1 Corinthians: Church's Unity

Word of the Cross is the basis for Church's Unity

Text: 1:10 – 4:21

Outline:

A. 1:10-11, Report by Chloe's family

  B. 1:12-17, Divisions by the ministers

    C. 1:18-25, we preach Christ crucified

      D. 1:26-31, Consider your calling

    C'. 2:1-16, Wisdom of Christ crucified

  B'. 3:1 – 4:7, Ministry of apostles

A'. 4:8-21, I fathered you – family relationship

Comments: St. Paul is approaching the theme of division from a variety of angles: family unity, togetherness of apostles and ministers, the wisdom of Christ, and comparison with the world.

The Twelve: St. John

St. John

Meaning of the name: St. John had a Hebrew name Johanan, meaning “YHWH is gracious.” The name often appears in the list of priest before and after the Babylonian exile (Nehemiah 12:21-22 [cp. 12:10-11]). The Jews had a custom to keep the names within the family (cp. Luke 1:57-64). The fact of his potential priestly lineage will be important later.

Also, he and his brother James (Jacob) had a “title” sons of thunder. It can mean of their temperaments or ambitions (see later). It also can refer to the power of the voice, or a reverence for the LORD – for Psalm 29:3 describes Thunder as the voice of the LORD over waters. See also Exodus 19:19, 1 Samuel 7:10, and Revelation 11:19 – all of these places talk about thunder as a sign of God's presence.

Life story: He is a part of every major story with Jesus which made him one of the three pillars of the Church. Similarly to our lesson about St. Peter, we will pick just a handful stories that might paint a picture with large brush strokes.

St. PETER'S PRISON STORY

St. Peter behind the bars story  

The Passage: Acts 12:1-23

Structure:

a. 12:1-2, Death of Jacob, brother of John, by an order of Herod (by sword)

  b. 12:3-5, group of soldiers

    c. 12:6-10, Lord’s angel

      d. 12:11, Peter is released   

    c’. 12:12-17, His angel

  b’. 12:18-19, group of soldiers

a’. 12:20-23, Death of Herod (by worms)