Corinth

Unity in Christ
&
The Christian Family
The Structure of I Corinthians
Understanding Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is sometimes
easier if you understand the letter’s “big picture” outline.

Unity in Christ
• Introduction 1:1-9
• Division in the Church 1:10-16
• The Wisdom of God: the Cross 1:17-2:2
• The Wisdom of God: the Spirit 2:3-16
• Christian Unity 3:1-4:16
The Christian Family
• Immorality and the Church 4:14-6:8
• Theology of Sexuality: Kingdom Ethics 6:9-12
• Theology of Sexuality: Joining the Body 6:13-20
• Christian Sexuality 7:1-40
Obedience in Freedom
• Food Offered to Idols 8:1-13
• Paul's Personal Freedom and Responsibility 9:1-18
• Freedom in Mission 9:19-27
• Old Covenant Sacraments and Idolatry 10:1-13
• New Covenant Sacraments and Idolatry 10:14-22
• Food Offered to Idols 10:23-11:1
Worship and the Body of Christ 11:2-14:40
• Men and Women in Worship 11:2-16
• The Lord's Supper 11:17-34
• Gifts and the Nature of the Body 12:1-31
• Love 13:1-13
• Gifts and the Upbuilding of the Body 14:1-25
• Order in Worship 14:26-33
• Women and Men in Worship, Part 2 14:34-40
Resurrection 1:1-58
• The Message and the Validity of Faith 15:1-20
• Resurrection: Adam and Christ 15:21-28
• Resurrection and Ethics 15:21-28
• Resurrection: The Nature of the Resurrected Body
• Resurrection: Victory 15:51-58
Personal Notes 16:1-23
Unity in Christ
Paul begins by concentrating on the theme of “Unity in
Christ” for some very exact reasons. Disputes and
disagreements have led to the splintering of the Corinthian
church. If they continue to refuse to see themselves as a
cohesive whole, the future of the Corinthian church is
doomed to be fragmented.
• Read I Corinthians 1:10-17
• Someone else read Paul’s response to this
problem in I Corinthians 3:1-9
• What are the “fault lines” along which churches
break up today? How does Christ unify churches
that have to deal with those fault lines?

The Christian Family

Paul orders the church in a way that we would probably not
expect. He does not treat the church as an organization, but
as a family. In this family, He establishes a few governing
principles.
• Read I Corinthians 5:1-2 and 9-13
• Sexual immorality is running rampant in the
Corinthian church and in Corinth itself. The
church itself seems to have a certain “kink” that
isn’t even tolerated among the pagans. What
sexual immorality runs rampant today?
• Read I Corinthians 7:1-7
• Someone else read 7:8-16
• Paul holds His relationship with Christ in a regard
higher than marriage, but still acknowledges that
 marriage is a good thing. What are the “rules” of
marriage that Paul lays out here?
The Lectionary and Corinthians
In the season of Epiphany, Corinthians is always the Epistle
(or “Second”) reading. The segments of the Epistle match
up with the themes of the Lectionary in this way:
• 5th Sunday after Epiphany – I Corinthians 2:1-16 –
the unifying work of the Holy Spirit who brings
wisdom to God’s family.

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.