This volume presents, in published form, the detailed commentary work of E. Earle Ellis on Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. At the time of his death Ellis had been working for many years on a volume for the International Critical Commentary on the epistle. Because Ellis was unable to complete the volume before his passing and had left instructions that it should not be completed, Terry Wilder instead presents Ellis' profound exegetical insights in the form of his completed commentary sections on 1 Corinthians, with minimal editorial intervention.

In addition to collating Ellis' detailed critical commentary on 1 Corinthians chapters 1-13, with edited notes on chapter 14, Wilder has also completed an original editorial essay that provides a synthesis of Ellis' notes and thinking on chapters 15 and 16. Closely assessing the letter's address, salutation and thanksgiving and Paul's words on true and false wisdom, sexual relationships, liberty's boundaries and the regulation of church services, Ellis' final work is a crucial resource for a core New Testament text.