CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION -- pg.1

I. The City and the Culture of Corinth: Distinctive Features That Assist an Understanding of the Epistle -- pg.1

II. The Ethos That Permeated the Church, Largely Derived from the Social, Political, and Economic Culture of Corinth -- pg.9

III. Other “Corinthian” Traits Relevant Today: The Rhetoric of Audience Approval and Resonances with Consumerism and Postmodernity -- pg.14

IV. Some Remaining Issues of Introduction That Shed Further Light upon the Text -- pg.19

TEXT AND COMMENTARY -- pg.29

I. Address, Greeting, and Thanksgiving (1:1-9) -- pg.29

II. Causes and Cures of Splits in the Church (1:10-2:5) -- pg.38

III. The Holy Spirit and “Spirituality”: The Mind of Christ (2:6-16 and 3:1-4) -- pg.53

IV. Applying These Criteria (Cross and Holy Spirit) to Church and Ministry (3:5-4:21) -- pg.62

V. Moral Issues That Require Clear-Cut Challenge and Change (5:1-6:20) -- pg.81

VI. Paul’s Replies to Questions from Corinth about a Series of Practical Issues (7:1-11:1) -- pg.99

VII. Mutual Respect in Matters of Public Worship (11:2-14:40) -- pg.169

VIII. The Resurrection of the Dead (15:1-58) -- pg.253

IX. The Collection, Travel Plans, and Greetings (16:1-24) -- pg.291

A Bibliography of Works Cited -- pg.304

Index of Names -- pg.312

Index of Subjects -- pg.315

Index of Biblical References -- pg.323

Anthony Thiselton’s lengthy New International Greek Testament Commentary volume The First Epistle to the Corinthians (2000) has become a standard work on 1 Corinthians.
In this “shorter” commentary Thiselton draws on his excellent exegesis from that volume but combines it afresh with keen practical and pastoral application for readers at all levels.
Thiselton delves deeply into the context and text of Paul’s first Corinthian letter as he suggests, section by section, how the book applies to pastoral and practical issues. He draws vivid parallels between the growing church in Corinth and the twenty-first-century church, demonstrating that today’s church also faces a seductive culture of competition and consumerism. The church in Corinth preferred its self-centered theology to the Christ-centered gospel of the wider apostolic church. Paul’s response in 1 Corinthians, amplified by Thiselton’s commentary, becomes a living, practical, transforming word from God for Christians today.
ANTHONY C. THISELTON is professor of Christian theology at the University of Nottingham, England, Research Professor of Christian Theology at the University of Chester, and Canon Theologian of Leicester Cathedral and of Southwell and Nottingham. His numerous books include The Two Horizons, The Promise of Hermeneutics, and the NIGTC commentary on 1 Corinthians.