BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS
2 CORINTHIANS --- PART 2
COLLECTION FOR JERUSALEM, 8:1–9:15
In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity {cf. Acts 11:27-30; Galatians 2:10} and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church. The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia {Philippi} had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year {and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Corinthians 8:1-7}. The principles of the collection are:
1 -- the Corinthians should follow the example of Yeshua, who became poor for them;
2 -- they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for YHVH values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift;
3 -- there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another {cf. Exodus 16:18}. This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart {2 Corinthians 8:8-15}.
Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering -- Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally -- for it is important that not only YHVH but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money {8:16-24}. In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behaviour; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation {9:1-5}. Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Yeshua {Matthew 6:19-20}, pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of YHVH’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. YHVH wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to YHVH by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of YHVH’s own giving finishes the section {2 Corinthians 9:6-15}.
PAUL’S SELF-DEFENSE, 10:1–13:14
There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defence, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigour. Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Yeshua. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters {10:1-11}. His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favourably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. YHVH had set the sphere of his labours, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s {and such like him}. They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by YHVH, for it is YHVH’s commendation in the end that counts {10:13-18}. Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defence, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart {11:1-6}. Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth {even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Corinthians 9}. He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving YHVH alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not YHVH, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defence, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians {11:7-21}. Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served the Moshiach, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labour, including days of fasting {“gone without food”} and nights spent in prayer {“gone without sleep”} {11:21-29}. But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering -- his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist {in that he was a target of persecution} and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory {11:30-33}. His opponents boasted in revelations from YHVH. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven {he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience}. This probably happened about AD 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him {Acts 9:30; 11:25}. Paul disliked telling about this, for YHVH’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that YHVH allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. {The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies -- Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Corinthians 12:10}. If vulnerability shows YHVH’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness {12:1-10}. Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “super-apostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. YHVH had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony, he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians {12:11-13}. Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Yeshua had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency {12:14-18}. However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul {12:19–13:4}. Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Yeshua or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Yeshua. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position -- he was content to be rejected {“weak”} -- but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came {13:5-10}. Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians {verses 11-13}.
No verse in the Bible specifically indicates this, but observing the difference between animals and mankind reveals something interesting. When an animal is content, their response to something is reasonably predictable. When an animal is frightened, their response is reasonably predictable and it’s the same when one is scared or sick or injured. But the response of a person in many of the same situations is rarely predicable.
New episode, Are Pets Biblical?. Listen where you get your favorite podcasts, use the player on our homepage, watch on You Tube, Rumble or The Torah Network’s Torah Tube.
120525 / 13th day of the 9th month 5786
WORD FOR TODAY “are you ready”: Mat 11:24 "Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."
WISDOM FOR TODAY: Pro 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who tells lies will perish.
Ask the LORD how you can serve HIM better
www.BGMCTV.org
"I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets"
Ec7
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.
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