Garland, David E. 1 Corinthians. BECNT. Grand Rapids : Baker Academic, 2003.
Hays, Richard B. First Corinthians. Interpretation. Louisville : John Knox, 1997.
Horsley, Richard A. 1 Corinthians. ANTC. Nashville : Abingdon, 1998.
Jeremias, Joachim. The Eucharistic Words of Jesus. Translated by Norman Perrin. London : SCM, 1966.
Marguerat, Daniel. Paul de Tarse. L'enfant terrible du christianisme. Paris: Seuil, 2023.
Martin, Dale B. The Corinthian Body. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1995.
Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians : The Social World of the Apostle Paul. 2nd ed. New Haven : Yale University Press, 2003.
Mitchell, Margaret M. Paul and the Rhetoric of Reconciliation : An Exegetical Investigation of the Language and Composition of 1 Corinthians. Tübingen : Mohr Siebeck, 1991.
Schrage, Wolfgang. Der erste Brief an die Korinther. 4 vols. EKK 7. Neukirchen : Neukirchener / Zurich : Benziger, 1991-2001.
Theissen, Gerd. The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity : Essays on Corinth. Translated by John H. Schütz. Philadelphia : Fortress, 1982.
Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians : A Commentary on the Greek Text. NIGTC. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2000.
Wire, Antoinette Clark. The Corinthian Women Prophets : A Reconstruction through Paul's Rhetoric. Minneapolis : Fortress, 1990.
Witherington, Ben III. Conflict and Community in Corinth : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 1995.
Wright, N. T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Christian Origins and the Question of God 3. Minneapolis : Fortress, 2003.
Wright, N. T. Paul for Everyone : 1 Corinthians. Louisville : Westminster John Knox, 2003.
Zeller, Dieter. Der erste Brief an die Korinther. KEK 5. Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2010.