53 1 Corinthians

293 21

n

1 C O R I NT HIA NS

24 25

T HE F IRST LETTE R O F PAUL TO THE CHURCH AT CORINT H

26

27

28

INTRODUCTION R m l : l+

1I

10:32 Ac 5: 11 + Ac9: 13 + ; 20:28 Ac 2:21 +

2 Co 8:7.9

12:8 + 2Th 1:7-13: 13; 5:5 2 co 1:14 Ph 1:6 : 2: 16 Co l 1:22 10: 13

2Co 1:18 P h 3: IOf I J o 1:3

29

Address and greetings. Thanksgiving I, Paul, a ppo inted by God to be an a pos tle, toget her with brother Sosthenes, send gree tings -to t he churc h of God" in Co rinth, to the holy people of Jesus Ch rist, who are ca lled to tak e their place among all the sa ints everyw here who pra y to ou r Lor d Jesus C hrist; for he is th eir Lo rd no less than ours . • May God ou r Father a nd the Lor d Jes us C hri st send you grace an d peace. I never stop tha nking God. fo r a ll the graces yo u have recei ved through Jes us C hrist. • I tha nk him tha t you ha ve been enric hed in so many way s, espec ialIy in you r teac hers a nd preachers; •the witness to C h rist '> has indeed been strong a mong yo u -so tha t yo u will not be witho ut a ny o f the gifts of th e Spirit while yo u are wa iting for ou r Lord Jes us C hrist to be revea led;' -a nd he will keep you steady a nd wit hout blam e" until t he last day , the day' of our Lo rd Jes us C h rist, becau se God by ca lling yo u has joined yo u to his So n, Jesus C h rist; a nd God is fa ithf ulJ

1

1 2

5

7

9

C HURCH

Dissension s amon g the fa ithfu l Rm 15:5 P h 2:2f

r

3:4 2 Co 10:7 3:22 -23 I n 1:42 Ac 18:24 +

ED 4:5 Ac 18:8 Rm 16:23 16: 15- 17 Ac 16:15 +

All the sa me, I d o appea l to you, brothers, for th e sake of our Lord Jesus C h rist , to mak e u p the di fferences between yo u, a nd instead of disa greein g a mo ng you rselves, to be un ited aga in in you r belief and practice. • From wha t C hloe's peop le ha ve been telling me , my dear br o ther s, it is clear th at there a re serio us differ ences a mo ng yo u. •W ha t I mea n a re a ll these sloga ns th at you have, like: 'I a m for Pa ul', 'I am for A po llos', 'I am for Cephas',' ' I a m for C hrist' ." Has C hrist been parcelled out? Was it Pau l that was crucified for yo u? Were you baptised in the na me of Pa ul? • I a m tha nk ful th a t I never bapt ised any of you a fte r Cri spus and Gai us -so none of you can say he was baptised in my name. Then there was the famil y of Ste pha nas, of course, that I baptised too, bu t no one else as far as I ca n remember.

10

II

12

13 14 IS 16

The true wisdom and the false 3: 18 2 Co 1:12 2 Co 2:16 R m 1:16 Is 29: 14 Ps 33:10 I s JJ: 18L XX

For C hrist d id not send me to baptise, but to p reach the Good News , a nd no t to preach that in the terms of philosophy ' in wh ich th e cru cifixio n of C hr ist cannot be expressed. -T he la nguage o f the cross may be illogica l to those who are not on the way to sa lvation, but th ose of us who are on the way see it as God's power to save . •As scripture says: I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned. • Where are the philosophers now ? Where

31

I

I. DIVISIO NS AND SCA NDALS A . FA CTI ONS I N THE C O RIN THI AN

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17

18

19 20

1 CORINTHIANS

2:6

are the scribes? W her e a re a ny of o ur thinke rs to day? Do yo u see now how G od has show n u p the foo lishness of human wisdom? -If it was God's wisdo m t ha t human wisdom should not know God, it was beca use God wanted to save those who hav e fa ith throug h t he foo lishness o f the messa ge that we preac h. And so, while the Jew s dem and mir acles a nd the Greeks look for wisdo m, -h ere are we preaching a cr uc ified C hrist; to the Jews a n obstacle that the y ca nnot get over, to the pag a ns madness, •but to those who have been ca lled, whet her they are Je ws or Greeks, a C hrist who is the powe r a nd the wisdom of God. • For God's fool ish ness is wiser th an human wisdo m, and God's weakness is stronger tha n hu ma n st rength. Take yoursel ves for inst a nce, br others, a t the time when you were called: how many of you were wise in the o rd ina ry sense of th e word,' how many were influent ial people, or ca me from no ble fa milies? •No, it was to sham e the wise tha t G od chose wha t is fool ish by human recko ning, a nd to shame what is st ro ng tha t he chose what is wea k by hu ma n recko n ing ; - those whom t he w o rld thinks co m mon a nd co ntempt ible ar e the o nes that God has chose n- those who are not hing a t all to show up tho se who a re everyt h ing. -The human race has noth ing to boast a bout to G od, • but you God has mad e mem bers o f C hris t Jes us and by God's do ing he has becom e ou r wisd om , a nd our virtu e, a nd our holiness, and our freedo m. - As scr ip tu re says: if anyone wants to boast, let him boast about the Lord. As for me, brot hers, when I came to you, it was not with a ny show of oratory o r philoso phy, but sim ply to tell yo u what G od had gua ra nteed. " • D ur ing my stay wit h yo u, the o nly know ledge I clai med to ha ve was a bo ut Je sus , and o nly ab out h im as the cr ucified C hrist. • Fa r from relying o n any po wer of my own, I came a mong yo u in great 'fear a nd trembling" > -a nd in my speeches and the sermo ns tha t I ga ve, there were none o f the a rguments that belo ng to philosop hy; o nly a demonst ra tion of the powe r o f the Sp irit. -A nd I did thi s so tha t yo ur fai th sho uld not depend on hum a n ph iloso phy but on the power o f God. But still we ha ve a wisdom to offer t hose who have reac hed maturity:' not a philosophy of our a ge, it is true, st ill less of the mas ters of our age," which

2

1 a . O ne of Pa ul's favou rit e exp ress ion s: 10:32 ; b ut exac tly whe n is un cer tain , I T h 5: 1 -i-, m ea nwhile 1 1:16.2 2: 15:9 : 2 Co 1: 1: G a 1: 13 ; I T h 2: 14 : 2 T h 1:4: we m ust pr ep a re fo r it. 2 Co 6:2 + . f . Cf . 10: 13 : 2 0<;1 :18 ; P T h 5:24 : . 2 T h3 :3 : I T m 3:5.15 : cr. also A c20:28. Cf ' the churc he s of 2 T m 2: 13 ; H cb 10:23 : II :11. C hr ist', R m 16: 16. C f. Ml 16: 18 + : Ac 5:11 -j- , g . Eit hc r be ca use Ce p has (Pete r) had visi ted th e b . Lc . wha t is sa id by a witness tes tifying 10 C hris t. ch urc h o f Cor int h, or be cau se so me member s of that 'a mo ng yOU' or ' i n yOU' , c. When th e hidden p lan s of G od are to be made ch urc h pa id spe cia l alleg ia nce to Pe ter's authority , know n , R m 16:25 + , C h ris t will revea l h imse lf a t the ack no wled ged in o t her c hu rc hes. h . Pe rha ps th ese a tt ac hed th emsel ves to t he immede nd of time , th e ti me of h is narousia , I Co 15:23 + , and his Appea r ing, 1 T m 6: 14 1-: cf. Lk 17:30; 2 Th ia te wit ne sses of the risen C h ris t, cr. Ac 1;2 If : 10:41, 1:7 : Heb 9:28 : I P 1:5,7,13 ; 4:13 . Before th is, the M a n in p refere nce 10 ot her s , cf . I C09: 1: 2 Co5 : 16 +: o f S in wil l ha ve ' revealed ' himself, o n ly ' 0 be des tro yed 11:5 23 ; 12:11: or el se the y nc kno wleda ed no hu man Inter media ry be lween th emsel ves a nd C hr is t. by C h ris t, 2 T h 2:3· 8. i , Li t. ' wisd o m '. T his h uma n wisd o m (here ph ilod. Cr. P h 1: 10: 2: 15f: ED 1:4 : Col 1:22 : I Th 3: 13: s op h ica l specu la tio n a nd tr ic ks of r heto r ic) will be 5:23: J ud e 24. e. This ' d ay o f the Lord ' , 5: 5; 2 Co 1: 14 : 1 T h 5:2: co nt ras ted wit h the wis do m o f Go d, v, 24 a nd 2:6 f. 2 T h 2:2 ; cf. 2 P 3: 10, ca lled a lso t he 'd a y of C hrist'. P h 1:6, 10 : 2: 16 . or s im p ly th e 'day', I Co 3: 13 : I T h 5:4 ; j . Lit. 'acco rdt na I() the Ilcsh'. Pa ul is ex p lai ning d. He b 10:25 , or ' tha t d ay', 2 T h 1:10 : 2 T m 1:12, 18 ; 4;8: er . M t 7:22 : 24 :36 : Lk 10 : 12 : 2 1:34. or 't he day God's purpose. b u t a t the sa me li me he sa rdo nica lly o f the So n of Man', Lk 17:24 , d. v. 26. or ' t he day of reminds the C o rin th ia ns thai t hcy have no reaso n to Goll ' ,2 P 3: 12. or ' the da y of vlsi ta tto n ', I P 2: 12, or be pr oud . 't he grea t day' , J ude 6 : R v 6: 17; 16:14 . o r ' t he las t d ay' , 2 a . Li t. ' the te s ti mo ny o f Go d ' , t.e. to t he m ess a ge J n 6: 39 .40,44, 54: 11:24 : 12:48, is t he fu lfilm en t in th e o f Jes us. Va r. 't he mys te ry o f Go d '. b. ' fea r a nd trem bling ": a b ib lica l clic he . cr. Jg 7:3 : esc ha tol o gica l era , ushered in by C h ris t. of th e 'd ay o f Ya hwe h' fo retold by th e p ro phe ts, A m 5: 18 + . T he Ps2: 11:55:5 ;Ezk 12:18 : M k5 :33; I Co2:3:2Co 7:15: fu lfilme n t ben ins with [h e first co m ing of Ch r ist. ED 6:5; Ph 2: 12. c. T he ' m atur e ' or 'perfec t' t tekrloi t a re no t a n Lk 17;20-24 , and the punish m en t of Je ru sal em , M t 24: 1+: a nd t his fina l s tage in t he history of ex cl us ive gro up o f init ia tes b ut th ose w ho hav e reach ed sa lva tion . cf . Ac 1:7 -l-, will be co m ple ted bY t he glo rious matur ity in Ch ris t ian life and th ou gh t. Cf. 14: 20 ; second co m ing , 1 Co 1:7 + ,1 5:23 + : 1 T m6 :14 -t , o f P h 3: 15 : Co I 4: 12 : He b 5: 14_ d . Per haps human ru lers o r go vern men ts : m or e the Sove reign J udge, R m 2:6 + ; J m 5:8-9. A cosm ic up heaval and renewa l will accom pa ny it (cf . A m 8:9 +), probably , t he evil powers or de mo ns that co ntro l the Ml 24:29D+ ; H eb 12:26f ; 2 P 3: 10-13 ; R v 20: I I ; 21:1: wo r ld . cf. I Co 15:24-25 : Ep 6:12. See a lso Lk 4 :6 a nd cr. Mt 19:28 : R m 8:20-22. This day o f ligh t is com ing, J n 12:31 + : bUI th e reference is perha ps [0 bot h . t he R m 13: 12; He b 10;25 ; Jm 5:8; I P 4:7; cf. I Th 5:5.8. la tt er us ing the fo rmer as their tools.

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1 C ORINT H I AN S

29 8

Th e rest is from me an d not from th e Lor d. If a brother ha s a wife who is an 12 unbeliever, an d she is content to live wit h him, he must not send her awa y ; an d if a woman has an unbeliever for her hus band, and he is content to live with 13 her, she must not leave him. -This is beca use t he unbelieving husband is made 14 one with the saints through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is ma de one with the saints through her husband. If th is were not so, your children would be uncl ean, whereas in fact they are ho ly." •H owever , if the unbelieving partner 15 does not consent , the y may separate; in these circumstances, the brother or sister' is not tied:" God has called you- to a life of peace .• If you are a wife, it 16 may be your pa rt to save your husband, for all you know; if a husband, fo r all you know, it may be your part to save your wife. Fo r the rest, what each one has is what the Lord has given him and he should 17 contin ue as he was when God 's call reached him. This is the ruling that I give in all the churches. -If an yone had already been circumcised at the time of 18 his call, he need not disguise it, and anyone who was uncircumcised at the time of his call need not be circumcised; •because to be circumcised o r 19 uncircumcised means nothing: what does matter is to keep the commandments of God. -Let everyone sta y as he was at the time of his call. - If, whe n you were ~? called, you were a slave , do not let this bother you; but if you should ha ve the chance of being free, accept it. ·A slave, when he is called in the Lord, becomes 22 the Lord's freedman, and a freeman called in the Lord becomes Christ's slave . You have all been bought an d paid for ; do not be slaves of ot her men '! -Each ~l one of you , my brot hers , should sta y as he was before God at the t ime of his call. Ab ou t rema ining celibate, I have no dire ctions from the Lord but give my 25 own op inio n as one who, by the Lord's mercy, has stayed faithful. •Well then, 26 I believe that in these present times of str ess" this is right : that it is good for a ma n to stay as he is.• If you are tied to a wife, do not look for freedom ; if you are 27 free of a wife, then do not look for one . • But if you marry, it is no sin, and it is 28 not a sin for a young girl to get married. T hey will have their troubles, though, in th eir married life," and I sho uld like to spa re you that. Brothers, this is what I mean: our time is gro wing short. Those who have 29 wives should live as though they had none, -and those who mourn should live as 30 though they had nothing to mourn for ; t hose who are enjoying life should live as though there were no thing to laugh a bout ; t hose who se life is buying th ings shou ld live as thoug h the y had not hin g of their own; -and th ose who have to 3 1 deal wit h the world should no t become engro ssed in it.' I say this because the world as we know it is pa ssin g awa y. I would like to see you free from all worry. An unmarried man can devote 32 himself to the Lord's affairs, all he need worry about is pleasing the Lord; •but 33 a married man has to bother about the world's affairs and devote himself to pleasing his wife: •he is torn two ways. In the same wayan unmarried woman, 34 like a young girl, can devote herself to the Lord's affairs ; all she need worry about is being holy in bod y and spirit. The married woman, on the other hand, ha s to wor ry about the world's affairs and devote herself to pleasing her husband. I say this only to help you, not to put a halter round your necks, but simply to 35 make sure that everything is as it should be, and that you give your undi vided attent ion to the Lord. Still, if there is anyo ne who feels that it would not be fair to his daughter to 36 let her grow too old for marriage, and that he should do somet hing about it, he is free to do as he likes: he is not sinni ng if there is a marriage. -On the other 37 hand, if someone has firml y made his mind up, without any compulsion and in complete freedom of choi ce, to keep his daughter as she is, he will be do ing a good thin g. -In other words, the man who sees that his daughter is married 38 has done a good t hing but t he man who keeps his daughter unmarried has done som ething even better) A wife is tied as long as her hu sband is alive . But if the husband dies, she is .19

1

299 40

9:2

CORI NTHI A NS

free to marry anybody she likes, only it must be in the Lord." -She would be hap pier, in my o pinion, if she stayed as she is- and I too have the Spirit of God, ' I think.

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B. FOOD O FFERED TO IDOLS-

I

2

3 4

5

8

10

11

12 13

1

General principles Now about food sacrificed t o idol s. 'We all have knowledge'; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-impo rta nce- it is love that makes the building grow . A man may imagine he understands som ething, but still not un derstan d any th ing in the way that he ought to. -But any man who loves G od is known" by him. Well then, ab ou t eat ing foo d sacrificed to idols: we know that ido ls do not really exist in t he worl d and that th ere is no god but the One. -And even if ther e were things called gods , either in the sky or on earth-where there certainly seem to be 'gods' and 'l ords' in plen ty --c--etil l for us there is one G od, th e Father , from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ , through whom all things com e an d th rou gh whom we exist.

8

The claims of love Some people, howeve r, do no t hav e this knowledge. There are some who have been so lo ng used to idols that they eat this food as though it rea lly had been sacrificed to the idol, and th eir conscience, being wea k, is defiled by it. • Food, of course, cannot br ing us in touch with God: we lose nothing if we refuse to eat, we gain nothing if we eat. -Only be careful that you do not make use of this freedom in a way that proves a pitfall for the weak . Suppose someone sees you, a ma n wh o understands, eating in some temple of an idol; his own conscience, even if it is weak, may encourage him" to eat food whic h has been offered to ido ls. -In th is way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. • By sinning in this way against you r brothers, an d injuring their weak consc iences, it would be C hrist agai nst whom you sinned. -T hat is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother's downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother's dow nfa ll. Paul invokes his own examp leI, personally, am free: I am an apostle and I ha ve seen Jesus our Lord . You are all my work in the Lor d . •Even if I were not an apostle to others, I should

9

b. 'Sanctificatio n ' an d 'holiness' here . as frequen tly in th e Bib le. mean not so m uch the perfection of a man's life as its precond it ion-ded ication t o G od a nd ado ption by him . cf. A c 9:13 +. By marryin g one of God's peop le a pagan is brought in to a special re la tionship with the true G o d and with his C hur ch . c. That is. the C h ris tia n partner. d. T h is is known as ' the Pauline p r ivilege ' . e. Var. ' us' . r. Sp ir itu ally slaves to thei r outlook and conven tions. g. Li t. 'because of the presen t (or im m inen t) d ist ress' . h . Lit. 'in th e flesh ' , no t however r efer rin g. as in 7:2,9, to co nc up iscence. i. Li t. 'shou ld not use it to t he fu ll'. i. In the classica l wo r ld a father m ad e what arra nge ments he t hought fit for his d aug h ter. Some int erpret er s see in t his p assa ge a re feren ce to the p ract ice of a m an and wom an livin g tog ethe r onder vo ws of s trict ch as tit y. for which there .rnay be some ev idence th ou gh onl y fro m a la ter date. In this case , read 'virgin' fo r 'daughter' in vv. 36-38. k , She m us t marry a Christian. I. Var . 'of C hr ist'.

8 a. The fre q uen t feast s and public ceremonies in antiquity were always accompan ied by sac rific e. Portion s of t he sacrificial food (eidolythal wen t to the gods. the priests a nd the donors . What remained was either eaten a t a sacred meal or sold in th e markets. This situation provided several diffic ulties fo r Christians: co u ld they take part in a sac red meal; buy meat th a t ha d been sacrificed to idols: accept invitations to eat in a paga n house'? Paul answers these specific d ifficul ties. 10: 14-22 and 23-30. In principle. en lig h te ned C h rist ian s a re completely free to decide fo r themselves, 8:1-6; 10:15.25 .29-30, b u t they mu st avoid leading astray other Ch ristian s who are not yet emancipated from thei r pre-convers ion ideas, 8:7-13; 1.0:23-24 .28-29. Paul makes no r efer ence to the Decree of Jer usa lem. Ac 15 :20~29 . and d oes not even seem to have hear d about it . A c 15:1 b . In the b ibli cal sense , i.e . 'lo ved' , C f. Ho 2:22+. c . Pa ul is simply stati n g a fa ct. T he ' go ds ' are the m yth ical gods of O lymp us , th e 'l ords' are divinised human beings. d . Lit. ' he bu ilt up ' ; ir on ica l. cf. 8:1. 9 a. Tho ugh free to do wh atever he th ink s best about food sacrificed to idols a Chris tian m us t be guid ed by charity . P aul h imself, as he goes on to save h ad given up ou t of charity some of hi s r ights as a n a pos tl e.

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1 CO RI NT HIANS

3°0

st ill be an apostle to you who are the seal of my apostolate in the Lord.• My an swer to those who wan t to interrogate me is thi s: -Have we not every right to eat an d dr ink ?" -And th e right to tak e a Chri stian woman' round with us, like all the oth er ap ostles an d t he brothers of the Lord and Cep has? Are Barnabas and I the only ones who are not allowed to sto p working? •Nobody ever paid money to stay in the army, and nobody ever planted a vineyard and refused to eat the fruit of it. Who has there ever been that kept a flock and did not feed on the milk from his flock? These may be only human comparisons, but does not the Law itself say the same thin g? -It is written in the Law of Mo ses: You must not put a muzzle on the ox when it is treading alit the corn. Is it ab out oxen that God is concern ed, -or is th ere not an obv ious reference to ourselves? Clearly this was written for our sake to show that the ploughman ou ght to ploug h in expecta tion, and t he t hresher to thresh in the expecta tion of gett ing his share.• If we have sown spiritual thing s for you , why sho uld you be surp rised if we har vest your material things ? -Ot hers are allowed the se righ ts over yo u and our right is surely greater? In fact we have never exerc ised this right. On t he contr a ry we have put up with an ything rat her than obstruct the Good News of Chr ist in any way.>Reme mber that the minis ters serving in the Temple get their food from the Te mple and those serving at t he altar can clai m their share fro m the altar itself. -In the same sort of way the Lord dir ected that those who preach the gos pel sho uld get their living from the gos pel. H owever, I have not exercised an y of th ese righ ts, a nd I am not writing all thi s to secure this treatment fo r myself. I would ra ther die th an let an yone ta ke away something that I can boa st of." -Not t hat I do boast of preaching the gosp el, since it is a duty which has been laid on me ; I sho uld be puni shed if I d id not preach it ! -If I had cho sen th is wor k myself, I might have been paid for it, but as J have not, it is a responsibilit y which has been put into my hands. -Do you know what my reward is? It is th is: in my preachi ng, to be a ble to offer the Good New s free, and not insist on th e rights which t he gos pel gives me. So thou gh I am no t a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could . - I ma de myself a Jew to the Jews, to win the Jews ; that is, I wh o am not a subject of the Law made myself a subject of the Law to those who are the su bjects of the Law, to win those who a re subject to the La w. -To those who ha ve no Law, I was free of the Law myself (tho ugh no t free fro m God's law , being unde r th e law of C hrist) to win tho se who have no Law .• Fo r the weak I made myself weak. I made myself all things to all men in o rder to save so me' at any cost ; -and I still do thi s, for t he sa ke of the gos pel, to ha ve a share in its blessings. All the runners at the stad ium ar e trying to win, but o nly o ne of th em gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. ·A Il the fighte rs at th e games go into strict traini ng ; they do this j ust to win a wreat h that will wit her away, but we do it fo r a wreat h that will never wither. -T hat is how I run , intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beat ing the ai r. · 1 t reat my body hard and ma ke it obey me, for , having been an announcer myself, I shou ld not wan t to be disqualified." A warnin g, and the lessons of Israel's history" I want to remin d you, brothers , how our fat her s were all guided by a cloud a bove them and how t hey all pas sed thro ugh the sea . -T hey were all ba ptised int o Moses " in this cloud and in this sea; -.all ate the same spiritual fo od -and all drank the same spiritual dr ink ,' since th ey all drank from th e spiritual ro ck that followed them as they went ," and that rock was Christ. • In spite of t his, mo st of th em failed to please God and their corp ses litte red t he desert. T hese th ings all happened as warnings ' for us, not to have the wicke d lusts for forbidden things that the y ha d. -Do not become idolaters as some of them

10

30 l 3 4 5

8 9

10

11 12 13 8

10

11 12

13

14

15

16

17

1 CO RINTHIANS

10:27

did, for scripture says: After sitting down fa eat and drink, the people got up to amuse themselves. • We must never fall into sexual immorality: some of t hem did, and twenty-t hree t housand met thei r dow nfall in one day. •We are not to put th e Lord! to the test: some of them did, and they were killed by sna kes . •You must never co mplain: some of t hem did, and they were killed by the Destroyer. All t his ha ppened to them as a warning, and it was written do wn to be a lesson for us who are living at the end of the age." -The man who thinks he is safe must be careful that he doe s not fall. -The trials that you have had to bear are no mo re than people nor mally have. You can tr ust God not to let you be tr ied beyond your stre ngth, and with any trial he will give you a way out of it an d the strengt h to bea r it.

Sa crificial feasts. No compromise with idolatry 14 T his is the reaso n, my dea r bro thers , why you mus t keep clear of idolatry. :~ I say to you as sensibl e people : judge for you rselves what I am saying. -T he blessing-cup" t hat we bless is a co mmunion with the blood of Chr ist, an d the 17 bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. -T he fact thai there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body 18 because we all have a share in this one loaf. • Look at the other Israel, the rac e,' 19 whe re t hose who eat the sacr ifices are in communion with the altar. -D oes this mean that the food sacri ficed to idols has a real value, or that the idol itself is 20 real? -N ot at all. It simp ly means th at the sacr ifices that they offer they sacrifice to demons who are not God. I have no desire to see you in communion with 2 1 demon s. -You cannot d rink the cup of th e Lo rd an d th e cu p of demons. You 22 ca nnot ta ke your share at t he tab le of the Lord and at the ta ble of demons. •Do we want to make the L.ord angry; are we st ronger than he is?

E x 32:6 N b 25:1-9 W sI O:8 Nb 21:5-6

Ac 5:9

Nb 17:6- /5 Ex 12:23 + 10:6

Rm 15:4 Ga 6:1

-'

(3 :r

Si 15:11-20 1:9+ Jm 1:13-14

a.

w

M / 6:13: 26:41

-'

:;: Rm 14:1

11:23-26 + Lv3: 1+ MI26: 26-27 12: 1Z+ E p4:4

c,

-' 0

o

(/)

' w

~ :r

D132: 17 Ps 106 :37

f0-

2 Co 6:14-16 ~ ...... " '~

D14:24

18

23 19 20

24 25 26

21

27

Food sacrificed to idols. Practical solutions ' For me ther e are no forb idden things' , but not everything does good . True, the re arc no forb idden things, but it is not everything tha t helps the bu ilding to grow . -Nobody shou ld be looking for his own advantage , but everybody for the other man's. - Do not hesitate to eat anything that is sold in bu tchers' shops: there is no need to raise questions of conscie nce ; -for the earth and everything that is in it belong to the Lord. - If an unbelie ver invites you to his house, go if

6:12+ Si 37:28 10:33 R m 14:19 ; 15:2 Ph 2:4

Ps24:1

.1 ll.

..... tu

22 23

24 25

26 27

1

5

6

7

t he pre-exi ste n t C hrist wi th the attri b u tes of Y a hweh. c . Lit. 'types ' nuoon, T he p urpose in th e even ts, intend ed by G od. was to p refigure in th e hi stor y of Isr ae l th e sp iri tual rea lities of the m essianic age (wh ich a re k now n as ' a n tit v pe s", I P 3:2 1, bu t cf. Heb 9:24) . T hese ' typolo gica l' (or less acc urately , ' a llegoric al", G a 4 :24) mean ings in t he O.T. narrative. tho ug h no t co nsci o us ly in tend ed by the au thors , a re sport itt g ter ms. 10 a . Bef ore r evertin g to th e problem of food sacrificed neve rthe less valid an d nec essary for the understanding to id ol s , Pa u l quotes the O ,T . to remi nd C or int h ia ns of sc riptu re, s ince t he pattern of God 's workin g on the a bout the da nger s of Idolatry so as to pre vent th em ph ysica l plane does in fact reflect h is ete rn al p ur po se s fu lfilled in the incarnat ion to become the spi rit u a l jo inin g in th e ac tua l sa cr ificia l meals , 10: 14-22. b. As C hr is tia ns a re no w b apt ise d 'i nt o' C hr ist rea lities of t he messia nic age. T yp o log ica l meanings of O.T. eve n ts are of ten po in ted out by the authors ( Rm 6:3 : Ga 3:27). i.e. to be united with him . c. P ass ing th rou gh the Red Sea in v , 2 su ggests of th e N.T., as th o ugh th e sal e pu rpose of Israel's wr itt en hi story had be en to provide types fo r the C h ri stia n baptism; he re manna an d wa ter from th e r ock s ugg est the Euchar is t. C hr is tia ns too k t he des- ins tru c tion of Chri s tia ns. P a u l does this. v , 11 an d 9:9: cr ipt ion in Ex of the libe ra ti o n from Eg ypt as a sy mb ol Rm4:23f; 5:14 : 15:4: cf. 2 T im 3:16. an d some b oo ks of libe r a ti on from sin by C h ri s t , who is symboli sed by like Jn a nd H e b a re la rge ly ba sed on a typological Moses . cf. J n 1:2 1 + ; 13:1 -l-. Th is comparison was interp re ta t io n of the O.'T. im pli ed by Jesus when he link ed his Eucha ris t t o the Passo ver-s up per, cf. M t 26:17 -29p; 1 C o 5:7. Th is f. Var. ' Cn r tst". accounts for the m a ny Ex od u s references in the Ea ster g . Lit. 'unto who m the e nds of th e ages have li tu r gy . d . A llus ion to th e legen d t ha t the rock from whi ch reached' . h. I. e. the c u p of win e for which we thank G od, M oses made water flow accompanied th e Israelites o n t he ir tr ave ls through the wilderness. Je wish write rs had like Christ at t he La st Supper. i. Li t. ' t he Isr ae l according to t he flesh' . i.e . th e a lready tended to ide ntify this rock wit h Y a h weh h imse lf . and had sup po r ted t his id en tification with Israel of h istory , cf . Rm 7:5. as compared with th e re fe re nc es to Ex 17:6. a nd to the O .T. us e of ' R ock of Is r ael 'of God', Ga 6:16, the tr ue Is rae l, the Christian Israel ' as a tit le for Ya h weh. cr. Ps 18:2 + . Paul cr edits co m mu ni ty .

b. At the expense o f t he C hris tia n congregat io ns . c . Lit. 'a si s ter , a wo m a n (w ife'?)'. To lo o k a fter t he ap o st le' s need s . d . Lit. 'I wou ld rat he r di e th a n . N o one s hall la ke away so me thi ng t hat I ca n boast of .' A po siopesis. c . VaT. (V ul x.) 'a ll' . r. In t his pa ssa ge P a u l is usi ng co nte m p ora ry

UJ

10:28

I Tm 4:4

COR INTHIANS

3° 3

3°2

yo u wan t to, and eat whatever is put in fro nt of yo u, without as king q uestions just to satis fy co nscience. • But if someone say s to you , 'T his food was offered in sacrifice', then , out of co nsideration fo r the man that told yo u, yo u sho uld not eat it, fo r the sake of his scruples ; -his scrupl es, you see, not yo ur own. W hy should my freedom depend on somebody else's conscien ce? -If I take my share with thankfulness, why should I be bla med for food for which I hav e thanked God?

23 28 29 30

24 25 26 27

Conclusion

n

Co 13:17 1 P 4: l l 9: 19-23 1:2 + 10:24 + Rm 15:2 2 T h 3:7 +

Whatever you ea t, whatever you drink, wh atever yo u do a t all , d o it for th e glory of God.• Ne ver do a nything offensive to an yon e- to Je ws o r G reeks or to the C hurch of God ; •ju st as I try to be hel pful to every on e a t all times, not a nxious for my ow n adv antage but for the adva ntage of everybody else, so that they may be sa ved. Take me for yo ur mode l, as I take Ch rist.

31 32

33

28 29 30 31 32

11

33 34

C. DEC ORUM IN PU B LI C WORSHIP

f

3:23 Ac 11:27+ 2 Co 3:18

11:15

G n 1:26-27 G n 2:21-2 3 1 T m2:12- 13

14:34

1l :5 4: 17 : 7:17: 14:33 1:2+

Yo u have done well in rememberi ng me so constantly and in mai ntai ning th e tr aditi ons " just as I passed them on to yo u -However, what I want yo u to un dersta nd is th at Christ is the head of every man, man is the head of woman, and G od is the head of Ch rist. • Fo r a man to pray or prophesy with his hea d co vered is a sign of d isrespec t to his head . b • For a wo ma n, however, it is a sign of d isrespect to her heads if she prays or prophesies un veiled ; she might as well have her ha ir sha ved off.• In fact, a woman who will not wear a veil ought to have her ha ir cu t off.d If a woman is asha med to have her ha ir cut off or shaved, she o ug ht to wea r a veil. A man shou ld cer tainl y not co ver his hea d, since he is the ima ge of God a nd reflects God's glory; but wo man is the reflectio n of man 's glo ry. • Fo r ma n did not co me fro m woman; no, woma n came from man ; -a nd man was not created for the sak e of wom an , but wom an was creat ed for the sak e of man . •That is th e argument fo r women' s cov ering their heads with a symbol of t he a utho rity' over th em, o ut of respect fo r the angels." -H owever, t ho ugh woman ca nnot do witho ut man, neit her can man do wit hout woman, in the Lor d; ' wo man ma y co me from man , but man is born of woman- both come from G od. Ask yourselves if it is fitting fo r a wo ma n to pray to God without a veil; an d whether nature itself does not tell you that long ha ir on a man is nothing to be ad mired, -wh ile a wom an, who was given her ha ir as a covering, th inks long hair her glory ? T o anyone who might still want to ar gue: it is not the cust om with us, no r in t he churches of God. •

r 1:2+

For this is what I received from the Lor d, and in turn passed on to you : that on the same night th at he was betrayed, the Lor d Jesus took some bread, -and tha nked G od for it a nd broke it, and he sa id, 'T his is my body, which is for you;' do thi s as a memorial of me' .• In the same way he took the cup afte r supper, and said, 'T his cup is the new covenant in my bloo d. Whenever you drink it , do this as a memorial of me .' •Until th e Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death, -and so anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be behaving unworthily towards the bo dy and bloo d of the Lord. Every one is to recollec t himself before ea ting t his bread and dri nking thi s cu p ; •becau se a person who eats and drinks' wit hout recognising the Body" is ea ting and drinkin g his own condemn at ion . •In fact that is why ma ny of you are wea k a nd ill an d so me of yo u have died .' -I f o nly we reco llected our selves, we sho uld not be punished like that. • But when the Lord does puni sh us like tha t, it is to correct us a nd stop us from being co ndemned with the worl d. So to su m up, my dear broth ers, when yo u meet for the Meal , wait for on e a not her. •Anyo ne who is hun gry sho uld eat at hom e, a nd then your meetin g will no t bring yo ur con dem na tion. Th e o ther matters I shall adj ust when I co me.

Now my dear brothers, I want to clear u p a wron g impression a bout spi ritual gifts . •You rememb er that , when you were paga ns, wheneve r you felt irresistibly drawn, I' it was towar ds d umb ido ls? • It is for th at reason that I want you to understand th at on th e o ne ha nd no one can be speak ing under the influence of the Holy Spirit and say, 'Cu rse Jes us', and on the other hand, no on e ca n say , 'Jesu s is Lo rd' unless he is un der the influence of the Ho ly Spirit.

12

2

4 5

10:16-17 11 M! 26:26-29 II ~~ 14:22IIL k 22:14-20 E x 12:14 D! 16:3 Ex 24:8 JI31:3 1+ He b 8:6-13

16:22 R v 22:17.20

s

..J

:I:

Q.

W

Ac 5:9 ..J

:i: Q.

D! 8:5+ Rv 3:19 ..J

0

<.J

1 Th 5:20 G. 4:8

'"

!~ f-

In 14:26+ 1 In 4: 1-3 ~ i=

Ac 2:21 + .

36 +

Rm 10:9

7 8

10 11

10

T he variety and the unity of gifts T here is a va riety of gifts but always the sa me Spirit ; • there are all sorts of service to be don e, but always to the sa me Lor d ; -worki ng in all so rts of different ways in d ifferent people, it is th e same God who is wor kin g in all of them .s -Th e par ticula r way in which the Spirit is given to each perso n is for a goo d purpose. One ma y have the gift of preachin g with wisdo m" given him by th e Spirit ; ano ther may ha ve the gift of preachin g inst ruct io n' given him by the sam e Spir it ; -and a no ther the gift of faith! given by the sam e Spirit; anot her aga in the gift of healing, th rou gh thi s one Spirit; -o ne, the power of miracles; a not he r, prophecy ;"

Ph 2:11

Ep 4:5 I P 4:10

~

12:28-30

Ac 1:8 + Rm 12:6 -8 1:5

l Q.

R m 12:3 Ac 11:27 +

II I

IlJ

12

11 a . I.c. t he teac hing o f C hrist an d t he a postles. 13 14 15

b. Greek pun o n wo rd

k ('I,ha /~.

' head' , ' leader' ,

A C h ris tia n wh o praye d wi th head co vered in sult ed C hr is t h is leade r ; he s ho uld no t hid e C hri s t' s glo ry but retlcct it 'wi t h un co ver ed fa ce", cf. 2 Co 3: 18.

c. l.e. her husband . since she seemed to be ctat rntne equ a li ty wi th her hu sb an d . A wo ma n ' s veil was a s ign

16

Th e Lord's Suppe r N ow that I a m on the subj ect of instructions, I can not say that you have do ne well in hold ing meetings that do you more harm than good.• In the first place, I hea r that when you all come together as a community, the re are sepa rat e fac tions a mo ng you, and I half believe it- · since there must no doubt be separate gro u ps among you , to d istinguish those who are to be trusted. -The point is, when you hold these meet ings, it is not the Lord's Supper- that you are eating, since when the time comes to eat, everyone is in such a hurry to start his own supper that one person goes hungry while another is getting drunk. -Surely you have homes for eating and drinking in? Surely you have enough respect for the community of God not to make poor people embarrassed? What am I to say to you? Congratulate you ? I cannot congratulate you on this.

12:10

Spiritual gifts"

Wom en 's beha viour at services 15:1-3 1 T h 2:13 +: 4:1-2 2 Th 2:15 Ep 5:23

1 COR IN T H I AN S

17 18 19 20 21 22

o f subj ectio n. v. 10.

a p unis h me n t for irre veren ce to ' the t' 'Jdy an d bl oo d o f t he L ord' . 12 a . T he sp iritu a l gifts t chartsm ata l gra nte d by th e H ol y Sp irit 1O so me mem be rs o f th e co m mu n ity witnessed to t he Spi rit ' s p rese nce and hel ped th e C h u rch to fu nct io n wh ile its hier a rchy was s till in a rudi mentary sta le. T he re were so man y ems. a nd so me we re so ecce n tric a nd no is y, t hat they tended to pr odu ce dis order. Hen ce Pa ul's ad mo nitio ns: I. A ll th ese gift s co me fro m the Sp irit . 2. All are give n for the bene fit o f th e co mmu nity. 3. T heir respect ive value s are to be iudu ed by thei r useful ness to th e co mmu n ity. 4. T he gift of p rop hecy ( or ooneteta t is vastly superior to the gift of to ng ues (glossolalia) of which t he Corin th ia ns arc so proud . 5. F inally, it is bett er to h a ve charity t han a ny of the charismata, b. A llusio n to th e fre nzies and org ies o f some pagan CUlts. c, No te aga in th e trinitarian fo rmulati on , cr. 6:11;

d. Iro nical: having begun by re mov ing th e veil , she may a s we ll go a l l t he way a nd s ha ve her head as well. Cf. v, 15. c . Lit. ' a po wer' , o r 'a u thority '. r. Ap pare nrlv a reference to a ngels as bei ng gu ard ia ns of p ub lic ord er in pu b lic wo rs hip. g. T his PU IS a st op to a ny d iscuss ion . h. T he supper co mme mo ra ting Chr ist 's la s t s upper wit h h is d iscip les durin g wh ich he institu ted the Eucharist . Befo re th e litu rgi cal meal th e Co rint hians hel d thi s ordinar y meal . th e ea rliest for m o f the aga pe. Pau l disappr o ves of th is custo m , v. 34, and co nd em ns 2Col) :13 +. its ab uses , 'IV . 2 1-22. d . P robably th e Rift of p reac hing th e ce nt ral Christia n tr u th s a bo u t G od a nd God's life in us: this is th e ' pe rfect tea ching' of Heb 6: 1. C f. also 1 Co 2:6- 16, i. Var . ' T his is my bcdy, bro ken for yo u' . c. T he Rift of p reac hing th e e leme ntary C h rist ian t rut hs: ' the elemen ta r y tea chin g concerning C h rist' I. Add . ' unwor thil y" . k, T he Body o f t he Lo rd. o f Heb 6: 1. I. Li t. 'fa llen as leep ' . Evi dent ly Pa u l co nsiders the t, A n unu sually int ense fait h, cf. 13:2. s . On 'pr ophecy ' cr, Ac 11:27 + , sick ness a nd deat h o f so me Corinth ia ns to h av e bee n

...

12: 1 I

j~1 1

I'J~ ~1:13

1,1

1 CORINTHIANS

3°4

another the gift of recognising spirits; h another the gift of tongues! and another the ability to interpret them . · AII these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who distr ibutes different gifts to different people just as he chooses.

3°5 II

The analogy of the bodyl 6:15 : 10:17 Just as a human body, though it is made up of many par ts, is a single unit 12 Rm 12:4-5 E.~n~ because all these parts, though many , make one body, so it is with Christ." -I n 13 a l:l.~ the one Spir it we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as C~13:11 citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink. Nor is the body to be identified with anyone of its many parts. •If the foot l~ were to say, 'I am not a hand and so I do not belong to the body ', would that mean that it stopped being part of the body? -If the ear were to say, 'I am not 16 an eye, and so I do not belong to the body', would tha t mean that it was not a part of the body? •If your whole body was just one eye, how would you hear anything? 17 If it was just one ear, how wou ld you smell anything? Instead of that, God put all the separate parts into the body on purpose.• If l~ all the parts were the same, how could it be a body? -As it is, the parts are many 20 but the body is one. -The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you', nor can 21 the head say to the feet, 'I do not need you' . What is more , it is precisely the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest 22 which are the indispensable ones; -and it is the least honourable parts of the 23 body that we clothe with the greatest care. So our more improper parts get decorated -in a way that our more proper parts do not need. God has arranged 24 the body so that more dignity is given to the parts which are without it, -and so 25 that there may not be disagreements inside the body, but that each part may be Rm 12:15 equally concerned for all the others. •If one part is hurt, all parts are hurt with 26 it. If one part is given special honour, all parts enjoy it. RmlUiA Now you together are Christ's body; but each of you is a different part of it. 27 Ac Tfif~ In the Church, God has given the first place to apostles, the second to prophets, 28 ~:::n t the third to teachers ;' after them , miracle s, and after them the gift of healing; helpers ,'" good leaders, " those with many languages. -Are all of them ap ostles, 29 or all of them prophets, or all of them teachers? Do they all have the gift of miracles, 'or all have the gift of healing? Do all speak strange languages, and 30 all interpret them?

13

n

The order of importance in spiritual gifts. Love

R m 8:31:

14:15 Col 1:8

Mt 7:22 Mt 17:20 Jm 2:14-17 Mt6:2

Rm 13:8- 10 I Th 5:14-1 5 Rm 12:9-10

Pr 10:12 13:13 +

r

Ac 11:27 +

Ac2:4+

2 Co 5:7

Be ambit ious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is 31 better than any of them. If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, a I am simply a gong boomi ng or a cymbal clash ing. -If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are , and know ing everything, and if I have faith in all its fulness, to move mountains, but without love, the n I am nothing at all. -If J give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let. them take my body to burn it, b but am without love, it will do me no good whatever. Love is always patient and kind ; it is never jea lous ; love is never boa stful or conceited ; ·it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. •Love takes no pleasure in other people 's sins but delights in the tru th ; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure what ever comes. Love does not come to an end. But if there are gifts of prophecy, the time will come when they must fail; or the gift of languages, it will not continue for ever ; and knowledge-for this, too, the time will come when it must fail. F or our knowledge is imperfect- and our prop hesying is imperfect; -but once ~o perfection comes, all imperfect things will disappear. •When I was a child, I used 11 to talk like a child , and think like a child, and ar gue like a child , but now I am a man , all childish ways are pu t behind me.• N ow we are seeing a dim reflection 12

13

14:5

in a mirror ; but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge tha t I have now is imperfect ; but then I shall know as fully as I am known." In short, e there are three things that last ! faith, hope and love ; and the greatest of these is love.

I

]n

3:2

Nb 12:8 Ws3 :9 Rm 5:4 Ga 5:6 Ep 1:15 : 4:2 Col 1:4 Phm 5

Spiritual gifts: their respective importance in the community You must want love more than anything else; but still hope for the spiritual gifts as well, especially prophecy. -A nybody with the gift of tongues speaks to God, but not to othe r people ; because nobody understands him when he talks in the spirit about mysterious things .•On the other hand, the man who pro phesies does talk to other people, to their improvement, their encouragement and their consolation . -T he one with the gift of tongues talks for his own benefit, but the man who prophesies does so for the benefit of the community. While I should like you all to have the gift of to ngues, J would much rather you could proph esy, since the man who prophesies is of greater importance than the

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h. The gift of knowing if charismata were sp iri tua l. n atura l, or evil. 1. On the charisma of ' tongues' ( etossotatta t cr. Ac 2:4 + . J. Paul us es the classical analogy of society as a single body with many parts but hi s co nce pt of th e Body of Ch ris t goes back to th e memory of his own conversion . cr. Ac 9:4f; G a 1: 15(, to faith in Jesus whose body, raised from the dead and given life by the Spirit, R m 1:4 +. became th e ' firs t-fru its ' of a new creation, 1 C o 15:23. The words spoken by the Lord at Pa u l's conversion , 'I am Jesus , whom you ar e per secuting' , imply that Christians a re identified with th e risen C hr ist. In Paul ' .. wri tings, C hris tia ns a re bodily un ite d with the risen body, Rm 8:11. by bantisrn, 1 Co 12: 13; cr. R m 6:4 +, and the Euch aris t, 1 Co 10: 16f, wh ich make them parts of C hr ist 's b od v. 1 Co 6:15. unit ed in su ch a way that he and th ey ro gerher form the Body o f C h rist (what is no w ca lled ' the m ystica l body'), 1 C o 12:27; Rm 12:4f. T his ra ther reali st ic tea ching o f 1 Co is taken up later o n and d evelo ped in the Lett er s of th e Captivity, wh er e the ba sic idea remains the sa me, t.e. humans are reconciled to G od by becoming pa rts of, Ep 5:30, Ch rist 's body which was p hysically dead but is now spiritually a live. Ep 2:14- 18, Col I :22 . The st ress h owever is on th e u nit y of the Body that bri ngs all C hristians to get her in one Spi rit, En 4:4 : Co l 3: 15, and on th e iden tific ation of th e Body wit h the C h urch , Ep 1:22f ; 5:23: Co l 1: 18,24. Having thus person ified the bo dy, En 4:12f ; Co l 2:19, Pa ul asserts th a t Christ is it s Head, En 1:22 ; 4:15f; 5:23; Col 1:18 : 2: 19 (cr. 1 Co 12:21). This assertion pr oba bl y developed fro m the concep t of C hrist as Head of all Powers, Co l 2: 10. "Event ually, in its widest sense, Pa ul in clu des in bts'cdn cem of the Body the en tire cosmos as u ni fied un der the Lord C hr ist . Ep 1:23 +. Cf. In 2:21 +. k . The wa y a human body gives unity to a ll it s component part s is the way C h r is t, as unifying pri ncipl e of his Ch urc h, gives un ity to all C h ristia ns in his Body . I. The re gular teac hers appointed for ea ch se p arate church , cf. Ac 13:1 +. m. Lit. ' he lpin gs' : voluntary gifts to wor ks of charity. n , Administrators and guides of the churches. 13 a . Love (agape) has no possessiveness and is not a desire for sat isfaction: it wants to satisfy the other . The Supreme charity is God's love for u s, 1 In 4:19, tha t made hi m give his Son so that sinners m ight be reconciled, Rm5 :8: 8:32-39; 2 C 0 5:18-2 1: Ep2:4.7; cf . In 3:16f : 1 In 4:9-10, and become not only G od 's chosen ones, Ep 1:4, but God's sons, 1 In 3:1. T his love is a tt ri bu ted to God (the Father) , Rm 5:5 : 8:39 ; 2 Co 13:11.13 ; Ph 2:1 : 2 Th 2:16: cf. I Jn 2:15. but as it is id entical with God ' s nature , I In 4:7f,16, it is foun d in th e So n. Rm 8:35.37. 39 : 2 C o 5:14 : Ep 3:19 : I Tm 1:14: 2 Tm 1:13. so the Son love s the Fa ther as th e Son is lo ved by the Father, E p 1:6 : Co l 1:13: cr. In 3:35; 10:17 ; 14:31, and as the Father lo ves u s. so th e So n lo ves the human ra ce, In 13:1.34 : 14:21;

15:9, whic h he was sen t to save, 2 Co 5: 14f: G a 2:20; Ep 5:2.2 5; I T m 1:14f: cr. un 15:13 : 1 Jn 3:16; Rv 1:5. T h is is th e sa me love th at th e H o ly Spiri t, Rm 15:30; C oi l :8, gives C hr istia ns. Rm 5:5 : cf. Ga 5:22 , to help them to carr y ou t. Rm 8:4, th e essential com m and men t o f t he La w , which is lov e of G o d and neighbour, Mt 22: 37-40 p ; R m t3 :8-JO: Ga 5:14. To lo ve friend s, and enemies. Mt 5 :43 ~48p , is not on ly the necessary consequence of G o d' s love fo r us, but ac tua lly proves that Go d love s us, I In 3: 17 : 4:20f, and it is th e new commandment la id down by C h ris t, In 13:34f: 15:12 .17: I In 3:23: etc., a nd co n sta n tly em p ha sised by his d iscip les . R m 13:8; Ga 5:1 3( ; Ep 1:15; Ph 2:2f ; Col 1:4 ; I Th 3:12; 2 T h 1:3 : Phm 5:7 : cf. Jm 2:8: I P 1:22; 2: 17 ; 4:8 : I I n 2: 10; 3:lOf, 14 : et c. Th is is how Paul lov es th e C hr is tia ns of his ow n ch urches , 2 Co 2:4 ; 12:15 ; e tc., a nd how th ey love h im , C o l 1:8: I T h 3:6; etc . Love p resuppo ses s incerit y, humility, se lflessness a nd se lf-sac r ifice. Rm 12:9(: I Co 13:4- 7 ; 2 Co 6:6 : Ph 2:2f. se rvice , Ga 5: 13 : cf. Heb 6: I0 , mutua l help, E p 4 :2; cr. R m 14115 ; 2 Co 2:7f. Lov e shows itself in the wa y we beh ave. 2 C o 8:8-11,24 : cf. 1 In 3:18, an d the way we obey th e Lord ' s co m m a nd s, In 14:15: I Jn 5:2f , et c.• and give effect to o u r faith . G a 5:6 ; cf. H eb 10:24. Love ho ld s the community together, Co l 3:14; cf. 2 P 1:7, and it 'c o vers up m a ny si ns'. 1 P 4:8 : cf. L k 7:47 . Since love of neighbour s prings from love of G od , it s mo tive ca n not be fear , Rm 8: 28·39; cf. I In 4: 17f. N or can we be charitable wit hout truth, Ep 4 : 15 cf. 2 Th 2:10, and it is this that enables u s to m ake moral judgements, Ph I :9, and gives us sp ir it ua l understa nding of th e divi ne mystery, Co l 2:2 : cf . I In 4:7 , and spi ritual kno wled ge of t he o the rwi se u nknowab le Jo ve of C hris t, En 3:17-19 ; c f. 1 C o 8:1-3; 13:8- 12. Sin ce C hr ist, En 3:17 , a nd the whole Tri nit y. 2 C o 13:13 + : cf. In 14:15· 23: 1 In 4:12. live in the so ul t hat ha s thi s love, it fost er s th e theological virtues, cf. Rm 1:16 + : 5:2 + , in any person where it is th e dominant cha rac ter istic, J C o 13:13. Lov e is the onl y eternal virt ue , 1 Co 13:8, and will o nly be perfect in the vision. 1 Co 13:12 ; cf . 1 In 3:2 . when G o d gives h is lovers th e Rifts he has p r om ised . I Co 2:9: Rm 8:28 ; Ep 6:24: 2 T m 4:8: cf. 1m 1:12 : 2;5. b. Var . ' I m ay Rive a ll my Roods to the p oo r so th at I can boast of it ' . c. Li t. 'in p ar t' . d. I.e. bY G od . e. O r 'Meanwhile' . f . O r 'In sho rt . then, we are left with these thr ee thing s' . T h is ass oci a tion of the thr ee theo lo gical virtues, which is found ea r lier in 1 Th 1:3 a nd wh ich wa s prob abl y in u se before Pau l's time, rec urs fre q uen tly in hi s lette rs , thou gh th e ord er va r ies : I T h 5:8 ; I Co 13:7.13: Ga 5:5f : Rm 5:1-5 : 12:6- 12; C o l 1:4-5 : Ep 1: 15-18 : 4:2-5 : I Tm 6:11 : Tt 2:2. Cf . Heb 6:1Q.12 : 10:22-24 : I P 1:3-9.2 1f. Fa it h and cha ri ty ar e ass oci a ted in I Th 3:6 ; 2 T h 1:3; P hm 5. faith a nd fortitud e in 2 Th 1:4 . lo ve and fo r tit ude in 2 T h 3:5 . Cr. 2 Co 13: 13.

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man with the gift of tongues, unless of co urs e the latter offers an interpretation so that the ch urch may get some benefit. Now suppose, my dea r brothers, I am someo ne wit h th e gift of tongues, and I come to visit you , what use shall I be if ail my ta lking reveals nothing new, tells you nothing, and neither inspires you nor instructs you? -T hink of a musical instru ment, a flute or a harp: if one no te on it cannot be dist inguished from another, how can you tell what tune is being played? -O r jf no one can be su re which call the trumpet has sounded, who will be ready for the attack? It is th e same with you: if your tongue does not produce intelligible speech, how can anyone know what you are saying? You will be talking to the air. •There are any number of different languages in the world, and not one of them is meaningless,« - but if I am ignorant of what the sounds mean , I am a savage to the man who is speaking, and he is a savage to me. • It is the same in your own case: since you aspire to spir itual gifts, concentrate on th ose which will grow to benefit the community. T hat is why anybody who has the gift of tongues must pray for the power of inter preting them . •For if I use th is gift in my prayers, my spirit may be praying bu t my mind is left barren." •What is the answer to that? Surely I should pray not onl y with the spirit but with the mind as well? And sing praises not only with th e spi rit but with the mind as well? -Any uninitiated person will never be able to say Amen to your thank sgiving, if you only bless God with the spirit, for he will have no idea what you are saying.• However well you make your thanksgiving , the other gets no benefit from it. . 1 thank God that I have a grea ter gift of tongues than all of you, · but when I am in th e presence of the community I would rat her say five words that mean something than ten thousand words in a tongue. Bro thers, you are not to be childish in your outlook . You can be babies as far as wicked ness is concerned, but mentally you must be adult. -In the written Law it says:' Through men speak ing strange languages and through the lips of fo reigners, I shall lalk 10 the nation , and still they will not listen 10 me, says the Lord. • You see t hen, that the strange languages are meant to be a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while on the other hand, prophecy is a sign not for un believers but for believers. -So that any uninitiated people or unbe lievers, com ing into a meeting of the whole church where everybody was speaking in ton gues, would say you were all mad ; •bu t it you were all prophesying and an unbelieve r or un initiated person came in, he would find himself analysed and judged by everyo ne spea king; -he wou ld find his secret th oughts laid bare , and then fall on his face and worship G od, declar ing tha t God is among you indeed.

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their hus bands at ho me: it does not seem right for a woman to ra ise her voice at meeti ngs. Do you t hink t he word of God came out of yourselve s? Or that it has come only to you? -Anyone who claim s to be a prop het or inspired oug ht to recog nise that what I am writing to you is a co mmand from the Lord. • Un less he recognises this, you shou ld not recognise him ." And so, my dea r brothers, by all means be ambitious to prophesy, do not suppress the gift of tongues, •but let everything be done with propriety and in order.

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II I. THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD a

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12 1

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18

7

19

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20

10

21 11 22

12 13

23 24

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16 25

17 18 19

Reg ulating spiritual gifts So, my dear brothers, what co nclus ion is to be d ra wn ? At all your meetings, let everyone be ready with a psa lm or a sermon or a revelation, or ready to use his gift of tongues or to give an interpretat ion; but it must always be for the common good . -If there are people present with the gift of tongues, let only two or three , at the most, be allo wed to use it, an d only o ne at a time, and there must be someone to interpret. -If there is no inter pre ter present, they must keep quiet in church and speak on ly to the mselves and to G od .• As for pro phets, let two o r three of them speak, and the others attend to the m. ·If one of the listeners receives a revelat ion, then the man who is alrea dy speaking shou ld sto p.• For you can all prophesy in turn , so t hat everybody will learn so met hing and ever ybody will be enco uraged.• Prophets can alwa ys co ntro l their prop het ic spirits, - since God is not a G od of disorder but of peace. As ill all t he churc hes of the saints, ' women are to remai n q uiet at meet ings since they have no permission to spea k; th ey must keep in the background as the Law itself lays it dow n. -If they have an y questions to as k, they should ask

36

1 C O RI N THIA N S

20 26

27 28

21

15 that Brot hers , I wa nt to remind you of the gospel I pre ached to you, the gospel you received and in which you are firmly esta blished; •because the

gospel will save you only if you keep believing exact ly what I preached to youbelieving anyt hing else will not lead to anyt hing. Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; -that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third da y, in accordance with the scriptures; -that he appeared first to Cephas and seco ndly to the Twelve . Next he ap peared to more than five hu ndred of th e brot hers at the same time, most of who m are still alive, though some have died; -t hen he appeared to James, and th en to all the apostles; -and last of all he appeared to me too ; it was as though I was born when no one expected it." I am the least of the apostles ; in fact , since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the na me apostle ; -but by God's grace t hat is what 1 am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fru itless. O n the co ntrary, I, or rat her the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the ot hers; •but what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed . Now if Christ raised from the dead is what has been preac hed ,' how can some of you be sayi ng that there is no resurrection of the dead? •If there is no resu rrect ion of the dead, Chr ist himself cannot have been raised, -and if Ch rist has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless; indeed, we are shown up as witnesses who have com mitted perjury before God, because we swore in evidenc e before God" that he had raised Christ to life. •For if the dead are not raised, Ch rist has not been ra ised, -and if Chri st has no t been ra ised, you are still in your sins. -A nd what is more ser ious, all who have died in Christ have perished. -If our hope in C hr ist has been for th is life only, we are t he most unfortunate' of all people. But Chr ist has in fact been ra ised fro m t he dea d, th e first-fru its of all who have fallen asleep. -Death came thro ugh o ne man an d in the same way the 14 a. Lit. ' ... sounds in the wor ld but no t one so und less' , b. T his pr ayer of ecs tat ic utt eranc e is so freed by 'the spirit' th a t it con tains no thi ng limited enou gh to be gras ped by the 'mind' . c. The Quotat ion is very free .

29 30 31 32 33 34 35

d . Or, he is unnoticed by G od who doe s not ac kno wledge him as his own . Var. ' if he refuses to recognise this , welt let him' (Paul losing patie nce). Fo r a similar way of p utt ing an end to discussi on, er, 11:16 : Ph 3:15. t 5 a . C hrlst' e res urrection, of which the apo st les ar e witnesses, vv , 2-8, cr, Ac 1:8 +, is t he decisive pr oof, vv. 12-28, of the futur e resurrection of all, which is so me thing the a .T. first of a lt suspects and hope s for , Ps 16:10 +;. Jb 19:25 + ; Ez k 37:10 +, bu t eventua lly asserts Quite pla inly, 2 M 7:9+. Thi s is why the res urrect ion of Chris t is the foundation of faith, vv. 12~19 .

T he risen Christ ca n be ca lled t he first-fru it. v. 20. not only her a ldin g but ca using the resurrection of all Chris tians, vv. 20-28, cr. Rm 8:1 1+. b. A n allus ion to the abno rma l, sudden and surgical na tu re of Pa ul's birth into the a pos to lic fam ily. He makes no dis tinction be tween the sort of apparition tha t to ok place on the Da mas cus roa d a nd the sort of ap pa rit ions of Jes us tha t to ok place be tween the resurrecti on and the ascension. c. Pa ul is talking to t hose who believe Chris t ro se fro m the dead . To believe this an d to lead a Christian life necessarily imp ly belief in t he resurrection of the de ad. d. Or 'through Go d' . e , 'T h is life ' has become for Christians a sta te from which life in Christ. through the resurrecti on , will de liver them. If there is no resurr ection, they have lost their deli ver ance, Note tha t the possib ility of the so ul's imm ortality without the res urr ect ion of the body is no t cons idered.

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resurrection of the dead has come through one ma n. -Just as all men die in Adam, 22 so all men will be brought to life in C hrist ; •but a ll of the m in th eir proper order: 2 3 C hrist as the first-fruits and then, after th e co ming! of Christ, those who belong to him .• After that will com e the end, when he hands over the kingdom to G od 24 t he Father, having done away with every sover eignty, authority a nd pow er. ' F or he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet -and th e last ~~ of th e enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his fe et. -Though when it is said- that everything is subjected, this clearly cannot include 27 the On e who subjected everything to him. -And when everything is subjected to 28 him , then th e Son himself will be subject in his turn to the O ne who subje cted all things to him, so that God may be all in all. If this were not true , what do people hope to gain by being baptised for 2 9 the dead?' If the dead are not ever going to be raised, why be baptised on their behalf? •What about ou rselves? Why are we living under a con stan t thr eat? 30 I face deat h every day, bro thers, and I can swea r it by the pride that I take in you 31 in Christ Jesus our Lord. • If my motives were on ly hum an ones, what goo d wo uld 32 it do me to fight t he wild anima ls at Ephesus?' -You say: Let us eat and drink 33 today; tomorrow we shall be dead. You mu st sto p being led astray: 'Ba d friends r uin the no blest peop le'." -Corne to your senses, behave pro perly, and leave sin 34 a lone ; there are so me of you who seem not to know God at all; you sho uld be ashamed.

55 56 57 58

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Someon e may ask, 'How are dead peopl e raised, an d wha t so rt of body do they have when th ey co me back?' -T hey are st upid question s. Whatever you sow in the gro und has to die befo re it is given new life -and the thing that you sow is not what is going to co me; you sow a bare gra in, say of wheat or somet hing like that, and then God gives it th e so rt of body th at he has chos en: each sort of seed gets its o wn sort of body. Every thing th at is flesh is not the same flesh : there is hum an flesh, anima ls' flesh, the flesh of birds and th e flesh of fish. •T hen th ere are heavenly bo dies and there are ea rt hly bodies; but th e heavenly bod ies ha ve a bea uty of their own and the ea rthly bod ies a differen t one .• T he sun has its brightness, the moon a different brightn ess, and th e stars a different brightness, and the stars differ from each other in brightness. -I t is th e same with the resurrection of the dead : the thin g that is sown is perishable but what is raised is im perishable ; -the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious ; the thing th at is sown is wea k but what is raised is pow erful ; -when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is ra ised it embodies th e spirit. ' If the soul has its own emb odiment , so doe s the spirit have its own embodimen t. T he first man, Adam , as scripture says, became a living soul;" but the last Ada m has becom e a life-giving spirit. •That is, first the one with the soul , not the spirit, and after tha t, th e one with the spirit. -The first man , being from th e earth, is ear thly by nat ure ; the secon d ma n is from heaven . -A s this earthly man was, so are we on eart h; and as th e heavenly ma n is, so are we in heaven. -A nd we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on th e heavenly man. Or else, brothers, put it th is way: flesh and blood cannot inh erit the kingdo m of God: and the perish ab le cannot inheri t what lasts for ever. ·1 will tell you somet hing th at has been secre t: that we are not all going to die, but we shall all be cha nged." -T his will be instan taneou s, in th e twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sou nds . It will sound, and the dead will be raised , imperisha ble, and we shall be cha nged as well," •beca use our presen t perisha ble nat ure mu st put on impe rishab ility and th is mortal natu re must put o n immortality.

3

4

A hymn of triumph. Conclusion When this peris hable nature has put on imperishability;> and when this

37 10

11

16

Now about the collection made for the saints: " you are to do as I told tne churches in Galatia to do . • Every Sunday, b each one of you must put aside what he can afford, so that collections need not be made after I ha ve come . When I am with you, I will send you r offering to Jeru salem by the hand of whatever men you give letters of reference to ; -if it seems worth while for me to go too , they can travel with me. I shall be coming to you after I have pass ed thro ugh Macedonia-and I am doing no more than pass thr ough Macedonia-i-s and I may be staying with you, perhaps even passing the winte r, to ma ke sure that it is you who send me on my way wherever my travels take me. -As you see, I do not want to make it only a passing visit' to you and I hope to spe nd some time with you , the Lo rd permi tting. • In any case I shall be staying at Ephesus until Pentecost •because a big and important doo r" has opened for my work and there is a great dea l of o pposition. If Tim othy comes, show him tha t he has nothi ng to be afra id of in you: like me, he is do ing the Lo rd 's work, -a nd no bod y is to be scorn ful of him. Send

39

f. Parousia (p res ence). a Greek wo rd adop ted by

40

ea r ly C h rist ia ns to indicate t he glor io us co m ing o f C hr ist o n his 'day' , I Co 1:8 + . at th e en d o f ti me. Ml 24:3+ ; cf. also I Th 2:19 ; 3: 13 ; 4:15 ; 5:32 ; 2 Th 2: 1; Jm 5:7,8 ; 2 P 1:16; 3:4, 12 ; I I n 2:28. In 2 T h 2:8,9 th e sa me word is used to in d icate the comin g o f the lawless O ne. Cr. the simila r te rm s ' revela tio n' , I Co 1:7 + , a nd 'a ppea ri ng' , I Tm 6:14 -i-. J:, A ll for ces ho st ile to the sovere ignty of G o d , cf. I Co 2:6; Ep 1:2 1; Co l 1: 16: 2:15; I P 3:22. h . W hen t he who le cosmos has been s ubjec ted 10 hi m, Jesus will go to the Father and say h is task is co mp lete. T he tran slation 'scripture says ' is incorrec t. l. W ha t th is practice was is un kn o wn: Pa ul d ocs not say if he approved of it or no t: he uses it merely for a n ad hominem a rgument. J. Wh at episode Pa ul is refer rin g to IS u nkn own . k. Q uo ted from Men ander' s Thais: it ma y ha ve becom e a po p ular proverb. I. lit. It is sow n a ph ysical ( psychi k on) body, it is ra ised a spi rit ua l ( pneumatlko n ) body . I n Pa ul, as in t he O.T. , psyche (Heb r . nephesh : cf. G n 2:7) is what gives life to ani ma ls. to the human body, I C o 15:45; or it is the actual ' life' of the body, Rm 16:4 ; P h 2:30: 1 T h 2:8; cf. Mt 2:20 ; Mk 3:4; Lk 12:20; In 10: I I ; Ac 20: 10: et c., its ' living so ul' , 2 Co 1:23. T he ter m can also mean a ny human being, Rm 2:9 ; 13: 1; 2 Co 12:15 ; Ac2:41, 43, et c. As it o n ly gives nat ur a l life, I Co 2:14; cr. J ude 19, it is less imp ort ant than pneuma by which a human life is divinised by a process that beg ins throu gh th e gift of th e Sp'rf t, R m 5:5 + ; cf. 1:9 + , and is co mp leted afte r deat h. G reek p hilos op he rs t ho ug ht o f t he h ighe r so u l (t he nous) esca ping fr om ' the bo dy ' , t o su rv ive im mo rta lly. Ch rist ians tho ug h t o f immort a lit y mor e in term s of t he res tora tio n of the whole pe rson , involving a resu rrectio n of t he bo dy effected by the Sp irit o r d ivin e pr incip le which God withd rew fro m hu ma n bei ngs becaus e of sins, Gn 6:3, but rest ore d to a ll who arc un ited to th e risen Christ. Rm 1:4 +: 8: II, who is th e 'he aven ly'

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Commendations. Greetings I

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Is 25:8 Ho 13:14 Rv 20:14 Rm 7:7+ H eb6;1 + In 16:33

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mo rtal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture- will com e tru e: Death is swallowed up in victory . • Death, where is your victory? Death , where is yo ur sting ? • N ow the sti ng of death is sin, and sin gets its power from th e Law. So let us t hank God for giving us the victory thro ugh our Lord Jesus Ch rist. Never give in then, my dea r brothers, never admit defea t; keep on working at the Lord' s wor k always, knowing that, in the Lo rd, you cannot be labouring in vain.

CO NCL USIO N

The man ner of the resur rection Ga 6:8

1 C O RI NTHIA N S

man and life-gi ving Snlr h , 1 Co 15:45-49, T he 'body' is no lon ger psych ikon b ut pneuma /iko n, it is inco rrupt ibl e, immo rtal. I Co 15:53, glo rio us . 1 Co 15:43 : cf. Rm8 : 18: 2 C04: 17 ; Ph 3:2 1; Co l 3:4, no longer s u bject to th e laws o f matter, In 20:19.26 : it doe s not even a ns wer the descript io n of matter , L k 24: 16. Psyche ca n be used in a wide r sense as th e OPposite of the body to indica te wha t it is in a human be ing tha t be ha ves a nd feels , P h 1:27; Ep 6:6 : Co l 3:23; cf. M t 22: 37p ; 26 :38p ; Lk 1:46 ; I n 12:27 ; Ac 4:3 2; 14:2 ; I P 2: 11; etc., o r eve n t o indicate th e sp irit ual a nd im mortal so u l. M t 10:28, 39p; Ac 2:27 ; J m 1:21 ; 5:20 ; I P 1:9; R v 6:9 ; e tc. m. So me th ing th at is alive becaus e It h a s a psych e gi vlnR it a mere ly natural life , su bjec t to decay a nd co rr up tio n. n. Th e vure. rea d ing 'we a ll d ie but we sha ll no t a ll be c ha nged' is incorrect. 0 , I.e. th o se wh o will be a live at the ti me, a mo ng who m Pa u l co uld theor e ticall y have been inc luded, cf.1 T h 5: 1+ . p. Om , ' W hen t his pe ris hable na tu re has pu t on impe rishab ilit y' .

q, A free quotatio n. ]6 a . O n this col lec tio n see Rm 15:26-28 : Ga 2:10: 2 Co 8:9 ; Ac 24:17. T he ' saint s' (cf. 2 C o 8:4) are the C hr istia ns in Jer usa lem wh o fro m the earliest da ys s tood in need of he lp, Ac 11:29·30. Pa u l was very a nxious to have th is co llec tion made. since he regard ed it as a sla n and a p led ge of u nit y between th e ch urc hes he had fo unded and tho se of th e J udaeo-Christian s. b. Lie. 'Firs t d ay o f t he week', i.e. 'The Lo rd 's Day' , cr . Ac 20:7 ; Rv 1;10 ; Mt 28:1, c, A n a lterna tive t ra nsla tio n 'This time, I do not wa nt to pay you a pass ing visit' ; th is wo u ld pr esup pose a s ho rt visit rece nt ly made, which is hard ly likel y. d . T he sa me image is used in 2 Co"2:12; Col 4:3 : it indi cat es Pa u l's missionary oppor tu nit ies , cf. Rv 3:8 .

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CO RI NT HIANS

3 10

him happily on his way to co me back to me; the brot hers and I are wait ing for him.' -A s for our brother Apo llos, I begged him to come to you with the br o thers but he was qu ite firm that he did not want to go yeti an d he will co me as soon as he can . Be awake to all th e da ngers; stay firm in th e faith; be brave and be str ong. Let everything you do be done in love. Th ere is somet hing else to ask you, bro thers. You know how the Stepha nas family, who were the first-fr uits of Acha ia, have reall y wor ked har d to help the saints.• Well, I want you in your tu rn to put your selves at th e serv ice of peop le like this, and anyone who helps and works with them. ·1 am delight ed that Step ha nas , Fo rt unatus and Achaic us« have arrived; .thcy make up for you r absence. •T hey have settled my mind, a nd yours too ; I ho pe you appreciate men like this. All the churc hes of Asia" send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, with the church th at meets at their ho use, send you the ir warmest wishes, in the Lord . All the brothers send you their greetings. Gre e o ne ano ther with a holy kiss. T his greet ing is in my o wn han d- Paul. If anyo ne does not love the Lor d, a curse o n him. 'Ma ra n ath a. ' T he grace of the Lo rd Jesus be with you. My Jove is with you all in C hrist Jesus.

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THE SECO N D LETTER OF PAU L TO T H E C H U RCH AT CO RI N T H

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I NT R O DU CTI O N 211

Address and greetings . Thanksgiving

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Fro m Paul, appoi nted by Go d to be an a postle of Christ Jesus, and from T imot hy, o ne of the brot hers, to the chu rch of G od at Corinth and to all the saints in the whole of Achaia. -G race and peace to you from Go d our Father and the Lord Jesus Chr ist. Blessed be the Go d and Father of our Lo rd Jesus Christ, a gent le Father and the G od of all consol ati on, -who co mfor ts us in all our sor rows, so t hat we can offer ot hers, in their sorrows, th e co nsola tion that we have received fro m G od o urselves.• Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, t hro ugh Christ, does o ur co nsolatio n ove rflow. •When we a re made to suffer, it is for your co nsolation and salva tio n. When, instead , we are comfo rted, th is should be a consolation to you, support ing you in patiently bear ing the same sufferings as we bea r. -And our hop e for you is confident , since we know that , sha ring our sufferings, you will also share our conso lations. For we should like you to realise, brot hers, that the th ings we had to undergo' in Asia were more of a bu rden than we co uld carry, so that we despaired of co ming thr ough alive . •Yes, we were car rying our own death warrant with us, a nd it has taught us not to rely o n ourse lves but o nly on G od, who raises the dea d to life. -A nd he saved us from dying , as he will save us aga in ; yes, th at is our firm hope in him, that in the future he will save us aga in. •Yo u must all join in the prayers for us: the mo re people there are asking for help for us, the more will be giving th anks when it is granted to us.

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I. SOME RECE NT E VE N T S REVIEWED

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Why Pa ul changed his plans 12

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16 e. T he nbrase is ambtauous: e ither Pa u l and t he ' brot hers ' of E phesus are wail ing Io r Ti mothy, or Pau l e'l(pel.:t~ T il"1 010V a nd th e ' b ro t hers who are h is rra vell ina com pa nio ns (o f wh om Er as tus was o ne. Ac 19;22). t , In ca se his presence ag era vatcd party f~e li n R amon g his own supporters, 1: 12 ; 3:4-6: 4;6. • . Proba bly t hese had brou gh t th e letter from

t he Co rin thians to Paul, 7: 1. h. T he Ro man prov ince is mea nt. i. T hes e A ra m aic wo rd s ('the Lo rd is co mma') h ad pas sed into litur gic a l lise: th ey ex p ress ed th e ho pe th a t t he paro us! a wo u ld not be lo n g del a yed . A n at terna u ve re ad ing is Mara na Iha (L ord , co rnet). R v 22:20, c r. Rm 13: 12 ; Ph 4 :5 ; Jm 5:8; I P 4:7,

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T here is one th ing we are proud of, and our co nscience tells us it is true : that we have always treated everybody, and especially you , with the reverence" and sincerity which come from G od, and by th e grac e of Go d we have done this without ulteri or motives . •There are no hidden meanings in our lette rs besides what you can read for your selves and underst and .• And I hope that, although you do not know us very well yet, you will have come to recognise, when the da y of our Lo rd Jesus comes, that you can be as pro ud of us as we are of you. Beca use I was so sure of th is, I had meant to co me to yo u first, so that you would benefit doubly;« •staying with you before going to Macedonia and coming back to you again on the way back from Macedonia, for you to see me on my way to Judaea.« • Do you think I was not sure of my own intentions when I planned a. It is not k nown what incident thi s refers to , b . var. 'steete- m inded ness ', c. Var. ' to give YOU a double orees s re '.

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1 Co 1:8 + Ph 1:26; 2: 16 : 4:1 1 T h 2: 19-20

d . Paul must therefor e have cha ng ed the plan mentioned in t Co 16:5-6.

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