On Paul’s second missionary journey with his companions Timothy and Silas, the trio makes it all the way to Corinth (a little over 50 miles west of Athens in modern-day Greece). Corinth was a bustling seaport city, and so made for an excellent strategic choice as a location for planting a church. You can read all about Paul’s time there in Acts 18. 

Paul spent 18 months in Corinth preaching and teaching the good news of Jesus Christ and then moved on to Ephesus and beyond. However, after Paul left the young church in Corinth, he soon received an alarming report about what the believers were doing there. They were divided about who the best preacher is, they were suing each other left and right, they were sleeping with their stepmothers—it was a real mess! While still residing in Ephesus, Paul wrote a letter to the church at Corinth to settle disputes and help the believers understand how they ought to live as members of the Body of Christ. This is the letter we’ve come to know as I Corinthians.

Paul’s letter gives eternal perspective to a church that is distracted with worldly, temporary squabbles. They’re distracted by wanting to be seen as the smartest. They’re distracted by wanting more status. They’re distracted by food and by sex and by wanting to be the center of attention at their gatherings. They even write to Paul to ask about these issues—are they OK or not? If we are forgiven by Jesus, can’t we keep doing all this anyway? (It feels like a letter that could easily be written to the church today!)

Paul’s aim is to demonstrate to the Corinthians that every choice we make in relationships should be motivated not by what we can get away with and still be forgiven by Jesus but rather by what love of Jesus and love of his people would have us do. Paul wants these young Christians to change how they view their world—no longer through a self-centered lens but a gospel-centered one.

How do we know what’s right and wrong today? How can we determine what God wants us to do today? I Corinthians can help! Not as a series of should and should-nots, but timely wisdom to all of us that we should choose how to act based on love for our neighbors and our God.

Watch this eight-minute video by the Bible Project for even more context.

This I Corinthians reading plan is broken up into five days per week. They’re organized here as Monday-Friday, but of course, feel free to adjust this plan to whatever fits best in your schedule! We’d also encourage you to join us in memorizing one verse per week. If you would like a physical copy of the reading plan, they will be available in Lobbies at our campuses.