Why did the Corinthian believers have so many questions about the Christian life?
The Corinthian believers had many questions because they were recently converted out of paganism and lacked foundational teaching. They had no Sunday school or catechism, possessed only parts of the Old Testament, and had no New Testament. As a small congregation, they were spiritually ignorant and wrote their questions to Paul, prompting his letter.
Les explains that Paul is dealing with the nitty-gritty of the marriage relationship, and the reason he does so is what prompted the letter to the Corinthians in the first place. In chapter 7, verse 1, Paul writes, "Now concerning the things that you wrote unto me," showing that the letter was a letter of questions—a whole batch of questions plaguing these Corinthian believers just recently out of paganism. Les points out that they didn't have Sunday school when they were kids, they didn't go through catechism, and they were as ignorant as ignorant could be. Now as believers congregating in a small church—not a huge mega church—they had questions. They didn't have the Bible; they had some of the Old Testament, but nothing of the New Testament. So they had a whole bunch of questions that they must have written to the apostle Paul, and this is what prompts the letter. He answers them one by one.