R E A DING T HE BIBL E TODAY SER IES
1 Corinthians A Letter of Love
Paul Barnett Series Editor–Paul Barnett
Contents
Map: Relevant places, first century AD
vi
Introduction
1
1. Paul’s apostolic authority (1 Corinthians 1:1—4:21)
22
2. Sexuality and marriage (1 Corinthians 5:1—7:40)
63
3. The challenges of temple culture (1 Corinthians 8:1—11:1)
97
4. The traditions corrupted (1 Corinthians 11:2–34)
137
5. ‘Spiritual people’ (1 Corinthians 12:1—14:40)
149
6. The abolition of death (1 Corinthians 15:1–58)
177
7. Future plans (1 Corinthians 16:1–24)
198
v
Chapter 1
Paul’s apostolic authority (1 Corinthians 1:1—4:21)
FORMAL GREETING (1:1–3) Like everyday letters, Paul began by naming himself as the sender, adding his official qualification: ‘called by the will of God to be an apostle [or envoy] of Christ Jesus’ (actually a title: ‘anointed King Jesus’). However, Paul’s reference to being an apostle was not merely routine. Since Paul had left Corinth three years ago, the church had been visited by other leaders—first Apollos (a brilliant orator), then Cephas (Peter, Jesus’ leading disciple and apostle). Yet Paul had been commissioned by God to proclaim his Son ‘among the Gentiles’ (Galatians 1:16). At a high-level meeting in Jerusalem, it was agreed that Paul would be the apostle to the Gentiles, and James, Cephas and John the apostles to the Jews (Galatians 2:7–9). Paul had been faithful to this commission in Corinth, where he had laid the foundations of the church with predominantly Gentile membership. Paul was insisting through this letter on exercising his distinctive apostolic authority in the church in Corinth. The writer acknowledges a co-writer, Sosthenes, about whom we know nothing else but who may have been Paul’s amanuensis or scribe. We know Paul wrote through a secretary because at the end of the letter he writes a ‘greeting with my own hand’ (16:21). The thing that made this letter different was its length, by far the longest of any of Paul’s letters to this point. The (estimated) one hundred and fifty or so members of the church must have either sat patiently for two to three hours while 22
Paul's apostolic authority (1 Corinthians 1:1—4:21) Stephanas read the letter to them, or heard the letter in more than one sitting. By convention, next came the addressees: ‘the church [congregation] of God that is in Corinth’ (v 2). Back then, the word ‘church’ (Greek, ekklēsia) was a secular word used for politically based assemblies and not for the mystery religions or the pagan temple services. For Paul ‘the church of God’ was the plenary gathering of God’s people in that place, Corinth. Paul chose not to refer to Christian gatherings as synagogues. Paul expands this title to ‘those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints’ (v 2). The words ‘sanctified’ and ‘saints’ are closely related in Greek and point to the notion of ‘holiness’ or ‘godly separation’, the theme of the book of Leviticus. God deemed this group of people in Corinth as ‘set apart in holiness’, called upon to live out that holiness in daily life. However, the city of Corinth was given to idol worship and to sexual promiscuity—an unholy place. The problem was that many church members were more influenced by the worship of the gods in the temples and sexual engagement with sacred prostitutes than by the directions of God. By 55 AD, the Christian movement had spread beyond Corinth to neighbouring towns and villages—Cenchreae, for example (Romans 16:1–2). Paul expected gatherings in these outlying centres also to read and be guided by his letter. It is likely that scribes would have copied the letter so that these new churches had their own to read. Again, following convention, Paul concluded the formal opening of the letter with a brief prayer for his listeners: ‘Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’ (v 3). Here Paul’s words were different from contemporary letters, which invoked the blessings of the gods. His blessings of grace and peace (‘mercy’ and its consequence ‘peace’—spiritual wellbeing) came to them from the God who was their Father and from their Lord who was Jesus Christ, who had displaced and replaced the old gods and lords of polytheistic Corinth (8:5). 23
A Letter of Love As Stephanas (as we assume) read on, it became clear that Paul the sender had many issues with the church. Nevertheless, he does address them as ‘the church of God’, and now proceeds to give thanks to God because of the evident grace that had been given them in Christ Jesus. Despite their many problems, Paul does not ‘unchurch’ them or call into question the reality of their faith.
FORMAL THANKSGIVING (1:4–10) Paul recalls that when he was first in Corinth his testimony about Christ was confirmed by God through the outpouring of spiritual gifts of ‘all speech and all knowledge’ (v 4). Throughout the letter, Paul recognises and appreciates the members’ theological knowledge and their fluent speech, whether prophesying or speaking in tongues. Paul’s point is that, whatever their shortcomings (notably, a lack of love), these gifts were tangible evidence that they were a true church whose multi-gifted members were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Corinthians’ gifts of knowledge and speech were forward-looking, anticipating the final revealing of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul assures them that, as God had called them into the fellowship of his Son (evident in their membership of the church), he would sustain them to the end. God had revealed himself to them as they welcomed the gospel, which he then confirmed by the outpouring of gifts of knowledge and speech. Having begun this work among them, the apostle reassures them that God will support and strengthen them to the very end. Paul’s reference to ‘his Son’ (v 9) is the first of many that point to the centrality of Jesus, the Lord, the Son of God, in the message of Paul his apostle (see 15:28: ‘When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to him [the Father] who put all things in subjection to him ...’). The opening formalities ended, Paul now begins to address the problems in the church of God in Corinth. His words are direct and urgent. 24
Paul's apostolic authority (1 Corinthians 1:1—4:21)
PAUL’S APPEAL FOR UNITY (1:10–12) As their founding apostle who could have commanded them, Paul chose rather to appeal to them. This threw the responsibility back on them to reflect about their behaviour and then respond in a mature way. This was their pathway to responsible maturity as Christians. It was a threefold appeal:
· to agree (literally ‘speak the same thing’) in their · ·
words to one another to reject divisions (‘schisms’) among them to be united in the same mind and the same thought (gnōmē, opinion).
Paul was not appealing for a commonly held opinion about everything, but regarding matters related to the Christian message and their life together in the church. Chloe, a (presumably) wealthy member of the church, had sent members of her household to Paul in Ephesus reporting quarrels (erides, a strong word) within the congregation. Her name is derived from Greek mythology, which tells us that she was a Gentile (non-Jew), although it is possible that she had become a God-fearer (a Gentile who attended the synagogue) but not yet a fully-fledged Jew. Chloe’s standalone name suggests she was either a widow, a divorcee, or more socially prominent than her husband. In verse 12, Paul explains what he means: literally, ‘Each of you is saying, “I am of Paul”, “I am of Apollos”, “I am of Cephas”, or “I am of Christ”’. This extreme individualism reflects the quarrelsome secular politics of the city. The members were putting loyalty to various leaders ahead of the unity of the congregation. Paul’s supporters were probably early converts like Stephanas, Crispus and Gaius, along with Chloe and Erastus. Apollos, the orator, had his admirers. Cephas, the leading disciple of Jesus and the pioneer apostle to the Jews, would have been especially revered by the Jewish believers. The ‘Christ’ party were most probably ordinary church members who were not aligned to any faction. 25
A Letter of Love It needs to be pointed out that Paul does not criticise either Apollos or Cephas, but as is obvious later, writes appreciatively of their contributions to the Corinthian church. He refers to Apollos as God’s ‘fellow worker’ (3:9) and says that ‘Paul … Apollos … Cephas’ were God’s gifts to the church (3:22). If there was a problem, it was not with these worthy leaders but rather their followers, specifically the followers of the gifted orator, Apollos. Admiration of expertise in public speaking was part of both Roman and Greek culture. The great Roman politicians like Cicero, Julius Caesar and Augustus were great speechmakers. Their admirers in Roman Corinth sought election to high office based on their eloquence. Speechmaking was also highly prized in the Greek world, going back to the great Athenian politician Demosthenes. There were public speaking competitions in the Olympic and nearby Isthmian Games. Travelling orators were showered with gifts of hospitality and money as rewards for their rhetorical excellence. The book of Acts refers to Apollos as ‘an eloquent man’ (Acts 18:24). The presence of Apollos the Christian orator in Corinth reinforced the belief that the act of speechmaking itself was an expression of wisdom and a source of wisdom for the hearers. This apparently led those who had become the devoted followers of Apollos to believe that they were the wise people, the elite, intellectually superior to others. Paul will devote a large section of the letter (1:18—4:21) to correcting this notion, which was the antithesis of the apostolic message of Christ crucified.
THE FOLLY OF DIVISION (1:13) Paul now turns to bombard the Corinthians with a series of questions, the obvious answers exposing their folly in allowing the church to be divided. The three questions relate to his own factional support group. If the answer relating to him is negative, so too will the answer be negative regarding the Apollos group and the Cephas group. Even more to the point, the answers demanded by the three 26