1 Corinthians

This is the second of twenty-one summaries of the New Testament letters.  The second letter to be outlined is 1 Corinthians, and the outline comes from Kenneth Bailey's book Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes:

a   Cross and Christian unity, 1:5-4:16

     b   Men and Women in the Human Family, 4:17-7:40

          c   Food Offered to Idols, 8:1-11:1

     b'  Men and Women in Worship, 11:2-14:40

a'  The Resurrection, 15

The 'a' pattern links Paul's treatment of the cross in the first section to his treatment of the resurrection in the second section.

The 'b' pattern links Paul's treatment of men and women in the human family in the first section to his treatment of men and women in worship in the second section.

The 'c' section is central, and relates Paul's message about Christians living among pagans, and whether to identify or not to identify.