Outline for the Book of 1st Corinthians

Outline

I.                  Introduction (1:1-9)

II.                  Divisions in the Church (1:10;4:21)

A.             The Fact of the Divisions (1:10-17)

B.             The Causes of the Divisions (1:18;4:13)

1. A wrong conception of the Christian message (1:18;3:4)
2. A wrong conception of Christian ministry and ministers (3:5;4:5)
3. A wrong conception of the Christian (4:6-13)

C.             The Exhortation to End the Divisions (4:14-21)

III.                  Moral and Ethical Disorders in the Life of the Church (chs. 5-6)

• Laxity in Church Discipline (ch. 5)
• Lawsuits before Non-Christian Judges (6:1-11)
• Sexual Immorality (6:12-20)

IV.                  Instruction on Marriage (ch. 7)

• General Principles (7:1-7)
• The Problems of the Married (7:8-24)
• The Problems of the Unmarried (7:25-40)

V.                  Instruction on Questionable Practices (8:1;11:1)

• The Principles Involved (ch. 8)
• The Principles Illustrated (ch. 9)
• A Warning from the History of Israel (10:1-22)
• The Principles Applied (10:23;11:1)

VI.                  Instruction on Public Worship (11:2;14:40)

• Propriety in Worship (11:2-16)
• The Lord's Supper (11:17-34)
• Spiritual Gifts (chs. 12-14)
1. The test of the gifts (12:1-3)
2. The unity of the gifts (12:4-11)
3. The diversity of the gifts (12:12-31a)
4. The necessity of exercising the gifts in love (12:31b;13:13)
5. The superiority of prophecy over tongues (14:1-25)
6. Rules governing public worship (14:26-40)

VII.                  Instruction on the Resurrection (ch. 15)

• The Certainty of the Resurrection (15:1-34)
• The Consideration of Certain Objections (15:35-57)
• The Concluding Appeal (15:58)

Conclusion: Practical and Personal Matters (ch. 16)