Epistle of 1 Corinthians
The Issue of Division at the Church in Corinth
In my 1&2 Corinthians class last week we were discussing the issue(s) of division at Corinth and were tying to find near-contemporary equivalents of the issue Paul mentions. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:10-16 says: “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there [...]
Sorry, I don’t see a “rapture” in 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18.
Every time I discuss the so-called “rapture” with someone they take me to 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18, but I don’t see the concept there. In v. 15 I find the “appearing/coming of the Lord” (τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ κυρίου). When we consider other Pauline themes of the resurrection of the dead and Christ’s reign I don’t see [...]
Syntax questions for 1 Corinthians 11.13-16.
For those who are more gifted in understanding how language works please assist me with these two questions: (1) Since the question mark (;) would not have been at the end of v. 13 or in the middle of v. 15 until added later for clarification is it possible to read these vv. as a [...]
Saturdays in Second Temple Judaism: the sons of God and the daughters of men.
As creepy as this sounds (and as offensive as it is to modern sensibilities) there does seem to be a strong tradition for interpreting Genesis 6.1-3 as having to do with angelic beings having sexual relations with female humans. There is some speculation in the Jewish tradition regarding this text. The author of 1 Enoch [...]
What does nature teach us? (Romans 1.26-27; 1 Corinthians 11.14-15)
I purchased Richard B. Hays The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics this weekend. I am sure that the author would have preferred that I read the first part of the book before going straight to the chapter on homosexuality, but I didn’t. As someone who was born [...]
Saturdays in Second Temple Judaism: Ways to be expelled from the Qumran community
According to Geza Vermes there was a difference between “entering the Covenant and entering the Community” at Qumran (The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English: Revised Edition, 34). If I understand him correctly, once one has gone through the long process of being accepted into the community they are then allowed to participate in Council [...]
Is the Shema in 1 Corinthians 8.6?
Kevin Brown launched a discussion across a handful of blogs when he asked whether or not 1 Cor. 8.6 (“…there is but one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through him.”) is an interpretation of the Shema (Deut. 6.4). James McGrath maintained his well-established position [...]
The Law of Sin and Death (Romans 8.2)
As you may be aware the thesis that I am writing is titled “Creation Waits: The Pauline Interpretation of the Book of Genesis in the Epistle to the Romans with Emphasis on 8.1-25″. I may be finding what I am seeking simply because I seek to find it, but I am more and more convinced [...]
“Caught up together” in 1 Thessalonians 4.17
I have not used the word “rapture” for some time now when describing the second coming of Christ as it is described in 1 Thess. 4.15-18. In part, I think this has been due to the popular understanding of the word and the subsequent implications. The Left Behind series of fictional novels and other books [...]
A Pauline Millennium?
Last week I was asked what I thought of the doctrine of the millennium. I had to answer honestly, “I don’t know.” I explained that I see it mentioned in the Book of Revelation and it seems to lead toward the new heavens and the new earth. But I struggle with the vision of the [...]
The Gospel According to the Apostle Paul
What is the gospel? This is a popular discussion topic these days. Most people are aware of the group known as The Gospel Coalition that organized around a common desire to better understand the gospel (it is worth stating it is very debatable whether or not this has been successful since when many think of [...]
A Primary Confession: Jesus is the Resurrected Lord
Yesterday I asked whether or not the Apostle’s Creed should function as the minimum confession for Christian fellowship (here). There were plenty of great responses on this blog as well as on other blogs (e.g. the person who noted that the Old Roman Symbol is likely older). Some thought I was setting the bar too [...]
Glossolalia in Public: Pondering the Lukan-Pauline Tension
Those familiar with the Book of Acts are well-aware that the author seemed to have had a positive understanding of glossolalia or “speaking in tongues”. In 2.1-14; 10.44-48 and 19.1-7 (and possibly 8.14-24) we have a public display of the sign. The first being on the Day of Pentecost amongst Jews in Jerusalem. The second [...]
Thiselton or Fee (or Other) on 1 Corinthians?
T.C. Robinson recently commented here on this blog saying that he prefers the work of Anthony C. Thiselton to Gordon D. Fee on 1 Corinthians. For many years I have heard people say Fee is the best commentator on this epistle. Since I do not have enough reading experience with either I would like to [...]
Quote of the Day
Anthony C. Thiselton, in the Preface of his smaller commentary “First Corinthians: A Shorter Exegetical and Pastoral Commentary” writes: I seldom had either my earlier commentary or any other open on my desk as I wrote this one. A lifetime of research on 1 Corinthians allowed me to simply “think” as I wrote. That I [...]
Why I Denounced the Doctrine of “Initial Evidence”
In a previous post that I have written today regarding the Holy Spirit there was a short discussion between Joseph Landlaw and myself where I wrote that I deny the doctrine of initial evidence. In response to this he asked three questions that I thought could only be answered with a full blog post . [...]
The Verb “Love”
In modern English translations, the famed love passage in 1 Corinthians 13 is often translated with adjectives. I thought it interesting that in the original language, where the words that tell us about love are translated as adjectives, those words are actually verbs. While I have no special attachment to the King James Version, I [...]
Reading the Old Testament Near Emmaus
In Luke 24.13-35 we have the story of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus after the crucifixion of Christ. Christ appears in their midst but they do not recognize him. On their journey Christ rebukes their attitude about his death showing from the Scriptures that this was the way things had to happen. [...]
Proclaiming Foolishness: The Timeless Beauty of the Crucifixion
If you have ever read this blog it will quickly become apparent that I admire the Apostle Paul. I find his writings beyond value. Nevertheless, there is one paragraph that very may well qualify as my favorite and it can be found in 1 Corinthians 1.18-25 which reads: For the word of the cross is [...]
The Apostle Paul as Witness of the Resurrection
The other day I noted that I agree with J.R.D. Kirk who wrote, “I believe in the resurrection not because of the evidence…but because Paul believed in and I believe him” (see here). I think we may have been misunderstood as promoting some sort of bumper sticker theology to the equivalent of “Paul said it, [...]
After Death: Do You Imagine ‘Heaven’ or ‘Resurrection’ as Primary?
I read an article recently written by James P. Ware titled “Paul’s Hope and Ours: Recovering Paul’s Hope of the Renewed Creation”. [1] In this article he chastises his fellow Lutherans for giving too much attention to ‘heaven’–which he understands to be a mere intermediary state for the Apostle Paul (I agree)–to the exclusion of [...]
Discerning the S/spirits? Divine and Human?
I found Gordon Fee’s reading of Paul’s reference to the gift of the “discerning of spirits” in 1 Corinthians 12:10 to be a bit surprising. In God’s Empowering Presence [1] he argues that we have been reading this phrase through the lens of 1 Jn 4.1 when we ought to read it through 1 Thes [...]
Pentecostal and Non-Pentecostal Approaches to the Holy Spirit: A Unique Observation from Gordon Fee
This morning as I was reading through Gordon D. Fee’s God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul something he wrote summed up my own feelings (understanding?) regarding how Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals understand the Holy Spirit. Before I expound on this let me provide you with the quote. Fee writes, As with [...]
Prophecy More Valuable Than Glossolalia
Here is another interesting thought from James D.G. Dunn on the Apostle Paul’s pneumatology. This time he focuses on Paul’s understanding of the gifts of glossolalia and prophecy: Paul envisages conversion (to the Spirit) as an unveiling, evoking the experience of a veil being removed, of eyes being opened. Any university teacher, and, hopefully, all [...]
Sometimes the Greatest is Hope
I know the Apostle Paul wrote, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). Yet I think that sometimes hope is the most essential for those other two to even exist. If we have hope for tomorrow, we find it easier to love the One [...]
A Critique of Speaking in Tongues: Part Six: Juxtaposing Individual and Group Conversion Narratives
As we seek to understand the authorial intention, regarding those narratives in the Book of Acts where it is recorded that those converted spoke in tongues, amongst other miraculous signs, we must ask if there is something different taking place in those narratives recording individual conversions. For anyone to teach, as many Pentecostals do, that [...]
Stupid Love? Halden Doerge on 1 Corinthians 13
Halden Doerge of the blog Inhabitatio Dei has written a post on the absurdity of 1 Corinthians 13. While this may sound like something you wouldn’t want to read, it in fact is a worthwhile piece. Too often we read over 1 Corinthians 13, we read all the great things Paul has to say about [...]
The Apostle Paul: The Last to Meet Jesus Before the Parousia?
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 the Apostle Paul recalls the creedal affirmation of the early church that Jesus (1) died according the Scriptures, (2) he was buried, and (3) he was raised again on the third day according to the Scriptures. This is followed by grounding his Christ-event interpretation of the Torah on the basis that [...]
A Journey Through Corinth
Matthew R. Malcom, of the blog ‘Crypto-Theology’, has a fine series of post on 1 Corinthians. He covers topics such as “resurrection in Corinth”, “death in Corinth”, the misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper, “head-coverings and worship”, and so forth. He also includes a lot of pictures from archaeological discoveries around Corinth. To read his posting [...]
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