Classroom Snippets: 1 Corinthians

I'll continue tracing the hypothetical path of Jesus' disciples.

But today's a test over 1 Corinthians and I thought I would post a summary of some study material:

Chapter 1

• Sosthenes the amanuensis?
• “To those sanctified”? set apart to God as holy. But since they are carnal (3:1), they are apparently not “entirely” sanctified…
• Spiritual gift issue anticipated as early as 1:7
• 1:10 the key verse of the letter—need for unity
• Divisions primarily fall along lines of those loyal to Paul and a group using Apollos as an excuse to undermine Paul’s authority on various issues
• The mention of Peter, however, may allude to some in the church who would consider Peter a higher authority than Paul. The mention of Christ may be an allusion to Peter or other disciples (not at Corinth, but in Jerusalem, for example) who claim higher authority than Paul.
• Did Stephanus arrive with the letter mentioned in 7:1 after Paul had started writing (see 16:17) and remind Paul that he had baptized his household too?
• Honor shame dynamics in the end of chapter 1: for Jews, the Messiah will win, not get crucified… let’s step out back and I’ll kill you for saying that Israel’s Messiah let himself get crucified by the Romans (=stumblingblock)
• For Gentiles, that’s just stupid (=foolishness)
• Not many, but some of them were apparently of some status

Chapter 2

• Center of Paul’s message the cross?
• Miracles probably attended Paul’s mission, even though many of us tend to think of him as this heady theologian.
• There is a wisdom that is spiritually discerned, that doesn’t make sense to the world.
• The language of “spiritual” and “soulish” people at the end of chapter 2 probably takes up language Paul’s opponents at Corinth themselves are using, calling themselves spiritual (spiritual gifts, tongues, anyone?) while putting others like Paul down as only “soulish.” 1 Corinthians 15 takes up this language again.

Chapter 3

• The Corinthians are not spiritual but “fleshly” (carnal). Now Paul introduces his own language—they use “spiritual” versus “soulish”; for Paul it is “spiritual” versus “fleshly.”
• Although Paul has mentioned others, when he gets down to business, he and Apollos seem to be the main contestants at issue.
• No foundation except Jesus Christ can be laid. Note: Ephesians expands the list to Christian apostles and prophets, with Christ as chief cornerstone.
• Some interpret 3:14-15 to teach eternal security—a person who builds hay and straw on the foundation will be saved but scorched through the fire of judgment. Note that the foundation is intact despite the building on it, and Paul is really talking about ministers who build the church.
• You plural are God’s temple and the Spirit dwells in you, plural, us.
  Note the subordination of Christ to God the Father which is standard in Paul’s writings.

Chapter 4

• Paul says no one should judge him here, but in the next chapter he judges a sinful man. Is one difference the fact that Paul is talking about his intentions here, while the actions of the man in chapter 5 are external and undisputable?
• The Corinthians have an attitude of having already arrived spiritually.
  Although he and Apollos are only servants of God (chap. 3), he is their father in the Lord and so argues that he should get higher respect

Chapter 5

• Man sleeping with his father’s wife—way out in terms of Leviticus 18
  Is this guy a patron to the community—harder to discipline those who financially support the church.
• Note that Paul does not seem to have a “all sin is sin” view. He does not kick every sinner out of the church… but he does kick some!
• They are proud… is this because they are seizing on Paul’s “not under Law” theme (in other words, watch what sermon you preach to what audience). Is the “all things are lawful” quote also a spin on their false perception of Paul’s teaching? Praise the Lord, Paul, look how not under the Law we are?
• Church discipline: hand him over to Satan so that the flesh might be destroyed but the spirit saved. One could argue again for eternal security from this. Alternatively, delivering to Satan might be a redemptive strategy, hoping he’ll come running back to the church.
• Two main functions of church discipline: redemption of the sinner and purity of the body of Christ. Does it play out differently today given that a person can just go to another church (only one church at Corinth at this time)? Is the purity of the body affected the same way in a church the size of Willow Creek?
• Sacrificial image of Christ: our Passover (lamb)
• Shame and purity technique—don’t even eat with someone claiming to be a Christian who is sexually immoral.
• Paul functions with a “two kingdoms” model of church/state relationships. It’s not his business to judge those outside the church right now (but it will be in chap. 6). It’s his business to judge those inside the church!

Chapter 6

• First part, taking each other to court. Probably the Apollos, spiritual, privileged group taking some from the Paul group to court (but perhaps still the well off ones—you don’t take a poor person to court in the Roman empire).
• In the eschaton, Christians will judge angels and the world. So Paul’s “so shall we ever be with the Lord” in 1 Thessalonians probably doesn’t mean we go off to heaven after the “rapture.” Rather, we are meeting in the air before the judgment.
• In general, better to lose out than to shame the church by taking some other Christian before a secular court.
• These two chapters, 5 and 6, both deal with issues of body integrity—with corruption of the body by sexual sin and by corruption of the body by airing our dirty laundry before the world.
• Second half of chapter anticipates the rest of the letter, yet focuses on the issue of visiting prostitutes.
• Visiting prostitutes defiles the body of Christ—it’s like taking Christ to a prostitute.
• Note: Paul says such a person becomes one flesh with the prostitute, but he surely wouldn’t have someone marry a prostitute. This debunks the whole sex=marriage view you hear sometimes. It also undermines the monogamy interpretation of Genesis 2:24 because a polygamous man becomes one flesh with all his wives.
• 1 Corinthians 6:9 has key words on homosexual sex, one of which seems to refer to the active person (arsenokoites) and the other to the passive partner (malakos).
• Note that individuals in the church who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (6:10).

Chapter 7

• In chapter 7 Paul begins to respond to their questions. Wherever you see “now concerning” you are likely seeing a response to a question from them.
• As such, there are a probably a number of quotes from their letter in this second part of 1 Corinthians.
• The first is here: “is it good for a man not to touch a woman”? The letter seems to have married couples in mind, and Paul’s first argument is that husbands and wives should have sex to keep them from being tempted to go elsewhere.
• Paul’s comment that a husband’s body belongs to his wife seems startlingly revolutionary for his context.
• Paul has the gift of being able to go without sex.
• Implications for pre-marital sex in 7:9—better to marry than to burn (with passion)
• Paul passes on Jesus tradition—wife is not to divorce her husband or if she does, she is not to remarry. This contrasts with what Paul will tell men later in the chapter—it is better for divorced men not to remarry, but they do not sin if they do (7:27-28). This implies that cultural factors are involved in these admonitions and also that these are not absolute commands (meaning exceptionless) but universal (with exceptions).
• Interesting Jesus tradition, since Jesus almost certainly focused on the man. Yet Paul focuses on the woman. Does this belie some problem with women at Corinth?
• Paul adds that if the unbeliever departs, let them depart.
• Unbelievers can be sanctified! The implication is that being made holy is not, in the first instance, about purity, although it is in the second instance. This is not salvation, for “how do you know if you will save your spouse.” This passage relates also to infant baptism, as a believing parent with an intact marriage sanctifies the children as well.
• Paul evidences a sense that the return of Christ is close. Accordingly, he has no sense of changing the structures of society (e.g., slavery). Rather, Christ is coming and we need to get down to business.
• Married person must take care of wife—ministry does not trump this responsibility.
• Uncertainty about the final part of the chapter—is this a father thinking about his virgin daughter (NASB, Schenck) or is this a man thinking about his betrothed (most)?

Chapter 8

• Chapters 8-10 have to do with the issue of meat offered to idols.
• Two Jewish approaches—1) no one’s there, go ahead and eat at the pagan temple (Apollos?); 2) there are demons there, stay away from the temple (Paul?)
• The Apollos party, which is “spiritual” (and may speak in tongues?) may also claim, “We have knowledge,” namely, that “an idol is nothing in the world.”
• 8:6 is a modified form of the Shema, now including Christ as Lord. This may be the first instance of Christ being called the agent of creation.
• Operating principle here as elsewhere in 1 Corinthians is to think of the other rather than about your rights and freedoms.
• Don’t eat at an “idol’s temple” (the phrase “food offered to idols” is a bit like the way some Christians called television “hellovision”—it is “food offered at a temple” (hierothuton) changed to food offered to an idol (eidolothuton).

Chapter 9

• Paul illustrates how to put others before yourself by way of a comparison with his own ministry practices. This chapter is thus sandwiched, “intercalated,” into this discussion
• Peter and James had wives!
• Paul thinks the ox-muzzle Scripture in Deuteronomy had no significant literal meaning—it was only meant allegorically for his day!
• More Jesus tradition—a workman is worth the pay. Churches should support their ministers financially.
• Paul probably did not rely on patronage at the places where he was to avoid the strings that came attached.
• Paul’s ministry philosophy—to the Jews he became a Jew (which implied that he now saw himself in somewhat of a third category); to the Gentiles a Gentile.
• Paul is not under the Law (Jewish Law) but is under Christ’s law.
  It was possible for Paul himself not to get the prize if he did not persist.

Chapter 10

• Paul continues with the need to persist in order to get the prize. Israel left Egypt but did not make it through the desert because of their sins. Things like idolatry, sexual immorality, and grumbling destroyed them. So those who persist in sin, even someone like Paul, will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• Some believe there are Christophanies in the OT. The rock that followed Israel (in some Jewish traditions) is a candidate, albeit a very weird one.
• No one need ever be defeated by temptation!
• Communion liturgy: “though we are many, yet we are one, because we all partake of the one bread.”
• Don’t eat at a pagan temple—that’s the table of a demon.
• Eat with thanksgiving anything from the marketplace.
• If you are eating at an unbeliever’s house, eat with thanksgiving unless someone tells you the meat has been offered to an idol (don’t ask; don’t tell).

Chapter 11

• First half deals with head coverings; second with the Lord’s supper
  Headship language: God head of Christ head of man head of wife.
• Husband headship language is not uniquely Christian—Aristotle says this 350 years earlier.
• Again, is there a woman problem at Corinth, women who are using their new found power in Christ to undermine the stabilizing structures of their society?
• Paul assumes that women can pray and prophesy in the assembly.
• Woman needs to veil her hair (not face), otherwise she shames her husband before other men, shows herself a dishonorable woman before putative males like God and the angels.
• An unveiled woman was like an unmarried woman. So we have issues of infidelity and issues of modesty involved.
• Cultural assumptions that long hair on men and short hair on woman is dishonorable.
• Yet Paul strikingly balances his comments out with the fact that man is through the woman.
• Some are getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper; others going away hungry. Clearly it is a meal.
• Cultural issues involved, since dinners often seated and served according to social status.
• Earliest tradition about the Lord’s supper.
• Some have died from their attitude toward others in this practice!

Chapter 12

• Chapters 12-14 deal with the matter of spiritual gifts. Chapter 12 deals with the general principles of how they operate, but Paul gets down to the specific problem in chapter 14 (how tongues are practiced at Corinth). Chapter 13 is intercalated to give the basic solution to their problem.
• One Spirit, one body, many members, many gifts
• This is not an absolute list of gifts.
• One part is not to look down on another part (i.e., those who speak in tongues should not think less of those who don’t)
• All do not speak in tongues, which Paul lists last on the list.
• Seek the greater gifts, meaning those that benefit the body more, which as we see when Paul picks the theme up in chapter 14, means prophecy more than tongues

Chapter 13

• The love chapter, the solution to the Corinthian problem (which is disunity, strife, and division). Like chapter 9 was sandwiched between 8 and 10, so this is “intercalated” here to show the solution to their spiritual gift problem.
• Love trumps their claims to knowledge and their boasting in various things. Love doesn’t boast.
• The mention of angelic tongues reminds us of their tongues in chapter 14 and indeed, the Testament of Job mentions Job’s daughters speaking in angelic tongues. Ecstatic tongues was thus probably conceived in Judaism as angelic languages. It is not a strictly Christian phenomenon, then, at the time.
• The idea that tongues and prophecy have ceased finds no basis in this text.

Chapter 14

• Paul now gets down to the underlying issue here—the unedifying use of tongues at Corinth.
• These are not human languages, for no one understands them and the mind is not involved. Paul likely conceives of these as angelic languages.
• Prophecy is better because it builds up the body rather than the individual.
• They said “Amen” after individuals prayed.
• The picture of worship here is a cross between the old time Quaker services where they waited on the Lord to move and individual and a charismatic service. There’s no mention of a designated preacher or sermon.
• Paul speaks in more tongues than all of them? What kind of tongues? Notice that tongues is not on Paul’s list of gifts in Romans 12 and is not mentioned in Ephesians.
• Tongues a sign for unbelievers—not a good sign! Something different going on here than in Acts 2, where tongues helps evangelize.
• Two or at the most three, one at a time, only if there is an interpreter, don’t forbid their use in worship.
• Prophets are to be evaluated by prophets
• The women verses don’t fit and Schenck doesn’t think they are original. However, if they were original, they cannot refer to spiritual speech because Paul has already assumed that in chapter 11. They would have to refer to talk that disrupts the worship.

Chapter 15

• Some at Corinth question the resurrection of the dead, but apparently not that Christ is alive. Some wonder if they believed in the immorality of the soul rather than the resurrection of the body.
• The earliest testimony to the resurrection appearances.
• In Paul’s mind at this point, the alternative to physical resurrection is no resurrection at all.
• Paul lock steps our resurrection with Christ’s. He’s the firstfruits, we are the rest of the crop.
• Adam imagery Paul will use later in Romans. In Adam all die; all in Christ will be made alive.
• All of Christ’s enemies are not yet under his feet (contrast Ephesians). Same subjection language as elsewhere—Christ will be subjected to God after everything is subjected to him.
• Baptism for the dead? Possibly some Christians with an ex opera operata view of baptism—if they are baptized for their dead relatives, they will be resurrected
• Allusion to contemporary Epicurean philosophy—eat, drink, be merry, tomorrow we die…
• Had Paul already been arrested once at Corinth (15:32)?
• Second half deals with question of what kind of body the resurrection body is—Paul doesn’t even consider disembodied afterlife.
• It will be a spiritual body in continuity with our earthly body. It will be a body like Christ’s resurrection body. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. This will happen at the last trump.

Chapter 16

• Do they meet on the first day of the week? Take an offering up for saints of Jerusalem. Paul may think this is fulfillment of prophecy.
• Paul talks about plans that he apparently does not keep. He perhaps sends the letter with Timothy. Clearly he is sending 1 Corinthians from Ephesus (3rd missionary journey).
• How are things between him and Apollos? Shaky?
• Household of Stephanus the first converts of Achaia.
• Aquila and Priscilla with Paul in Ephesus.
• Marana tha—an early Aramaic invocation for the Lord to return.
  Paul’s usual greeting with his own hand.