BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS

1 CORINTHIANS – PART 2

PAUL’S ANSWERS TO THE CORINTHIANS, 7:1–16:4

Now Paul turns to the Corinthians’ own issues, building on the answers he has already given to questions they did not ask. The first issue is that of marriage {7:1-24}. The slogan of the ascetic party in Corinth {perhaps a reaction against the libertines of chapter 6} was “It is good for a man not to touch a woman” {7:1}. The Corinthians applied this slogan to both married and unmarried, arguing that married believers should abstain from sexual relations. Paul clarified the matter with three points.

First, he said that this was totally unrealistic, for total abstinence would lead to immorality {verses 2, 7-9}.

Second, when people get married, they no longer own their own bodies; their bodies belong to each other for their mutual benefit {verses 3-4}. Sexual refusal denies a spouse what rightly belongs to him or her.

Third, abstinence is allowed for limited periods by mutual agreement as a type of fast to help focus on the Moshiach {verse 5}.

While Paul will address the issue of the unmarried more fully in 7:25-40, in a side remark he indicates that he is himself content to be unmarried. But since some do not have this gift, full sexual expression in marriage is far better than fighting passion {7:7-9}. Once two believers are married, divorce is unthinkable. A clear word of the Moshiach proves this {Matthew 5:31-32; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18 and parallels}, so there are no exceptions {Paul either does not know of the exception clause in Matthew 19:9 or he understands it as referring to something like premarital unchastity discovered before the wedding, not to adultery after the wedding}. Although in some cases a Christian couple must live separately, it is always with a view to reconciliation. The teaching of Yeshua does not allow him to think of the marriage as ending {1 Corinthians 7:10-11}. But what if the spouse is not a believer? Paul applies his principles to a situation for which Yeshua did not leave a clear word.

First, since Yeshua told believers not to divorce, even in this situation the believer may not initiate a divorce {7:12-13}.

Second, since believers are not to control or judge non-believers {6:12-13}, the believer does not need to continue the relationship if the non-believer insists on a divorce {7:15}.

Third, far from defiling the believer {as the relationship in 6:15 does}, the believer will make the relationship holy, with positive results for the children and the possible salvation of the spouse {7:14, 16}. While this is no call to remain in situations of physical or sexual abuse, it is a call to remain faithful to a mixed marriage situation. Paul does not believe that one normally needs to change one’s life situation to serve the Moshiach {7:17-24}. Therefore, normally each person should remain in that state of life in which he or she was when called to the Moshiach. Paul’s examples show that he was thinking in terms of marriage or singleness, Jew {circumcision} or Gentile, slave or free, not in terms of situations that might be immoral in themselves. In the case of slaves, they can accept freedom if it becomes available, but it does not make an essential difference in their real state before YHVH or their ability to serve the Moshiach {verses 21-23}. The second issue is that of the unmarried {7:25-40}. Paul argues that single people and widows may marry -- it is not wrong. Yet he advises them to remain single. Since all in this age is passing away, it would be good to stay single so as to avoid the extra suffering to which marriage exposes a person {verses 25-31}. What is more, marriage always divides one’s attention between Adonai and the legitimate needs of the spouse. One must not abandon the spouse or ignore his or her needs in order to serve Adonai, but one can remain single so that Adonai can be the sole focus of life and devotion {verses 32-35}. Finally, if one is in a situation in which marriage is expected, the person must make his own decision as to whether he should marry the woman for her sake {and perhaps that of the wider family} or whether he can and should simply care for her as a single person {verses 36-38}. Paul closes this section by repeating his general principles {verses 39-40}. The third issue Paul deals with is that of food that has been offered to idols {8:1–11:1}. Most meat that was available in the marketplace came either from animals slaughtered as sacrifices in the temples or from groups of animals from which one was offered as a dedicatory sacrifice. To scrupulous Jews, all of this meat would be untouched. Furthermore, pagans invited believers to feasts in their homes and to private feasts held in the precincts of pagan temples, where trade guilds also held feasts. Paul discusses these issues and uses them to teach wider principles of Christian conduct.

First, love, not knowledge, is the key to correct behaviour {8:1-13}. Some Corinthians felt superior because they were convinced that idols had no reality {there is only one YHVH}, and therefore any food offered to them was still fit to eat. Paul again accepts their slogans, but counters with the statement, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” {verse 1}. YHVH is not concerned with what we know or eat, but he is concerned with whether or not we love our fellow believers. The concern is not that a fellow believer might become enraged because one indulged, but that he or she might have a vulnerable conscience and indulge himself, even though he believed it wrong and thus in his own eyes apostasizes from the faith {i.e., rebels against the Moshiach}. Such leading astray is not love. It would be better never to eat meat than to lead a fellow believer into sin.

Second, he points out that one should subordinate one’s own interests to those of others, especially those of the Moshiach and his gospel {9:1-23}. Both the examples of the apostles, who expected the church to support them and their families {cf. Luke 10:5-7}, and Scripture prove that Paul had the right to demand support from the Corinthians. This had not been his practice, for he had normally made tents to support his ministry, though he did accept gifts from other churches. Paul did this to prevent people from thinking he was peddling religion for profit {9:12} and for the personal satisfaction of doing more than he had to do {verses 16-17}. This was part of Paul’s larger policy of subordinating his own personal preferences and interests to those of The Moshiach and his gospel {verses 19-23}.

Third, the bravado of the strong who demonstrate their liberty with disregard of fellow believers is spiritually dangerous {9:24–10:22}. It is not who begins but who completes the Christian life that counts; therefore, it is a life of discipline, not relaxed license {9:24-27}. Israel in the wilderness presents an example of failure in this regard. They had “baptism” and “Adonai’s Supper” {10:2-4}, just like the church, yet most of them did not make it to the Promised Land. The reason YHVH destroyed them was simple: they turned to sin. Likewise, the believer has to be careful not to be so proud about faith and freedom that he becomes careless about sin and falls from the faith {verse 12}. On the other hand, believers need not be fearful, for the temptation is not more powerful than they are; YHVH has provided a way of escape, if they will take it {verse 13}. Another link between the Israelites and the Corinthians pertains to partaking of a sacrificial meal {10:14-22}. In Adonai’s Supper there is a sharing of the blood and body of the Moshiach, just as real as Israel’s sacrifices on the altar. Food offered to idols is also a sharing, not with the supposed YHVH, but with the real demon that is behind the idol. To try to share at both tables is to provoke YHVH’s jealousy just as Israel did {verse 22}. A summary of the discussion draws the three chapters together {10:23–11:1}. Since the food is not changed by being offered to idols, and since all food really belongs to YHVH, one may eat anything sold in the market -- do not ask any questions {10:25-26}. Likewise, the believer may eat anything served at a dinner in the home of an unbeliever. However, if someone points out that the food was offered to idols, the believer should pass it by, not because it would hurt him, but because it is an issue with the person who raised the question, and the believer is concerned about the good of his neighbour {verses 27-30}. In other words, follow Paul’s example as he patterns himself in turn after the Moshiach, who served others rather than himself. Act so that YHVH’s reputation and character shine through even in what one eats {verse 31}; try to offend no one but to benefit each person in moving him toward salvation {verse 32}. The fourth issue Paul deals with is that of order in church meetings {11:2–14:40}. The Corinthians’ house churches had lively meetings, but rather than showing unity in the Moshiach, they demonstrated selfishness. Paul had no desire to change what they did; he did want to change how they did it. The first problem in the meetings was the behaviour of married women {11:1-16}. The sign of marriage in that day was the wearing of a veil or distinctive hairstyle, as a ring is today. Women praying and delivering prophecies in church was no issue for Paul, but the women may have felt that this loose them from their husbands {cf. Mark 12:25} and therefore was a reason to set aside their veils. Paul argues that husband and wife are intimately joined, just as humans are to YHVH {1 Corinthians 11:3}. Therefore, as humans should not shame but glorify YHVH, so the wife should act toward her husband. Thus, while Paul approves of ministry by women, he puts marriage first. The second problem in the meetings was that of making class distinctions {11:17-34}. Until the weekly Adonai’s Supper began to be turned into the sacrifice of the Mass in the third and fourth centuries, it was a full shared meal. Middle - and upper-class believers could come earlier to the church gatherings and also provide better food and drink for themselves. Following the customs of pagan clubs, they had no scruples against starting early and feasting as befit their class, so long as at least simple food was provided for the slaves and peasants who could not come as early {verse 21}. This shamed the poorer believers and made them feel class distinctions keenly {verse 22}. This, argues Paul, is not Adonai’s Supper but a sham {verse 20}. Paul repeats the words of institution to point out that they all are participating in the Moshiach’s body and blood {cf. 10:16-17}, not their own meal. To do it in an unworthy manner, with divisions and class distinctions among them, is to profane his meal by failing to demonstrate the unity of his body, the church {11:29}, and thus invite his judgment, which they were already experiencing. Instead, they should examine their own motives and truly gather as one to eat this common meal. The third problem in their meetings was the use of spiritual gifts {12:1–14:40}. It is possible that some people in these house churches, under the influence of Gnostic ideas in which the spiritual is good and the material evil, and feeling inspired by a spirit, cried out, “Yeshua [meaning the human Yeshua as opposed to the spiritual Moshiach] be cursed.” It is not the Spirit of YHVH saying this, argues Paul, for the Spirit in us cries the basic believer confession, “Yeshua is Adonai.” Others in these churches were exalting their own particular gift, especially the gift of tongues, shouting down others or refusing to give them a turn. There is only one Spirit and he gives all the gifts, Paul argues {12:4-6}. The Spirit manifests himself sovereignly in each believer, not simply for the believer’s own benefit, but for the good of all {verse 7}. Since it is the Spirit, not a given manifestation, that the believer has, the gifts manifested could change from meeting to meeting. That same Spirit has made all believers into one organic unity in the Moshiach {12:12-13}. Thus, not only does the one Spirit give all the gifts -- all are equally inspired -- but all the gifts are equally needed for the proper functioning of the body of the Moshiach {verses 14-26}. No one can say that his lack of a given gift makes him less a part of the body; indeed, the less noticeable gifts may well be the more important. Thus, within the body of the Moshiach, there are not only different manifestations of the Spirit through individuals in a given meeting, but different ministries or functions of individuals in the body {verses 27-31}. Therefore, it is not the demonstration of a particular gift that shows one’s spirituality, but how one demonstrates it -- that is, whether one manifests it with love {13:1-13}. Any gift exercised for selfish purposes may be a genuine gift of the Spirit, but it is worthless to the individual {verses 1-3}. This is because love is the opposite of selfishness {verses 4-7}. In fact, the gifts of the Spirit are only for the period between Yeshua’ first coming and his second coming, when the kingdom of YHVH will be perfectly revealed and the King will be present in person, and thus the intermediary gifts of the Spirit will be no longer necessary {verses 10, 12}. It is not giftedness but faith and hope that will have a reward then, and love, which is the greatest, because it will continue as believers live in perfect love with each other and with Yeshua {verse 13}. Applying this to Corinth, Paul argues that while one should desire all the gifts, love dictates that prophecy should be the gift of choice in the church meetings {14:1-25}. The Corinthians had evidently been stressing tongues. Tongues without interpretation is of little value to anyone except to the speaker himself. It does not build anyone up; its confusion seems madness to outsiders. Outside the church meetings there is a role for tongues, both as a sign of judgment {verse 21} and for private devotion {verse 18}, but inside, only with interpretation. Prophecy, however, both builds up and convicts, and thus is to be sought in the meetings. In the church meetings, then, both gifts and order are to prevail {14:26-40}. All types of gifts are allowed expression with a goal of mutual edification, not selfish demonstration {verse 26}. Tongues speakers must have an interpreter; both they and prophets must speak in turn, with time being taken to evaluate the utterances after every few speakers {verses 27-33}. Furthermore, the women, who were perhaps chatting in the service {perhaps due to habits learned in Jewish synagogues, where they were segregated and did not participate} are to cease their chattering, pay attention, and learn, asking questions at home if they do not understand {verses 34-36}. In his concluding summary, Paul states that all should be done in an orderly manner {verses 37-40}. The fifth issue Paul deals with is that of the resurrection of the dead {chapter 15}. Some of the problems mentioned earlier concerning loose morals {chapters 5–6}, ascetic denial, sexuality {chapter 7}, or feeling one was resurrected already {chapter 11} point to the fact that some Corinthians did not believe in the resurrection of the body, though they apparently believed in the resurrection of Yeshua and the immortality of the human soul. Paul reaffirms that the resurrection of Yeshua is an essential part of the gospel message {15:1-19}. The unified voice of the church was that Yeshua not only died but rose again and appeared to numerous witnesses {verses 3-11}. If they were consistent in their anti-resurrection argument, the Moshiach could not have been raised. Yet if this were the case, the whole gospel message is false and all their hopes for salvation are in vain {verses 12-19}. Since the Moshiach has been raised, believers will also be raised because of their solidarity with him {15:20-28}. As they had experienced the results of being in Adam, so now they will experience the results of being in the Moshiach. But resurrection does not happen at once. There are progressive stages:

A -- The Moshiach was first;
B -- The believers will be raised at his coming;
C -- The Moshiach must reign until he extends kingdom rule over the whole world, destroying all demonic powers {including death itself};
D -- Then he will turn over the perfected kingdom to the Father {verses 23-28}.

Resurrection hope also explains Christian practices such as baptizing people on behalf of others who had died {probably people who had turned to the Moshiach but had died before they could be baptized, 15:29}, and willingness to risk death for the Moshiach {verses 30-32}. Paul admits that there are intellectual problems involved, but these are solved when one realizes that resurrection includes both continuity and discontinuity {15:35-50}. Just as seed and plant are the same and yet different, and just as many types of bodies exist, so it is with the resurrection. What was perishable, dishonourable, weak, and physical {i.e., in Adam} will be raised imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual {i.e., in the Moshiach}. Indeed, it is only as the believers thus become like the Moshiach, the heavenly man, that they can become part of YHVH’s kingdom. With excitement Paul shares his real hope, that of transformation {15:51-58}. At the coming of the Moshiach the dead will be raised and transformed. But the living will also need transformation, and this will happen in a split second, making all of them impervious to death. Then they will truly know the victory already present in Yeshua’ resurrection {verses 54-57}. A concluding summary draws the practical conclusion that this teaching should give them assurance of a reward for anything done for the Moshiach now {verse 58}. The sixth issue Paul deals with is that of the collection for the needy Jerusalem church {16:1-4}. Because of famine in Judea in the 40s, the church there had become impoverished. Partly because of the need and partly to further the unity of the church, Paul took up a collection in some of his churches for the Judean church. He answers the Corinthians’ practical queries by stating that the collection should be made weekly according to ability, not all at once when Paul arrives {16:2}. When he comes, he will send off the money with their own messengers. Paul remains vague about whether or not he will accompany them, allaying suspicions that somehow, he plans to profit from it {cf. 2 Corinthians 8–9}.

FINAL REMARKS AND CLOSING, 16:5-24

Having come to the end, Paul discusses his travel plans, including his intention for a lengthy visit whenever he leaves Ephesus {cf. 2 Corinthians 1}. Timothy was either coming with the letter or else would arrive shortly after another mission; they were to respect him and help him return. Paul points out that he urged Apollos to visit Corinth, in case some suspect Paul is against him. A closing formal exhortation to firm faith and love leads into his final customary greetings. He praises the Corinthian messengers who had brought him their letter {16:15-18} and sends greetings from Aquila and Prisca {Priscilla}, his commissionaires who had helped him found the church in Corinth {Acts 18:2-3, 18}. Referring to the customary greeting in the church, he tells them to greet each other with a kiss on each cheek {16:20}. Paul then takes the pen from the scribe, as was normal, and writes the closing exhortation -- placing a curse on those who do not love Yeshua, the common Aramaic expression used in the church “Come, O Adonai” {Maranatha, perhaps used to close services}, and providing an assurance of his own love for them {verses 21-24}.

BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS

1 CORINTHIANS – PART 1

AUTHOR

There is no doubt about who wrote 1 Corinthians, for all scholars agree that the apostle Paul wrote it on his third missionary journey while he was living in Ephesus. By this time Paul was a mature, middle-aged {perhaps 55 years old} missionary, fully seasoned from planting churches around a quarter of the Mediterranean world.

DATE AND ORIGIN

Paul worked in Corinth from about AD 50 to 52. After a brief stay in Jerusalem, he returned to his missionary work, this time at Ephesus {Acts 19}, where he ministered for three years {AD 53–55/56}. During this period, he wrote at least three letters to Corinth and made a visit as well. His first letter, often called “the previous letter,” is referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9-11. We know from this reference that the letter was misunderstood, but we know little of its content, for it has been lost. Sometime in AD 55, after hearing reports from Chloe’s household {1 Corinthians 1:11}, who were probably members of Chloe’s house church, he dictated a second letter to Corinth, our 1 Corinthians. This was probably sent off in the hands of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus {16:17}. Paul would later write a third letter to Corinth, called “the letter of tears” {2 Corinthians 2:2-3}, and then finally 2 Corinthians.

BACKGROUND

Corinth was a seaport city, destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC and rebuilt in 46 BC by Julius Caesar. After 27 BC, it was the Roman capital of Achaia, where the proconsul had his residence {Acts 18:12}. The city itself was really three cities: the port of Cenchrea, about eight miles {13 kilometres} to the east, where ships from the Aegean would unload; the port of Lechaion, about a mile {1.6 kilometres} to the west on the Gulf of Corinth, where the ships would be reloaded, their goods having been transported in wagons over the isthmus and the ships on rollers; and the city itself on the high ground in between. The acropolis of the city, on top of the steep, high Acrocorinth, contained the temple of Aphrodite, where 1,000 female slaves were dedicated to the service of this goddess of love. This distinctive cult of Corinth was dedicated to the veneration of Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, who is identified with the Roman Venus. Associated with such religious practices was a general moral degradation. Corinthian morals were notoriously corrupt, even when compared with pagan Rome. Down in the city was the synagogue {Acts 18:4}; for while the city as a Roman colony was largely populated by Italians, it had attracted other peoples from the Mediterranean, among whom were the Jews.

PURPOSE AND TEACHING

The main concern of Paul in 1 Corinthians was the unity of the church. There was a self-centeredness in Corinth that resulted in building cliques within the church, in flaunting knowledge and liberty in the face of others scandalized by it, and in selfish displays in the worship services. Two other major concerns also surface in the book. First, along with other pagan practices, the lax sexual ethics of Corinth had influenced the church; Paul needed to erect some barriers. Second, there was a problem in accepting the resurrection of the body; Paul realized that this issue had implications for the core of the faith and vigorously affirmed the resurrection. Both of these latter two areas, as well as aspects of the unity issue {particularly their concern with knowledge}, have been identified by some scholars as Gnostic motifs, leading to the conclusion that Paul was opposing a Gnostic party in Corinth. Careful examination reveals, however, that while some of the elements floating in the Corinthian milieu would later contribute to the development of Gnosticism, it would be anachronistic to call them gnostic. While recognizing protognostic ideas in the Corinthian situation, it is important to keep interpretation within the first-century context. Thus, the focus of Paul’s concern was the church, its unity and purity. Paul was fighting to keep this church from disintegrating into a number of competing and bickering factions divided over moral and doctrinal issues. Furthermore, he wanted to keep the focus of the church on Yeshua, the exalted Adonai.

CONTENT

GREETING, 1:1-9

Paul begins with a standard greeting, followed by his usual thanksgiving prayer. Two features stand out.

First, the greeting associates Sosthenes with Paul. While we cannot be sure who Sosthenes was, he was surely well known to the Corinthians; probably he was the Sosthenes whom Acts 18:17 identifies as the ruler of the synagogue, following the conversion of Crispus.

Second, Paul stresses the Corinthians’ abilities in speech, knowledge, and spiritual gifts. They had all of these, and these were genuine, but it was precisely these good things that they were abusing. Paul’s solution is not to suppress these gifts {indeed, he thanks YHVH for them}, but to place them in a new context.

REPORT FROM CHLOE’S PEOPLE, 1:10–4:21

The Corinthians had made Paul, Cephas {Peter}, Apollos, and even The Moshiach into party leaders. We are not sure what each of these groups stood for, but one might guess that the Pauline group stressed Paul’s slogans of liberty; the Petrine group, the need to hold to Jewish practices; and the Apollos group, the value of philosophical understanding and oratory. Whatever they stood for, Paul is appalled that it breaks their unity. His first response is to argue that his behaviour was not calculated to build a following but to point to the Moshiach. That is, he did not insist on personally baptizing converts; who performed these acts did not matter, since they were all baptized into the Moshiach. Paul immediately moves to the underlying issue, that of various persons wanting to show themselves better or wiser than others who did not have the insights of their party in the church. Their seeking for wisdom contradicts Paul’s preaching of the gospel.

First, the message of a crucified the Moshiach {1:18} made no sense within the wisdom and values of either Jews or Greeks. It demanded a whole new way of looking on life -- YHVH’s way.

Second, YHVH had not chosen them on the basis of their status in society; quite the contrary, he had made their only status the equal status they received from him {1:26-31}.

Third, their faith had not been based on Paul’s oratory but on the gifts of the Spirit that Paul had manifested {2:4}, which had convinced them that YHVH was acting in Paul. Thus, it was not argument that led them to YHVH, but YHVH’s Spirit. Therefore, it was the Spirit, not human reasoning, that would continue to reveal YHVH to them. Unless they became fools with respect to the world’s ways of reasoning, they would never be able to rethink life from the perspective of the Spirit, who gives true wisdom.

Fourth, they were not acting on this spiritual level when they claimed Paul and others as party leaders; this activity demonstrates the evil impulse in human beings {“the flesh” or “fallen human nature”} at work since it elevates human servants rather than the YHVH who works equally in each of them.

Fifth, these servants were working together to build one “temple” for YHVH based on the one foundation in Yeshua the Moshiach, that is, the church. YHVH alone will judge how each believer contributes to the work of building the church. But woe to the person who divides the church, for “if anyone destroys YHVH’s temple, YHVH will destroy him” {3:17}. {Note that here the temple imagery is used collectively; the church is the temple. In chapter 6 it will be used individually; each believer is the temple.}

Finally, he points to their over realized eschatology, for with their spiritual gifts {which were genuine} and vaunted wisdom {which was worldly} they claimed they were reigning with The Moshiach {4:8-13}. Paul, with ironic sarcasm, points out how different this claim is from the lifestyle of the apostles.

The apostles lived like Yeshua -- a life of suffering, expecting exaltation later. The Corinthians were trying to have their exaltation now without crucifixion. Paul closes this section with an admonition. He softens his words toward some who would be responsive, urging them to copy his lifestyle. The teacher was the message {verses 14-16}. Timothy will also faithfully live the truth before them. Then he threatens the “arrogant” {verse 18}, pointing out that he will not challenge their words but their spiritual power if he comes.

THE REPORT FROM THE CORINTHIAN MESSENGERS, 5:1–6:20

Paul now turns to three issues raised by oral reports from the messengers bearing the Corinthians’ letter to him. The first issue is that of church discipline {5:12-13}. Paul cites a case of flagrant immorality -- that of incest. This immorality was so clear {even pagans considered it immoral}, that it was not a case of ignorance of the Christian principles. Further, the church had taken no action but rather boasted in its tolerance, perhaps on the basis of a misunderstanding of Paul’s teaching on freedom from the Law. Paul presents three principles in this section:

1 -- the primary goal of church discipline is the repentance and restoration of the offender;
2 -- the secondary goal of church discipline is the protection of the church {5:6-8}; and
3 -- the church is not to seek to judge or control the actions of evil persons in the world -- they are YHVH’s responsibility -- but to discipline those within the church {verses 9-13}. Paul will use these principles also in the following chapters {cf. 7:12-16}.

The second issue is that of lawsuits between the believers {6:1-11}. The Corinthian society was as prone to litigation as our own, and the believers did not see anything wrong in suing each other. Paul was troubled. If the believers are to judge the world, they certainly should not bring the world in to judge issues within the church. Rather than put their cases before “those who are least esteemed by the church” {6:4, i.e., pagan judges}, they should decide the cases within the church. Paul has an even better way than bypassing the pagan courts, and that is to simply suffer the wrong {1 Corinthians 6:7}. Applying the teaching of Yeshua quite literally {Matthew 5:38-42}, Paul argues that it would be best to allow themselves to be defrauded. Instead, the Corinthians are willing to step on their brothers in the Moshiach to get what they feel are their rights. This raises the issue as to whether greed is not still in their hearts {1 Corinthians 6:9-11}. While Paul accepts people who formerly did all sorts of evil {for Yeshua has cleansed them}, he makes it very clear that anyone presently practicing greed or immorality is not part of the kingdom, whatever their doctrinal commitments may be. The final issue in this section is that of casual sexual intercourse {6:12-20}. In a world where virginity was important if a woman wished to be married and where slaves in the temple of Aphrodite were available as prostitutes, prostitution was the major form of casual sex. The libertine party used two slogans: “All things are lawful for me,” a saying that may well have been derived from Paul’s teaching, and “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food” -- that is, since the body works this way, it must be the Creator’s purpose. Paul qualifies rather than contradicts their slogans. Freedom is subordinate to other goals {6:12, 20}. The body is not made to be used as we wish, but is to be dedicated to Adonai, as the doctrine of the resurrection demonstrates {verses 13-14}. Furthermore, sexual intercourse is an act of the whole person, unlike eating {Paul cites Genesis 2:24; cf. Yeshua in Matthew 19:5}. Therefore, this act takes a member {i.e., the person} from the body of the Moshiach and makes him a unity with a prostitute {1 Corinthians 6:15-17}. Thus, immorality is unlike other sins that are external to the self, for it changes the self and thus defiles the body, the place where the Holy Spirit dwells. It disregards the fact that the Moshiach has redeemed the body, and that the whole of the believer belongs to YHVH, not to the believer.

I have over the lifespan of TTN had a number of discussions where it comes down to Yeshua being the human carnate of YHWH. Earlier the week Henk, Lotte and I were talking of the Lord's Prayer and it raised the question "Who does Yeshua call Father?" if He is YHWH in human form.

I can only think that in this instance that is has to be Elyon which then gives further credence to say that Deut 32:8-9 shows the distinction between El and YHWH as His son.

What is your understanding on the matter if you take it from the perspective that Yeshua is YHWH personified/in human form?

Thought for Today: Friday December 05

YHVH does not want us to isolate ourselves. In praying for His disciples, Yeshua said: “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” {John 17:18}. If we isolate ourselves from others, we have no impact and demonstrate a lack of love. But neither does YHVH want us to become like the unbelieving world… The Bible warns: “All that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world” {1 John 2:16}. Let the Moshiach fill your life, and there will not be any room for the world.

Here's First Fruits Ministries action-packed bulletin for the Sabbath on 12/6/2025: https://firstfruits.cc/blog/20....25/12/04/sabbath-bul

 

firstfruits.cc

Sabbath Bulletin for 12/6/2025 | First Fruits Ministries

Shalom Brothers and Sisters in Messiah Yeshua. Please pray in Yeshua's name for our steadfast desire to keep God's commandments and immovable hearts of faith in Yeshua, so that we may be always multiplying the work of the LORD, knowing that our labor

"All that go to her do not return, and do not take hold of the paths of life."

Pr2

https://open.substack.com/pub/....silvertrumpetradio/p

I have an alternative for people here to have a community gathering place where you can keep in contact with each other available if nothing else happens with this site. Reply to this thread if you have an interest in it. Obviously, it will require more than one or two people to have any practical value.

120425 / 12th day of the 9th month 5786
WORD FOR TODAY “are you a worker for the KINGDOM”: Mat 9:37 Then He *said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Mat 9:38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

WISDOM FOR TODAY: Pro 19:13 A son who is a fool is his father's ruin, and a nagging wife is like a leak that keeps dripping.

Ask the LORD what is HIS will for your life

www.BGMCTV.org

BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS

ROMANS

AUTHOR

Written in the first person {Romans 1:5, 10, etc.}, this epistle was authored by the apostle Paul. {The first words of the first verse are “Paul, a slave of the Moshiach Yeshua, called an apostle.”} The actual transcription of the letter however, was done by Tertius {16:22}, who acted as Paul’s amanuensis {secretary}. The letter’s authenticity has never been disputed by reputable scholarship, liberal or conservative, and Romans stands at the head of virtually every ancient list or collection of Pauline letters.

DATE, ORIGIN, AND DESTINATION

The destination of the letter is stated to be Rome {1:7}. That Paul was in Corinth at the time of the writing seems clear from his reference to Erastus in 16:23 as the treasurer of the city. An inscription in the stone pavement beside the large theatre in Corinth states that it was laid by Erastus, the city treasurer, in appreciation for his election. This could hardly be coincidental. Erastus evidently remained in Corinth, because it is mentioned as his home {2 Timothy 4:20}. Furthermore, Paul refers to Gaius as his host at the time he wrote Romans {Romans 16:23}, probably the same Gaius who lived in Corinth {1 Corinthians 1:14}. Finally, Phoebe, likely the carrier of this epistle, was a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth {Romans 16:1}. From the epistle itself we can determine when Paul wrote it. Romans 15:23-28 indicates that Paul was just about ready to make his visit to Jerusalem with a contribution for its Christians poor from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, after which his purpose was to visit Rome on his way to Spain {15:23-28}. He carried this contribution with him from Corinth, at the close of his third visit to that city, which lasted three months {Acts 20:2, 23; 24:17}. On this occasion certain persons accompanied him from Corinth, whose names are given by the historian of Acts {20:4}, and four of these are expressly mentioned in this epistle as being with the apostle when he wrote it -- Timothy, Sosipater, Gaius, and Erastus {Romans 16:21, 23}. Paul’s visit to Jerusalem is usually dated around AD 57–58. As such, the Epistle to the Romans was written around the same time.

BACKGROUND

In a previous visit to Corinth, during his second missionary journey, Paul established the church there and remained in the city for 18 months {Acts 18:1, 11}. His arrival coincided with the arrival of Priscilla and Aquila, who had recently come from Rome. At the end of his 18-month stay, Paul was brought before the newly appointed proconsul, Gallio {Acts 18:12}, whose arrival can be dated from the Gallio inscription found at Delphi to the spring of AD 51. Thus, Paul arrived in Corinth in the winter of AD 49. Leaving the city, he returned to Antioch, gave a report on his work, and set out on his last journey to collect the contribution for Jerusalem from the Gentile churches {Romans 15:25-29}, for which he had previously prepared {1 Corinthians 16:1; 2 Corinthians 9:5}. Continued problems in Corinth {1 Corinthians 1:11; 7:1} necessitated his return to the city {Acts 20:3}, at which time he wrote Romans. It is clear from the last two chapters of the letter that he planned to take the contribution to Jerusalem almost immediately and from there go on to Rome {Romans 15:23-24}. The occasion for the letter, therefore, is to alert the Romans to his coming so that they can assist him in his journey to Spain {15:24, 28}. Rome was the only church, other than Colosse, which Paul did not establish. His letter, consequently, does not reflect awareness of specific problems in the membership there.

AUDIENCE

The Roman church at this time was composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers. The church was probably started by Jewish believers who were at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost {Acts 2:10} and were among the 3,000 converts. Evidently, some of these took the gospel back with them to Rome. Probably some of the believers addressed in the salutations of the epistle were believers already of long standing, if not among the earliest converts to the faith in Yeshua. Thus, it is not improbable that up to the time of the apostle’s arrival, the Christian community at Rome had been dependent upon its own members for the increase of its numbers, aided perhaps by occasional visits from preachers. Evidently, the gospel had gone out to Gentiles, because there were Gentiles in the church, as is evidenced by Paul’s remarks throughout the letter. In fact, it is clear that the apostle wrote to them expressly as to a Gentile church {Romans 1:13, 15; 15:15-16}. Perhaps the major constituency of the Gentiles were “YHVH-fearers” {see Acts 10:2}.

PURPOSE AND THEOLOGICAL TEACHING

Of all the epistles of Paul, this is the most elaborate and, at the same time, the most glowing. It has just as much in common with a theological treatise as with a personal, heartfelt epistle. The major theme running throughout the book is that both Jew and Gentile have fallen short of YHVH’s glory and stand in need of salvation {Romans 3:21-31}. YHVH’s righteousness has not been revealed only to the Jew -- because YHVH is not YHVH only to the Jews but to the Gentiles as well, since there is only one YHVH {3:29}. He will justify the Jews on the basis of the saving work of the Moshiach at Calvary, and the Gentiles on the basis of that same act of faithfulness to Abraham’s promise {verse 30}. Their common faith gives them access to this grace {5:2}. The gospel is thus to the Jew first and also to the Greek {1:16}. Once a person believes, that person is justified before YHVH {chapters 1–3}. This new relationship with YHVH provides the believer with a new life in the Moshiach and makes him or her a part of YHVH’s people {chapters 4–8}. This is the deepest and most difficult part of the whole epistle; it carries us directly to the eternal springs of grace, sovereign love, and the inscrutable purposes of YHVH. After this, we are told about the calling of the Gentiles, the preservation of a faithful Jewish remnant amidst the general unbelief and the fall of the nation, and the ultimate recovery of all Israel to constitute, with the Gentiles in the latter day, one universal church of YHVH upon earth {chapters 9–11}. The remainder of the epistle is devoted to the practical application {in church life} of the truths previously revealed {chapters 12–15}. And then the epistle concludes with Paul’s heartfelt salutations to several different believers in Rome {chapter 16}.

CONTENT

OVERVIEW

The thematic statement of the first eight chapters of the letter is set forth in 1:17: “It is through faith that a righteous person has life”. This quotation from Habakkuk 2:4 sets Paul’s teaching on faith over against that of the Old Testament on works. Thus, he affirms the fact that his teaching on faith is not new but is squarely rooted in the Old Testament prophets. What was new was that the Gentiles would be fellow citizens with the Jews on the basis of faith in the Moshiach {Ephesians 3:5-6}. They would not have to become proselytes to Judaism in order to be acceptable to YHVH, as some Jewish believers demanded {Acts 15:1}. This was the mystery of which Paul spoke in Ephesians {Ephesians 3:6}. The first part of the epistle dwells on the theme that righteousness is attained by faith. The first three chapters demonstrate that Jew and Gentile are under sin and that the redemption of the Moshiach is applicable to both {Romans 3:21-22}. The fourth chapter demonstrates that Abraham is the father of Gentiles as well as Jews, because he is the spiritual father of believing Israel just as he is of believing Gentiles. Then, in chapters 5–8, Paul deals with the latter part of the theme of how a justified person lives by faith. Whether Jew or Gentile, the person who accepts the righteous acts of YHVH on Calvary through the Moshiach will live free from the wrath of YHVH {chapter 5}, the power of sin {chapter 6}, the enslaving power of the Law {chapter 7}, and the power of death {chapter 8}. In chapters 9–11, Paul discusses the nation of Israel “according to the flesh” {physical Jews} in relation to the future purpose of YHVH, concluding that YHVH has not cast off his people who were Israelites descended from Abraham {11:1-2}. He can regraft them back into the tree from which they have been cut off, if they will accept Yeshua as their Moshiach {verse 23}. Then in his closing section, he discusses the implications of the first 11 chapters for everyday Christian living {chapters 12–16}, closing the book with a reminder of the importance of the “offering of the Gentiles” through his own ministry {chapter 15}.

IN DETAIL

In the first chapter Paul argues that the pagan Gentile world was in a state of rebellion against YHVH, and the wrath of YHVH had been revealed against their ungodliness {1:18}. Even though YHVH had given sufficient revelation of his existence to them in the world of nature, they had nevertheless become polytheistic and idolatrous, with all the accompanying moral degradations {verses 20-23}. Thus, three times Paul emphasizes that YHVH gave them up to their lusts {verse 24}, to dishonourable passions {verse 26}, and to a base mind and improper conduct {verse 28}. The meaning is that he passed over their sins {3:25}, overlooked their spiritual ignorance of his true existence {Acts 17:30}, and did not put a stop to such idolatry {7:42}. The Jews fared little better because, even though they had received the Law of Moses containing a revelation of the will of YHVH for their nation, they had not kept the Law {2:17-29}. Even the Gentiles had those among them who did by nature the things contained in the Law and were acceptable because their consciences were pure {verses 14-15}. For a Jew, keeping the Law was insufficient unless he did so as a spiritual conviction, not as a mere legal requirement {verse 29}. YHVH-fearing Gentiles who kept the essence of the Law were a model for condemning the Jews who did not {verses 14, 27}. However, the faithlessness of the chosen nation did not nullify the faithfulness of YHVH to the fulfilment of the promise to Abraham {3:3}. Although the Jew had every advantage over the Gentile, he was no better off because both had given themselves over to the power of sin {verses 1, 9}. The situation now was that “all have sinned [both Jew and Gentile] and fall short of the glory of YHVH” {verse 23}. YHVH had therefore made the Moshiach the Redeemer for the sins of the world {3:21-31}. The righteousness of YHVH had been manifested apart from the Law, through the “faith of the Moshiach” {verse 22; i.e., the faithfulness of the Moshiach to the promise} and was available to the Gentile as well as Jew on the basis of personal faith. If this righteousness were available only through keeping the Commandments of the Law, as good and holy as it was {7:12}, then YHVH was a YHVH of Jews only and not of Gentiles, because the Law was given to the Jews {3:29}. But YHVH is also the YHVH of the Gentiles and justifies the Jew on the basis of the Moshiach’s faithfulness, and the Gentile on the basis of that same faithful act. The Moshiach died for all who believe in him {verse 22}. Thus, YHVH’s righteousness was manifested through the Moshiach’s faithfulness {verses 3, 22} and provides the basis of salvation for everyone who believes {5:9}. Several times in the fourth chapter Paul insists that Abraham was the father of the Jews and of the Gentiles {verses 11-12, 16-18}. The Moshiach’s faithfulness to the promise to Abraham that all nations {Gentiles} would be blessed through his seed {the descendants of Isaac} enabled Abraham to become the father of all nations, that is, of all who believe {verse 11}. Having laid this broad theological base, Paul then argues that the impact of this justification or righteousness is that all believers’ experience salvation from the wrath of YHVH and thereby experience peace {5:1, 9}. Sin entered the world through the first transgression and passed to all people {verse 12}. Justification however, was brought by the second Adam, the Moshiach, who gives salvation to those who believe and receive the abundance of his grace {verses 16-18}. The function of the Law was not to save the Jew. It was added because of transgressions {Galatians 3:19}; it served to intensify the awareness of sin, present in all people, to the point of transgression of the Law {Romans 5:20}. Sin used the Law to deceive and destroy those who tried to keep it {7:11}. Paul had known what it was to covet before he knew the Law, but when he became subject to the dictates and penalties of the Law at age 12 or 13, the commandment against covetousness became even more demanding and destroyed him {7:11}. After the Law was known, the penalty for its disobedience was fully applicable. Sin had been intensified because it became a transgression of the Law. This very fact caused the need for greater grace, because where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more {5:20}. But it would be a gross perversion of what it means to live free from wrath, Law, sin, and death to argue that one should therefore continue in sin that grace may abound {6:1}. Paul argues that those who have been justified and saved by the Moshiach have died to the power of sin, which no longer has enslaving power {verses 2, 6}. The key thought here is that sin {i.e., Satan -- sin personified} cannot exercise dominion over the believer {verses 9, 14}; it cannot reign over him {verse 12} and make him its slave {verses 17, 20}. In addition to being liberated from YHVH’s anger, the Law, and sin, those who have been justified by faith have been freed from death, and YHVH will give life to their mortal bodies through his Spirit {8:2, 11}. If they live according to the flesh, they will die; but if they live by the Spirit, they will enjoy a liberating life {verses 6-13}. Not even death will be able to separate them from the love of the Moshiach {verse 38}. The Spirit leads them and helps in their human infirmity, praying and interceding for them just as the Moshiach does {verses 14, 26, 34}. Paul does not discuss the pragmatic application of these theological principles until chapter 12. In between, he deals with the issue of how and why the Jews could have rejected the Moshiach. How is it that they, of all people on earth, with the history of YHVH’s personal involvement with them, could have rejected the Promised One? Chapters 9–11 focus on this important question. Paul’s answer is fourfold. First, it was YHVH’s purpose by election. He chose Israel, knowing what would happen in the future. These were physical Jews, Israelites, who enjoyed all the special relationships to YHVH that an elect people could experience: sonship, glory, Covenants, the Law, worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and the Moshiach {9:1-5}. YHVH had elected them just as he had chosen Jacob over Esau before either was born, just as he had hardened the heart of Pharaoh, just as the potter moulds the clay into the vessel he desires {9:6-26}. It had nothing to do with their character or inherent worth; it was strictly a matter of YHVH’s purpose for them. There is no injustice on YHVH’s part in making this choice, because it was necessary in order for YHVH to show his power through them so that his name might be proclaimed in all the earth. He had chosen Israel to serve his purposes just as he had chosen Pharaoh and Jacob and Moses; their salvation was a matter of faith {Hebrews 11}. After all, only a remnant of Israel ever really believed {Romans 9:27-29}. Second, Paul argues that Israel, in rejecting the Moshiach and his gospel, is following a precedent that appears repeatedly throughout history {9:30–10:21}. The Jews did not seek righteousness by faith, and thus never found it. They based their righteousness on the Law and thus stumbled over their own Moshiach {9:30-33}. Third, he argues that since a “remnant” of Israel has already believed the gospel, it is a clear indication that Israel as a whole will yet do so {11:1-16, 26}. So, even though he says that YHVH has rejected Israel, he argues that YHVH has not rejected them finally and irrevocably. He has broken them off the cultivated branch of the Abrahamic promise, but he has not rejected his people. The elect {remnant} obtained what it sought, but the rest were hardened for a period of time until they could be provoked to jealousy by the Gentiles’ inclusion into the kingdom. So, Israel’s alienation is not necessarily final. Fourth, Paul argues that since Israel’s rejection has been such a blessing for the inclusion of the Gentiles, the scenario of their conversion in large numbers would be like a resurrection from the dead. This argument runs throughout the rest of the chapter {11:17-36}. The Gentiles should not be haughty, because Israel stumbled so as to make their inclusion possible {verses 17-19}. Israel did not stumble just so they could fall {verse 11}; their fall was a blessing to Gentiles and was a part of the purpose of YHVH. And YHVH, who broke them off for their unbelief, will be able to regraft them back into the tree from which they were cut off, if they do not persist in their unbelief. Chapters 12–16 deal with the pragmatic implications of Paul’s impressive arguments. Thus, the chapter begins with “I appeal to you therefore…” {12:1}. What follows is a lengthy list of believer’s virtues and responsibilities. Paul frequently includes advice in his letters so as to assist the young converts in their transition from paganism into the Judeo-Christian ethical and moral value system. He often even modifies some behaviour patterns among Jewish converts. Chapter 13 discusses the important relationship that should exist between believers in the capital city of the Roman Empire and their government officials. They should recognize that civil government is, as such, ordained by YHVH and has a right to exist even if those who hold the offices are corrupt. They are YHVH’s servants to execute judgment on the disobedient {13:4}. Chapter 14 encourages believers enjoying freedom in the Moshiach to live without influencing others to violate their own consciences in various matters, such as eating meat. Nor should those with weaker consciences try to restrict others who have found this precious freedom. Mutual love and respect is the mark of a true disciple of the Moshiach. Chapter 15 contains Paul’s travel plans and his understanding of his role as a priestly minister to Gentiles, offering their conversion to YHVH symbolically on the altar at Jerusalem in the form of a large collection of money taken up among the Gentile churches. Chapter 16 closes typically with greetings and commendations from various individuals. Twenty-seven people are greeted by name.