First Corinthians: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Paperback)

Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians was addressed originally to a fledgling mission church in Corinth. Paul's absence from the church had allowed serious problems to arise within the Corinthian community, but the problems that he addresses in this letter do not always seem based on explicitly theological ideas.

The brilliance of Paul, though, is that he frames the issues in theological terms and reflects on them in light of the gospel. Richard B. Hays identifies and discusses the major themes of the letter, as well as issues such as community formation and the rethinking of inherited socio-cultural norms and practices, and he offers Paul as a model for ministry