First Corinthians: Church Problems#

Introductory Issues#

Purpose#

The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians demonstrates that lamentable conditions in the church do not characterize the postapostolic church alone. Aberrant beliefs and practices of astonishing variety and vulgarism flourished in the Corinthian church. It is to solve those problems that Paul writes this letter.

Previous Ministry in Corinth#

On first arriving in Corinth, according to Acts 18:1-18a, Paul made tents with Aquila and Priscilla. Sabbath days he preached in the synagogue. After Silas and Timothy rejoined him, he wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians; moved his preaching activity next door to the house of Titius Justus; converted Crispus, ruler of the synagogue; received from the Roman proconsul Gallio a dismissal of Jewish accusations against him; and ministered altogether one and a half years in the city.

A Lost Earlier Letter#

The statement in 1 Corinthians 5:9, “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people,” implies that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth an earlier letter, which has since been lost. The Corinthians misunderstood that letter to mean they were to dissociate themselves from all immoral people. Now Paul explains that he had in mind dissociation only from professing Christians who live in flagrant sin.

Time and Place of Writing#

First Corinthians, then, is really the second letter written by Paul to the church in Corinth. He writes it from the city of Ephesus during his third missionary journey. The end of his stay there has nearly come, for he is already planning to leave (16:5-8).

Some have translated 16:10, “when Timothy comes,” and inferred that Timothy will carry the letter to Corinth. But Acts 19:22 says that Paul “sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia [where Ephesus was located] a little longer.” This statement suggests that Timothy has gone to Macedonia by the time of writing and supports a better translation of 1 Corinthians 16:10: “if Timothy comes [from Macedonia to you in Corinth].”

Occasion#

Two events prompted the writing of 1 Corinthians:

1. the bringing of oral reports by the household of Chloe regarding contentions in the Corinthian church (1:11)

2. the coming of a delegation from the Corinthian church— Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus—with a letter asking Paul’s judgment on various problems, which he takes up successively with the introductory phrase, “Now concerning…,” or simply, “Now….”

It remains uncertain whether, having come from Corinth, they visited Paul in Ephesus or visited Corinth from Ephesus and reported back to Paul.

Municipal Background#

The city of Corinth was located on a narrow isthmus between the Aegean Sea and the Adriatic Sea. The voyage around the southern tip of Greece was dangerous. Many ships were therefore carried or dragged on rollers across the isthmus and put to sea again. For various reasons several attempts to dig a canal were abandoned.

As a juncture for commerce and travel, Corinth was quite cosmopolitan. The athletic games that used to be held there had ranked second only to the Olympics. The outdoor theater accommodated twenty thousand people; the roofed theater, three thousand. Temples, shrines, and altars dotted the city. Prostitution flourished. The south side of the marketplace was lined with taverns equipped with underground cisterns for cooling the drinks.

Archaeologists have discovered numerous drinking vessels in these liquor lockers; some bear inscriptions, such as “Health,” “Security,” “Love,” and the names of gods. It is natural that a church set in such extreme paganism should bristle with problems. First Corinthians deals with them almost entirely.

Second Corinthians: Paul’s Conception of His Ministry#

Introductory Issues#

Tone#

More than any other letter of Paul, 2 Corinthians allows us a glimpse into his inner feelings about himself, about his apostolic ministry, and about his relation to the churches he founded and nurtured. This letter is autobiographical in tone, then, though not in framework or substance.

The Painful Visit#

After writing 1 Corinthians from Ephesus, Paul found it necessary to make a “painful visit” to Corinth and back — painful because of the strained relationship between him and the Corinthians at the time. Luke does not record this visit in Acts.

It is to be inferred, however, from 2 Corinthians 12:14; 13:1-2, where Paul describes his coming visit as the “third.” Apart from the inferred painful visit, he has visited Corinth only once before. The statement in 2 Corinthians 2:1, “For I decided not to make another painful visit to you,” implies a past painful visit that can hardly be identified with his first coming to give them the joyful tidings of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Lost “Sorrowful Letter”#

Whatever the reason for Paul’s making the short, painful visit, he was unsuccessful in bringing the church into line. On returning to Ephesus, therefore, he wrote a now lost “sorrowful letter” to Corinth, which at first he regretted having sent (2 Corinthians 2:4; 7:8). Despite frequent attempts at identification, his descriptions of the sorrowful letter do not fit 1 Corinthians, which exhibits considerable criticism on Paul’s part, but hardly sorrow. So the sorrowful letter is his second lost one to Corinth.

It commanded the church to discipline an obstreperous individual who was leading the opposition against Paul (2 Corinthians 2:5-10). Titus carried the letter to Corinth. Meanwhile, knowing that Titus would return via Macedonia and Troas and being anxious to hear from Titus the reaction of the Corinthians, Paul left Ephesus and waited in Troas. When Titus failed to arrive quickly, Paul went on to Macedonia, where Titus finally met him and reported the good news that the majority in the church had repented of their rebellion against Paul and had disciplined the leader of opposition to him (2 Corinthians 2:12-13; 7:4-16).

Occasion#

Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Macedonia on his third missionary journey:

1. to express relief and joy at the favorable response of the majority of Corinthian Christians (chapters 1-7)

2. to stress the collection that he wants to gather from the church for the Christians in Jerusalem (chapters 8-9)

3. to defend his apostolic authority to the still recalcitrant minority (chapters 10-13).

The Integrity of 2 Corinthians#

It has been argued that 2 Corinthians 10-13 is at least part of the otherwise lost sorrowful letter, because Paul changes his tone from happiness in chapters 1-9 to self-defense in chapters 10-13. But the distinction does not entirely hold true, for self-defense crops up also in chapters 1-9 (see 1:17-2:4, 17; 4:2-5; 5:12-13). The difference in emphasis may be due to Paul’s addressing primarily the repentantmajority in chapters 1-9, primarily the still-recalcitrant minority in chapters 10-13. Or fresh news of revived opposition may force him to change his tone from the tenth chapter onward.

Several considerations militate against dividing 2 Corinthians into two originally separate letters:

1. if written earlier as the sorrowful letter, chapters 10-13 would likely precede chapters 1-9

2. though firm in tone, chapters 10-13 do not exhibit sorrow

3. chapters 10-13 contain nothing about insulting behavior by the leader of Paul’s opposition, yet that was the subject matter of the sorrowful letter according to 2:5

4. 12:18 mentions a previous visit of Titus, which must have been for delivering the sorrowful letter; but according to the theory of partition, 12:18 is itself part of the sorrowful letter!

A Summary of Paul’s Relationships with the Corinthian Church#

• Paul evangelizes Corinth during his second journey.

• Paul writes a lost letter in which he commands the Corinthian church to dissociate from professing Christians who live immorally.

• Paul writes 1 Corinthians from Ephesus during his third journey to deal with a variety of problems in the church.

• Paul makes a quick, “painful” visit from Ephesus to Corinth and back to straighten out the problems at Corinth but fails to accomplish his purpose.

• Paul sends another lost letter, called the “sorrowful letter,” in which he commands the Corinthians to discipline his leading opponent in the church.

• Paul leaves Ephesus and anxiously waits for Titus, first at Troas and then in Macedonia.

• Titus finally arrives with good news that the church has disciplined Paul’s opponent and that most of the Corinthians have submitted to Paul’s authority.

• Paul writes 2 Corinthians from Macedonia (still on the third journey) in response to Titus’s favorable report.

Romans: The Gift of Righteousness Through Faith in Christ#

Introductory#

Theme#

Justification by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ makes up the great theme of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Jesus himself implied something similar in his parables of the prodigal son, the Pharisee and the tax collector, the laborers in the vineyard, and the great supper. The same implication lies behind his statement, “I did not come to call righteous people but sinful people to repentance” (Luke 5:32), and behind his dealings with Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).

Thus Paul did not invent a doctrine of free forgiveness; rather, he developed it in his own distinctive way. The doctrine receives its most systematic treatment in his letter to the churches at Rome.

Founding of the Churches in Rome#

Toward the end of the first century, Clement of Rome suggested that Paul and Peter were martyred in his city. By the time of Tertullian (early third century) the church at large had generally accepted this tradition. The churches in Rome, however, were probably not founded by an apostle, certainly not by Paul and almost certainly not by Peter.

The Roman historian Suetonius wrote that the emperor Claudius banished Jews from Rome in A.D. 49 or 50 because of rioting at the instigation of one called “Chrestus,” probably a misspelling of “Christus” (Latin for Christ), accompanied by a misunderstanding of preaching about Christ as preaching by him If so, Christianity had already gone to Rome. But Peter was still in Jerusalem at the Jerusalem Council, about A.D. 49.

In Romans, moreover, Paul makes no reference and sends no greeting to the Apostle Peter. Perhaps then some of the Jews and proselytes from Rome who were visiting Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost converted to Christ and carried the gospel back to Rome at the very dawn of church history (Acts 2:10).

Jewish or Gentiles?#

Some scholars maintain that the Roman churches consisted mainly of Jewish Christians. In favor of this view they cite Paul’s emphasis on the Jewish nation in chapters 9-11, appeal to the example of Abraham, quotations of the Old Testament, and passages in which Paul appears to be arguing against Jewish objections (2:17-3:8; 3:21-31; 6:1-7:6; 14:1-15:3).

But according to chapters 9-11, God has temporarily turned his attention from the Jewish nation to the Gentiles; so these chapters may rather indicate that the original audience of the letter consisted mainly of Gentile Christians. The appeals of Paul to Abraham and to the Old Testament may reflect his own Jewish background, not the background of his audience—or if theirs, Gentile proselytes’ and God-fearers’ knowledge of the Old Testament gained through attendance at synagogues prior to Christian conversion. Paul appeals to Abraham, moreover, to include Gentile believers alongside Jewish believers. And the answering of typically Jewish objections may stem from Paul’s frequent debates with unbelieving Jews and with Judaizers, the latter of whom tried to proselytize Gentile Christians, rather than from a Jewish Christian address for the letter.

A number of passages demonstrate the predominantly Gentile composition of the Roman churches:

• Paul writes in 1:5-6, “among all the Gentiles … among whom are you also.”

• In 1:13 he writes, “among you just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.”

• His statement, “I am speaking to you Gentiles” (11:13), characterizes the Roman churches as a whole, not a minority within them; for in 11:28-31 the audience is said to have obtained mercy because of Jewish unbelief.

• In 15:15-16 he speaks of his writing to them in conjunction with his ministry “to the Gentiles.”

Time and Place of Writing#

Paul has just completed collecting an offering for Christians in Jerusalem during his third missionary journey (15:25-26). He writes from Corinth, for Gaius the Corinthian is hosting him at the time (16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14). The mention of Erastus, a city treasurer (16:23), supports Corinth as the place of writing, for an inscription discovered in Corinth and dating from the first century reads, “Erastus, the commissioner of public works, laid this pavement at his own expense.”

Strictly, “commissioner of public works” represents a lower office than that of “city treasurer,” but it is natural to think either that Erastus advanced from commissioner to treasurer or that he was demoted from treasurer to commissioner. It also remains possible that the two titles are roughly synonymous.

Further support for Paul’s writing from Corinth is found in the commendation of Phoebe, who belongs to the church at Cenchrea right by Corinth. This commendation probably indicates that she will carry the letter from Corinth to Rome (16:1-2).

Purpose#

Paul writes Romans to prepare believers living in Rome for his first visit to their city. For a long time he has been intending to visit but has been prevented (1:13; 15:22-24a). He purposes to strengthen the Roman Christians in their faith (1:11, 15) and to win their financial support for his projected mission to Spain after visiting Rome (15:24, 28). For the most part, what he writes seems to be what he has on his mind to tell Jewish Christians in Jerusalem when he arrives there with the offering he has been collecting for them.

He fears that the tension between Jewish and Gentile Christians in the East may have reached such proportions that the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem will refuse the offering because of its having been collected largely from Gentile Christians in Macedonia and Achaia and delivered personally by himself as the apostle to Gentiles (15:30-31). He also knows enough about the churches in Rome to warn Gentile Christians against boasting of superiority over Jewish Christians (11:17-32) and against despising them for their ritual observances (14:1-23).

Claudius’s banishment from Rome of Jews, including Jewish Christians, must have left the churches there in the charge of Gentile Christians who very likely are trying to maintain control even now that Jewish Christians are returning to Rome, along with other Jews, after the death of Claudius.

Paul’s warnings signal the fear of a full-scale rupture between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome as well as in the East. So he presents in Romans what he will present in Jerusalem, the gospel of justification by faith for Jews and Gentiles alike as the basis of Christian unity — but unity not for its own sake; rather, for the sake of further evangelism such as he plans to pursue in Spain. A rupture in Rome would spoil his chances of getting very much support for the Spanish mission.

Personal Greetings#

Because Paul knows only certain of the Christians in Rome, those who have moved there since he became acquainted with them elsewhere, Romans is more formal than any of Paul’s other letters. Nevertheless, chapter 16 contains many personal greetings; and he sends them even though he has never visited Rome.

The only other long series of greetings in Paul’s letters appears in Colossians, sent to another city he had never visited. Probably to establish friendly relations with churches he has never visited, then, Paul emphasizes his previous acquaintance with Christians who have moved to such churches; and to avoid favoritism he omits individual greetings in letters to churches he has founded

Ephesians offering the special case of a circular letter to churches that he has neither founded nor visited

Textual Confusion#

Ancient manuscripts vary widely on the position of the doxology at 16:25-27 in English Bibles and on the position of the benediction in 16:20. The confusion may derive from Marcion, a Gnostic who possibly omitted chapters 15-16 because they contain Old Testament and Jewish references disagreeable to his anti-Judaistic way of thinking. The confusion may be compounded by a truncated form of the letter lacking chapter 16, for which there is ancient textual evidence. Because of the personal greetings in that chapter, some editions probably omitted it to adapt the letter for circulation throughout the Christian world.

The Development of Thought in Romans#

Introduction#

In the opening part of this letter Paul greets his audience and mentions his hope of visiting them in order that he may preach the gospel in Rome as elsewhere (1:1-15). He then states his theme in 1:16-17: the good news of deliverance from sin by the giving of God’s righteousness to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ.

The Plight: Sinfulness#

The first main section delineates the need for justification because of human sinfulness (1:18-3:20). The latter half of chapter 1 describes the wickedness of the Gentile world, chapter 2 describes the self-righteousness and sin of the Jewish world, and the first half of chapter 3 summarizes the guilt of all humanity. It should be noted that for Paul, sins in the plural symptomize the root problem of sin in the singular as a dominating force in non-Christian existence.

The Remedy: Justification#

As a remedy for the sinful plight of humanity, according to the second main section (3:21-5:21), God has provided justification. The latter half of chapter 3 presents the sacrificial death of Christ as the basis of justification and faith as the means of appropriating the benefits of his death. Chapter 4 portrays Abraham as the great example of faith, against the rabbinic doctrine of Abraham’s store of merit so excessive that other Jews can draw on it. Chapter 5 lists the manifold blessings of justification—peace, joy, hope, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and others — and contrasts the unbeliever’s position in Adam, where sin and death take effect, and the believer’s position in Christ, where righteousness and life eternal take effect.

The Outcome: Sanctification#

In the third main section the discussion progresses to the topic of sanctification, or holy living (chapters 6-8). Should believers sin in order that God may exercise his grace all the more and thus gain more praise for himself? No! Baptism illustrates death to sin and coming alive to righteousness (chapter 6). This kind of sanctification does not consist in self-generated attempts to keep the Old Testament law, which can give only a sense of defeat, or in any human ability to surmount the demonic control of sin over human conduct (chapter 7). Rather, the Spirit of Christ gives overcoming power. Thus chapter 8 climaxes in a burst of praise: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul lists the possibilities and denies them all.

A problem: Israel’s Unbelief#

But despite divine covenants and other privileges, Israel appears to be separated from the love of Christ. So Paul’s discussion turns to the problem of Israel in the fourth main section (chapters 9-11). Because of his own Jewishness, he is keenly concerned about the fate of his fellow Jews. All along he has been claiming that the gospel is no innovation, but a derivative from the Old Testament and a fulfillment of all that Abraham, David, and the prophets stood for. But if so, why have Jews by and large failed to accept the truth of this claim? Does rejection of the gospel by a Jewish majority imply a flaw in Paul’s claim? By way of answer, chapter 9 stresses the doctrine of election, God’s right to choose whomever he wishes. It is perfectly legitimate, argues Paul, for the sovereign God to do with Israel and the Gentiles what he wants to do. And it is as much God’s prerogative to choose the Gentiles now as it was for him to choose the Jews earlier. But his current turn from Israel is not capricious, for Israel deserves it on account of her self-righteousness and refusal to believe what she has both heard and understood in the gospel (chapter 10). Furthermore, God’s turning from Israel is only temporary and partial. By believing in Christ, a Jew may gain salvation as easily as a Gentile does; and in the future God will restore the whole nation to his favor. Meanwhile, Gentiles enjoy equality with Jews (chapter 11).

The Obligation: Christian Precepts#

The fifth main section contains practical exhortations for Christian living, including commands to obey governmental authorities and to allow freedom on ritual issues (chapters 12-14).

Conclusion#

Paul concludes the letter by stating his plans in detail and sending greetings at length (chapters 15-16).

Summary#

Paul writes 1 Corinthians to solve problems that have arisen in the church at Corinth. At the time he is staying in Ephesus during his third missionary journey. An oral report has reached him concerning some of those problems, and a letter of inquiry from the Corinthian church had alerted him to others. The problems consist of:

• factionalism

• sexual immorality

• lawsuits

• marriage and divorce issues

• food dedicated to idols

• the bareheadedness of women praying and prophesying in church meetings

• desecration of the Lord’s Supper

• uncontrolled tongues-speaking

• denial of a future resurrection

• the business of collecting money for an offering to the church in Jerusalem.

With apostolic authority Paul commands a halt to the hero worship that gave rise to

• factionalism

• discipline of a particularly immoral church member

• the settlement of lawsuits between Christians within the church rather than in external courts

• sexual morality

• sexual satisfaction within marriage

• celibacy as a possibility for those with a gift for it

• no divorce and remarriage for Christian couples, but at most separation and the single life with a preference for reconciliation

• the maintenance of marriages to non-Christians, given their willingness

• marriage only to a fellow Christian on the part of a widow

• freedom to eat anything so long as the eating does not do spiritual harm to someone with a theologically uninformed conscience

• nonparticipation in pagan banquets

• head-coverings for women praying and prophesying in church meetings

• discontinuance of love feasts

• celebration of the Lord’s Supper in unison and with self-examination

• tight controls on speaking in tongues

• the exercise of spiritual gifts out of communal love rather than private enjoyment

• belief in a future resurrection of the body after the pattern of Christ’s bodily resurrection in the past

• a regular laying aside of money prior to Paul’s arrival to take the collection to Jerusalem.

Paul writes 2 Corinthians from Macedonia on his third missionary journey. The letter exhibits three purposes.

1. The first is to commend the majority in the church at Corinth for their having disciplined an opponent of Paul, and to command the restoration of that opponent in view of his repentance.

2. The second is to urge liberality in the laying aside of money that Paul is coming to collect for the church in Jerusalem.

3. The third purpose is to defend his apostleship against a minority in the church who seem still opposed to him.

Throughout, but especially in its first and third sections, this letter sounds a heavily autobiographical note.

In Corinth on his third missionary journey, Paul writes Romans to churches he has neither founded nor visited. He wants to prepare them for his upcoming visit and solicitation of financial help for a subsequent mission to Spain. But tension between Jewish and Gentile Christians threatens this and the wider missionary endeavor; so Paul discusses at length God’s impartiality.

After preliminaries, Paul establishes the sinfulness of all human beings; provides the one and only remedy in God’s righteousness; indicates the outcome in holy living by Spirit-filled believers; outlines the temporary rejection and ultimate restoration of Israel as a benefit to Gentiles; spells out a batch of precepts for Christian conduct; and concludes with his plans, a commendation of Phoebe, greetings, a warning against false teachers, a benediction, and a doxology.