Conflict Management -1 Corinthians Introduction

 Note from the publisher.  This Study will be published in a series of posts due to the large size of the file.  They are published by lesson. The first contains the table of contents.  The next post  will contain a summary, bibliography and endnotes for all posts in this series.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

 

Cultivating Concord in the Church at Corinth

 

 

A Bible Study of First Corinthians

Dr. Paul Manuel—2014

 

 

                   

Contents

 

                                                  Introduction........................................................................................................... 3

I.             The Apostle’s Greeting (1:1-9) ..................................................................... 7

II.          The Church’s Problems (1:10-6:20)

A.   Division (1:10-4:21) ................................................................................ 9

B.   Discipline (5:1-13) ................................................................................. 16

C.   Lawsuits (6:1-11) ................................................................................... 20

D.   Immorality (6:12-20) ............................................................................. 24

III.        The Church’s Questions (7:1-16:9)

A.   Marriage (7:1-40) .................................................................................. 28

B.   Food (8:1-11:1) ...................................................................................... 34

C.   Worship (11:2-16) ................................................................................. 45

D.   Communion (11:17-34) ......................................................................... 51

E.   Gifts (12:1-14:40) .................................................................................. 59

F.    Resurrection (15:1-58) ........................................................................... 77

G.   Collection (16:1-4) ................................................................................ 85

IV.        The Apostle’s Farewell (16:5-24) ............................................................... 86

                                            Summary.............................................................................................................. 89

                                                                            Bibliography......................................................................................................... 92

                                                                                  Endnotes................................................................................................................ 95

Lesson 1: Introduction

 

 When we visit another church, we see only a small aspect of its operation and, unless we know someone in that congregation, are generally not aware of what goes on behind the scenes, especially concerning any problems.

•         Are the pastor and youth director at odds, with some members supporting one or the other?

•         Is the church secretary having an affair with one of the deacons?

•         Are there SS teachers promoting theologically suspect positions?

•         Is the youth group really a street gang?

•         Is the bank about to repossess the new organ?

Just attending a worship service would not make us aware of such things. Only by being part of a church do we become familiar with whatever difficulties it may have, and that awareness can be discouraging at times. Consequently, it is often helpful to put matters in perspective, to realize on the one hand that some churches have much more serious problems than ours does and, on the other hand, that scripture contains helpful instruction for how churches should function. Our study will investigate one such set of instructions: Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth.¹

 

 Before we begin our study of the book itself, it is helpful to have some background on the author and the audience. Turn to Acts 18.

 

Acts 18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when the [certain] 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." 7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.² 8 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized. 9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." 11 So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. 12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews [who opposed him] made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. 13 "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law." 14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "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." 16 So he had them ejected from the court. 17 Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler³ and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever. 18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken.

 

•         The City

•         Its political significance

•         Corinth has a Roman provincial government (v. 12).

•         Its economic status [Locate]

•         Corinth is a two-harbor trading center.

•         Its religious options

•         Corinth includes Jewish synagogues (vv. 7-8, 17).      

•     Corinth offers the Greco-Roman pantheon.⁴

•         Corinth has mystery cults.

•         The letter

•         Its founder⁵

•         Paul established the church on his second visit (vv. 3, 5) and ministered 1¹⁄₂ years (from the fall of 50 to the spring of 52, v.  11).

•         He is writing from Ephesus just before Passover in the Spring of 55.⁶

•         Its composition

•         The membership consists of Jews and gentiles (vv. 4, 7-8).

Acts 18:19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

•         Its occasion

•         Paul writes in response to news about them (1 Cor 1:11).⁷

  NB: This is actually Paul’s second letter to the church. The first also dealt partially with church problems (immorality)⁸ 

•         Paul writes in reply to questions from them (1 Cor 7:1).

•         The reaction

NB: Although Paul is called “an apostle to the gentiles” (Gal 2:8b), he continued ministering to Jews, even as Peter is called “an apostle to the Jews” (Gal 2:8a) but also ministered to gentiles (e.g., Cornelius in Acts 10).

•         Its leaders

•         Some synagogue leaders (vv. 6, 12) charge Paul with disobeying

Torah (v. 13).

•         Its apostle

•         Paul’s focus shifts temporarily from Jews (v. 5) to gentiles (v. 6), but cf. vv. 19-20.⁹

•         In response to the opposition, he takes a Nazirite vow (v. 18, see Comment below).

 

Comment: About “Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome” (v. 2)

 Roman historian Suetonius (69 C.E. to early 2nd c.) says the unrest in Rome’s Jewish community involved an individual named Crestus: “Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Crestus, he expelled them from Rome” (Life of Claudius 25:4). Whether Crestus was a participant in the strife or the cause of it (= Christ?) is unknown. In either case, the disorder seems to stem from an adverse reaction to the gospel in one or more of the synagogues in Rome. It is understandable, then, why the Corinthian synagogue might not welcome Paul with open arms and why certain leaders might seek legal means for removing him before a similar conflict could have a similar affect on the Jews of Corinth.

 

Comment: About Paul’s “vow” (v. 18)

 This was probably a Nazirite vow, a promise of separation, generally made by a layman,¹⁰ either male or female.¹¹ It was a special act of personal devotion to God. The vow could be temporary (30 days or more) or permanent (Samson, Samuel?)¹² and the duration seems to be connected with eliciting God’s help for a particular task or for a special need (e.g., protection), or even as an expression of thanksgiving for divine aid already received. Fulfilling the vow entailed separation from three things during the prescribed period:

•         Corpse defilement

•         Grape products

•         Hair trimming

The Nazirite would mark the end of the period by making three kinds of offerings:

•         Burnt (consecration) offering

•         Sin (purification) offering

•         Peace offering

He would also shave his head and burn the hair on the altar.

 The sometimes negative reactions Paul got at first in the Corinthian synagogue probably did not bolster his confidence in the potential success of his ministry. Then the Lord speaks to him in a vision, encouraging him to continue (vv. 9-10). It is, perhaps, with a renewed sense of commitment that Paul takes the vow (v. 18), thereby expressing his dedication to his missionary calling. It may also have been an expression of Paul’s thanks to God for divine protection during the Corinthian incident (so Bruce n.d.:377).

 In either case, the vow was temporary, and shaving his head, as Paul did at Cenchrea (v. 18), marked the official end of the vow. The completion of the vow, however, had to wait until Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem, where he could make the requisite sacrifices in the temple, along with others from the Jerusalem congregation who had taken a similar vow.¹³ Some of Paul’s opponents, those who falsely accused him of violating Torah (a charge similar to that in Acts 18:13, and ironic under the circumstances), spotted him in the temple court and almost succeeded in having him killed, but Roman soldiers rescued him.