The important letter we know as I Corinthians gives the fullest portrayal of Christian worship that has come to us in the New Testament. Written probably in the spring of a.d. 55, it brings us living glimpses of the early Christians—their common meals, their prophesying and their speaking with tongues; it touches on the status of the women in the Corinthian congregation and deals with pressing problems of morality and marriage—all in the light of one overriding concern: commitment to Christ and Christian love.
After the customary opening, with its greeting and thanksgiving, the apostle turns to the business on hand: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ ... that there be no divisions among you" (1:10). Instead of their being a coherent group, some were claiming to be "of Paul," some "of Apollos" or "of Cephas" (Peter), and others "of Christ." Paul rebukes this wrangling. "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (vv. 12, 13).
In his introduction he had praised their excellence of speech and knowledge; now he warns them not to let human wisdom supersede the message of the cross. As the letter continues, Paul elaborates this theme, contrasting the boasted wisdom of the world with the supreme but simple revelations of the Spirit.
