Corinth was a major seaport and trade center, the capital of Achaia (present day Greece). The city was very prosperous with great cultural and religious diversity. It was ripe for corruption, filled with immorality. Idolatry flourished with more than a dozen pagan temples employing more than a thousand prostitutes. The temple of the love goddess Aphrodite was there. Sex was a part of the worship ritual.

The church at Corinth had been established by Paul on his second missionary journey, made up largely of Gentiles. The Christians there were struggling with the corruption all around them and felt the pressure to adapt. Paul wrote this letter to offer solutions to the many concerns and to answer the questions that had been raised.

“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift…”
The body of Christ as a whole does not lack any spiritual gift. In any body of Christ, truly seeking Him, there will be no lack of gifts. It may be that one spiritual gift may be enhanced over another if there is a need for that particular gift in that particular body.

Paul warns the church, then and now, regarding divisions within the body of Believers.  Any fellowship of Believers should be "perfectly united in mind and thought".  This is not necessarily an easy thing to do.  But there is ONE truth - not what a person may want the truth to be.

Paul didn’t seem all that too concerned about baptism. He said Christ didn’t send him to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with his own words. Be baptized (immersed) in the Holy Spirit.

Paul mentions the teachings about Jesus are as "foolishness to the Gentiles" . The Gentiles were coming from a pagan culture and mindset and didn't know the customs of the Old Testament laws and prophecies of the coming Messiah.  The Jews did know about them and Paul called it a "stumbling block" to them.

Paul tells the Corinthian church that he did not come to them with eloquence or superior wisdom, but with a personal testimony of the Spirit’s power. He was demonstrating a characteristic of the gift of evangelism. Paul was thoroughly educated in the scriptures and could have spoken with superior wisdom, yet he spoke from personal experience.  From these verses it seems that Paul did not coerce anyone to come forward to an "altar call".  He merely presented the gospel of Jesus.  It isn't the effectiveness of the deliverance of the message, but the message itself.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him…”
In our wildest imaginations, we can never imagine what God has prepared for us!

The Holy Spirit is not only our teacher, He reveals to us the deep things of God.  He teaches but the question is...are we listening?

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”
Paul told them of salvation through Jesus. Apollos nurtured, educated, and encouraged them. But when all is said and done, it is up to God to produce the growth. We can do what we have been gifted to do, then leave it in the Lord’s very capable hands.

If we are “servants of Christ” then as servants we must do what the Master tells us to do. We are servants who have been “entrusted with the secret things of God”. It is up to us to prove faithful and share those “secret” things with others. As we learn more and more about Him, through Bible study, prayer, devotions, we must witness for Him. We must be faithful to His word and be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  A very special quote for us is this one.  "If you know the way, light it for others."

1 Corinthians 4:5b
...At that time each will receive his praise from God.
WOW!  Imagine at Judgment - receiving praise from God! (see also Jude 24)

“Therefore I urge you to imitate me…”
This appears on the surface and taken out of context to be arrogant on the part of Paul. We must read the previous passages to understand what Paul is referring to in this instance. He just told the Corinthians that he and his companions in the gospel were hungry, thirsty, in rags, brutally treated, homeless, cursed, persecuted, and slandered. And that his response to this was to bless, endure, and answer kindly. In other words, Paul is saying that everything we do as Believers in Jesus is the opposite of human logic when it comes to dealing with the enemy.  Paul is saying to the people in the church at Corinth, "You are merely saying the words, I am living the words."

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”