This study shows that the common view of 1 Corinthians as mainly about 'ethics' and therefore of little importance for 'theology' needs correcting. Furnish argues that 1 Corinthians is an even better place to take the apostle's theological pulse than the allegedly 'more theological' letters to the Galatians and Romans, because here it is especially evident how his thinking about the gospel took place within the crucible of his missionary and pastoral labours. Paul's complex theological legacy is not a systematic theology or even the basis for constructing a theological system. However, we come close to the heart of Paul's legacy in his clear-sighted identification of the gospel with the saving power of God's love as disclosed in Christ, and his insistence that those who are called to belong to Christ are thereby summoned to be agents of God's love wherever in the world they have received that call.

"This small volume is an excellent primer for the student who is beginning a study of Pauline theology and will benefit all students of the Pauline letters." Choice

"...a careful exposition of 1 Corinthians with perhaps more attention to theological themes than one generally finds in commentaries of this length." Word & World

"This is a thoughtful, carefully written book. I plan to have it on my reading list for next semester's course on Paul." Theology Today

"...an elegant and very readable style...This book is truly multum in parvo." Southwestern Journal of Theology

"...all students - teaching and preaching pastors especially - will benefit from reading attentively this well-wrought work of historically informed theological exegesis." Pro Ecclesia