“1 Corinthians 1–7,” New Testament Institute Teacher Manual (2025)
1 Corinthians 1–7
New converts in Corinth lived in a worldly environment. Some struggled to live the gospel. In His epistle to the Corinthian Saints, Paul taught a wide variety of gospel truths to strengthen them. He reminded them that as Saints, they were to eliminate divisions among themselves. They were to trust in the preaching of the gospel and in the power of the Spirit in order to understand the things of God. Paul encouraged them to live a morally clean life.
Additional Resources
Scripture Helps: New Testament, “1 Corinthians 1–7”
Note: The “Introduction to the Course” provides guidance on how to use the four standard lesson elements that follow.
Encouraging Personal Study
Before class, consider sending students one or more of the following messages or some of your own:
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Is there someone you struggle to feel unified with? How can the counsel in 1 Corinthians 1:10–17 help you?
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How can we know the deep things of God? What do you learn in 1 Corinthians 2:9–16 about gaining spiritual knowledge?
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We are surrounded by so many conflicting messages about our body. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9–20 to learn how we can see our body as a blessing. You could also watch “Bodies Are Temples” (4:41).
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Questions and Sharing
Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of 1 Corinthians 1–7.
Skill Training
1 Corinthians 1:10–17 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Taking Meaningful Notes” in Scripture Study Skills. 1 Corinthians 1:17–31 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Looking for Cause-and-Effect Relationships in the Scriptures.”
Learning Activity Options
Multiple learning options are provided for you and your students. Prayerfully choose which option or options will be most meaningful for your class.
What can I do to overcome divisions and contention in my life?
Write the following words on the board: ward (or branch), family, coworkers, roommates, and social media. Invite students to work with a partner to select one of the words on the board and then discuss with their partner how divisions and contention can occur in that setting.
Display the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:
Jesus Christ declared that those who have “the spirit of contention” are not of Him [3 Nephi 11:29]. … Those who foster contention are taking a page out of Satan’s playbook, whether they realize it or not. (“Peacemakers Needed,” Liahona, May 2023, 99)
Remind students that the Apostle Paul, like President Nelson, was concerned about the divisions and contention among the Saints of his day. Invite students to read 1 Corinthians 1:9–17 (see also 1 Corinthians 3:3–5; 4:6–7; 6:6–8), looking for what Paul had to say about divisions and contention and how to overcome them. (You could also read “1 Corinthians 1:10–17: Why were there divisions among the Saints in Corinth?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament for additional context.)
Consider discussing the following questions:
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What did you see in these verses that could help us overcome divisions and contention? (Students may identify a principle like the following from 1 Corinthians 1:9–10: As we seek fellowship with Jesus Christ, we can overcome divisions and contention and be united.)
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What do you think it means to have fellowship with Jesus Christ? (Fellowship implies a close association.)
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How can seeking fellowship with Jesus Christ help you to become united with other members of the Savior’s Church?
Read together the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:
In situations that are highly charged and filled with contention, I invite you to remember Jesus Christ. …
… Today I invite you to examine your discipleship within the context of the way you treat others. I bless you to make any adjustments that may be needed so that your behavior is ennobling, respectful, and representative of a true follower of Jesus Christ. (“Peacemakers Needed,” Liahona, May 2023, 101)
To help students examine what they can do to overcome division and contention, invite them to complete the handout “Overcoming Divisions and Contention”:
If time permits, you could have some students share a message they found in the general conference talk they studied. Encourage them to share what they will do because of what they have learned.
How can I better understand the things of God?
You could begin by sharing the following scenario:
Matt struggles to accept the story of Joseph Smith and the Restoration. He finds the claims of the First Vision, the visits of Moroni, and the translation of the Book of Mormon from gold plates far-fetched. He says to you, “I will believe Joseph Smith is a prophet of God when I see an angel and when I can hold the gold plates.”
Invite students to search 1 Corinthians 2:9–16, looking for insights that could help Matt understand how he might come to know that Joseph Smith really is a prophet of God. Consider asking some of the following questions as students share what they discovered:
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What message from these verses might help Matt reframe how he views visions, angels, and the translation of the Book of Mormon? (Students may identify a truth like the following: We can know and understand the things of God through His Spirit.)
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What truths have you come to know through the Holy Ghost? How has learning through the Spirit influenced your faith in Jesus Christ? What have you learned through the Spirit about the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith?
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What did you learn about the influence of the “natural man” (verse 14) on our efforts to learn spiritual truths? (If helpful, you could review “1 Corinthians 2:14–16. What is the natural man?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament.)
Share the following statement from President Russell M. Nelson, and encourage students to look for additional insights about how God teaches us truth:
As you ponder and pray about doctrinal principles, the Holy Ghost will speak to your mind and your heart [see Doctrine and Covenants 8:2]. From events portrayed in the scriptures, new insights will come and principles relevant to your situation will distill upon your heart.
You cultivate such revelatory experiences by living according to the light already given you and by searching the scriptures with pure motives—with real intent to “come unto Christ” [Jacob 1:7; Omni 1:26; Moroni 10:30, 32]. As you do so, your confidence will “wax strong in the presence of God,” and the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion [Doctrine and Covenants 121:45–46]. (“Living by Scriptural Guidance,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2000, 18)
You could invite students to share what they most appreciate from President Nelson’s statement.
Consider inviting students to ponder experiences they’ve had when they were taught the things of God by the Holy Ghost. You could suggest they choose to do one or more of the following activities or create an application idea of their own.
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Share with someone in person or on social media how you have come to know the things of God through the Holy Ghost.
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Create a plan that could help you better understand the things of God through the Holy Ghost.
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Schedule a time to read President Nelson’s talk “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 93–96).
It’s my body, so I can do what I want, right?
Improving Our Teaching and Learning
Encourage students to live what they are learning. Remember that building faith and becoming more Christlike does not happen in an instant. All of us must choose to act in faith and follow His example both in and out of class. As you invite students to act in faith, you help them extend the learning experience into their homes and daily lives (see Doctrine and Covenants 43:8–10).
You could begin by showing some pictures of temples and reading “Temple, House of the Lord” in Guide to the Scriptures (Gospel Library).
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What makes a temple a holy and sacred place?
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What can you do to show that the temple is a sacred place to you?
Explain that Paul drew on the imagery of a temple to address the sin of sexual immorality, which was a struggle for some members of the Corinthian church (see 1 Corinthians 6:9–17; see also the first paragraph of “1 Corinthians 6:13–19. What did Paul have to say about sexual immorality?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament).
Invite students to read 1 Corinthians 6:18–20, looking for how Paul drew on the symbolism of the temple to teach the importance of sexual purity.
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What is significant about comparing our bodies to a temple?
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What does it mean that you “are not your own” and are “bought with a price”?
If helpful, you might want to take some time to deepen students’ understanding of the price Jesus Christ paid to purchase us. You could write the word redeem on the board and explain that one meaning of this word is “to buy back.” Divide the board in half, and ask students to list everything they can think of that Jesus Christ has redeemed or bought them back from (for example, sin, death, suffering, mistakes, weaknesses, and so on.) Then on the other side of the board, invite them to write the price the Savior paid to buy them back from all of those things. (You may want to read 1 Peter 1:18–19 and Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19.)
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How does knowing what Jesus Christ paid to redeem you affect how you view and treat your body? (Students might identify a truth like the following: We should glorify God with our bodies because they are the temple of the Holy Ghost and we have been bought with the price of the Savior’s Atonement.)
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How does knowing these truths influence how you view and treat your body?
To help students apply what they are learning, you could make two columns on the board. Label the first column Worldly Beliefs, Attitudes, and Assumptions about Our Bodies. Label the second column Truths God Has Revealed about Our Bodies.
Arrange students into small groups. Invite them to share some of the world’s ideas about the body, and write their responses in the first column on the board. Then have students discuss in their groups some revealed truths about our bodies, based on what they have learned from Paul. If helpful, they could look for additional truths in Church resources like the following:
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“Your Body Is Sacred” in For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices (2022)
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“Chastity” in Topics and Questions (Gospel Library)
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The video “God’s Greatest Creation” (2:51)
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General conference talks or articles in Church magazines (students can use the search function in Gospel Library to find relevant talks or articles)
Endowed members could also consider how wearing the temple garment can help them show respect for their bodies and remember the Savior in their lives. They could look for truths in Church resources like the following:
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“Garments” in Topics and Questions
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“Wearing the Temple Garment,” section 26.3.3.2 in General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Gospel Library)
After students finish studying, invite them to share what they learned from their group discussions. As students share, you could fill in the second column on the board.
To conclude your discussion, consider reading the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:
Each time you look in the mirror, see your body as your temple. That truth—refreshed gratefully each day—can positively influence your decisions about how you will care for your body and how you will use it. And those decisions will determine your destiny. (“Decisions for Eternity,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 107)
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Knowing how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ view your body as a temple, what will you do differently? (Provide students time to record their thoughts and impressions.)