Summary
A review of the
outline gives a brief summary of both the major issues and the way Paul
addresses them.
I.
The Apostle’s Greeting 1:1-9
• Paul begins this letter by noting the
tension that exists between what the Corinthians are by grace and what they
need to become through obedience. Then he speaks to a series of church
problems.
II.
The Church’s Problems 1:10-6:20
A. Division ........... 1:10-4:21
•
Problem: There are
several factions in the congregation, each claiming some exclusive corner on
the truth. The ensuing quarrels are threatening the testimony of the church.
•
Solution: Paul
traces these divisions to pride and instructs the members to stop boasting
(3:21) and to imitate him (4:16).
B. Discipline ......... 5:1-13
•
Problem: They
continue to associate with a member who refuses to repent from his sexual sin.
Their ignoring of the problem has not made it go away, and eventually the
scandal will bring the church into disrepute.
•
Solution: Paul
tells them not to associate with the sinning member, in essence, to
excommunicate him.
C. Lawsuits ........... 6:1-11
•
Problem: Some
members are suing other members, and such
activity blurs the distinction between church (sacred) and
society (secular).
•
Solution: Paul
reminds them that they will judge angels. Given that great responsibility in
the future, they should be able to make these lesser judgments now without
appealing to civil courts.
D. Immorality ....... 6:12-20
•
Problem: Some
members think that being a Christian is exclusively a spiritual experience and
that what one does with the body is not important. They use this line of
reasoning to justify their visiting (temple) prostitutes.
•
Solution: Paul
corrects this misperception by stating that God is indeed concerned about the
body because He will raise it in the end, so what the believer does in the body
is important. Therefore, they must stop frequenting prostitutes.
III.
The Church’s Questions 7:1-16:9
A. Marriage ........... 7:1-40
•
Question: Should
the believer marry or not?
•
Answer: Celibacy
has the advantage of allowing the believer greater freedom to serve God.
Marriage is certainly permitted, though, and believers who are married should
not attempt to become single by divorcing their spouses.
B. Food ................. 8:1-11:1
•
Question: Is it
permissible to eat food dedicated to false gods?
•
Answer: No,
because eating such food brings a person into fellowship with the supernatural
power behind the false god. There is also the related possibility of destroying
a weaker brother for whom the practice reconnects him with his pagan past.
C. Worship ......... 11:2-16
•
Question: What is
the proper attire for worship?
•
Answer: The
practice of headcoverings should conform to the
principles of order and honor. Given the cultural conditions
of the period, women should cover their heads and men should not.
D. Communion ... 11:17-34
•
Question: What is
the proper behavior for observing Passover (and communion)?
•
Answer: To escape
God’s judgment, judge yourselves by avoiding division, disorder, drunkenness,
and disregard for others. If you cannot exercise self-control, eat at home
before you come.
E. Gifts ............... 12:1-14:40
•
Question: How
should we be using our spiritual gifts?
•
Answer: Remember
that there is one Spirit at work dispensing gifts in one body, and that there
is one way to exercise those gifts properly: in love. Remember also that the
purpose of gifts is to promote the common good, so maintain order in the
service by limiting the use of gifts that are intended for non-worship
settings.
F. Resurrection ... 15:1-58
•
Question: Is a
resurrection of the dead possible? If so, what kind of body will they have?
•
Answer: Yes,
Jesus was raised and has broken the power of death,
so all will rise and have a spirit body.
G. Collection ....... 16:1-4
•
Question: How
should we collect and distribute relief funds?
•
Answer: Let each
one set aside a percentage of his income that church representatives can take
to Jerusalem.
The
Apostle’s Farewell
IV.
The Apostle’s Farewell 16:5-24
•
Paul ends the letter as he began, by noting the tension
that exists between what the Corinthians are by grace and what they need to
become through obedience. Nevertheless, Paul concludes on a note of hope: There
is one who is keeping them, and he is coming again.
How is it possible for a church
with so many problems to get by? Paul hints at the solution in the way he
brackets the letter, in his greeting and in his farewell.
•
He opens the letter in 1:3 with “Grace and peace to
you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
•
He closes the letter in 16:23 similarly with “The
grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.”
The only way this church (and any church) can make it is by
God’s grace.
Bibliography
Associated Press
1988 “Jesus
didn’t promise Second Coming, scholars say.” April, n.p.
Bacchiocchi, Samuele
1977 From
Sabbath to Sunday: A Historical Investigation of the rise of Sunday Observance
in Early Christianity. Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University Press.
Barton, John
1984 Reading
the Old Testament: Method in Biblical Study. Philadelphia:
The Westminster Press.
Bruce, F.F.
n.d. The
Book of Acts. NICNT. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Conway, Flo, and Jim Siegelman
1979 Snapping:
America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change. New York: Dell Publishing
Company.
Fee, Gordon D.
1987 The
First Epistle to the Corinthians. NICNT. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company.
Ferguson, Everett
1992 “Agape
Meal.” AB 1:90-91.
Glatzer, Nahum N.
1969 The Passover Haggadah. New York:
Schocken Books.
Hoehner, Harold W.
1982 “The Purpose of Tongues in 1 Corinthians
14:20-25.” Walvoord: A Tribute.
Edited by Donald K. Campbell. Chicago: Moody Press, pp. 53-66.
Jakobovits, Immanuel
1972 “Homosexuality.”
EJ 8:961-962.
Johnson, Luke Timothy
1992 “Tongues,
Gift of.” AB 6:596-600.
MacArthur, H.K.
1971/72 “The Third Day.” NTS 18:81-86.
MacArthur, John F., Jr.
1992 Charismatic Chaos. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Publishing House.
Bibliography
Manuel, Paul http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com
|
1989
|
“The Passover and the Church after the Second Temple
Period.”
|
|
1999
|
“The
Intermediate and Final States of the Dead.” Anthropology Excursus 3 in A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.
|
|
2000a
|
“The
Difference in God’s Will.” Theology Excursus 3 in A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.
|
|
2000b
|
“The Fate of Animals.”
|
|
2001
|
“The Day of Jesus’ Resurrection according to Matthew.”
|
|
2002
|
“Biblically
Correct:
Applying
Religious Principles in the Real World.”
|
|
2002b
|
“Homosexuality: Affirming Our Biblical Bearings.”
|
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2004a
|
“The Gentile Believer and the Holy Days of Israel.”
|
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2004b
|
“The Holy
Spirit’s Ministry in the OT.” Pneumatology Excursus in A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.
|
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2004c
|
“What Is the Purpose of the Sanctuary?”
|
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2006
|
“Is Cleanliness Next to Godliness?”
|
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2007a
|
“An
Equal-Accessibility Deity.” Soteriology Excursus 3 in A Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.
|
|
2007b
|
“Legal Limits: Recognizing the Recipients of Biblical
Regulations.”
|
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2011
|
“What Does It Mean to Worship?”
|
|
2013a
|
“Diet: A Demonstration of Depravity or Devotion.”
|
|
2013b
|
“Different from All Other Nights” (John 13:16) [Devotional]
|
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2013c
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A
Reader’s Digest Approach to Theology.
|
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2014
|
Sabbath Observance: How
Did We Get
It and How
Should We Keep
It?
|
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2015
|
Divorce
and Remarriage.
|
Mare, W. Harold
1976 “1 Corinthians.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 10. Edited by Frank E.
Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.
Oswalt, John N.
1986 The
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Company.
Robertson, Archibald Thomas
1931 Word
Pictures in the New Testament. 6 vols. Nashville: Broadman
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Robertson, Archibald; and Alfred Plummer
1978 A
Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St Paul to the
Corinthians. ICC. Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark.
Rosen, Moishe
1974 Jews for Jesus. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming
H. Revell Company.
Seventh Day Baptists
1988 “A Baptist Church that’s a little
different.” Janesville, WI: Seventh Day Baptists.
Spanos, Nicholas P.; et
al.
1986/7 “Glossolalia as Learned Behavior: An
Experimental Demonstration.” Journal of
Abnormal Psychology. 95:1, pp. 21-23.
Sparks, Jack.
1979 The Mind Benders. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson Publishers.
Wierwille, Victor Paul
n.d. How
to Speak in Tongues. New Knoxville, OH: American Christian. Quoted in J.L.
Williams, Victor Paul Wierwille and The
Way International (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), p. 86.
Williams, J.L.
1979 Victor
Paul Wierwille and The Way International. Chicago: Moody
Press.
Zeitlin, Solomon
1947 “An Historical Survey of the First
Canonization of the Hebrew Liturgy.” JQR
38:289-316.
Endnotes
1The procedure for this study:
•
Text
•
Read the passage before class
•
Review the passage in class
•
Interpretation
•
Identify the problem or question
•
Identify Paul’s solution or answer
•
Application
•
Define a relevant contemporary issue
•
Determine a suitable application
•
To obey a direct command
•
To form an appropriate principle
2This designation applies to gentile believers,
especially those in the synagogue,
Acts 10:2 He and all
his family were devout and God-fearing;
he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly…. 22a-b The men
replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by
all the Jewish people….” 35 [God] accepts men from every nation who fear him
and do what is right. Acts 13:16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his
hand and said: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles
who worship God, listen to me! …26 “Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that
this message of salvation has been sent.
Cf. Acts 15:19
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the
Gentiles who are turning to God. 20
Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by
idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from
blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and
is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” 3He may have joined
Paul later.
1 Cor 1:1 Paul, called
to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
4Passages that refer to the Greco-Roman pantheon
include:
1 Cor 8:5 For even if
there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are
many "gods" and many "lords"),
5Other church leaders may have included Cephas
(Aram = Peter, cf. John 1:42) and Apollos
1 Cor 1:12 What I mean
is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow
Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I
follow Christ."
Acts 19:1a While
Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at
Ephesus.
6Paul alludes to the upcoming festivals.
1 Cor 5:6 Your
boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the
whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch
without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been
sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the
yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of
sincerity and truth. 1 Cor 16:8 But I will
stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost,
7
The information Paul has about conditions in the church come
from eye witnesses.
1 Cor 16:17 I was glad
when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied
what was lacking from you. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such
men deserve recognition.
1 Cor 1:11a My brothers, some from Chloe's
household have informed me….
2 Cor 7:6 But God, who comforts the downcast,
comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by
the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep
sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. 8
Immorality is a persistent problem at Corinth, which Paul
mentions in both his letters.
1 Cor 5:9
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral
people—10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the
greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this
world. 11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who
calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a
slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. 2 Cor 12:21 I am afraid that when I come again
my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have
sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery
in which they have indulged. 9
Paul makes gentiles the ones to whom he
goes after he is unsuccessful in reaching out to Jews. Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen
instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the
people of Israel.
Acts 13:46b Since you
reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to
the Gentiles.
Acts 18:6 But when the
Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and
said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my
responsibility.
From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Acts
22:21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the
Gentiles.’” 10
It may be that the dedication of a prophet
and priest to God was sufficient to make such a vow superfluous.
Amos 2:11 I also
raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young
men. Is this not true, people of Israel?" declares the LORD. 12 "But
you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
1 Macc 3:49
They also brought the garments of the priesthood and the first fruits and the
tithes, and they stirred up the Nazirites who had completed their days; 11
On women taking Nazirite vows, see… m Naz 4:3 [= 4] If a woman vowed to become a nazirite…. 12
The individual determined the duration of the vow, whether
short or long.
Judg 13:5b No razor
may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God
from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the
Philistines." …7 But he said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a
son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything
unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of
his death.'"
Judg 16:17a So he told
her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said,
"because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth.
1 Sam 1:11 And she made
a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's
misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I
will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever
be used on his head." m Naz 9:5 Samuel
was a nazirite—according to the opinion of R. Nehorai…just as the razor spoken of in the case of Samson
means that he was to be a nazirite so the razor
spoken of regarding Samuel shows that he was to be a nazirite.
13For Paul to assume this responsibility may
constitute a significant financial outlay.
Acts 21:20b
Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have
believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed
that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from
Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our
customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23
so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take
these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that
they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in
these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the
law…. 26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them.
Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of
purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them. 27 When
the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul
at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting,
"Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere
against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought
Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place." 29 (They had
previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that
Paul had brought him into the temple area.) 30 The whole city was aroused, and
the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him
from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying
to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city
of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers
and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers,
they stopped beating Paul. Tradition made specific provision for one nazirite
to support another by making a simple declaration to that effect.
m Naz 2:5 “I will be a
nazirite and I undertake to ring the offerings of another nazirite!” …6 “I
undertake to bring half the offerings of another nazirite!”
Early believers, including Paul, did not regard Jesus’ sacrifice
as marking the end of animal sacrifices. The two have different results in
different realms. The purification of animal sacrifices is ceremonial and
relates to the physical realm (i.e., the earthly sanctuary). The purification
of Jesus’ sacrifice is soteriological and relates to the spiritual realm (i.e.,
the heavenly sanctuary). See Manuel 2004c and 2007a.
14Paul employs them with great consistency. He
also frequently opens with thanksgiving or praise (except Gal!) and closes with
an exhortation to greet one another.
Rom 1:1 Paul, a
servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle…. 7 To all in Rome… Grace and
peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First, I
thank my
God…
Rom 16:16a Greet one
another with a holy kiss…. 20b The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
1
Cor 1:1 Paul,
called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… 2 To the church of
God in Corinth… 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. 4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ
Jesus. 1 Cor 16:20b Greet one another with
a holy kiss…. 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
2
Cor 1:1 Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus… To the church of God in Corinth… 2 Grace and peace to
you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…
2 Cor 13:12 Greet one
another with a holy kiss…. 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Gal 1:1 Paul, an
apostle—sent…by Jesus Christ and God the Father… 2b To the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…. 6 I am
astonished…
Gal 6:18 The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Eph 1:1 Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus… 2 Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to
the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Eph 6:23 Peace to the
brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Phil 1:1 Paul and
Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at
Philippi… 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. 3 I thank my God…
Phil 4:21a Greet all
the saints in Christ Jesus…. 23a The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with
your spirit.
Col 1:1 Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… 2 To the holy and faithful brothers
in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 3 We always
thank God…
Col 4:18c Grace be
with you.
1 Thess 1:1 Paul… To
the church of the Thessalonians… Grace and peace to you. 2a We always thank God
for all of you…
1
Thess 5:26 Greet
all the brothers with a holy kiss…. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you.
2 Thess 1:1 Paul… To the church of the
Thessalonians… 2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. 3 We ought always to thank God for you… 2
Thess 3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
1
Tim 1:1 Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus… 2 To Timothy…. Grace, mercy and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord…. 12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord… 1 Tim 6:21b Grace be with you.
2
Tim 1:1 Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… 2 To Timothy… Grace,
mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus
our Lord. 3 I thank God… 2 Tim 4:22 The
Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Tit 1:1 Paul, a
servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ… 4 To Titus… Grace and peace from
God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Tit 3:15b Greet those
who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
Phlm 1 Paul, a
prisoner of Christ Jesus… To Philemon… 3 Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank my God…. 25 The grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
That these elements are indeed convention is evident in their
use by other authors:
Heb 13:24a Greet all
your leaders and all God's people…. 25 Grace be with you all.
Jms 1:1 James, a
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered
among the nations: Greetings.
1 Pet 1:1 Peter, an
apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect…. 2b Grace and peace be yours in
abundance.
1 Pet 5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of
love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
2 Pet 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of
Jesus Christ, To those who…have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace
and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our
Lord.
2
John 1 The elder,
To the chosen lady and her children… 3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the
Father and from Jesus Christ….
3
John 1 The elder,
To my dear friend Gaius…. 14b Peace to you…. Greet the friends there by name.
Jude 1 Jude, a servant
of Jesus Christ… To those who have been called… 2 Mercy, peace and love be
yours in abundance.
Rev 1:4 John, To the
seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is,
and who was, and who is to come… 5a and from Jesus Christ….
Rev 22:21 The grace of
the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.
15Holiness is Israel’s specific calling.
Exod 19:6a you will be
for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Exod 22:31a You are to
be my holy people.
Lev 11:44 I am the
LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not
make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. 45 I am
the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy,
because I am holy.
Lev 19:2 "Speak
to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD
your God, am holy.
Lev 20:26 You are to
be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the
nations to be my own.
16The GSDB, SDB, and FBC statements are similar.
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord
Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of his kingdom. (German Seventh-Day
Baptists 2001)
We believe that Jesus rose from the dead and lives
eternally with the Father, and that He will come again with power and great
glory. (Seventh Day Baptists 1988)
We believe in [Jesus’] substitutionary atoning death,
bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven…and personal visible return to
earth. (First Baptist Church of Freeport)
All who profess to be Christians, however, do not hold this
belief. For example, a conference of biblical scholars who reviewed this particular
issue proposed a different view (Associated 1988:n.p.) and, lest we doubt the
opinion of this learned body, one member of the conference assures us:
These are not maverick scholars…. They take a very
careful approach to how the sayings of Jesus were transmitted and to the
evolution of the Bible texts.
What he does not say, however, is that their starting
presupposition is Jesus could not possibly have said all the NT preserves of
his teaching. Consequently, in an attempt to determine the real words of Jesus, they take the Thomas Jefferson approach to the
Bible and apply it to the NT: When in doubt, cut it out. Then, so no one can
accuse them of unscholarly bias—I love this part—they take a vote. In all my
years of education, I never learned this method of determining the truth.
In one vote of 30 scholars, 26 said they strongly
disagreed that Jesus expected to return and usher in a new age. The scholars
almost unanimously agreed, though, that Jesus spoke the words attributed to him
in which he said the kingdom of God already was present in his day [Luke 17:21].
The group also
voted overwhelmingly that the language used to describe the future kingdom of
God in the New Testament is mythical and symbolic, and recommended that people
should not believe in or look forward to the Second Coming and new age.
In other words, Paul is deluding these poor Corinthians. They
should not “eagerly wait for our Lord
Jesus Christ to be revealed.” If Jesus did not intend to return, he fooled the
disciples; and they, in turn, fooled us, because they did a effective job of making
this all up.
17That Paul is not against baptism is evident
from the prominent place this act has in his ministry and the positive
statements he makes about it in other letters.
Acts 16:15a When she
and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home.
Acts 18:8b …and many
of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized. Acts 19:5 On hearing this, they were baptized
into the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 22:16b Get up, be
baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'
Rom 6:3 Or don't you
know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his
death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order
that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
we too may live a new life.
Eph 4:5 one Lord, one
faith, one baptism;
Col 2:12a having been
buried with him in baptism….
18Occasionally Paul mentions his opponents.
2 Cor 10:7 You are
looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is confident that he belongs
to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as
he…. 10 For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person
he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." 11 Such people
should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be
in our actions when we are present.
2 Cor 11:4 For if
someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or
if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different
gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough…. 23a Are
they servants of Christ?
19The (size or) sophistication of a person’s faith does not necessarily determine
the strength of that person’s faith;
(small or) simple faith can still be strong faith.
That Jesus had to
address on several occasions the desire for signs indicates the importance
people placed on such support, however insincere the request may have been.
Matt 12:38 Then some
of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to
see a miraculous sign from you." 39 He answered, "A wicked and
adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it
except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Matt 16:1 The
Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them
a sign from heaven. 2 He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will
be fair weather, for the sky is red,' 3 and in the morning, 'Today it will be
stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the
appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 A
wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given
it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away.
Matt 24:3
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him
privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and
what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" …30a
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky…. 20
Paul demonstrates the same attitude in his
response to those who assert that circumcision is necessary for salvation.
Gal 5:11 Brothers, if
I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that
case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
Gal 6:12 Those who
want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be
circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the
cross of Christ.… 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Later in this letter, Paul places circumcision in its proper
perspective (see Comment on 7:18). 21
An alternate translation for the prohibition
in v. 5—“Judge nothing before the appointed time”—could read, “Stop making a
verdict on anything before the appointed time,” specifically on Paul and his
ministry (cf. 6:5; Fee 1987:163). 22
Paul’s obscure command has elicited several
interpretations, none of which is completely satisfactory. The dual problem is
identifying its source and its referent.
•
Source
•
Pauline proverb
•
Corinthian proverb
•
Referent
•
Preceding argument (3:5-4:5)
•
Biblical reference (but which?) 23
Paul may be thinking particularly about the
passages he cited earlier, although such an aphorism would apply to the whole
of scripture.
1 Cor 1:19 For it is
written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the
intelligent I will frustrate." [Isa 29:14] …31 Therefore, as it is
written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." [Jer 9:24]
1 Cor
3:19b As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"
[Job 5:13]; 20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise
are futile." [Ps 94:11] 24
God expressly forbids such a relationship.
Lev 18:8
'Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife…. 25
Paul makes a similar statement
1 Tim 1:20 Among them
are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not
to blaspheme.
26
Whereas God takes a prohibitive (or
restrictive) approach to Passover, He takes a proscriptive approach to the
Feast of Tabernacles (Manuel 2004a).
Lev 23:42b All
native-born Israelites are to live in booths 27 Paul also refers to their
condemnation in another letter.
Rom 2:12
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who
sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear
the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who
will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law,
do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even
though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of
the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness,
and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) 16 This will take
place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my
gospel declares. 28
Moses addresses the precedence and Jesus describes the
procedure.
Deut 17:7 The hands of
the witnesses must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of
all the people. You must purge the evil from among you
Deut 19:19 then do to
him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among
you.
Deut 21:21 Then all
the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from
among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
Deut 22:21 she shall
be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town
shall stone her to death…. You must purge the evil from among you…. 24 you
shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death…. You
must purge the evil from among you.
Deut 24:7 …the
kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.
Matt 18:15
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between
the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if
he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be
established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17 If he refuses to
listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the
church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 29
Jude makes a similar observation.
Jude
12a These men are blemishes at your love feasts…. 30
Paul speaks elsewhere about putting off the old and putting
on the new.
Col 3:8
…rid yourselves of all…anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from
your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self
with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in
knowledge in the image of its Creator…. 12 Therefore, as God's chosen people,
holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in
perfect unity. 31
Jesus gives a series of graduated steps, the final and most
severe being excommunication.
Matt 18:15 If your
brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of
you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will
not listen, take one or two others along, so that “every matter may be
established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 17 If he refuses to
listen to them, tell it to the church;
and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan
or a tax collector.
Paul’s admonition in another letter may reflect one of these
preliminary steps.
2 Thess 3:14 If anyone
does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not
associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him
as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
32The rabbis make a
similar analogy. b Ber 17a R Alexandri [?]
on concluding his prayer used to say the following…our will is to perform Thy
will, and what prevents us? The yeast in the dough and the subjection to
foreign powers. May it be thy will to deliver us from their hand, so that we
may return to perform the statutes of Thy will with a perfect heart.
33He condemns judging several times. Is Paul
contradicting himself in these passages?
1 Cor 2:15a The
spiritual man makes judgments about all things…
1 Cor 4:5a Therefore
judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will
bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's
hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
1 Cor 5:3 Even though
I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed
judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
1 Cor 5:12 What
business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge
those inside?
The answer lies in understanding Paul’s point in each case.
•
In 2:15 judge = to discern
someone’s relationship with God
•
A person who is obeying God’s spirit can discern what
God is doing and order his life accordingly, but his life remains a mystery to
those without God’s spirit. Can you think of an example of such puzzlement from
your own non-Christian acquaintances?
•
In 4:5 judge = to decide
someone’s eternal fate • Only God has the final word on a person’s
life.
•
In 5:3 judge = to decide
someone’s immediate fate
•
Because the immoral believer has refused to repent, you
must censure him by expelling him from the congregation. Excommunication does
not, however, determine or reflect his eternal fate (v. 5).
•
In 5:12 judge = to discern
a believer’s moral condition
•
This is the task of a congregation—not an individual—and is necessary to preserve the moral purity of
the group.
34Care in judging is a common admonition in
scripture (see also Manuel 2002a).
Lev 19:15b …do not
show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor
fairly.
Isa 11:3b He will not
judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his
ears;
Zech 7:9b …Administer
true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
35This is similar to Jesus’ admonition, although
he is referring to individual not congregational responsibility.
John 7:24 Stop judging
by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.
36This responsibility accords with other NT
instruction.
Matt 5:16 …let your
light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds….
Phil 2:15 …become blameless and pure…without
fault in a crooked and depraved generation 1
Pet 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that…they may see your good
deeds…. 37This is what it means to be in the world but
not of the world, a distinction Jesus makes.
John 15:19b …you do not belong to the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world.
John 17:14b …they are not of the world any more than I am of
the world. 15 …not that you take them out of
the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16a They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Cf. Col 2:20 Since you
died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you
still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:
38Gallio made a similar statement when he
dismissed the charge of some Corinthian Jews against Paul.
Acts 18:14b "If
you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it
would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since it involves questions
about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not
be a judge of such things."
39Paul also deals with the other issues from an
eschatological perspective: divisions (2:6; 3:13; 4:5), discipline (5:13),
lawsuits (6:2-3, 9-10), immorality (6:14).
40Paul uses interrogative queries ten times in
this book and twice in Romans. This form appears only once by another NT
author.
1 Cor 3:16 Don’t you
know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
1 Cor 5:6b Don’t you
know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?
1 Cor 6:9a Do you not
know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? …15a Do you not know
that your bodies are members of Christ himself? …16a Shall I then take the
members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? …19a Do you not know that
your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God?
1 Cor 9:13 Don’t you know that those who work in
the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar
share in what is offered on the altar? …24a Do you not know that in a race all
the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Rom 6:16 Don’t you
know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are
slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to
death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Rom 11:2b Don’t you
know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God
against Israel:
Jms 4:4a You adulterous
people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?
The trope appears less frequently in the OT.
2
Chr 32:13a Do you
not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the other lands?
Isa 40:21 Do you not
know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you
not understood since the earth was founded?
Ezek 17:12 …Do you not
know what these things mean?
Zech 4:5a
…Do you not know what these are? …13a Do you not know what these are? 41There
are two other biblical references to judgment by believers, although they do
not mention the involvement of angels.
Dan 7:27a Then the sovereignty,
power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over
to the saints, the people of the Most High.
Luke 19:16 "The
first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17 "'Well
done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy
in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' 18 "The second came
and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' 19 "His master answered,
'You take charge of five cities.'
There are two other biblical references and (at least) one
extra-biblical reference to judgment of angels, although they do not mention
the involvement of believers.
2 Pet 2:4 …God did not
spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy
dungeons to be held for judgment;
Jude 6 And the angels
who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own
home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment
on the great Day.
1 Enoch 67: 7…those
angels who perverted those who dwell upon the earth shall be punished.
42Paul mentions the role of courts in keeping
public order.
Rom 13:1 Everyone must
submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except
that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been
established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is
rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring
judgment on themselves…. 4a For he is God's servant…. 5a Therefore, it is
necessary to submit to the authorities….
43Paul’s use of Roman courts was not necessarily
voluntary, but he was probably glad that system was in place.
Acts 16:37 But Paul
said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though
we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get
rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out." 38 The
officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and
Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39a They came to appease them and
escorted them from the prison….
Acts 25:10 Paul
answered: "I am now standing before Caesar's court, where I ought to be
tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.
11c …I appeal to Caesar!" 12 After Festus had conferred with his council,
he declared: "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!"
44Jesus discourages civil suits between
believers.
Matt 5:25 Settle
matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you
are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the
judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
45As a society declines morally, practices that
were once stigmatized become acceptable.
•
Adultery
Lev 18:20 Do not have
sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her.
Lev 20:10 If a man
commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the
adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
•
Homosexuality
Lev 18:22 Do not lie
with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Lev 20:13 If a man
lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is
detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Apparently there was very little incidence of homosexuality
in the Jewish community, for the subject receives scant treatment in rabbinic
sources (Jakobovits 1972 8:961). 46
Paul addresses homosexuality elsewhere (also Manuel 2002b).
Rom 1:26
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women
exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also
abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one
another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves
the due penalty for their perversion. 47 A church’s greatest public testimony is in
its private interactions.
Gal 6:10 …let us do
good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Negative admonitions (in addition to the charge in v. 8,
above) include:
1 Thess 4:6a
…and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of
him. 48
See also the expanded list of the
intervening section and compare it with what Paul says earlier. 1 Cor 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Cor 5:9
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral
people—10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the
greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this
world. 49
Elsewhere Paul identifies the absence of moral restraints as
the absence of freedom.
Rom 6:19b …you used to
offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to everincreasing
wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness….
21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed
of? Those things result in death!
Tit 3:3a
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all
kinds of passions and pleasures. 50
This revises the NIV division (see Fee
1987:253-254). 51
The saying is a conflation of two OT passages.
Isa 22:13b "Let
us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!"
Eccl 8:15b …nothing is
better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Cf. Luke 12:19b Take life easy; eat, drink and be
merry. 52
Jesus and (elsewhere) Paul both
recognize the importance of keeping the body in check. Matt 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and
throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your
whole body to be thrown into hell.
2 Cor 7:1 …let us
purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting
holiness out of reverence for God.
1 Thess 4:4
…each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and
honorable, 53
Nevertheless, because the body serves as a
vessel for the Holy Spirit, it would be inappropriate to engage in any activity
that would defile it.
1 Cor 3:16 Don’t you
know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in
you?
1
Cor 6:19 Do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you
have received from God? You are not your own;
2
Cor 6:16a-b What
agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple
of the living God.
54In support of this view, proponents appeal to
such passages as…
1 Cor 14:34 women
should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must
be in submission, as the Law says.
Other references, however, show his appreciation of the
contribution women make to the kingdom.
Rom 16:1 I commend to
you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to
receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help
she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including
me. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila [note the order], my fellow workers in Christ
Jesus….6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you…. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia,
Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them.
55Sexual self-control is a particular concern to
Paul:
Rom 13:13 Let us
behave decently, as in the daytime…not in sexual immorality….
1 Cor. 5:11 But now I
am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a
brother but is sexually immoral…. With such a man do not even eat.
1
Cor 6:9b Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually immoral…nor adulterers… 10b …will inherit the
kingdom of God…. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits
are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
2
Cor 12:21 …I will
be grieved over many who…have not repented of the…sexual sin…in which they have
indulged.
Gal 5:19 The acts of
the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery… 21b
I warn you…that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:19 The acts of
the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
Eph 4:19 Having lost
all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge
in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
Eph 5:3 But among you
there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of
impurity…because these are improper for God’s holy people…. 5 For of this you
can be sure: No immoral, impure…person…has any inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and of God.
Col 3:5 Put to death,
therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, 1 Thess 4:3
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual
immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way
that is holy… 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God….
6b The Lord will punish men for all such sins…. 7 For God did not call us to be
impure, but to live a holy life.
1 Tim 1:9 …law is made
not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels… 10 for
adulterers and perverts…and for
whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine Other NT writers address the
issue as well.
Heb 13:4 Marriage
should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge
the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Rev 21:8a
But…the sexually immoral…their place will be in the fiery lake of burning
sulfur. Rev 22:15 Outside are…the sexually
immoral…. 56
For further discussion of this distinction,
see Manuel 2000a. 57
The phrase “…not to marry” in 7:1b is
literally “not to touch a woman,” a euphemism for sexual intercourse that is
neutral with regard to marriage (Fee 1987:275). 58
The reference to “…devote yourselves to prayer” in 7:5 has
pseudepigraphical parallel:
T. Naph 8:8, There is
a time for having intercourse with one’s wife, and a time to abstain for the
purpose of prayer.
59The Greek word for “unmarried” (aÓga¿moiß)
in v. 8 may also be translated as “widowers,” which would not only balance the
paired noun “widows” but also keep distinct those Paul addresses here from
those unmarried he addresses later in the chapter (cf. Fee 1987:287-288). 60
Paul distinguishes torah (“the Lord” =
revelation in v. 10) and halakah (“I” = application in v. 17, cf. vv. 25, 40). 61
Jesus addresses divorce but only from one
side, because only the man could issue the certificate (see Manuel 2015).
Matt 5:32
…anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to
become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits
adultery. Matt 19:9 I tell you that anyone
who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another
woman commits adultery." 62
God’s
command would probably have an introductory formula to the OT source. 63
God’s prohibition of mixed marriage harkens back to the
nation’s beginning.
Exod 34:16 And when
you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters
prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same. Deut 7:3 Do not intermarry with them…. 4 for
they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the
LORD’s anger will burn against you….
Ezra 9:12a Therefore,
do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters
for your sons.
2 Cor 6:14 Do not be
yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have
in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is
there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an
unbeliever?
Israel’s history includes several prominent examples,
especially among the nation’s leaders.
• Solomon
1 Kgs 11:1a King
Solomon, however, loved many foreign women…. 2 They were from nations about
which the LORD had told the Israelites,
“You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your
hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3b
…and his wives led him astray. 4a As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his
heart after other gods…. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians,
and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites…. 7 On a hill east of Jerusalem,
Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for
Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his
foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
• Jehoram
2 Chr 21:6 He
[Jehoram] walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had
done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.
• Ahaziah
2 Chr 22:3 He
[Ahaziah] too walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother
encouraged him in doing wrong.
• Priests, etc.
Ezra 9:1
After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests
and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples
with their detestable practices…. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as
wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders
and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.” Intermarriage was such
a problem for the returnees that Ezra and Nehemiah had to take stern measures
against it.
Ezra 10:10 Then Ezra
the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful; you have
married foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt. 11 Now make confession to the
LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the
peoples around you and from your foreign wives.”
Neh 10:30 We promise
not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their
daughters for our sons.
Those who became part of Israel, however, God accepted.
•
Rahab
Josh 6:25 But Joshua
spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her,
because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho — and she lives among
the Israelites to this day.
Heb 11:31 By faith the
prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who
were disobedient.
Cf. Jms 2:25 In the
same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she
did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different
direction?
•
Ruth
Ruth 1:16 But Ruth
replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or
to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.
Your people will be my people and your God my God.
•
Captives
Deut 21:11 if you
notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may
take her as your wife. 12 Bring her into your home and have her shave her head,
trim her nails 13 and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured.
After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full
month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife.
64He regards the offspring of legitimate
marriages as holy.
Mal 2:15 Has not [the
LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he
was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break
faith with the wife of your youth.
Cf. Ezra 9:2a They have
taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples
around them.
The issue of illegitimate marriages (by implication) He regards
as unholy.
Ezra 10:3 Now let us
make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with
the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be
done according to the Law.
Cf. Neh 13:24 Half of
their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other
peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah.
65Paul notes the effect of unhealthy
associations.
1 Cor 15:33 Do not be
misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
66Paul cannot mean that the unbeliever is saved
by virtue of being married to a believer. Such a position would contradict the
means of salvation that Paul asserts elsewhere.
Rom 10:9 That if you
confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
1 Cor 1:18 For the
message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of God.
Eph 2:8 For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is
the gift of God
The one alleged counter example to which some appeal must
also link salvation with personal (not proxy) faith.
Acts 16:31 They
replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your
household."
67This is similar to his argument elsewhere.
Rom 11:16 If the part
of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if
the root is holy, so are the branches.
68Later, he warns against entering such a
relationship, a situation for which Ezra prescribed divorce..
2 Cor 6:14 Do not be
yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have
in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
Ezra 10:2b "We
have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples
around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. 3 Now let us
make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children,
in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of
our God. Let it be done according to the Law.
Paul may also be responding to an uncertainty among those in
mixed marriages whether or not their relationships were still in force. After
all, he told them not to associate with immoral people (5:9-11). Rabbinic
tradition holds that a proselyte is like a newborn child, and all previous
relationships are annulled at conversion.
b Yeb 22a [= 48b; 62a;
97b; ≈ Bek 47a] …one who has become a proselyte is like a child newly born.
Eccl Rab on 1.8 §4 R Joshua [said] “When she set her mind on
being a proselyte, she no longer lived to the world….”
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!
Therefore, was continued intercourse with an unbelieving
(“former”) spouse immoral? Paul’s response uses “sanctify” (D √vdq) in the
rabbinic fashion of taking a wife (or spouse?), the marriage being “sanctified”
through sexual intercourse.
m Qidd 1:1 The widowed
sister-in-law is acquired by sexual intercourse….
Paul’s argument (so Daube in Fee
1987:300) is… even though the marriage was dissolved through conversion, one
should live on with the spouse in the hope of his or her conversion; by
intercourse one [‘sanctifies’] the new marriage, otherwise one’s children
(meaning any born to this relationship) would be ‘unclean’ (illegitimate).
Paul may also have in mind the rabbinic category “in
sanctity” (h`Dvé;dVqI;b), which refers to the status of a
female proselyte and her children, (apparently) regardless of whether or not
her husband is a Jew. Children born after her conversion are “in sanctity” and
may be subject to certain laws. b Ketub 4:3
If [the daughter of a proselyte] were conceived in unholiness [i.e., before her
mother converted] but her birth was in holiness, then [if she later commits
adultery] she is liable to stoning [as is a born Israelitess]…. If both her
conception and her birth were in sanctity [i.e., after her mother converted],
then she is as a daughter of Israel in every respect. b Yeb 11:2 [The sons of a proselyte woman do not have to contract levirate
marriage] even if one son was not conceived in sanctity and another son was
both conceived and born in sanctity. 69
There are two possible implications, which he does not
touch:
•
A marriage that begins mixed when one party is a
believer, is unclean, because the union is one God prohibits.
•
A marriage that begins unmixed when neither party is a
believer, is also unclean, but because no one in the union has a relationship
with God. 70
This line of thinking is similar (although
not identical) to the rabbinic view that children of proselytes are part of
Israel (see references in n. 64). 71
This is not a general prohibition of divorce
between believers. There are situations that do permit it (Manuel 2015). Rather
Paul is saying that these circumstances do not warrant it. 72
Circumcision is a permanent ordinance in
Israel and concerns participation in the covenant not entry to heaven, a
distinction Paul makes elsewhere.
Gen 17:10 This is my
covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep:
Every male among you shall be circumcised…. 12 For the generations to come
every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised…. 13b My
covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised
male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his
people; he has broken my covenant." Acts
21:21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among
the Gentiles …not to circumcise their children…. 24 Take these men, join in
their purification rites and pay their expenses…. Then everybody will know
there is no truth in these reports about you….
Rom 3:30
…God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through
that same faith. 73
Some Hellenized Jews attempted to reverse the covenantal
signature.
1 Macc 1:14 So they
built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, 15a and removed
the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant.
Ant 12.241
[T]hey…concealed the circumcision of their private parts in order to be Greeks
even when unclothed….
One text refers to the coercion of this practice:
As Mos 8:3b …their young sons will be cut by
physicians to bring forward their foreskins.
74
Conversion to Judaism is not a requirement for salvation.
Acts 15:1 Some men
came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless
you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be
saved."
Gal 5:2 Mark my words!
I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of
no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be
circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to
be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from
grace.
Gal 6:15
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new
creation. 75
Compare what Paul says in v. 40 with his statements
elsewhere.
Rom 7:2 …by law a
married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her
husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So then, if she
marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an
adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not
an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
1 Tim 5:11
As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual
desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12 Thus they
bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge…. 14
So I counsel younger widows to marry…. 76
Those who “made themselves eunuchs because
of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 19:12) may refer to ones who “renounced
marriage” (so NIV). 77
For a fuller discussion, see Manuel
2015. 78
He expresses a positive attitude elsewhere.
Eph 5:25 Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her….
33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and
the wife must respect her husband.
Otherwise, he would be arguing against his own position.
1 Cor 9:5
Don’t we have the right to take a believing
wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and
Cephas? 79 The question is actually closer to kashrut and what is
permissible to eat. Other sources attest the uncleanness of food dedicated to
idols.
Acts 15:20 Instead we
should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from
sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
Rev 2:14 Nevertheless,
I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching
of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food
sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality…. 20 Nevertheless, I
have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a
prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and
the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
Abod Zar 2:3 Flesh
that is going into [a place] for idol worship is permitted, but what comes out
is prohibited, for it is as “the sacrifices of the dead” [Ps 106:28].
b Hul 13b R. Judah b.
Bathyra said, Whence do we know that sacrifices unto idols defile [men and
utensils that are] in the same tent? From the verse, “They joined themselves
also unto Baal-Peor and ate the sacrifices of the dead” [Ps 106:28]; as a dead
body defiles [men and utensils that are] in the same tent so also do sacrifices
unto idols.
2 Macc 6:7 On the
monthly celebration of the king's birthday, the Jews were taken, under bitter
constraint, to partake of the sacrifices…. 8 At the suggestion of Ptolemy a
decree was issued to the neighboring Greek cities, that they should adopt the
same policy toward the Jews and make them partake of the sacrifices,
4 Macc 5:1 The tyrant
Antiochus, sitting in state with his counselors on a certain high place, and
with his armed soldiers standing about him, 2 ordered the guards to seize each
and every Hebrew and to compel them to eat pork and food sacrificed to idols.
For some treatment of kashrut, of what constitutes food, see
Manuel 2006 and 2013a.
80Note what Paul does in these verses.
•
He contrasts what pagans believe with what Christians
believe.
•
V. 5b Pagans: many gods many lords
•
V. 6 Christians: one God one Lord • He tells about two persons of the godhead.
•
V. 6a Father: from whom all things come and for whom we
live
•
V. 6b Jesus: through whom all things come and through
whom we live 81Such communal meals were a way devotees
connected to the deity.
Deut 14:22 Be sure to
set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe
of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in
the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for
his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
This connection also applied to Israelites.
Exod 24:11 But God did
not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and
they ate and drank.
1 Sam 9:13 As soon as
you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to
eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the
sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat.
1 Kgs 1:25 Today he
has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and
sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and
Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and
saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!'
Hos 8:13a They offer
sacrifices given to me and they eat the meat, but the LORD is not pleased with
them.
82Examples of debauchery in pagan worship
include:
Exod 32:6 So the next
day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented
fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to
indulge in revelry.
Num 25:1 While Israel
was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with
Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people
ate and bowed down before these gods.
Dan 5:1 King
Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine
with them. 2 …he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that
Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the
king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So
they brought in the gold goblets…and the king and his nobles, his wives and his
concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of
gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
83
Paul also discusses the weaker brother in…
Rom 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your
mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14 As
one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in
itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting
in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 84
For another treatment of this issue,
see the introduction to Manuel 2002.
85
Confession is properly to God.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins….
Nevertheless, it may be appropriate at times to reveal a weakness to other believers, such as when there is a
particular vulnerability.
Jms 5:16a
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other…. 86
This is a strong word with consequences of eternal
significance.
1 Cor 1:18 …the
message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing
1 Cor 10:9-10 …some of
them…were killed by snakes….some of
them…were killed by the destroying
angel
1
Cor 15:18 Then
those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost 87 Paul addresses the issue again in his second
epistle.
2
Cor 11:7 Was it a
sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of
God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from
them so as to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and needed something, I was
not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what
I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will
continue to do so.
2 Cor 12:13
How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden
to you? Forgive me this wrong! 88
Several statements in this chapter warrant explication.
“For it is written…”
(9:9): One of the primary benefits of the Bible to believers is the instruction
it gives for righteous living. As Paul writes in another letter…
2 Tim 3:16 All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful… 17 so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Here, Paul mentions three ways the Bible offers instruction.
•
Torah:
command (9:9 = Deut 25:4)
•
The passage reflects the agricultural practice of
having an ox pull a threshing-sledge over grain in order to release the
kernels. The ox is to be un-muzzled so it can eat some of the grain, because
the ox has a right to benefit from its labor.
•
Halakah:
[contemporary] interpretation (and application, 9:10-14)
•
Just as the ox has the right to derive sustenance from
the harvest of grain, so Christian workers have a right to derive support from
the harvest of souls.
•
This principle is operative in the Temple, where the
priests are supported by the offerings of worshippers.
Lev 6:16a Aaron and his
sons shall eat the rest of it…. 17b I have given it as their share of the
offerings made to me by fire…. 18 Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it. It
is his regular share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire for the
generations to come…. 26 The priest who offers it shall eat it….
Lev 7:6a Any male in a
priest's family may eat it…. 8 The priest who offers a burnt offering for
anyone may keep its hide for himself. 9 Every grain offering baked in an oven
or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who offers it, 10 and
every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, belongs equally to all the
sons of Aaron…. 28 The LORD said to Moses, 29 "Say to the Israelites:
'Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the LORD is to bring part of it as
his sacrifice to the LORD…. 31 The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but
the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons. 32 You are to give the right thigh of
your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution. 33 The son of Aaron
who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the
right thigh as his share. 34 From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I
have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is presented and have
given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their regular share from the
Israelites.'" 35 This is the portion of the offerings made to the LORD by
fire that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to
serve the LORD as priests. 36 On the day they were anointed, the LORD commanded
that the Israelites give this to them as their regular share for the
generations to come.
Num 18:8 Then the LORD
said to Aaron, "I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented
to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your
sons as your portion and regular share. 9 You are to have the part of the most
holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as
most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs
to you and your sons. 10 Eat it as something most holy….. 11 "This also is
yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the
Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your regular
share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it. 12
"I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain
they give the LORD as the firstfruits of their harvest. 13 All the land's
firstfruits that they bring to the LORD will be yours. Everyone in your
household who is ceremonially clean may eat it. 14 "Everything in Israel
that is devoted to the LORD is yours. 15 The first offspring of every womb,
both man and animal, that is offered to the LORD is yours. But you must redeem
every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. 16 When they
are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five
shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty
gerahs. 17a "But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep or a
goat; they are holy…. 18 Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the
wave offering and the right thigh are yours. 19 Whatever is set aside from the
holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and your sons
and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt
before the LORD for both you and your offspring."
It should also be operative in missions, where
the worker is supported by the offerings of believers.
Matt 10:10 take no bag
for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth
his keep.
•
Haggadah:
illustration ([of interpretation] of command—a story, 10:1-5)
•
Paul retells the story of Israel’s involvement with
idolatry in the wilderness to show parallels with the believers in Corinth. He
states that just as their contact with idols is similar to Israel’s, so they
are in danger of receiving similar judgment.
For both the second item (halakah)
and the third item (haggadah), the
author draws an analogy between the contemporary situation and the command in
order to make his point. The relation between the contemporary situation and
command is not necessarily inherent in either. For example, the command about
the ox (9:9) was intended to ensure the fair treatment of livestock not priests
or preachers. Paul, however, in his interpretation, extrapolates a principle
from the precept, which he then applies to preachers. Paul uses a rabbinic
method called rmjw
lq (from the lesser to the greater): If God shows such interest to
animals (Manuel 2000b), how much more interest will He show to us.
b B Mes 88b [A]n ox,
which may eat of what is attached, may surely eat of what is detached!
b Git 62a The ox eats
of his threshing.
Jesus uses similar reasoning:
Matt 7:11 If you,
then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
As Fee remarks, “Paul does not speak to what the law
originally meant, which tends to be our concern. He is interested with what it
[currently] means, with its application to their present situation”
(1987:408).
“…become like a Jew”
(9:20): Paul cannot mean that he obeys the law only when witnessing to Jews and
not at other times. Inconsistency in lifestyle, especially in matters of Torah,
would hardly advance the gospel among those who take torah seriously. Besides,
such a cavalier attitude does not agree with Paul’s testimony elsewhere.
Acts 21:24 Take these
men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can
have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these
reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law….
26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he
went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification
would end and the offering would be made…. Acts
23:29 I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law,
but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.
Acts 25:8 Then Paul
made his defense: "I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews
or against the temple or against Caesar."
Therefore, the issue is probably a more lax or strict
adherence to various schools of halakah (application of torah), perhaps
concerning contact with gentiles.
Acts 10:28 You are
well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or
visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or
unclean. Acts 11:2 So when Peter went up to
Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, "You went
into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."
Gal 2:11 When Peter
came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the
wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles.
But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the
Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even
Barnabas was led astray. 14 …I said to Peter in front of them all, "You
are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then,
that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15 "We who are Jews by
birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by
observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith
in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by
observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Abod Zar 4:6 An idol
whose devotees have abandoned it in time of peace [i.e., permanently] is
permitted [for use by Jews], but if in time of war [i.e., temporarily] it is
prohibited.
“…under Christ’s law”
(9:21): This is not different from “God’s law,” for which Paul is still
responsible. The distinction is of degree; Jesus made God’s law even more
demanding (cf. Matt 5:21-48). Therefore, to be “under Christ’s law” is to have
even greater accountability. 89
A twice-told tale in 10:1-11?—This is not
properly a Midrash, which is generally a fictitious
story using real events or people, like an historical novel. Nevertheless, Paul
may be drawing on existing midrashic material, at least in part (see Fee
1987:442, n. 5; p. 444, n .17). There is a Midrash in t Suk 3:11 on Num
21:16-18 that speaks about the rock water source following Israel in the
wilderness (cf. 1 Cor 10:4).
90A better translation for the “cup of
thanksgiving” (10:16) is “blessing” (eujlogi÷a). This is the third cup of
the Passover seder, which follows immediately after the meal.
1 Cor 11:25 In the
same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new
covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of
me."
Matt 26:27
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink
from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many for the forgiveness of sins. 91
Jesus condemns eating meat sacrificed to idols.
Rev 2:20b
By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating
of food sacrificed to idols. 92
Written by John Lennon, the Beatles song
(1967), “All You Need Is Love” appeared first as a single and later on the
album, Magical Mystery Tour. 93
Paul does not use “conscience” in the
sense of moral arbiter but of moral awareness. 94
In several passages Paul recommends deferring to others.
Rom 15:1 We who are
strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For
even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of
those who insult you have fallen on me."
1 Thess 2:4 On the
contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We
are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
Gal 1:10
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please
men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 95
Query: If we apply Paul’s admonition in 11:1
to the whole passage, including chapter 9 where he talks about not depending on
church support, does this mean that churches (we) should not support Christian
workers with anything more than occasional gifts? (No, they have the right to
such support, and churches [we] are responsible to provide it unless the
workers themselves waive that right.) 96
The linguistic evidence seems to favor
“source,” that is, the “relationships that are predicated on one’s [life] being
the source of the other’s existence,” so the “source of life” versus an
authority over life (Fee 1987:503). 97
Recognizing these two uses is especially
important in vv. 4-5, where man dishonors his figurative head (Christ) by praying or prophesying with his physical head covered, and woman
dishonors her figurative head (man)
by praying or prophesying with her physical
head uncovered.
98That woman came from man is an assertion
several passages make but only in the sense of her initial creation.
Gen 2:22a Then the LORD God made a woman from
the rib he had taken out of the man…. 1 Cor 11:8
For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 1 Tim 2:13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
99Christ was God’s agent of creation.
• Original creation
Gen 2:7 the LORD God
formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, and the man became a living being.
John 1:3 Through him
all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
1 Cor 8:6 …for us
there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came…and there is but
one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came….
Col 1:16 For by him
all things were created…all things were created by him and for him. Heb 1:2 …in these last days he has spoken to
us by his Son…through whom he made the universe.
• New creation
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!
100That Christ came from God is an assertion
several passages make but only in the sense of the incarnation.
Matt 1:18 …the birth
of Jesus Christ came about…through the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:35 …The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
1 Cor 3:23 and you are
of Christ, and Christ is of God.
Col 1:15 He is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
This is an especially common theme in John’s gospel.
John 1:14b We have seen
his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father….
John 5:37a And the
Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me.
John 6:46a No one has
seen the Father except the one who is from God;
John 7:16 …My teaching
is not my own. It comes from him who sent me…. 28c I am not here on my own, but
he who sent me is true. 29 …I know him because I am from him and he sent me….
33b …I go to the one who sent me.
John 8:16b I stand
with the Father, who sent me…. 29a The one who sent me is with me….
42b I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my
own; but he sent me.
John 9:4a As long as
it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.
John 10:36a what about
the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?
John 11:42b I said
this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that
you sent me.
John 12:44 …When a man
believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me….
49b the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.
John 14:24b These
words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
John 16:5a Now I am
going to him who sent me…. 27b …I came from God. 28a I came from the Father and
entered the world…. 30b This makes us believe that you came from God. John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they
may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent…. 8b They
knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me….
18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world…. 21b May
they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…. 23b
May they…let the world know that you sent me…. 25b …they know that you have
sent me.
101Some also raise a temporal objection that
Christ comes from God after man comes
from Christ.
102That God is over Christ is an assertion
several passages make but only for the incarnation.
Ps 110:1 …Sit at my
right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.
Isa 42:1a Here is my
servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
Matt 26:39 …My Father,
if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you
will.
1 Cor 15:24 Then the
end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father…. 27b Now when
it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does
not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done
this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under
him, so that God may be all in all.
Eph 1:22 And God
placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything
for the church,
Phil 2:6 Who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Heb 3:2a He was
faithful to the one who appointed him….
Heb 5:5b But God
said to him, “You are my Son; today I
have become your Father.” Rev 2:27c I have
received authority from my Father.
Rev 3:21 To him who
overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I
overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
This is also an especially common theme in John’s gospel.
John 4:34 My food…is
to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 5:19b he can do
only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son
also does.
John 6:38 For I have
come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
John 7:16 …My teaching
is not my own. It comes from him who sent me…. 28c I am not here on my own, but
he who sent me is true.
John 8:28b I do
nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me…. 29b I always
do what pleases him…. 49b I honor my Father….
John 10:18b-c I have
authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I
received from my Father…. 25b The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for
me…. 29a My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all….
John 12:49 For I did
not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say
and how to say it. 50b …whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to
say.”
John 14:13 And I will
do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father….
24b These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent
me…. 28b …the Father is greater than I…. 31a …I do exactly what my Father has
commanded me.
John 15:10b I have
obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love…. 15b …everything that I
learned from my Father I have made known to you.
John 17:2a For you
granted him authority over all people…. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by
completing the work you gave me to do.
103That Christ is over man is an assertion
several passages make.
Dan 7:14a He was given
authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every
language worshiped him.
Luke 2:11 Today in the
town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Acts 10:36b …Jesus
Christ, who is Lord of all.
Rom 6:23 …the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 8:39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 10:12b …the same
Lord is Lord of all…
1 Cor 1:9 God, who has
called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Eph 1:22 And God
placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything
for the church,
Phil 2:11a …every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord….
Col 1:18a And he is
the head of the body, the church….
Col 3:24b It is the
Lord Christ you are serving.
1 Tim 1:12a I thank
Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength….
Rev 3:14b These are
the words…the ruler of God’s creation.
104That man is over woman an assertion several
passages make is an assertion several passages make but normally in the context
of marriage.
Gen 3:16b Your desire
will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Isa 3:12 Youths
oppress my people, women rule over them. O my people, your guides lead you
astray; they turn you from the path.
1 Cor 14:34 women
should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must
be in submission, as the Law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something,
they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman
to speak in the church.
Eph 5:23 For the
husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body,
of which he is the Savior.
1 Tim 2:11 A woman
should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to
teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
Titus 2:5d …to be
subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
105Apart from the text in question, there are no
passages that support Christ’s authority over males but not over females. Paul
is probably not thinking about the rabbinic view that regards women as exempt
from certain commands. m Kid 1:7c For every
positive commandment dependent upon the time [of year], men are liable, and
women are exempt.
Still, passages that speak about gender equality do not
necessarily deny different gender roles.
Job 31:13 If I have
denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance
against me, 14 what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when
called to account? 15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the
same one form us both within our mothers?
Gal 3:28
There is neither…male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 106
A head-covering is part of the high priest’s vestments.
Exod 28:4 These are the
garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a
turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother
Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests…. 39a Weave the tunic of
fine linen and make the turban of fine linen…. 40b …to give them dignity and
honor.
Lev 10:6 Then Moses
said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair
become unkempt, [or Do not uncover
your heads] and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the LORD will be
angry with the whole community.
Ezek 21:26
this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It
will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be
brought low. 107 This is not the central issue but one Paul introduces to
bolster his argument. 108
Long hair was only one sign of his devotion.
Num 6:5 'During the
entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head…. he
must let the hair of his head grow long.
Judg 13:5b No razor
may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God
from birth….
1 Sam 1:11b …I will
give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be
used on his head.
Luke 1:15b He is never
to take wine or other fermented drink….
Acts 18:18c [Paul!]
had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken.
Acts 21:23b
There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in
their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their
heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about
you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 109
In the Talmudic Period, women’s hair
arrangements were sometimes so elaborate, being skillfully braided or augmented
by a wig and jewelry, that to undo it on the Sabbath would violate the
prohibition against building or demolishing (see Manuel 2014, n. 55). 110
See Fee (1987:510, n. 79). It also marked
the temporary separation of female captives. Deut
21:12 Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails 111 Other
possibilities include that the term refers to church leaders, as it may in Rev
2-3, or that it should be translated “because the angels do so” (i.e., veil
themselves before their direct superior or source).
Isa 6:2
Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their
faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 112
They are his halakah = the application of a biblical principle or command to
daily life in the form of a rule; paradosis.
Elsewhere in the book Paul distinguishes his own rulings from those he has
received.
1 Cor 7:10a To the
married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): …12a To the rest I say this
(I, not the Lord):
1 Cor 11:23a For I
received from the Lord what I also passed on to you:
1 Cor 15:3a For what I
received I passed on to you as of first importance:
113Jewish custom may not have been fixed,
although head coverings were probably common.
Gen 24:65c So she took
her veil and covered herself.
Gen 38:14
she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to [w] disguise
herself 114Jewish custom, except for priests, was not
yet fixed (Zeitlin 1947:303). Although probably in use, the tallit may not yet have been regular
part of prayer.
b Shab 10a R Ashi [late 4th
c.] said: I saw R Kahana [?], when there was trouble in the world, removing his
cloak [as a sign of humility]…and pray…. When there was peace, he would put it
on, cover and enfold himself and pray…. b Shab
12b One who enters [a house] to visit the sick…must wrap himself about [as
a sign of reverence]…for the Divine Presence is above an invalid’s pillow….
Abot R Nat 21a (= chap
6) Nakdimon b. Gurion [= Nicodemus?] entered the Temple, wrapped himself in his
cloak and stood up to pray…. Nakdimon returned to the Temple, wrapped himself
in his cloak and again stood up in prayer….
115Several statements in this chapter warrant
explication.
•
“head” (passim)
•
Support for “authority” derives from the LXX
translation of vaør
in the sense of “leader” or “chief” with kefalh/.
Judg 11:11a So Jephthah
went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over
them.
2 Sam 22:44b [= Ps
18:43b] you have preserved me as the head of nations.
Isa 7:8a for the head
of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin…. 9a The head of
Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son.
Lam 1:5a Her foes have
become her masters….
•
Support for “source” derives from the LXX translation
of vaør
in the sense of “authority,” although usually with a different word. Moreover,
vv. 11-12 speak of interdependence.
•
“holding to the teachings” (11:2)
•
Paul may be building them up in one area with general
praise so that he can critique them in this other area without seeming overly
negative (cf. 1:5-6), or…
•
Paul may be directing his praise at this particular
subject (head coverings) in contrast with the next subject (Communion, v. 17).
•
“the head of every man is Christ” (11:3a)
•
He is the source of every man’s likeness and the source
of every believer’s life.
Col 1:18 And he is the
head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among
the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 2 Cor 5:17a Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation….
•
“the head of the woman is man” (11:3b)
•
According to the “authority” meaning of kefalh/,
Paul is addressing individuals by using “man” in the sense of husband (or
father)—the head of each woman is her husband. Paul’s desire is that wives do
not disgrace their husbands.
•
According to the “source” meaning of kefalh/,
Paul is addressing the congregation by using “man” in the sense of human—the
head of women in general is man (because he came first). Paul’s desire is that
the women of the church do not disgrace the men.
•
“with his head uncovered” (11:4)
•
This is literally “having down the head” (kata»
kefalhvß e¶cwn), which probably implies a covering (see Esth 6:12 “with
his head covered”; LXX kata» kefalhvß literally “head down”).
•
“with her head uncovered” (11:5)
•
The most likely meaning is a physical scarf, which is
implied by the verb “to cover” as well as by the reference to man’s cover (v.
7).
•
Less likely is it long hair, which may be implied by
hair being (aÓnti÷) her
covering (v. 15), although the word can also mean “equivalent to”; and put-up
hair, which is loosed for a suspected adulterous or in the frenzy of pagan
prophecy (for the latter, see Fee 1987:510, n. 77).
Num 5:18 After the
priest has had the woman stand before the LORD, he shall loosen her hair and
place in her hands the reminder offering, the grain offering for jealousy,
while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse.
Philo Spec Leg 3.60
[T]he woman is to come forward with her head uncovered…and the priest…stands
fronting her….
•
Chiasm (11:6)
•
The construction is a first class condition (i.e.,
assumed to be true; “since”).
If a woman does not cover her head she should cut
her hair
If it is a disgrace to cut her hair she should cover her head
•
“woman is the glory of man” (11:7)
•
If by “head” Paul means “source,” then woman is man’s
glory in that she was created for man’s sake (v. 9b). “She exists to his honor
as the one who having come from man is the one companion suitable to him, so
that he might be complete and that together they might form humanity” (Fee
1987:517). Consider also “the analogy of a work of art [as] being an artist’s
glory, since it both gives expression to a part of…him…and at the same time
brings praise and honor to…his skills (Fee 1987:516).
•
“we have no other practice” (11:16)
•
The word translated “other” (toiau/thn)
actually means “such.” The referent may, therefore, be to the practice of head
coverings or to the practice of contesting Paul’s instructions.
116The practice of a man’s removing his hat in
church actually applies when he enters any building and is more a sign of good
manners than of reverence or devotion to God (so also the practice of removing
or tipping one’s hat in the presence of a woman).
117Linda continued to wear her head covering
until she felt it was becoming a distraction as well as a source of confusion
for other women, who wondered if they should also be wearing them. To avoid the
repeated need to explain the difference between precept and principle, Linda
decided to eliminate the problem by forgoing the practice.
118For further discussion, see the chart
“Assessing the strength of your convictions” in Manuel. 119Jude
is not critical of the practice, only of participants whose poor table manners
are similar to what Paul treats.
Jude 12a These men are
blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest
qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves.
Cf. 2 Pet 2:13c They
are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
Luke mentions the breaking of bread together, but such
occasions seem to have been informal or on a smaller scale than the Love Feast.
Luke 24:30 When he was
at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give
it to them…. 35 Then the two told…how Jesus was recognized by them when he
broke the bread.
Acts 2:42 They devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and to prayer…. 46b They broke bread in their homes and ate together with
glad and sincere hearts,
Acts 20:7a On the
first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people
and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.
Ferguson describes the Love Feast as “a fellowship meal which
was a principle occasion for charity to the poorer members of the church”
(1992:90). Post-NT writers mention common meals, communion, or Love Feasts.
•
Common Meal
Diognetus [late 2d c.]
5:7 They have their meals in common, but
not their wives.
Pliny [early 2d c.], Ep 10.96
…they had been accustomed to assemble on a fixed day before daylight and sing
by turns a hymn to Christ as God….after these things were done, it was their
custom to depart and meet to gather again to take food, but ordinary and
harmless food; and they said that even this has ceased after my edict was
issued, by which, according to your commands, I had forbidden the existence of
clubs.
•
Communion
Didache [early 2d c.] 9.5 But let none eat or drink of your
Eucharist except those who have been baptized in the Lord’s name.
Tertullian [c. 160-215], De Corona 3 We take also, in congregations before daybreak, and from the hand
of none but the presidents, the sacrament of the Eucharist, which the Lord both
commanded to be eaten at meal-times, and enjoined to be taken by all alike.
•
Love Feast
Origen [c. 185-254], Against Celsus 1.2 …his wish is to bring into disrepute what are termed the
“love-feasts” of the Christians….
Tertullian [c. 160-215], Apology 39 Our feast explains itself by its name. The Greeks call it agape, i.e., affection. Whatever its
costs, our outlay in the name of piety is gain, since with the good things of
the feast we benefit the needy; not as it is with you, do parasites aspire to
the glory of satisfying their licentious propensities…but as it is with God
himself, a peculiar respect to the lowly…. The participants, before reclining,
taste first of prayer to God. As much is eaten as satisfies the cravings of
hunger; as much is drunk as befits the chaste…. After manual ablution, and the
bringing out of lights, each is asked to stand forth and sing, as he can, a
hymn to God…a proof of the measure of our drinking. As the feast commenced with
prayer, so with prayer it is closed.
Augustine [c. 400], Reply to Faustus 20 We do not turn the sacrifices of the Gentiles into love-feasts,
as Faustus says we do. Our love feasts are rather a substitute for the
sacrifice spoken by the Lord, in the words… “I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice.” At our love-feasts the poor obtain vegetable or animal food…. And
because in our love-feasts flesh is often given to the poor, you compare
Christian charity to pagan sacrifices.
Some mention communion and the Love Feast, but they were not
necessarily or universally synonymous.
Ignatius [d. 98/117], Smyrn 8.1d
Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop, or
by one whom he appoints…. 2c It is not lawful either to baptize or to hold an
“agape” without the bishop….
During the fourth century, the Love Feast included communion.
Council at Gangra [325-381], Canon 11 If anyone shall despise those who out of faith make
love-feasts and invite the brethren in honor of the Lord, and is not willing to
accept these invitations because he despises what is done, let him be anathema.
Unfortunately, the Love Feast also included abuses that led
to its ban.
Clement [c. 155-220], Paedagogus
2.1 …some, speaking with unbridled tongue, dare to apply the name agape, to pitiful suppers, redolent of
savor and sauces. Dishonoring the good and saving work of the Word, the
consecrated agape, with pots and
pourings of sauce…they are deceived in their idea, having expected that the
promise of God might be bought with suppers…. But such entertainments the Lord
has not called agape…. For such is
the agape, which, the food that comes
from Christ [Eucharist?] shows that we ought to partake of. Synod of Laodicea
[343-381] Canon 28 It is not permitted to
hold love feasts…in the Lord’s houses or churches. nor to eat and to spread
couches in the house of God.
Council in Trullo [= Quinisext; 692] Canon 74 It is not permitted to hold what are called agapae, that is
love feasts, in the Lord’s houses or churches, nor to eat within the house, nor
to spread couches. If anyone dare to do so let him cease therefrom or be cut
off.
120Other groups held common meals.
•
Essenes
1QS 6 After he has
entered the Council of the Community he shall not touch the pure meal of the
congregation until one full year is completed…. He shall not touch the drink of
the congregation until he has completed a second year…. [Then] he shall be
examined, and if it be his destiny…he shall be inscribed among his brethren…for
the pure meal….
1Qsa 2 [When] they
shall gather for the common [tab]le, to eat and [to drink] new wine, when the
common table shall be set for eating and the new wine [poured] for drinking,
let no man extend his hand over the first-fruits of bread and wine before the
priest….
•
Therapeutae
Philo, Vita Cont
8 [= 65-66] …these people assemble after seven sets of seven days have
passed…. This is the eve of the chief feast…. [S]tanding they pray to God that
their feasting may be acceptable and proceed as he would have it.
121God’s initial instructions and Jesus’
subsequent example affirm that the festival is…
•
A group meeting
Exod 12:4 If any
household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest
neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to
determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will
eat. Luke
22:14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the
table.
•
A permanent ordinance
Exod 12:14 This is a
day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it
as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance.
Luke 22:19b This is my
body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.
Cf. Luke 22:16 For I
tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of
God.”
This also agrees with early church practice (Manuel
1989).
122
Paul is probably not referring to the same
divisions he mentions in the beginning (1:10-12), as his subsequent comment
makes clear (“and to some extent I believe it”). 123
The Passover seder
marks the release from Egypt.
Pes 10:5 He brought us
forth from slavery to freedom.
Exod 12:26
And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' 27a then
tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the
houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the
Egyptians.'" 124
The seder follows
the Haggadah (telling) of the exodus.
Pes 10:4 [The leader]
begins [the telling] with the shameful tale [of slavery] and ends with the
praiseworthy narrative [of redemption].
Exod 13:8
On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when
I came out of Egypt.' 125
The seder
prescribes four cups of wine at the meal.
Pes 10:1 [The hosts]
give him not less than four cups of wine.
Luke 22:17
After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it
among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine
until the kingdom of God comes." 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and
broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do
this in remembrance of me." 20 In the same way, after the supper he took
the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is
poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with
mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to
that man who betrays him." 126
The seder
contains the line: “Let all who are hungry enter and eat; let all who are needy
come to our Passover feast” (Glatzer 1969:20-21). m Pes 10:1 [T]hey must give him [a poor person] not less than four
cups of win even though he is supported from the charity-food. 127
The sage also warns about such behavior.
Prov 23:2 and put a knife to your throat if you are
given to gluttony…. 20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge
themselves on meat, 21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness
clothes them in rags. 128
Conspicuously absent is any mention of
foot-washing, suggesting that Jesus’ instructions (only!) in John’s gospel were
just for the disciples, perhaps in support of his earlier instructions (Manuel
2013b).
Luke 22:26b
…the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like
the one who serves. 129
Paul’s formula “…received from…passed on
to…” (11:23) is a rabbinic technical expression for the transmission of
religious instruction:
Abot 1:1
Moses received the Law from Sinai and handed it down to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders
to the prophets, and the prophets handed
it down to the men of the Great Assembly. 130
The prohibition against the consumption of
blood is one of the oldest and persistent in scripture.
Gen 9:4 …you must not
eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.
Lev 17:10 "'Any
Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood—I will set my face
against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. 11 For
the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make
atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for
one's life. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat
blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood." 13 "'Any
Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may
be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, 14 because the life
of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites,
"You must not eat the blood of any creature,
because the life of every creature is
its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off." Acts 15:20 we should write to them, telling them to…from blood. 131
James’ recommendation follows the
discussion and testimony of several parties, but the letter itself acknowledges
the Spirit’s leading.
Acts 15:28
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything
beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed
to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual
immorality. 132
A misunderstanding over this subject early
in Jesus’ ministry, where he makes the comparison even more explicit, caused
many disciples to leave him.
John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of
the world." 52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53 Jesus said to them,
"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink his blood, you have no life in you…. 60 On hearing it, many of his
disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" …66
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 133
Such metaphors are also common in John’s gospel.
John 6:35 [= v. 48] I
am the bread of life.
John 8:12 [= 9:5b] I
am the light of the world.
John 10:7 I am the
gate for the sheep.
John 10:11 I am the
good shepherd.
John 14:6 I am the way
and the truth and the life.
John 15:1 I am the true
vine, and my Father is the gardener. John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. 134
The disciples had difficulty with one metaphor concerning
the Pharisees.
Matt 16:5
When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 "Be
careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of
the Pharisees and Sadducees." 7 They discussed this among themselves and
said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread." 8 Aware of their
discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among
yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don't you
remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you
gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls
you gathered? 11 How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you
about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast
used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 135
Were the figurative nature of such
sacrificial statements not obvious, even if their meaning was obscure, Jesus’
opponents could have charged that he advocated the consumption of blood (see n.
130), although even the false witnesses they brought misunderstood his
figurative references.
John 2:19 Jesus
answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three
days." 20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build
this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the
temple he had spoken of was his body.
Matt 26:59
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence
against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find
any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward 61 and
declared, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and
rebuild it in three days.'" 136 Other figurative references to libation
include:
Phil 2:17 I am being
poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your
faith.
2 Tim 4:6a For I am
already being poured out like a drink offering….
2 Cor 12:15a
I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. 137
Other passages in Matthew that associate bread with life
include:
Matt 4:4 Jesus
answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matt
6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
Matt 14:16 Jesus
replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to
eat." 17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,"
they answered.
Matt 15:33
His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote
place to feed such a crowd?" 34 "How many loaves do you have?"
Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."
138
Other passages that associate wine with joy include:
Ps 16:5a LORD,
you have assigned me my portion and my cup Ps
23:5c my cup overflows.
The connection is sometimes negative.
Gen 9:21 When he drank
some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.
Gen 19:32 Let’s get
our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line
through our father.
Lev 10:9 “You and your
sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the
Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the
generations to come.
Prov 20:1
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
whoever is led astray by them is not wise. 139
The piece at the beginning of the service
recalls the haste of the departure from Egypt and is called “the bread of
affliction/poverty” (Glatzer 1969:20-21).
Exod 12:39 With the
dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The
dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not
have time to prepare food for themselves.
The
piece just before the meal accompanies the blessing for God’s provision of the
food (Glatzer 1969:55). 140 It is because the afikomen cones last that it symbolizes the Pascal lamb.
Pes 10:8
They must not call for more food after the Passover offering. 141
This connection may be what lies behind
Paul’s earlier statement when, in connection with matzah, he says: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed”
(1 Cor 5:7).
142
The cup at the start of the seder is called the cup of
sanctification and marks the commemorative nature of the day (Glatzer 1969:17).
The cup just before the meal is called the cup of praise (ibid., p. 55), perhaps because it accompanies the first part of the
Hallel (= “praise”; Pss 113-114).
Pes 10:2 When the
first cup had been filled up, the School of Shammai says, He recites the
Benediction over the day and then recites the Benediction of the wine….
Jesus refers to one of these cups, but whether it is the
first or second is uncertain.
Luke 22:17 After
taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among
you.
The cup at the close of the seder is called the cup of acceptance (Glatzer 1969:69) and
celebrates God’s acceptance of Israel as His people.
Pes 10:7a
Then they mixed for him the third cup. He recites the Grace after his food. Exod 6:7 I will take you as my own people, and
I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought
you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 143 With Elijah’s cup, the seder anticipates the future even as it
recalls the past.
Pes 10:7b Over the
fourth [cup] he concludes the Hallel….
Mal 4:5 See, I will
send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD
comes.
Matt 17:9
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell
anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the
dead." 10 The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the
law say that Elijah must come first?" 11 Jesus replied, "To be sure,
Elijah comes and will restore all things.” 144 Jesus anticipates the
celebration that will attend his return.
Matt 26:29
I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that
day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." 145
The seder was
also a combination of doing and reviewing.
Exod 12:24
"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your
descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he
promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, 'What does
this ceremony mean to you?' 27 then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to
the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our
homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" 146
The phrase “…the body of the Lord” (v. 29)
may not refer to Jesus’ body (as in v. 27, where it occurs as part of the
couplet: “body and blood”) but to the church, which would accord with his
criticism of its members’ actions as disruptive.
1 Cor 12:27 Now you
are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Eph 1:22 And
God…appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23a which is his
body….
Eph 4:12 to prepare
God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
Col 1:18a And he is
the head of the body, the church…. 24b …I fill up in my flesh what is still
lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is
the church.
Col 2:19 He has lost
connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together
by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
147
The early church, especially in the east,
continued to observe Passover after the Apostolic Period, perhaps even into the
6th c., at which time the western church succeeded in abolishing the practice
within Christendom (Manuel 1989). 148 This is one of the Spirit’s roles.
John
16:14a He will bring glory to me…. 149
Just as the Spirit ministered in the OT, so he dispensed
gifts to OT saints (Manuel 2004b). 150 Paul had warned of this earlier.
1 Cor 10:20
…the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want
you to be participants with demons. 151
One passage describes that content.
Acts 2:11b
…we hear them declaring the wonders of
God in our own tongues!" 152
In an attempt to identify the gifts,
Christian exegetes (interpreters) generally offer one of two explanations for
each, depending on whether they see the Holy Spirit’s involvement as overt
(direct) or covert (indirect). Most of the suggestions for the latter—that
these are subtle workings of the Spirit—should properly be characteristic of
every believer.
•
Message of wisdom (v. 8)
•
Overt: Inspired counsel for especially difficult times
•
Covert: “[R]ecognition that the message of Christ
crucified is God’s true wisdom” (Fee 1987:592).
•
Message of knowledge (v. 8)
•
Overt: Inspired familiarity with factual information
that could not otherwise be known, perhaps of future events (13:2)
John 4:18 The fact is,
you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What
you have just said is quite true."
Dan 2:19a During the
night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision… 21b He gives wisdom to
the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. 23d …you have made
known to us the dream of the king." …28 but there is a God in heaven who
reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to
come…. 1 Enoch 41:1 …I saw all the secrets
in heaven, and how a kingdom breaks up, and how the actions of the people are
weighed in the balance.
1
Enoch 52:1b …my
eyes saw there all the secret things of heaven and the future things. 1 Enoch 61:5a And these measurements shall
reveal all the secrets of the depths of the earth….
1 Enoch 63:3a Your
power exposes every secret thing from generation to generation…. 1 Enoch 68:5 Therefore, all that which has
been concealed shall come upon them forever and ever….
1 Enoch 71:4 He…showed
me all the secrets of the extreme ends of heaven….
•
Covert: Special insight into the meaning of scripture
(Fee 1987:593)
•
Faith (v. 9)
•
Overt: Inspired confidence in God’s ability to move
mountains (13:2)
Matt 17:20 …I tell you
the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be
impossible for you.
Matt 21:21 "I tell
you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt…you can say to this mountain,
'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.
1
Kgs 18:36 …the
prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac
and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your
servant and have done all these things at your command.
•
Covert: Faith that leads to salvation
NB: This also contrasts
faith as a fruit of the Spirit.
Gal 5:22a
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23a gentleness and self-control.
• Gifts of healing (v. 9)
•
Overt: Inspired ability to cure physical disease
The plural may
indicate that this is not a permanent gift for a believer (so also miraculous
powers, below)
Acts 19:12 so that even
handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their
illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
•
Covert: Perhaps an ability to cure emotional troubles
•
Miraculous powers (v. 10)
•
Overt: Inspired ability to move mountains
Josh 10:12 …Joshua said
to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon,
over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13a So the sun stood still, and the moon
stopped,
2 Kgs 6:6b Elisha cut a
stick and threw it there, and made the iron float.
•
Covert: N/a
•
Prophecy (v. 10)
•
Overt: Inspired utterance by direct divine revelation,
usually concerning judgment or salvation, and possibly predicting the future
2 Kgs 22:14 Hilkiah the
priest…went to speak to the prophetess Huldah….
Amos 7:14 "I was
neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took
care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the LORD took me from tending the flock and
said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'
Acts 11:28a One of
them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe
famine would spread over the entire Roman world.
Acts 21:9 He had four
unmarried daughters who prophesied. 10b …a prophet named Agabus…. 11 …took
Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy
Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this
belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"
•
Covert: Preaching
•
Distinguishing between spirits (v. 10)
•
Overt: Inspired judgment as to whether a prophetic
utterance is from the Holy Spirit or from another source (human or demon)
Acts 16:16a …we were
met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future…. 17
This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are
servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."
18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he…said
to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of
her!" At that moment the spirit left her.
•
Covert: Distinguishing truth from falsehood
1
John 4:1 …do not
believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
•
Different kinds of tongues (v. 10)
•
Overt: Inspired speech in an unlearned language
Acts 2:7 Utterly
amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8
Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
•
Covert: Perhaps a facility for learning languages
•
Interpretation of tongues (v. 10)
•
Overt: Inspired translation of an unlearned language
•
Covert: N/a (perhaps similar to a facility for learning
languages) 153Elijah had the gifts of healing and prophecy.
1
Kgs 17:22 The LORD
heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.
1 Kgs 18:22a Then
Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’S prophets left….
Paul had the gifts of apostleship and tongues.
1 Cor 1:1a Paul, called
to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God….
1 Cor 14:18 I thank God that I speak in tongues
more than all of you.
154Paul exhorts Timothy to develop his gift.
2 Tim 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan
into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
155While the believer may request a certain
gift, it is the Spirit’s prerogative how to answer.
1 Cor 12:31a But
eagerly desire the greater gifts.
1 Cor 14:1b …eagerly
desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy…. 39 …be eager to
prophesy
John 3:8 The wind
blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it
comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the
Spirit."
156When Paul says that “…all given the one
Spirit to drink” (12:13), this is not a reference to some post-conversion
experience but is rather a (semitic) parallel to the previous statement: “we
were all baptized by one Spirit.” Both are metaphors referring to the common
lot of believers: receiving the Holy Spirit upon conversion.
John 4:10 Jesus
answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for
a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living
water." …14 …whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.
Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to
eternal life."
John 7:37b "If
anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as
the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within
him." 39a By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were
later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus
had not yet been glorified.
157Several statements in this chapter warrant
explication.
•
“…the tongues of men and of angels” (13:1)
•
There are several possible ways of interpreting Paul’s
reference to angelic speech.
•
It may be hypothetical, a way of heightening the
argument: “If I speak in the tongues of
men and even (were it possible) of angels….”
•
It may be metaphorical, meaning the ability to speak
eloquently (Fee 1987:630).
•
It may be concessional, using a belief held at Corinth
that tongues were really angelic speech (cf. 15:29).
Test of Job 48:3a
[Hemera] spoke ecstatically in the angelic dialect, sending up a hymn to God in
accord with the hymnic style of angels…. 49:2
[Kasia] took on the dialect of the archons and she praised God for the creation
of the heights…. 50:1b [Amaltheia’s Horn]
spoke ecstatically in the dialect of those on high…. 2b For she spoke in the
dialect of the cherubim, glorifying the Master of virtues….
In any case, where
the NT record identifies tongues, it is human speech, albeit unlearned.
Acts 2:6 When they
heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard
them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not
all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us
hears them in his own native language? …11b …we hear them declaring the wonders
of God in our own tongues!"
•
“…then we shall see face to face” (13:12)
•
This is similar to the Hebrew idiom “mouth to mouth”
that signifies direct, personal communication.
Gen 32:30 So Jacob
called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face,
and yet my life was spared."
Num 12:8a With him I
speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles….
Deut 34:10 …no prophet
has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face
Corinth had an excellent reputation for producing fine bronze mirrors
(Fee 1987:648). Cf. 2 Cor 3:18 And we, who
with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into
his likeness with ever-increasing glory….
When Paul states that “we see but a poor [e˙n ai˙ni÷gmati] reflection,” he does
not mean that the image is distorted and thus imperfect, but that it is
indirect. A reflection, no matter how good, is not the same as looking at the
person himself.
•
“faith, hope and love” (13:13)
•
That Paul should include faith and hope is not unusual,
because the three were commonly associated in Christian circles.
1 Thess 1:3 We
continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith,
your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ.
1 Thess 5:8 But since
we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a
breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
Gal 5:5 But by faith we
eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6b …The
only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Rom 5:1 Therefore,
since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this
grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that
suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character,
hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Col 1:4 …we have heard
of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—5
…that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven…
Eph 4:2b …bearing with
one another in love…. 4b …you were called to one hope when you were called—5
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
Heb 6:10 God…will not
forget…the love you have shown him as you have helped his people…. 11 We want
each of you to show this same diligence…to make your hope sure. 12 …imitate
those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Heb 10:22a let us draw
near to God with…full assurance of faith…. 23a Let us hold unswervingly to the
hope we profess…. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward
love and good deeds.
158This is a third class conditional sentence
(as are the ones that follow) indicating “a supposable case” (Robertson 1931
4:170), not “a situation contrary to fact,” as MacArthur states. 159Specific
interpretations, however, differ.
•
Perfect
•
Past: Perfection has come.
•
Character: culmination of Corinthian maturity, when
they attain fullness of love (2nd c.?)
•
Church: culmination of the Apostolic Age, when church
membership includes Jews and
Gentiles (1st c.)
•
Canon: culmination of the NT canon, when the Bible
includes all its books (1st c.)
•
Future: Perfection will come.
•
Christ: culmination of the present age, when believers
are resurrected (cf. chapter 15) •
Imperfect
•
Inclusive: All gifts will disappear “when perfection
comes.”
•
The list of gifts in vv. 8-9 is broadly illustrative, and Paul could have chosen any other three
gifts instead of these.
•
Exclusive: Sign gifts (only) will disappear “when
perfection comes.”
•
The list of gifts in vv. 8-9 is narrowly illustrative, and Paul chose these three (prophecy, tongues,
and knowledge) because they represent a specific kind of gift (spectacular).
There are four possible combinations for these four identifications, but
commentators only hold two of them to be real options.
•
Combinations
•
Past + inclusive = There are no gifts now.
•
No one subscribes to this position.
•
Past + exclusive = There are non-sign gifts now.
•
This is the position of many non-Charismatics (e.g.,
Dispensationalists).
•
Future + exclusive = There will be non-sign gifts
later.
•
No one subscribes to this position.
•
Future + inclusive = There will be no gifts later.
•
This is the position of Charismatics and of many
non-Charismatics.
160Mare, who argues for this opinion (although
he does not hold it), says…
There is something to commend this view as an argument
against the position that the gifts mentioned in vv. 8-10 continued, beyond the
apostolic period, especially prophetic revelation. For if such revelation is
held to continue, then might not the Koran, The
Book of Mormon, and Science and
Health be considered inspired revelations from God? (1976:269)
This suggestion is unconvincing. God’s people have always had
to distinguish between inspired and non-inspired documents (e.g.,
intertestamental apocrypha and pseudepigrapha). That need for discernment will
continue, as Jesus warns of false prophets in the last days and John mentions
the advent of true prophets.
Matt 24:10a At that
time… 11 …many false prophets will appear and deceive many people…. 23a At that
time… 24a …false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to
deceive even the elect—if that were possible.
Rev 11:3
…I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days,
clothed in sackcloth. 161
Mare argues for this option (which he also
holds), appealing to the use of this word and its cognates elsewhere.
…in a number of contexts the related words telos (“end,” “termination,” “last
part”) and teleo (“bring to an end”)
are used in relation to the second coming of Christ. This is true in both
non-Pauline writing (cf. James 5:11; Rev 20:5, 7; 21:6; 22:13) and 1
Corinthians 1:8; 15:24. Since in the contexts of the Second Coming these
related words are used and since Paul himself used telos in talking about the Second Coming elsewhere in 1
Corinthians, it seems more normal to understand teleion in v. 10 to mean that “perfection” is to come about at the
Second Coming, or, if before, when the Christian dies and is taken to be with
the Lord. (1976:269)
While those who are believers when Jesus returns will be
perfect and no longer need the gifts, those who become believers after he
returns will not reach that state until their resurrection and, until then,
will still need the gifts. 162 Love is not a gift of the Spirit but a
fruit of the Spirit.
Gal 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23a gentleness and self-control. 163 Paul’s desire in v. 5
echoes that of Moses’ to Joshua.
Num 11:29b
I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his
Spirit on them! 164
”[Paul] is demonstrating that the
Corinthians were using the sign gift in a wrong context. The sign gift was to
be used uninterpreted in a nonchurch context to authenticate the message and
the activity of God and to aid in evangelism” (Hoehner 1982:64). 165
When used in its proper setting, the
unbeliever becomes the interpreter. In worship, someone else must be present
with the gift of interpretation. It is possible, then, that the gift of
interpretation is also for use outside the church, that an evangelist might understand an unlearned language. 166
Paul’s use of Isa 28:11-12 in 1 Cor 14:21
is difficult to understand. In the context of Isa 28, God states that Israel
will not listen to familiar speech (i.e., from His prophets), so He will
attempt to reach them using foreign speech (from their Assyrian overlords),
although He admits the futility of that as well. Paul quotes this passage in
order to draw an analogy with the purpose of the gift of tongues. As with any
analogy, we must identify the points of contact between the original setting
and the contemporary setting. The most obvious connection is the mention of
foreign speech. (NB: This is a real language in Isaiah.) The next connection is
not as obvious and seems to depend on how one views “this people” (1 Cor
14:21). If Paul intends the stress to be on their rebellion, then he may be
noting the appropriateness of foreign speech for “evangelism.” If, on the other
hand, Paul intends the stress to be on their belonging to the Lord, then he may
be noting the inappropriateness of foreign speech for God’s people (i.e., the
inability of tongues to effect belief in Israel; so Fee 1987:680). (The second
option is probably better, given Paul’s abridgment of Isa 28:12 to include the
failure of foreign speech.) In either case, foreign speech is an extraordinary
means of talking to people who cannot seem to get the message through
conventional channels (Oswalt 1986:513; cf. 1 Cor 14:24). 167
Their initial NT use is by Jews who proclaim the gospel.
Acts 2:4 All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the
Spirit enabled them…. 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own
native language?
Their subsequent NT use is by groups who receive the gospel,
whose legitimate place in the new movement might be uncertain.
•
Gentiles
Acts 10:44 While Peter
was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the
message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished
that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46
For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
•
John’s disciples
Acts 19:4 Paul said,
“John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in
the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were
baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Even in these cases, though, tongues was recognizable speech
(praise and prophecy). One group not identified in this manner is Samaritans,
who do not appear in Acts, perhaps because their status as (part of) God’s
people is not in doubt (Manuel 2007b). 168
Victor Paul Wierwille, founder of The Way
International, claims he can teach any Christian how to speak in tongues and
published a booklet on the subject (n.d.:8-9).
Sit quietly and do exactly as I instruct…. In a moment I
want you to open your mouth wide and breathe in…. Thank God for having filled
you with the fullness of the power of His holy spirit…. When you begin to speak
in tongues, move your lips, your throat, your tongue. Speak forth. When you
have finished one word, speak another. Do not pay any attention to what you are
thinking…. You are magnifying God no matter what the words sound like to your
ears…. You are speaking in tongues.
A scientific study exposed sixty test subjects to sixty
seconds of glossolalia and asked them to reproduce it for thirty seconds.
Twenty percent were immediately successful. Half the test group then received
training in glossolalia, at the end of which seventy percent of that group were
successful. The researchers concluded that tongues is a learned behavior
(Spanos 1986). 169
“Such a command would not be apropos if Paul had in mind the
ecstatic babbling of a ‘private’ prayer language or spontaneous celestial
sounds” (MacArthur 1992:227). 170
Other passages that echo this include:
Num 2:17b They will
set out in the same order as they encamp, each in his own place under his
standard.
1 Chr 24:19 This was
their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the
LORD…as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
Job 25:2 Dominion and
awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven.
Here and elsewhere Paul expresses his own proclivity for
order.
1 Cor 14:40 But everything should be done in a
fitting and orderly way.
2 Cor 12:20 For I am afraid that when I come I
may not find you as I want you to be…. I fear that there may be…disorder.
Col 2:5b
… I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are…. 171
Disorder in speech was a sign of divine judgment.
Gen 11:9a
That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of
the whole world. 172 The end of Mark is a later addition.
Mark 16:17 And these
signs will accompany those who believe…they will speak in new tongues;
Paul does not include tongues in his other lists of spiritual
gifts.
Rom 12:6 We have
different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is
prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let
him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him
encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give
generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing
mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Eph 4:11 It was he who
gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some
to be pastors and teachers,
By the close of the first century, glossolalia may no longer
be at issue in Corinth, for Clement of Rome makes not mention of it in his
letter to the church (late 1st c). 173
These include use by marginal and non-Christian groups.
Irenaeus [late 2d c] Against Heresies 5.6.1 …we do also hear many brethren in the Church, who possess
prophetic gifts, and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages…. Tertullian
[c. 160-215] Against Marcion 5.8 Now all
these signs (of spiritual gifts) are forthcoming from my side without any
difficulty….
Origen [c. 185-254] Against Celsus 7.9 [After describing Christian prophesying, Celsus says,] To these
promises are added strange, fanatical, and quite unintelligible words, of which
no rational person can find the meaning: for so dark are they, as to have no
meaning at all; but they give occasion to every fool or impostor to apply them
to suit his own purposes. Origen [c. 185-254] On the Gospel of St. John 32.7 Why is it that no man speaks in the
tongues of all nations? Because the Church itself now speaks in the tongues of
all nations…. The Church, spread among the nations, speaks in all tongues….
Eusebius [early 4th c] Eccl Hist 5.16.6 [Montanus] began to be ecstatic and to
speak and to talk strangely, prophesying contrary to the custom which belongs
to the tradition and succession of the church from te beginning.
Chrysostom [c. 354-407] Homilies on First Corinthians 29 [12:1-2] …the obscurity is produced by our
ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as then
used to occur but now no longer take place.
Augustine [c. 416] Homilies on First John 6.10 [3:19-4:3] That thing was done for a
betokening, and it passed away. 174
When Paul states “…as the Law says”
(14:34), he may be referring to Oral Torah or, more likely, “Law” should be
translated “rule” and refer back to his instructions in 11:2-10. 175
The motivation for separation may
have been a concern for ceremonial purity. 176
Paul makes a similar statement to Timothy,
using a synonymous term, and is probably advocating a similar decorum.
1 Tim 2:11
A woman should learn in quietness [hJsuci÷a] and full submission. 12 I do
not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent
[hJsuci÷a].
177The
specific text to which Paul refers in “…according to the Scriptures” (15:4) is
not clear, but commentators have proposed several options (Manuel 2001):
•
Hos 6:2, which rabbinic tradition understands as a
reference to resurrection (McArthur 1971/72:81-86);
Hos 6:2b …on the third
day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.
•
Jonah 1:17, which Jesus connected with his
resurrection; Jonah 1:17 Jonah was inside
the fish three days and three nights.
Cf. Matt 12:40 For as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son
of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
•
Ps 16:10, as a reflection of Jewish belief about the
onset of decay.
Ps 16:10
…you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see
decay. There is also a rabbinic motif that sees the third day as “the day of
divine salvation, deliverance and manifestation” (Fee 1987:727, n. 66).
178Commenting on
“…found to be false witnesses” (15:15), Fee says (1987:743, n. 24): Even more
than vv. 5-8, this clause stands as the strongest kind of evidence that Paul
believed in the Resurrection as an objectively verifiable reality. He simply
would not have understood the double-talk of Christian existentialism, which
affirms “resurrection language” theologically but denies that anything actually
happened as an event in history.
179The historicity of Jesus’ resurrection is
central:
•
To our redemption
1 Cor 15:2 By this
gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.
Otherwise, you have believed in vain…. 17 [Yet ] if Christ has not been raised,
your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
• To our resurrection
1 Thess 4:14 We
believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring
with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him…. 16 For the Lord himself will
come down from heaven…and the dead in Christ will rise first.
1
Cor 15:17a [Yet ]
if Christ has not been raised…. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in
Christ are lost.
“[T]o deny the resurrection of the dead is not only to deny
one’s past [v. 12a] but…to deny any real future as well [v. 19b]” (Fee
1987:744).
180The immediate alternative to having a
physical body in life is not a having a resurrection body in death. There will
for many people be a period of incorporeal existence between those states.
2
Cor 5:6 Therefore
we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we
are away from the Lord…. 8 We…would prefer to be away from the body and at home
with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home
in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while
in the body, whether good or bad.
181Some statements in this chapter warrant
explication.
•
“…Christ, the firstfruits” (v. 22)
•
The metaphor is that the first harvest is a foretaste
(“guarantee,” so Fee 1987:749) of the greater harvest to come (see 16:15, where
the house of Stephanas is “firsfruits” in a specific location). Thus, Jesus’
resurrection anticipates the coming resurrection of believers.
•
“…that God may be all in all” (v. 28)
•
This is a soteriological and not a metaphysical
statement, referring to that point in time when “God’s will be supreme in every
quarter and in every way” (Fee 1987:760). Paul may be alluding to Zechariah’s
prediction.
Zech 14:9b On that day
there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.
182Paul says explicitly “that there will be a
resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked” (Acts 24:15). John, in his
Revelation, also speaks about this all-encompassing resurrection and fills in
the framework that Paul gives in 1 Cor.
Rev 20:4 I saw thrones
on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the
souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and
because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and
had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life
and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come
to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second
death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and
will reign with him for a thousand years…. 11 Then I saw a great white throne
and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there
was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before
the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book
of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in
the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades
gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to
what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written
in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Later in the chapter, Paul limits his discussion of
resurrection to believers (cf. “we all” in vv. 5152).
183All such references appear in the same book.
Rev 2:11 He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will
not be hurt at all by the second death.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who have
part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a
thousand years…. 14b The lake of fire is the second death.
Rev 21:8b the fiery
lake of burning sulfur….is the second death.
184In the proverb Paul quotes—“Bad company
corrupts good character” (v. 33)—the word “company” (oJmili÷ai) can
also be translated “conversation.” Hence, it is possible that Paul is referring
to the kind of conversation that denies the resurrection and, thereby, destroys
one’s motivation for righteousness (cf. v. 32). 185The closest
practice is prayer for the dead.
2 Macc 12:39 On the
next day, as by that time it had become necessary, Judas and his men went to
take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their
kinsmen in the sepulchers of their fathers. 40 Then under the tunic of every
one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law
forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was why these
men had fallen. 41 So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous
Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; 42 and they turned to prayer,
beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out.
And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for
they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those
who had fallen. 43 He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of
two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin
offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the
resurrection. 44 For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would
rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. 45
But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall
asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made
atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin. 186
This is a view Solomon espouses often.
Eccl 2:24a A man can
do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work.
Eccl 3:13 That
everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil….
Eccl 5:18 …it is good
and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome
labor….
Eccl 8:15a
…nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Eccl 9:7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and
drink your wine with a joyful heart…. 187
This may reflect a Hellenistic view
of the body. 188
How the dead are raised (v. 35) has also
generated discussion in rabbinic literature, especially in b Sanh 90b-91a.
•
R. Meir [mid-2nd c.] said: “if a
grain of wheat, which is buried naked, sprouts forth in many robes, how much
more so the righteous, who are buried in their raiment!”
•
“An emperor said to Rabban Gamaliel [early 1st
c.]: ‘You maintain that the dead will revive; but they turn to dust, and how
can dust come to life?’ Thereupon his [the emperor’s] daughter said to him [the
Rabbi]: ‘Let me answer him: In our town there are two potters; one fashions his
products [from water], and the other from clay: who is the more praiseworthy?’
‘He who fashions them from water, he replied [this being far more difficult; to
which she responded], ‘If he can fashion [man] from water, surely he can do so
from clay!’“
•
“The School of R. Ishmael [early 2nd
c.] taught: It can be deduced from glassware: if glassware, which, though made
by the breath of human being, can yet be repaired when broken [by being melted
down again]; then how much more so man, created by the breath of the Holy One,
blessed be He.” 189
Paul says here that we shall “bear the likeness of the man
from heaven” (v. 49b).
•
His body was adapted for existence in the physical
realm.
Luke 24:39 Look at my
hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have
flesh and bones, as you see I have." …42 They gave him a piece of broiled
fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
John 20:27 Then he
said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand
and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Acts 1:4a On one occasion, while he was eating with them….
•
His body was adapted for existence in the spiritual
realm.
John 20:26b Though the
doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be
with you!"
Acts 1:9 After he said
this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their
sight.
Rom 8:34b Christ
Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of
God and is also interceding for us.
Our bodies will apparently have a similar design, enabling us
to have access to heaven as well as to earth, an ability that may be necessary
in the Messianic Age. Paul states elsewhere that the believer’s resurrection
body “will be like [Jesus’] glorious body” (Phil 4:21).
Acts 26:13 …I saw a
light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my
companions.
Rev 1:16b His face was
like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
Cf. Matt 13:43a
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. 190The
NT’s description of the Intermediate State (Manuel 1999) suggests that the
physical body may not be as necessary a means of identification after death as
it is before death. • The disciples
recognized Moses and Elijah (even though they had never met).
Luke 9:33 As the men
were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him,
“Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one
for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.
• The rich man
recognized Abraham and Lazarus.
Luke 16:23
In hell, where he was in torment, he…saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his
side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus
to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony
in this fire.’ Likewise, the disciples recognized Jesus’ resurrection body.
Luke 24:37 They were
startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost…. 40b he showed them his
hands and feet.
Paul says “the power of sin is the law” (v. 56b), meaning
that law gives sin its power because “sin is not taken into account when there
is no law” (Rom 5:13b).
191Paul’s letter to the Galatians makes no
mention of this contribution. He must have given them this instruction (v. 1b)
on another occasion.
192This is a “fence” derived from the
prohibition against conducting business on the Sabbath (Manuel 2014).
Jer 17:21 This is what
the LORD says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it
through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do
any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your
forefathers.
Neh 13:18 Didn’t your
forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon
us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by
desecrating the Sabbath.”
Tos Shab 16:22 Beth
Shammai says: “Contributions for the poor are not allotted on the Sabbath in
the synagogue, even a dowry to marry an orphan man to an orphan woman.” …Beth
Hillel permits these activities.
Bacchiocchi states that “Contributions for the poor were
forbidden since they conflicted with the future material abundance which the
day symbolized” (1977:91).
193Jesus warns against ostentatious giving.
Matt 6:3 But when you
give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing,
Luke 21:1 …Jesus saw
the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor
widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “I tell you the truth,” he said,
“this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave
their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had
to live on.”
194Paul oversees other gift transfers.
2 Cor 8:13 Our desire
is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there
might be equality.
2 Cor 9:9 As it is
written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness
endures forever." …12 This service that you perform is not only supplying
the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks
to God.
Rom 15:26 For
Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the
saints in Jerusalem.
195Luke refers to the affect of this situation
on residents of Jerusalem.
Acts 6:1 In those days
when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them
complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked
in the daily distribution of food.
Acts 11:27 During this
time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named
Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would
spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of
Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide
help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to
the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
196This Greek term refers to the votive offering,
but it assumes a personal usage elsewhere.
2 Macc 2:13 The same
things are reported in the…letters of kings about votive offerings. Luke 21:5a
Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with
beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated
to God.
Opponents of the gospel use it.
•
Of themselves
Acts 23:14 They went
to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we
have killed Paul.
•
Of the savior
1 Cor 12:3a Therefore
I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus
be cursed,"
Proponents of the gospel use it.
•
Of themselves
Rom 9:3 For I could
wish that I myself were cursed and
cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
•
Of their opponents
Gal 1:8 But even if we
or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached
to you, let him be eternally condemned!
9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a
gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Rev 22:18 I warn
everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds
anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19
And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away
from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are
described in this book.
197This Aramaic term is probably a vocative +
imperative rather than an indicative and is similar to expressions elsewhere.
(Uncial manuscripts, those prior to the 10th c., had no word
divisions.) Matt 6:10a your kingdom come
[subjunctive] Rev 22:20c Come [imperative],
Lord Jesus.
The next earliest source to use it is early 2nd
c.
Did 10:6 Let grace
come and let this world pass away…. O Lord, come!
Such expectation also accords with Paul’s eschatological
anticipation throughout this and other letters..
Rom 13:11b
…our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12a The night is
nearly over; the day is almost here. Phil 4:5b
The Lord is near. 198
It is one of his reciprocal commands.
1 Thess 5:26 Greet all the brothers with a holy
kiss.
2 Cor 13:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Rom 16:16 Greet one
another with a holy kiss.
1
Pet 5:14 Greet one
another with a kiss of love. 199
Normally, the greeting is reserved for family members and
very close friends. Gen 27:26 Then his
father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me." 1 Sam 20:41b Then they kissed each other and
wept together….
Luke 15:20c … he ran to
his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 22:47b He approached Jesus to kiss him, 200 In at least one of
his epistles, Paul expresses concern over the possibility of forgery.
2
Thess 2:2 [Do] not
to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some…letter supposed to have come from
us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 201
The amanuensis is normally silent, operating in the
background.
Gal 6:11 See what
large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
Col 4:18a I, Paul,
write this greeting in my own hand.
Rom 16:22 I, Tertius,
who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Peter also used a scribe.
Summary1 Pet 5:12a
With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to
you briefly….
