January 4, 2015
1 CORINTHIANS: CONTENT
"Let all that you do be done in love" (16: 14)
I. Letter Opening: Sender, Recipient, and Greeting (1:1-3)
II. Thanksgiving (1:4-9)
III. Body
- Disorders as Reported to Paul Orally (1: 1 0-6:20)
1. Division in the Church: The Wisdom and Power of the Cross (1: 1 0-4:21)
- Factions (1: 10-17)
- Divine wisdom and human folly (1:18-4:21)
Three important ideas form the heart of Paul's response to the factionalism: Christ crucified is the ultimate expression of God's power and wisdom (1:18-2:5); The low and despised complexion of the Corinthian church exemplified God's power to take a group of nobodies and make them into somebodies; and finally, Paul's ministry exemplified that God did not choose or use the wise and powerful (2: 1-5).
- A Sexually Immoral Member (5:1-13)
- Christians in Civil Court'(6:1-11)
- Christians and Prostitutes (6:12-21)
- Concerns Raised by the Corinthians in a Letter to Paul (7:1-16:4)
1. Concerning Marriage and Celibacy (7: 1-40)
- About marriage and divorce (7:1-16)
- The central principle: Remain as you were when you were called (7: 17-24)
- About virgins, engaged men, and widows (7 :25-40)
2. Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols (8: 1-11: 1)
- The problem of idol meat: Christians must be willing to give up "rights" (8:1-13)
- Paul as an example of giving up ones rights (9: 1-27)
- Warning against yielding to idolatry (10:1-22)
- Christian freedom must be tempered by responsibility to glorify God (10:23-11: 1)
3. Concerning Disruption in Public Worship (11:2-14:40)
- Women and head covering (11 :2-16)
b. Abuse of the Lord's Supper (11:17-34)
c. Abuse and the proper use of spiritual gifts (12-14)
(1) The Church as Christ's body (12:1-31)
(2) Love as the key to a healthy body (13:1-13)
(3) Love must be embodied in public worship (14:1-40)
4. Concerning the Resurrection (15: 1- 58)
(1) The gospel in shorthand (15: 1-11)
(2) The implications of the resurrection (15:12-34) (3) The nature of the resurrection body (15:35-50)
(4) The final victory (15:51-58)
5. Concerning the Collection (16: 1-4)
IV. Conclusion (16:5-24)
- Travel Plans (16:5-12)
- Concluding Instructions (16:13-18)
- Final Greetings (16:19-24)