With this Christological focus in mind, we can more easily see the significance of the various topics that Paul treats in the rest of this letter.

Paul carefully explains the sort of wisdom that he has in mind: “When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words of wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The length of the First Letter to the Corinthians (sixteen chapters) and the variety of topics that it covers make it desirable to know best how to approach it.