May 31, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 12

First Corinthians Chapter 12

Originally posted Tuesday July 22, 2008

First Corinthians Chapter 12:1-11 Spiritual Gifts

This chapter is the first in a series of three dealing with Spiritual gifts and their role in the church. The opening verse is generally translated into English as "Now concerning spiritual gifts." While this is in keeping with the theme of all three chapters it does not provide any insight into the issue that has been presented to Paul in the letter from Corinth. Instead of the usual word for gifts (charismata) Paul has used a different word better understood as either spiritual things or spiritual persons. The latter is more appropriate for referring to the problem that exists in the church and is addressed by Paul. The issue is the misuse of spiritual gifts and the presence of persons who claim to possess certain gifts that they tout as being superior to those possessed by others. We have already read of the divisions in the church on other issues leading to judgment of one group by another. There is no reason to doubt such an issue as many spiritual gifts would also be the subject of comparing one gift to another in levels of importance. This would create a pecking order of "spiritualists" based on what gift is received (my gift is better than yours). Paul must bring them back to the basic understanding of how the Spirit works.

Every Christian has received the Holy Spirit upon baptism. The Spirit is not a dormant presence, but actively speaks through, teaches and guides the Christian in all things. Paul begins with two fundamental affirmations on which all the members can agree. A [truly] Spirit-filled Christian cannot say "cursed be Jesus" as can the pagan who rejects God and is led astray to idol worship. Nor can anyone say "Jesus is Lord" and be truthful except by the Spirit. So the Spirit is actively involved in the life of the individual and the church. It is through the Spirit that Christians give voice to faith, and it is from that one Spirit that they will be gifted to work and to serve the one Lord and one God. Now Paul can introduce the many gifts this one Spirit gives to the church - and for the church, through its Spirit-filled members.

Though there are many gifts they all are given by the one Spirit. The gifts are applied through many types of service and work and apportioned as the Spirit chooses. Each is given a spiritual gift activated by God, not for personal use but for the common good of the church. Paul offers a preliminary list of gifts most of which are self evident in meaning and probably reflect Paul's own observation of the use of these gifts among the members.

a: The utterance of wisdom: We all know persons we consider wise. They see "the big picture" in life and are able to look at a situation and offer sage advice or help others determine an answer and direction.

b: The utterance of knowledge: Some people just know a lot about certain subjects. They are keyed in to the past and can speak from experience of what works and what doesn't in the church. Paul may be thinking of those who have been with the church since its beginning, old hands at what it means to be in and of the church.

c. Faith: This is a gift all have but some seem to have a special measure of faith from which they draw in all the circumstances of life. A great faith can lead others to faith. A great faith can be a model during distressing and tumultuous times.

d. Healing: Many would relegate this gift to the ancient past and more a matter of insufficient knowledge of medicine and the human psyche. At the same time there are events in our experience that defy our own perceptions of what is real or possible. We might well call these miracles because they are unexpected outcomes. Healing is more than physical. Relationships can be healed by gifted counselors. The fragmented minds of the abused and abusers can be inexplicably mended by medicines and analysis. And how much healing takes place with the offering of a loving hand, a smile, a word of encouragement? Healing is all around us and we are often part of it, sometimes without even knowing it.

e. Miracles: Much of what is said of healing can apply to miracles. We often blurt out, "It's a miracle," when we see a significant change for the better in a person's life. This is particularly so in cases of the seriously ill who recover as if by an act of the will. Some accept the value of prayer in effecting miracles. Miracles are those events we cannot understand when our own experience cannot hold them. Perhaps, like beauty, the miracle is in the eye -or the soul, of the beholder.

f. Prophecy: Paul would understand this in the context of the prophets of Israel. The prophet speaks a word of truth from God to be given to the community. In biblical prophesy what is given is often warning, sometimes guidance. Prophets of our own time have had an insightful grasp of events and saw through them to the consequences waiting ahead for those who ignore them. Parents are often prophets - or try to be, when pointing out how certain paths will lead to certain ends. Prophets are not generally popular and their words are often ignored. We see examples of that in our own society when the events of the present become the product of seeds planted in the past.

g. Discernment of spirits: These are not "holy" spirits. Think about an advertisement on television, or listening to one too many politicians seeking election. All of a sudden you get this rush of skepticism. The words just don't make sense. They are too good to be true. Some people are able to cut through the jargon, the hype and insincerity even in the religious environment. Paul understands this as the spirit of one person being understood by the spirit of another with the Spirit bearing witness to the truth.

h. Various kinds of tongues and their interpretation: In all lists of the spiritual gifts tongues comes last. As we will read in chapter 14 this seems to be the primary issue in Corinth with respect to the gifts of the Spirit. Here Paul is not referring to the Pentecost experience in which Luke suggests actual languages were spoken on behalf of those whose native language they were. This is ecstatic speech, not a human language. For Paul It is the language of the Spirit. In Romans Paul hinted at this as the language of prayer given by the Spirit when we cannot find the words within us to express the depths of our struggle. The Spirit itself gives utterance to the unspoken sighs of our hearts. There are those in Corinth who have been speaking in tongues claiming this as the highest gift, thereby boasting of the high regard the Spirit must have for the one who possesses the gift. The gift of interpretation is a necessary prerequisite if such unknown language is spoken in the community. Later Paul will insist that without an interpreter present the speaker must remain silent.

At the end of the listing Paul reminds his readers that all gifts are activated by the one Spirit and the Spirit has allotted gifts "to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses." For Paul, the Spirit has organized the church and the spiritual gifts are to support that organization.

First Corinthians Chapter 12:12-31 The Body of Christ - the Church

The many spiritual gifts that have been distributed to the church members are all of equal importance. Each is indispensable without the others. No one gift can be considered favored, more essential or important and no gift can give anyone a cause to boast as if the gift that person has been given is more "spiritual" than the rest. To demonstrate the necessary unity of gifts Paul uses the human body as analogous to the church.  Both have members with the members of the body being limbs and sense organs - ears, eyes, etc. The members of the body cannot be judged on appearance, use, respectability or, apparently, location. All are indispensable, not on their own merit but as a part of the whole. No single member can constitute the whole. Even those members that are weak or less respectable or honorable by comparison are necessary to the function of the body. In fact, Paul writes that God has given greater honor to the inferior member in order to avoid dissension; when one member suffers all suffer; when one member is honored all rejoice together.

We recognize Paul's use of hyperbole in his description of body parts and we see how well his images relate to the members of the church.  The church community is the body of Christ and all are members of it. The functions God has appointed (and gifted) are ranked not by importance but by office: Apostles, prophets and teachers. These are followed by certain gifted works such as deeds of power, healing, assistance and leadership - with tongues mentioned last. As the entire body cannot be an eye, the entire church cannot be an apostle or any other expression of a spiritual gift. The church is one body and that is the body of Christ. For the body to function in unity and thereby prosper, all the parts must be healthy. All must work together for the benefit of the whole. Not any one member can boast of special privilege or require special honor.

Paul ends this section with a challenge. Taking all of the spiritual gifts together, Paul urges the members to consider striving for even greater gifts to find "a still more excellent way."

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May 30, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 11

First Corinthians Chapter 11

Originally posted Monday July 21

First Corinthians Chapter 11:2-16 Head Coverings

We do not have a copy of the letter sent from the church in Corinth to Paul which contains a series of questions regarding Christian practice. If we did we would have a better understanding of the basis of the issue of women being "veiled" during certain parts of the worship. His response makes it clear that some women had stopped wearing a head covering while praying and prophesying (all things are lawful to me?). The Greek word translated as veil means "cover." This is not a covering of the face or any part of the face as we see to varying degrees in conservative and fundamentalist Islamic cultures. It was generally a draped covering over the top of the head that fell below the shoulders. The covering was often worn by women participating in pagan religious rites as a number of ancient friezes depict. There are also examples of men wearing similar head coverings during pagan sacrifices. Alternatively, the cover can refer to a woman's hair "pinned up," similar to hair braided and gathered, rather than wearing it long. The pagan priestesses of Paul's time wore their hair long or let down during religious rituals.

Paul prefaces his remarks with the traditional and obviously cultural, three-tiered divine hierarchy accepted in Judaism and other ancient cultures (see 3:21). He makes one addition: God is the head of Christ; Christ the head of man; the man is the head of woman. The words "husband" and "wife" are not in the Greek text but are implied. What might be involved in Paul's use of the hierarchy is the issue of honor/shame which was at the heart of ancient social relationships and the need to identify them in terms of symbols, such as the required use of the veil for a woman and not a man. An uncovered woman brings shame to herself as well as to her husband.

In this context Paul is referring to his requirement that a woman use a head covering while praying or prophesying during community worship. According to the Talmud this head covering would be in keeping with the Jewish requirement for all married and previously married (widowed) women. Paul writes that if she does not she is disgraced and it would be just as well were she to have her hair cut (very short) or shaved. As for a man, in the same circumstances he would be disgraced were he to have his head covered. It is worth noting that while certain cultural norms are affirmed, Paul is clear that both men and women share in openly spoken prayer and prophesy as a part of the worship. Prophesy was a form of teaching and spiritual enlightenment for the community. It was a means of providing spiritual direction to the church and Paul understood that anyone might be the conduit for God's leading, men and women.

Paul goes on to support his argument with reference to the Genesis creation stories. A Woman's head is to be covered but the man's head is to remain uncovered because:

a. He is "the image and reflection (glory) of God but the woman is the reflection (glory) of man."

b. He was not created from her but her from him.

c. He was not created for her sake but she for his.

He supplements the Biblical argument for the propriety of a woman's long hair with one from his cultural preference. It is perfectly natural for a woman to have long hair. Given as a covering it is her glory. This is not the case for men for whom long hair would be shameful. This is more Paul's opinion than a teaching from nature. There was a degree of ambivalence on the length of a man's hair in Greek culture. In vs. 10 He adds the notion that the woman has long hair so as "to have authority on her head "because of the angels." The meaning is not at all clear. It could be based on Gen. 6:1-4, the story of the angels taking human wives. If so the hair, as her authority (derived from her husband), is the symbol of her marriage and she becomes "off limits" to heavenly beings.

Paul seems to be conflicted in his own requirement regarding a woman's head covering as well as the husband being the head of the wife. He has invested significant spiritual energy to declare the Christian's freedom from the restrictions of the law (not from the commandments). In chapter 7 in his discussion of the marriage relationship he forged a definite image of freedom from such cultural norms. The husband and wife share an equality of authority, one over the other. They owe each other their conjugal rights and come to agreements in establishing brief periods of abstinence. He also partially liberalizes divorce with women gaining the right to separate (7:12), while retaining Jesus' command not to remarry. His conflict is demonstrated in the interjection of "nevertheless" in vs. 11. Paul affirms that the husband and wife are not independent of one another. A woman may have come from man but man comes through a woman and all of this is from God. He leaves the conflict unresolved, perhaps for future generations to solve. For now he will hold to his perspective in all "the churches of God."

First Corinthian Chapter 10:17-34 Abuses of the Lord's Supper

In vs. 2 Paul has commended the Corinthians for having followed the traditions he has taught them. But in the case of the Lord's Supper he cannot commend them. We do not have a good understanding of the Eucharist in the church this early in its development. It seems likely, from Paul, that the Lord's Supper was a true meal, shared together on a regular basis. It would have been a "Pot luck" dinner including the sharing of bread and wine as a commemoration of the Gospel Upper Room experience. In Corinth there was a class problem. The economically more prosperous who had servants would gather early, bringing food prepared for them. The poor artisans and slaves would come later bringing whatever they could. Rather than wait so that all could share equally, the participants that came early were not waiting. They proceeded to eat and drink such that the poorer Christians went hungry and the others got drunk!  

Another view that has been offered of what happened is that all arrived at the same time with the poorer participants having neither the time nor the means to bring anything. In this scenario those who did bring food and wine ate and drank what they brought, not offering anything to the others thus humiliating them. This may be the source of Paul's admonishment in vs. 22 that they should have eaten before they came together. In that way the Eucharist could retain its spiritual dignity as the central feature of the gathering. In either case the event has suffered abuse.

Paul instructs them in the content and meaning of the Lord's Supper. What he had received in his visionary experience "from the Lord" he had passed on to the church in Corinth. He writes of Jesus' actions in breaking the bread and sharing of the wine. He repeats the words of institution. The bread is a symbol of his body. The wine is a symbol of his blood of the new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34). Body and Blood together, he gives his very self "for" them. They are to do this every time they gather as a memorial, as a remembrance of Jesus' death until he returns.

The seriousness of what has happened in Corinth is made clear in Paul's instructions. They should examine themselves before partaking of the bread and wine. To partake without clearly understanding what they are doing, without knowing its mystical nature, is to incur judgment. Paul takes the matter further, associating the illness and death of some to their having participated in an unworthy manner. Had they understood and participated in a worthy manner, these things would not have happened. In Paul's understanding of cause and effect as belonging to God, what happened to them was a sign of the Lord's discipline.

His final words establish a way to achieve harmony in the gathering. Wait until everyone has arrived before you eat. If you are hungry eat at home and avoid the abuse of the sacred event that will bring condemnation.

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Note

In our tradition we receive the Eucharist once a month, which is, we suppose, in keeping with the instruction to receive the elements as often as we gather. The sacrament is a communal event, a shared time kneeling before the spirit of Christ that comes to us anew through the bread and the wine. Although we receive the elements as individuals we understand we are not alone. The mystery of the elements is found in an act of faith that believes Christ has given all that he was so that they will become all that he is within our lives to enrich our souls and through our lives to enrich the souls of others. There is no finishing at the altar rail. There is rising. There is being blessed. There is being filled and ready to take what has been received to a hungry world with what we have to offer.

May 29, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 10

First Corinthians Chapter 10

Originally posted Friday July 18, 2008

First Corinthians Chapter 10:1-22 Warnings from Israel's History

Paul has previously written regarding sexual immorality and idolatry as the two practices barring entry into God's kingdom. In this passage he revisits both issues with Israel's desert experience as background and warning. That Paul revisits these evils again demonstrates the concerns raised in his comments on food sacrificed to idols (8:1-13) and his mini essay on marriage and the dangers of unchecked passions (7:1-2). His reflection on Israel's experience serves two purposes. He can point to the Sinai event as an example of the two acts of disobedience (immorality and idolatry) and the tragic outcome among the Israelites.  This also demonstrates how he interprets the Old Testament stories both as historical warnings of the outcome of disobedience and as ancient texts written for the benefit of Christians, "as examples for us."

The Israelites were all "under the cloud and passed through the sea" (Exod. 13:21; 14:22 - the pillar of the cloud in which God guided them). They were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea - the giving of the commandments as a collective term for the entire law, They ate spiritual food (Deut. 8:3 Manna) and drank spiritual drink (Num. 20:9-11 from the rock). Paul identifies the rock which gives spiritual drink with Christ (as spiritually present). We recall a similar Christological idea in John 8:58, "I tell you, before Abraham was, I AM," which is a post-resurrection witness to the pre-existence of Christ. Paul takes this to mean that the spiritual food given through the Spirit to the Corinthians is the same as that given to the Israelites. This spiritual food is revelatory teaching against sexual immorality and idolatry, two flagrant acts of defiance of the law by Israel and two threats to the Corinthians.

Paul tells the story of God's anger against Israel's disobedience - Aaron fashioning the golden calf (Exod. 32:1-4 idolatry) and the people "[rising] up to play" (Exod. 32:5-6 sexual immorality). UsingNum. 21:5-6, Paul characterizes Israel's actions as putting God to the test and extends that warning to the Corinthians as it relates to God's commandments against idolatry and immorality. The Corinthians should not test the demand for holiness in living the new life in Christ. It is an indirect reminder of the inevitable future, the end of the ages which is already appearing (vs. 11), in which each everyone will stand before God in judgment. They must remain alert, watchful of their own behavior before and toward Christ lest they fall into sin, idolatry and immorality. They will be tested by these temptations, the allure of their passions and their former lives. But God will temper the power of temptation, providing "the way out" as God did for the Israelites of Sinai who inherited the promise given to Abraham.

Paul moves back to the more direct experience of the Corinthian church, using the mystical nature of the Eucharist as a way to explain the evil of idolatry. In the Eucharist the participants who partake of the bread and wine are symbolically sharing in the body and blood (the self) of Christ thereby mystically "participating" (joining) in Christ. He likens this to the Israelites who partake of the sacrifices offered to God thereby becoming "participants" (partners) with the altar. Participating in the altar through the eating of the sacrifice makes the participant holy. Participating in Christ through eating the bread and drinking the wine makes the participant holy. (Recall that this is John's understanding of the Eucharist as the means by which one reaffirms God's gift of eternal life through Christ.) Paul now carries this over as an analogy to offering sacrifices to idols. To make such a sacrifice is to participate, to be a partner joined with the idol thereby committing idolatry. He has already declared that idols and food sacrificed to idols are nothing. That is why food sacrificed to an idol can be eaten. However, while the idol is nothing and the deities they represent are nothing, their very nature as competitors with God make them demonic in nature. They are of Satan as are those who worship them. To sacrifice to an idol is to participate in and become partners of the demonic, becoming joined with the demonic.  The main point of Paul's extended warnings is that we cannot join ourselves with the demonic through sacrifice and join ourselves with Christ through the Eucharist at the same time. To do so is to "provoke the Lord to jealousy" and he the Lord has the stronger arm in the matter.

First Corinthians Chapter 10:23-11:1 Do All to the Glory of God

Paul concludes his discussion of eating food sacrificed to idols. The premise of the debate has been that "all things are lawful" but not all are beneficial nor do they "build up" the community. Yet we are not to take advantage of what is lawful to the detriment of a fellow Christian. Anything bought in the temple meat markets is acceptable as food. After all "the earth and its fullness are the Lord's." If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, eat whatever is served and do so with a clear conscience. If someone tells you the food has  been sacrificed to an idol then don't eat it for the sake of the conscience of the one who told you, not your own conscience, for no one can judge your liberty in Christ for doing what is correct. In this and all cases, do everything, even abstaining on behalf of another, in such a way as God's glory is served. In this and all things give no offense to anyone, try to please everyone not seeking your own advantage thus participating in their salvation. Last of all, Paul says, "be imitators of me as I am of Christ."

May 28, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 9

First Corinthians Chapter 9

Originally posted Thursday July 17

First Corinthians Chapter 9:1-27 The Rights of an Apostle

Someone has been casting doubts on the source of Paul's authority and hence his status as an apostle. Perhaps this had come by way of one of the traveling prophets from Jerusalem or the wider Palestinian area. We have already read in Acts of those early Jewish Christians who opposed Paul's mission among the Gentiles. They attempted to attach strict requirements of Jewish piety - including circumcision to allow conversion. It is also possible that the opposition came from within the Corinthian community from the influences of other apostles - Cephas and at least two of Jesus' brothers, who had been in Corinth after Paul.

Whatever the source, Paul offers his defense with a series of questions to whoever would challenge his right to be called an apostle. The Greek grammar of these queries requires an affirmative answer. "I am free, right?" He is free of the Law as a means of salvation. "I am an apostle, right?" He has "seen the [risen] Lord." "You are my work in the Lord, right?" He is the spiritual father of the Corinthian church having spent eighteen months among them. He then proceeds to present the rights associated with apostleship, which are derived by reference to what rights other apostles have taken for themselves. The big difference is that while other apostles have made use of these rights, Paul and Barnabas have not:

• The right to receive food and drink - They support themselves by "working for a living." Paul does not consider his work among the churches as employment. He gives examples from the Law, which was written for their sake: farming - the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain; goat herding; priests serving the Temple altar; and those in military service. All of these examples point out that the one who labors deserves his wages or a portion of the fruit of his work.
• The right to be accompanied by a believing wife (who also would receive food and drink) - Paul is not married as are Cephas and Jesus' brothers who have exercised their rights in Corinth.

Paul and Barnabas have "sown spiritual good" in Corinth; therefore is it not appropriate that they "reap [the] material benefits?" Indeed, others have made such a "rightful claim" on the community and they have done little by comparison to Paul and Barnabas. Do they not have an even greater claim? They do, but they did not wish to "put an obstacle in the way of the Gospel of Christ." Therefore, Paul did not make such claims on the church and he isn't asking to do so in this letter. Paul understands that the reward for his preaching the Gospel is greater than any support from the church. Indeed, if he is materially rewarded by the church for his preaching, he has no grounds for boasting, for such a reward becomes an obligation to be paid by his preaching of his own free will. Rather he does not preach of his own free will. He is compelled, driven by the spiritual necessity to do so. The greater reward he receives for his preaching is the very fact that he has done so "free of charge," making no claim on the rights allowed by his status as an apostle.

There are other benefits to Paul's sense of being free. His freedom from the Law and his old Pharisaic traditions allow him to be a servant to both Jews and Gentiles, the better to win more to Christ. He can proclaim the Gospel in a way that is understandable in both groups. He can speak "on their level," with their own cultural nuances. He can be a Jew among Jews; a Gentile among Gentiles; weak among the weak. All of this he will do that he might win them all for Christ. He has "become all things to all people" so that he might save as many as possible. He labors in the Gospel vineyard that he might share in its blessings.

Paul has his eye fixed upon his own reward, which does not come in material support, but from God. Using a sports metaphor he exhorts the church: run the race in such a way as to win it. As a spiritual athlete, exercise self-control - keep your eye on the finish line. The winner receives a wreath of laurel, which disappears in the dust. He invites them to be as he is: not running aimlessly and boxing with the air, but by controlling their passions. Paul has submitted himself to Christ in all things "so that after proclaiming to others [he will] not be disqualified."

May 27, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 8

First Corinthians Chapter 8

Originally posted Wednesday July 16

First Corinthians Chapter 8:1-13 Food Offered to Idols

The background of this passage is in Romans 14 in which dietary differences over what was clean and unclean had led to one group scoffing at another and passing judgment. Paul was direct in his charging those whose faith was more mature and ate without such restrictions with being sensitive to those who were weak and thought it sinful to eat certain types of meat. The strong have the responsibility of caution in their practices so that the weak will not be led astray.

The Corinthians have a similar problem with regard to eating meat. The distinguishing feature is not the kind of meat or the rejection of all meat by the "weak in understanding," but whether or not it has been sacrificed to one of the deities worshipped in Corinth's many temples (Egyptian, Roman and Greek). There are those in Corinth who believe that meat purchased at the temple butcher shops is somehow tainted by its association with and sacrifice to a pagan deity. Their concern is that eating such meat pays honor, even though indirectly, to that deity and so they will not eat it. Because they fear it is a form of worship they regard eating the meat as a sin if not a blasphemy against God.

As in 7:1 Paul starts by repeating the maxim: "all of us possess knowledge," included as part of the letter he has received from Corinth. While he cannot discount the value of knowledge - he has preached about the Christian spiritual knowledge which leads to a mature faith, he adds an addendum: "knowledge puffs up, but love build us." Knowledge can be incomplete and should be examined in light of one's devotion to God. As far as eating food offered to idols, Paul declares that no idol has any existence in itself as an object shaped by human hands. Further, whatever the idol supposedly represents as a heavenly deity, it has no existence.  He invites the Corinthians to consider the many "so-called gods and lords of heaven and on earth (Emperor)," There is but one God (Deut. 6:4) the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ. We should notice the distinction Paul makes between God and Christ. All things (creation) are "from" God and all things are "through" Christ (including the Christian life). This theology is very close to John's understanding of the Word: "All things that came into being came into being through him." (In many respects Paul and John share a tradition of the "High Christology" of Christ.)

Not everyone in the church has reached a maturity that rejects the existence of these pagan deities. Idols have been such a common part of their entire lives it is difficult for them to disassociate themselves from the last vestiges of belief. Rather than take any chances they have considered it prudent not to tempt fate. As a consequence, Paul characterizes their understanding as weak and, therefore, defiled by the very possibility of other gods, goddesses and lords they harbor.

Paul adds his own adage: "food will not bring us close to God." This can apply to the Jews who worry about the Levitical standards or the Gentiles who worry they are sinning even by indirectly associating themselves with idols through the food they eat. They are, Paul writes, no better off if they eat or do not eat such food. However, as Paul warned the Roman church (Rom. 14:13-15), the more mature still have a responsibility not to become a stumbling block to the weak by what they eat. The knowledge of the mature must not lead to the ruin of the weak who may see them eating meat in the temple and do the same. In their own minds, they would have deliberately sinned and, by guilt, feel fallen as a Christian. Paul is emphatic in his warning to those of mature knowledge in such matters, that should a fellow member (of "your family") be so tempted and fall, the one whose action is the source of that temptation has himself sinned against Christ to whom all belong. As for Paul, he would rather not eat meat at all if there were a chance of causing another to fall.

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Note

1) In vs. 5 Paul makes the interesting statement "there are many gods and many lords" but only one God of all creation, and one Lord, Jesus Christ. Of course, in Corinth there is a temple to the cult of the Roman Emperor who holds the titles divine, lord and savior. Paul would reject as blasphemy any worship of or sacrifice to the Emperor as either a god or a lord. Some scholars see Paul's comment about one God and one Lord as a deliberate and provocative challenge to Roman Imperial theology. Were Paul writing at the end of the first or beginning of the second century when persecution of Christians was more systematic and sacrificing to the Emperor became a test of one's Christian faith. In Paul's time, as he has written, there were many gods and lords, Roman, Greek and foreign. One more would not matter or be a threat. At the time Paul was writing Christianity was still considered a sect of the Jews and the Jews were exempt from honoring or sacrificing to the Emperor as divine. God was their one God and daily sacrifices were offered to the Emperor's well being in Jerusalem.

2) As Paul notes in vs. 10 he has such disregard for the reality of any other deity but God, even eating at a temple is irrelevant to one's closeness to God. The issue is to whom does one give one's complete and undivided devotion?

May 23, 2014 -on vacation until May 27, 3014

May 22, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 7

First Corinthians Chapter 7

Originally posted Tuesday July 15

First Corinthians Chapter 7:1-16 Directions Concerning Marriage

The problems that face the Corinthian church are more than spiritual rivalries that have led to inappropriate judging of others, sexual immorality and disputes over legal issues. There are also questions of how one lives the every day life of family, the human condition and marriage. While in Ephesus Paul received questions from the church related to these topics. They are an interesting insight into the members' spiritual understanding as they try to harmonize two distinct religious and sociological cultures. Marriage would be a major issue. In the Corinthian church there are mixed marriages of believers and non believers, often with children involved. There are unmarried and widowed persons wondering about their standing with respect to marriage and remarriage. There are serious divisions which have led to family dissolution and divorce. This is a sensitive issue given Jesus' stand against divorce and the more lenient view among Gentiles. Also there are questions from the circumcised and slaves wanting to know their new religion's teaching on their status.

The most important question was the overall issue of marriage. This would have affected essentially all of the adult members and their families in the community. The question is framed in an apparent teaching someone other than Paul has left with them, probably one of the itinerant prophets that traveled from church to church proclaiming their latest "word from the Lord" (Acts 11:27-30). Most of these prophets were of the apocalyptic variety, stressing the nearness of the Parousia (Jesus' return)."It is well not to touch a woman," they were told. The members want to know if this is from the Lord or an opinion. Paul's reasoning may leave something to be desired in the realm of advice for a good marriage. Marriage is better (acceptable) than succumbing to sexual desires apart from marriage. He recognizes the biological imperative of hormones! Once married the couple is to be sensitive to each other's needs which he frames in an archaic notion of conjugal "rights." His concept of marriage is based on a mutual sharing of authority over each other's body which frowns on "depriving one another" except for religious reasons (not headaches?). But even in such situations they must beware that such self imposed separations are not too lengthy. He seems to be thinking of a case in which one partner is taking a brief religious sabbatical and the concern that the other partner may not be so patient as to remain celibate too long. He believes such connubial separations joined by a lack of self control will give Satan an opportunity for temptation.

With respect to the unmarried and widows who have not remarried, he thinks it is better that they remain unmarried. Again, it is a matter of self control of one's passions which is central to such a decision, "For it is better to marry than be aflame with passion." Elsewhere Paul will write of the roll of widows in the community.

Addressing marriages of believers with unbelievers, Paul (and not the Lord) suggests that remaining married depends upon the consent of the unbeliever. Paul has in mind an established marriage in which either the husband or the wife has become a believer while the other has not. He hopes the relationship will withstand a mixed marriage thereby avoiding divorce. If divorce does happen, the believer is free to remarry, for "it is to peace that God has called [us]." He adds the serendipitous possibility that by staying in the marriage the believer might save the unbeliever for the unbelieving spouse is made holy by the believer and so their children will be holy as well.

First Corinthians Chapter 7:17-24 The Assigned Life

Paul recognizes that the community consists of the circumcised and uncircumcised, free and slave. He understands their "location in life" is the life the Lord has assigned and to which God has called them. Therefore they should remain as they are. He rejects any need for the Gentile to be circumcised and any submitting to the practice of epispasm (de-circumcision) which many Jews underwent during the Hellenistic influence of the previous four centuries. He reminds both Jew and Gentile that circumcision counts for nothing with respect to one's salvation. It will be their obedience to God's commandments that will matter.

As with circumcision, the slaves are not to be concerned about changing their status as slaves. After all, as slaves they are "freed person[s] belonging to the Lord," just the same as any non-slave belongs to the Lord, a slave of Christ. Paul does not mandate his position on remaining in slavery. He concedes the possibility that some will be able to gain their freedom and he does not think it wrong to do so. Rather, he exhorts the slave to use the present time well until freedom is granted. He does not explain what that might mean, or how the slave might act differently in the interim. Perhaps we are to conclude, based on Paul's opinion of staying within one's status, that the soon-to-be-freed slave could honor the Lord with his life as a freedman as much as he did as a slave. That may be the heart of his message on both questions - circumcision and slavery.

First Corinthians Chapter 7:25-40 The Unmarried and the Widows

Many New Testament scholars point to this passage as evidence that First Corinthians contains more than one letter which has been place together. Here Paul "returns" to the subjects of marriage and widowhood. The material is in response to further questioning from Corinth. Apparently eighteen months with Paul as a teacher has left a few loose ends. As one issue is resolved side issues arise. He begins by addressing the community's virgins whom he supposes to be all the women that have never been married, a reality he cannot be sure of in a Gentile city known for its temple prostitution and otherwise loose sexual proclivities. He offers his opinion - a trustworthy one, of course. His opinion is rooted in his apocalyptic outlook which tells him the end is near and the time of the end will be filled with distress. He characterizes this approaching time as the "present necessity;" meaning the absolute necessity to be ready and unflinching in one's faith. "Remain as you are," he writes. If married, stay married; If not, do not seek to be. But if one does marry there is no sin in doing so but one must thereby be prepared for distress "in the flesh (severe temptation)." The world will be as if it were upside down and inside out, for "the appointed time has grown short," and the very "form of this world is passing away." As he envisions the coming reign of God he sees the new age, the kingdom of God, as the time when all normal pursuits, positions and human entanglements will be utterly changed. Nothing and no one will be the same as before. It is in this light that he can write the litany of opposites: from now on let even those who have wives or mourn or rejoice or purchase goods or deal with the world act as if the opposite were so, for none of these things will matter when the time arrives.

To keep one's eye on the present world is a mistake. To seek the things of the present, such as marriage, is to lose sight of the future and be filled with anxiety. By example he points to marriage: those who are married set their minds on the demands of married life while those who are not set their minds on the affairs of Christ. In the approaching hour one needs to have an undivided mind and "unhindered devotion to the Lord." It is easy for us to dismiss Paul's compression of time as if the critical moment were as a sign in the sky. He has an intense certainty which escapes our understanding. We do not live as if we were at the intersection of the ages. History is littered with failed predictions of an imminent cosmic cataclysm. Perhaps it is as it should be. Perhaps we were meant to focus on the present, to do the best we can to live faithfully now, one day at a time, loving kindness, doing justice and walking humbly with our God. Perhaps Jesus was correct, that today has enough concerns to keep our attention and we should leave tomorrow to God. We will probably get more accomplished if we do.

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Note

Some social and religious historians have been highly critical of Paul's silence on the institution of slavery in the Roman world. It has been estimated there were as many as 2.7 million slaves in the Roman Empire of the first century. They were the engine of wealth much as they were in our country. Think of what would have happened to the Christian movement had Paul called for the abolition of slavery or he had instigated a slave rebellion, even a quiet "slow down" of work? Paul did not support slavery. He understood a more basic reality: all human beings are equal in status in God's mind just as all were equal in the church. All Christians were known as slaves of Christ, owing their lives, obedience and eternal destiny to him, not to any human master. Paul called for the slave to be as much a Christian in slavery as he or she would be as a non-slave. In our modern world we strive for advancement. We change careers, residences and even spouses to climb the ladder, not quite sure where it truly leads. Of course, there is nothing wrong with advancement which allows the use of our talents, skills and gifts. However, as Christians we are obliged to be prepared to answer the question of our conscience: are we practicing the highest values of our faith wherever we are, however low and however high? Does our success project the best of what it means to be a Christian or does the world in which we live hardly notice the one whose servant we pledged to be on that day standing before the Altar of God?

May 21, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 6

First Corinthians Chapter 6

Originally posted Monday July 14

First Corinthians Chapter 6:1-11 Lawsuits among Believers

Paul makes an obvious connection of his concern regarding groups judging one another with legal disputes which have arisen between or among church members. Previously he made the point that it was not the responsibility of the members to judge the moral lives of those outside the church. However, it was their duty to make such judgments within the church in matters of holiness as noted in the case of the man who was living with his stepmother. Taking this principle one step further he raises the issue of cases where there is a dispute between individual members. He writes, "Dare anyone of you having a dispute with another to be judged by the unrighteous and not before the saints?" Paul finds it utterly shameful that any dispute would be taken to the civil court for judging between one member and another. Even on the grounds that the Corinthian courts would be biased toward the wealthier, Paul might think true justice would not be served, especially if the one bringing the dispute were the wealthy party. But more importantly, he reminds them that the saints (the term Paul used for church members) in the new age will judge the world and even the angels! Certainly if that is the case they can handle ordinary disputes in the church! The unrighteous (non Christian) judges have no place, no spiritual standing in church matters (a rudimentary separation of Church and State?). Surely they can find someone among themselves with the necessary wisdom to judge the matter.

Putting aside the matter of using outside courts to judge an inside matter, the members ought not be suing one another in the first place. To do so is itself already a defeat for both parties in the case. It is better to be wronged and defrauded than to seek resolution outside the church or within. God will be the final judge in such matters. Those who have wronged or defrauded another member must beware, for such wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul uses the opportunity to emphasize just how spiritually dangerous their position is as he lumps them together with a long list of others who also will not inherit the kingdom. The listing of categories of evil and good acts is a typical style in Stoic and Cynic philosophical writings. Paul will frequently use such lists. The point is to force the one wronging or defrauding another to see themselves as part of the larger evil and unrighteousness of the world which he understands to be under or in Satan's domain (as did all Jews and Christians). Paul is not differentiating among these categories. He sees them all as being on the same level, not one more grievous than another. To wrong and to defraud (rob) is as unholy an act as the rest. The members should understand this for these categories once included some of them as well as those outside judges to which they had planned to turn for justice. But they were baptized, justified by God through faith, forgiven and are being sanctified by the Spirit of God in Christ. They must take care not to fall back into old ways lest they corrupt the community with their unholy leaven and be cut off from the kingdom of God.

First Corinthians Chapter 6:12-20 Glorify God in Body and Spirit

Paul begins to pull together some of his previous admonishments. He begins with a basic premise "All things are lawful for me," perhaps as a response to the Corinthian's misunderstanding of what being free entails. He adds the correctives that not all things are beneficial nor will he be dominated by anything. Regarding food (and drink and special days) he is free. It is after all just food that goes into the stomach and both of these will be destroyed in the grave. As for the body which he understands as the agent through which sinful acts are committed, it is for (belongs to) the Lord not for fornication (used specifically for sexual activity outside of marriage). This is important because we are all members of Christ and will share in his resurrection. Because this is true our bodies, which are the Lord's, are not to be defiled by immoral acts. Using the spiritual union between believer and Christ, he likens the joining of the body (as a member) which belongs to the Lord with a prostitute. To do so would mean a member in union with Christ is now a member in union with the prostitute and becomes, according to Gen. 2:24, "one body" with her. The two are mutually exclusive. One cannot be joined as one with Christ and joined as one with a prostitute. Paul sees the example of the prostitute (and other sexual immorality) to be a special case. Other sin is directed toward another but sexual immorality is directed towards one's self (body) which Paul has designated as the temple of the Holy Spirit within. Paul's summary exhortation reminds the Corinthians, in terms of their redemption through Christ and God's gift of the Holy Spirit that it is through the body that one can glorify God. The one in spiritual union with Christ belongs to Christ and it is through this union that one glorifies God.

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Vss. 2-3 contains Paul's assertion that the Corinthian Christians will judge the world and the angels. There are vague references to this ancient tradition of the twelve tribes being rulers and judges of the world in the Old Testament Book of Daniel as well as the Apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon, Esdras and Enoch. Most of the references are apocalyptic in nature: they relate to the end of the great cosmic battle between God and Satan, the defeat of Satan and the establishment of the reign of God. (See LK 22:28-30). 

Vs. 20 uses the term, "glorify God." This does not mean to add glory to God or to give him glory, as if either is possible for anyone to do by any word or deed. To glorify God in one's body is for our words and deeds to be seen as reflecting our relationship with God. In other words, God is glorified when God's presence is seen through how we live our lives. Paul understands the body (flesh and blood) as the medium, the instrument, through which sinful acts or holy acts have their opportunity. When a person is in spiritual union with Christ and seeking God's will God is glorified. Paul may use other terms such as "bring" glory to God, but they will all mean the same thing.

It is worth mentioning the thematic similarity of vs. 20 with that of the "Lord's" prayer in which the first line is "Let your name be hallowed (glorified)." The point of the next two lines is that the doing of God's will "on earth as in the heavens" brings about the reign of God by which God's name will be hallowed in the entire world.

May 20, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 5

Friday July 11, First Corinthians Chapter 5

First Corinthians Chapter 5:1-8 Sexual Immorality that Defiles the Church

Paul moves from the issue of divisions regarding one group judging another over questions of superior knowledge and enlightenment. He now addresses the more delicate subject of a reported case of sexual immorality within the community. He will use the opportunity to establish a precedent for dealing with moral issues within the church and to comment on the proper relationship with the "outside" world.

A man is living with his father's wife. The Greek text is much more blunt. The word translated as sexual immorality is "porneia" (fornication) from which we derive the word pornography. The immorality is "among you (plural)," a devastating criticism of the community in which the Holy Spirit should be dwelling. The woman is the man's stepmother. That she is the wife of his father creates a violation of Levitical Law (Lev. 27:20), which requires that the man be driven out of the community. Paul emphasizes the serious nature of the situation by claiming that not even the Gentiles would do such a thing - not historically valid among the aristocracy but we get his point. A deeper concern for Paul is that no one in the community is taking any action against this man whom Paul does not address or name. The members are arrogant and puffed up, terms he has already used to describe their party spirit. Perhaps this is some of that new knowledge, being in a more enlightened state that caused the divisions and so an "anything goes" spirit has begun to creep into the community. "We know what's going on but, hey, it's his business." As far as Paul is concerned it is their business. Such acquiescence is a poison ready to spread, like the corruption of a little leaven in the "whole batch of dough." Instead of acting the Corinthians are boasting about how enlightened they are - one might replace enlightened with libertarian, which rejects any overarching authority but the individual.

Instead of boasting they should be mourning and have already taken action to expel the man from the congregation. Paul exercises his apostolic authority passing judgment on the man "in the name of the Lord Jesus." He instructs the community to assemble - his spirit will be present with the power of the Lord. They are to "hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." This is not an end game for Paul. He understands the positive nature of such an order - and  it is an order. Only by an open condemnation of the man's behavior by the community, which until now has silently condoned his porneia, will the man come to understand the gravity of his position. He is consigned to Satan's realm and cut off from Christ and Christ's church. Perhaps this will be enough of a personal shock (and fear?) to lead him to repentance so that "his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (end of the age and judgment)."

Once the man (the spoiling leaven) has been removed from the community (the spoiled, leavened dough) it will be renewed; it will be clean and purified like a new batch of unleavened dough. The use of leaven as a metaphor for the presence of sin permeating the community which has not been purified by the removal of the leaven allows Paul to place the issue within the context of the cross. The purification of the community by casting out the man will be a reenactment of the Passover ritual of cleansing, casting out, the leaven from the homes before the feast day begins. It is a rite of purification perhaps here understood as a form of a baptism of the whole community. The purified community will then be prepared to celebrate anew the sacrifice of Christ the Paschal lamb, replacing the "leaven of malice and evil [with] the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." The expulsion of the porneia leads to its replacement by sincere obedience to individual and community holiness which is the gift of truth given by the Spirit.

First Corinthians 5:9-13 Judging Sexual Immorality

Paul clarifies his instruction about mingling with sexually immoral persons.  It would be impossible to make such a distinction in the world beyond the community where the Christian may by necessity of position or work associate with the "greedy and robbers or idolaters" in addition to the sexually immoral. He was referring only to anyone that "bears the name of brother or sister" within the community and is involved in such practices as noted for the world beyond the church. The proscription is within the community and one should not "even eat with such a person." Of course, Paul does not accept such behavior in the world any more than he does in the Church. But Paul's authority and the community's authority, is in the church and on behalf of God for the purity of the community. He cannot judge the world. That is up to God. As for the community, they are to "drive out the wicked person," apparently for his own good - ultimately. 

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Note:

Reading Paul's instructions regarding internal church discipline might be discomforting. We would rather follow the advisory "Don't ask, don't tell." It is the safe way. Besides, who are we to judge another? Didn't Jesus say, "He [or she] who is without sin cast the first stone?" Should we not follow Jesus' advice to take the time to check the several logs in our own eye before worrying ourselves with the one speck in someone else's eye? John Wesley believed that but he did not mean or imply that personal and corporate discipline are unnecessary. His Societies were subdivided into smaller Classes and Bands. These subdivisions served several functions. One of them was mutual accountability within the group for one's Christian life. This concept has been translated into the modern "Walk to Emmaus," widely encouraged by the Board of Discipleship and attended by United Methodists and members of many other denominations around the world. Part of the program, which emphasizes a commitment to personal piety, study and action, is the "Reunion Group," also known as "The Fourth Day." In small groups of four to six persons, participants meet weekly and hold each other accountable for their Christian practice. Part of that is sharing how one has and has not lived up to Christ's - and Wesley's, call upon our lives to strive for holiness. The theological premise for such small groups is that, as part of a community, we do not live in a vacuum. We are all part of the Christian community, supposedly brothers and sisters to each other, accountable to God as well as the family. Despite the assertion of William Henley's "Invictus," we are not the masters of our fate or the "Captain of our soul." Should we not hold our lives up to the candle of expectation? We do not need confessionals or the Sacrament of penance. We do need accountability for who we claim to be and the name we bear.

May 19, 2014 Corinthians I Chapter 4

First Corinthians Chapter 4

Originally posted Thursday July 10, 2008

First Corinthians Chapter 4:1-13 The Ministry of the Apostles

Paul has mentioned Cephas, the Apostle Peter, twice in his discussion of the party divisions in the church. We wish we knew more about the initial history of the church in Corinth. It is clear that its members were predominately Gentile. Paul's mention of Peter is good evidence of his presence in Corinth probably carrying out the mission to the Synagogue Jews. That the two greatest apostles did not see eye to eye on the issue of the status of Jewish practices is apparent. In one letter Paul calls Peter a hypocrite for his favoritism toward the Jewish Christians.

In his writing on the subject of the character of an apostle he mentions only Apollos, indicating he is considered an apostle and is still active in Corinth. He gives a basic review of the apostle's job description. Apostles are foremost servants of Christ. As servants they are "stewards" (agents) of God's mysteries (God's saving work from Abraham to Christ). As the guardians of the Gospel they (including Apollos) must be found trustworthy. As an aside he qualifies "found trustworthy" in terms of God's judgment. He is not concerned if he is judged by the church members or by the local government. He doesn't even know of any word or action for which he should judge himself. It is up to the Lord to judge him at the right time (upon Christ's return) when everyone will be judged according to the "purposes of the heart" (good and evil proceed from the heart). Until that time, he writes, "do not pronounce judgment."

Paul has written these words regarding the avoidance of judging others and leaving judgment to Christ at the time of his return for the benefit of the community. His quote "Nothing beyond what is written" is the safeguard against anyone thinking they have special knowledge or insight because they "belong" to one apostle or another and so are "puffed up" as if better than the others. What is written is what God promised through Abraham and which they received through his offspring and heir, Christ, all foretold in the Law and the prophets (God's salvation history). They can add nothing to what is written. What knowledge they have has been received as a gift. Therefore they have nothing to boast about. But of course they are boasting, dividing themselves in groups, one against the others, superior in knowledge and spiritual insight.

Paul applies a bit of his well known sarcasm to make his point against those who in their smugness feel spiritually above the rest. They have all they want. They have become rich, kings in fact. How wonderful if they were kings so that he and Apollos could be kings, too. But look at us: deemed last of all, a spectacle to the world. We are fools for Christ but you are so wise in Christ. We are weak and you are so strong. He turns the spotlight on his own experience as a stark comparison to their sense of themselves. We are held in disrepute, hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, beaten and homeless, weary from working to support ourselves and reviled. We are "the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things."

First Corinthians Chapter 4:14-21 A Fatherly Admonition

Paul retreats from his stern words lest he seem too harsh or that he is trying to put them to shame. He wishes to admonish them as his beloved children. He has, after all, become their spiritual father who first brought the Gospel to them, bringing them out of the darkness and into the light of Christ. His goal and his wish is that they become his "imitators" in all things. For that purpose Paul has sent Timothy (a model of what it means to imitate Paul) to remind them of what Paul has taught them - his ways and teachings in Christ Jesus. He changes his tone from admonition to warning. In his absence some have become arrogant and haughty in their attitudes toward one another and even toward Paul's teachings. But he is coming back to Corinth and he will see what power lies in the arrogant words of some.

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Note:

Paul spent eighteen months giving birth to the Corinthian community. He left them with the Gospel and a way to live it among themselves. As with all new ventures, time causes differences of opinion, different ways of doing things. What seems like new information can be received. Some will accept it as valid and some will not. In time some will feel that they have outgrown older ways and beliefs while they embrace the new and the more modern. In some respects Paul does notcriticize differing understandings of the Gospel message as long as the basic truth of what God did in Christ remains the foundation. Whatever is built upon this foundation must not put cracks in that foundation. What truly does disturb him is the arrogance shown when those who believe their new knowledge is better than that held by others judge the others as immature and unenlightened. It is in this light that he warns against any attempt to divide Christ, to say one view of Christ is more true than another. The party spirit in Corinth had labels derived from the Greek academia. There were "schools" of Paul, Cephas, Apollos and Christ. We have labels too: Fundamentalist, conservative, moderate, progressive, liberal and probably a few shades in between. Paul admonishes us not to take our labels too seriously, but to keep our eye on the foundation. If our point of view is not firmly rooted in the paradox of a God who cannot be captured by word or thought, yet who has acted in Christ for our transformation and through us the transformation of the world, who are we after all and why are we here?