1 Corinthians Outline

1. Greetings and Thanksgiving; Exhortation to Unity; We preach Christ crucified
1. After his salutation and thanksgiving for the Corinthians,
10. Paul exhorts them to unity,
12. and reproves their dissensions.
18. God destroys the wisdom of the wise,
21. by the foolishness of preaching;
26. and calls not the wise, mighty, and noble,
28. but the foolish, weak, and men of no account.
2. Reliance upon the Holy Spirit
1. Paul declares that his preaching,
4. though it bring not excellence of speech, or of human wisdom,
5. yet consists in the power of God;
6. and so far excels the wisdom of this world, that the natural man cannot understand it.
3. Christ as the Foundation; Rebuke for Divisions
1. Milk is fit for children.
3. Strife and division, arguments of a fleshly mind.
7. He who plants and He who waters are nothing.
9. The ministers are God's fellow workmen.
11. Christ the only foundation.
16. You are the temples of God, which must be kept holy.
19. The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.
4. Apostles Are Servants of Christ
1. In what account the apostles ought to be regarded.
7. We have nothing which we have not received.
9. The apostles spectacles to the world, angels, and men;
13. the filth and offscouring of the world;
15. yet our fathers in Christ;
16. whom we ought to follow.
5. Expel the Wicked Man
1. The sexual immorality person,
6. is cause rather of shame unto them than of rejoicing.
7. The old leaven is to be purged out.
10. Heinous offenders are to be shamed and avoided.
6. Lawsuits between Believers; Honor God with Your Body
1. The Corinthians must take their brothers to court;
6. especially under infidels.
9. The wicked shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
15. Our bodies are the members of Christ, and temples of the Holy Spirit:
19. they must not therefore be defiled.
7. Paul's Instructions on Marriage
1. He discusses marriage;
4. showing it to be a remedy against sinful desires,
10. and that the bond thereof ought not lightly to be dissolved.
20. Every man must be content with his vocation.
25. Virginity wherefore to be embraced;
35. and for what respects we may either marry, or abstain from marrying.
8. Take Care with your Freedom in Christ
1. To abstain from food offered to idols.
8. We must not abuse our Christian liberty, to the offense of our brothers;
11. but must bridle our knowledge with charity.
9. The Rights of an Apostle
1. He shows his liberty;
7. and that the minister ought to receive a living by the Gospel;
15. yet that himself has of his own accord abstained,
18. to be neither chargeable unto them,
22. nor offensive unto any, in matters indifferent.
24. Our life is like unto a race.
10. Warning to Avoid Israel's Fate and flee from Idolatry; Freedom of believers
1. The sacraments of the Jews are types of ours;
7. and their punishments,
11. examples for us.
13. We must flee from idolatry.
21. We must not make the Lord's table the table of demons;
24. and in all things we must have regard for our brothers.
11. Reverence in Worship; The Lord's Supper
1. He reproves them, because in holy assemblies,
4. their men prayed with their heads covered,
6. and women with their heads uncovered;
17. and because generally their meetings were not for the better, but for the worse;
21. as, namely, in profaning with their own feast the Lord's supper.
25. Lastly, he calls them to the first institution thereof.
12. Spiritual Gifts; One Body Made Up of Many Parts
1. Spiritual gifts,
4. are diverse,
7. yet to profit all.
8. And to that end are diversely bestowed;
12. as the members of a natural body tend all to the mutual decency,
22. service,
26. and helpfulness of the same body;
27. so we should do for one another, to make up the body of Christ.
13. The Greatest of these is Love
1. All gifts,
3. however excellent, are of no worth without love.
4. The praises thereof,
13. as love is greatest before hope and faith.
14. Prophecy and Tongues; Orderly Worship
1. Prophecy is commended,
2. and preferred before speaking in tongues,
6. by a comparison drawn from musical instruments.
12. Both must be referred to edification,
22. as to their true and proper end.
26. The true use of each is taught,
27. and the abuse rebuked.
34. Women in the churches.
15. The Resurrection of Christ, the Dead and the Body
1. By Christ's resurrection,
12. he proves the necessity of our resurrection,
16. against all such as deny the resurrection of the body.
21. The fruit,
35. and the manner thereof;
51. and of the resurrection of those who shall be found alive at the last day.
16. Gifts, Requests and Greetings
1. He exhorts them to a collection for the brothers at Jerusalem.
10. Commends Timothy;
13. and after friendly admonitions,
16. concludes his epistle with various salutations.