Paul consistently refers to himself as an “apostle,” as one who has been specifically commissioned to proclaim the gospel among the Gentiles, to establish churches, and to nurture believers in their faith. He nowhere refers to himself as a “theologian.” Moreover, although the word “theology” is often employed in other ancient Greek religious texts, it does not once appear in his letters (or anywhere else in the New Testament or in the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible). Thus Paul's writings must be approached first of all as apostolic letters, not as theological documents. They are all more or less situation-specific, having been prompted by and addressed to issues that were current in particular congregations, or for Paul himself. For this reason, any examination of “the theology of 1 Corinthians” must begin with some consideration of whether it is appropriate to speak of “Pauline theology” at all, and if so, in what sense.

The Greek word theologia (literally, “discourse about [a] god”) seems to have been introduced into Christian circles only in the second century. At first it was used in rather general ways, with reference to “teaching about divine things” or, yet more generally, with reference to “religious speech.” The earliest surviving reference to Paul as a “theologian” may be in the works of Athanasius, sometime bishop of Alexandria (d. 373). Introducing a quotation from the letter to the Romans, Athanasius commented that he had learned much “from the theologians, of whom one is Paul” (Against the Pagans 35.18–20).