The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (111 page)

In chaps. 10—13, Paul's defense of his apostolic authority becomes much more intense. Paul was no longer confident that the Corinthians would recognize the false apostles for what they were or that they would reaffirm his own apostolic authority. Paul wrote these chapters to urge the Corinthians to reject the false apostles and their message and to embrace again the gospel that Paul had preached. Paul also wrote to announce his plans to make a third visit to Corinth. Finally, he wrote to urge the Corinthians to examine their faith to determine whether it was authentic.

LITERATURE

Literary Plan

The literary plan of 1 Corinthians is in some ways much simpler than that of other Pauline letters. After his introduction and customary prayer of thanksgiving, Paul systematically addressed issues of concern from oral reports relayed to Paul by those of Chloe and representatives of the Corinthian church. Paul then addressed questions posed to him in a letter from the Corinthians. The responses to questions from the letter begin in 1 Cor 7:1 as indicated by the introduction “About the things you wrote.” New topics culled from the Corinthians’ letter are introduced using the construction “now concerning”
(peri de)
, which appears in 1 Cor 7:1, 25, 37; 8:1; 12:1; and 16:1, 12. Rather than following an elaborate literary plan based on rhetoric or epistolary conventions, Paul simply addressed one issue after another as they were raised to him. Paul concluded his letter with his customary greeting and blessing.

Efforts to understand the literary plan of 2 Corinthians are complicated by the many theories of interpolation that regard 2 Corinthians as a composite of several different letters rather than a single literary document. Several scholars have attempted rhetorical classifications of 2 Corinthians and have sought to understand the structure of the letter based on rhetorical analyses. However, no single classification or analysis has won wide support. So many different analyses have been proposed that M. Harris concluded: “The practice of rhetorical criticism seems to be more of an art than a science, with the highly subjective nature of the enterprise reflected in the wide divergence between the findings of the practitioners.”
⁵¹

Other scholars have attempted to analyze the chiastic structure of the letter. Again, no single analysis has won the favor of a large number of scholars. Chiastic analyses tend to locate the center of the chiasm, which is typically the climax and emphasis of the construction, in an unlikely place or match elements in the proposed chiasm based on artificial similarities.
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The majority of commentators prefer to analyze the structure of the letter based on content alone. Such a procedure divides the letter into three major sections consisting of chaps. 1-7, 8-9, and 10—13.

OUTLINES

1 CORINTHIANS

1. INTRODUCTION (1:1-9)
   
   1. Salutation (1:1-3)
      
   2. Prayer of Thanksgiving (1:4-9)
      
2. RESPONSETO ORAL REPORTS (1:10-6:20)
   
   1. A Proper Perspective on Christian Ministers and Ministry (1:10-4:20)
      
      1. The Problem of Disunity (1:10-17)
         
      2. The Sin of Dependence on Personal Abilities (1:18-25)
         
      3. The Sin of Personal Boasting (1:26-31)
         
      4. Paul, a Model of Dependence on God (2:1-5)
         
      5. Spiritual Wisdom versus Worldly Wisdom (2:6-16)
         
      6. The Immaturity of the Corinthians (3:1-9)
         
      7. God's Evaluation of Christian Ministry (3:10-17)
         
      8. Final Argument Against Human Boasting (3:18-23)
         
      9. Paul's Example of Christian Ministry (4:1-20)
         
   2. Immorality in the Church (5:1-13)
      
   3. Disputes Between Believers (6:1-11)
      
   4. Limitations on Freedom in Christ (6:12-20)
      
3. RESPONSES TO A LETTER FROM THE CORINTHIANS (7:1-16:4)
   
   1. Matters Related to Sex and Marriage (7:1-40)
      
      1. To the Married (7:1-7)
         
      2. To Singles and Widows (7:8-9)
         
      3. To Those in Difficult Marriages (7:10-24)
         
      4. To Virgins (7:25-38)
         
      5. To Widows (7:39-40)
         
   2. Matters Related to Idol Feasts (8:1-11:1)
      
      1. Food Offered to Idols (8:1-13)
         
      2. Paul Foregoes Rights of Apostle (9:1-27)
         
      3. Food Offered to Idols (continued; 10:1-11:1)
         
   3. Matters Related to Christian Worship (11:2-34)
      
      1. Gender Distinctions in Worship (11:2-16)
         
      2. Behavior During the Lord's Supper (11:17-34)
         
   4. Matters Related to Spiritual Gifts (12:1-14:40)
      
      1. Diversity of Gifts, Unity in the Body (12:1-31)
         
      2. The Supremacy of Love (13:1—13)
         
      3. Prophecy and Tongues (14:1—40)
         
   5. Matters Related to the Resurrection (15:1-58)
      
   6. Matters Related to the Relief Offering (16:1-4)
      
4. CONCLUSION (16:5-24)
   
   1. Paul's Travel Plans (16:5-12)
      
   2. Final Exhortations (16:13-18)
      
   3. Closing (16:19-24)
      

2 CORINTHIANS

1. INTRODUCTION (1:1-11)
   
   1. Salutation (1:1-2)
      
   2. Prayer of Thanksgiving (1:3-7)
      
   3. Explanation of Paul's Thanksgiving (1:8—11)
      
2. PAUL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CORINTHIANS (1:12-2:11)
   
   1. Paul's Pure Conduct (1:12-14)
      
   2. Paul's Change in Plans (1:15-22)
      
   3. The Reason for the Change in Plans (1:23-2:4)
      
   4. Forgiveness to the Repentant Sinner (2:5-11)
      
3. PAUL'S DEFENSE OF HIS MINISTRY (2:12-7:16)
   
   1. Paul's Ministry in Troas and Macedonia (2:12-17)
      
   2. Paul's Letters of Recommendation (3:1-3)
      
   3. Paul's Competence (3:4-6)
      
   4. Ministry of the New Covenant (3:7-18)
      
   5. The Unveiled Truth (4:1-6)
      
   6. Treasure in Clay Jars (4:7-18)
      
   7. The Coming Resurrection (5:1-10)
      
   8. The Ministry of Reconciliation (5:11-6:2)
      
   9. Catalog of Paul's Sufferings (6:3-13)
      
   10. Call to Separate from Paul's Opponents (6:14-7:1)
       
   11. Paul's Final Defense (7:2-16)
       
4. THE COLLECTION FOR THE BELIEVERS IN JERUSALEM (8:1-9:15)
   
   1. Example of the Churches in Macedonia (8:1-7)
      
   2. Examples of Christ's Sacrifice and the Old Testament (8:8-15)
      
   3. Administration of the Offering (8:16-24)
      
   4. Importance of Having the Offering Ready (9:1-5)
      
   5. Principles Motivating Generous Giving (9:6-15)
      
5. PAUL'S RENEWED DEFENSE OF HIS APOSTLESHIP (10:1-13:4)
   
   1. The Tone of Paul's Appeal (10:1-11)
      
   2. Divine Commendation of Paul's Ministry (10:12-18)
      
   3. Danger of the False Apostles (11:1-15)
      
   4. Paul's Sufferings (11:16-33)
      
   5. Paul's Visions and Revelations (12:1-10)
      
   6. Paul's Miracles (12:11-13)
      
   7. Paul's Final Defense (12:14-13:4)
      
6. FINAL EXHORTATIONS (13:5-12)
   
7. CLOSING (13:13)
   

UNIT-BY-UNIT DISCUSSIONS

1 CORINTHIANS

I. Introduction (1:1-9)

A. Salutation (1:1—3)
Paul opened his letter, as was the custom, by identifying the author and intended recipients. His self-description “called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will” confirmed Paul's apostleship to a church that was apparently beginning to question Paul's apostolic authority and would ultimately deny his apostolic authority The address emphasizes the importance of Jesus Christ to the church. Jesus Christ is both the agent of the church's sanctification and the object of her confession.

B. Prayer of Thanksgiving (1:4—9)
Paul's prayer offers thanks to God for the numerous spiritual gifts enjoyed by the Corinthian church. The prayer thus encouraged a significant change in the Corinthian's outlook on these gifts. Rather than being an object of personal pride and an incentive for boasting, the gifts were to be recognized as graciously imparted to the believers by God and thus incentives for thanksgiving and praise to him alone.

Paul's greeting “grace and peace” is his typical greeting.
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However, it may take on a slightly different significance in this church that had depreciated divine grace through its boasting in human accomplishments and had traded peace for heated conflict.

Paul also expressed his confidence that the gracious God who called the Corinthians to fellowship with his Son would ensure that they passed the scrutiny of final judgment. His reference to the “day of our Lord Jesus Christ” borrows the familiar phrase “day of the Lord/Yahweh” from the OT and applies it to Jesus’ second coming. The application of this phrase that describes the coming of Yahweh in judgment to Jesus’ return strongly implies the deity of Jesus and confirms that the title “Lord” used of Jesus frequently in 1 Corinthians (six times in the introduction alone: see 1:2,3,7,8,9,10) functions as a title of deity rather than mere authority.

II. Response to Oral Reports (1:10-4:20)

A. A Proper Perspective on Christian Ministers and Ministry (1:10—4:20)
Paul indicated that he had received word from people associated with Chloe that the church had divided into four major factions (1:10—17). Three of these factions wrongly idolized individuals and gave them a standing dangerously close to that of Jesus himself. This was terribly wrong since Jesus’ role in the church was completely unique. Only he had suffered crucifixion for their sake, and only he was the Messiah in whose name believers were baptized. Moreover, the Corinthians’ celebration of human skills and abilities emptied the cross of its effect in ways that Paul soon described.

By turning Christian servants into celebrities based on their speaking and intellectual abilities, the Corinthians had shown a complete lack of understanding of the economy of God (1:18—25). God uses weak, foolish, and ignoble people and an apparently foolish and scandalous message to save sinners. This displays the supremacy of God's power and wisdom and reduces human wisdom and power to mere foolishness and weakness. The makeup of the Corinthian church confirmed Paul's description of the divine economy. An understanding of God's ways eliminated human boasting and drove sinners to praise God alone (1:26-31).

Paul's ministry to the Corinthians illustrated the principles that Paul had just explained (2:1—5). Paul did not seek to impress people with rhetorical abilities or his persona. Instead, a weak man who trembled before God preached a simple message about God's provision of forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrificial death. The Corinthians had embraced this message not because Paul's wisdom was on display but because God's power was at work.

The worldly wisdom that the Corinthians prized was no true wisdom at all (2:6—16). Those responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion touted themselves as wise men, but they did not even recognize who Jesus was. True wisdom was granted only through the revealing work of God's Spirit. Paul's ministry was an expression of this revelatory work. However, only those who were indwelled and influenced by God's Spirit could understand spiritual matters.

Paul had been forced to explain only the most elementary truths of the Christian faith to the Corinthians because they lacked the spiritual maturity to understand more difficult truths (3:1—9). Their disunity confirmed their immaturity. If they had been mature, they would have understood that the Christian servants they celebrated were only instruments in the hands of God and that God alone was to be glorified for the harvest produced through their ministries.

God gave Paul the resources needed to lay the foundation for the Corinthian church, and another person was building on that foundation (3:10—17). Those who were involved in the ministries of the church needed to make sure that Jesus Christ remained the focal point of those ministries. Those who served needed to be mindful that their service would be evaluated by God and unworthy contributions to the ministry would be destroyed. The church is God's holy temple, and God will justly punish those who desecrate that temple.

True wisdom came only through embracing the message that the world viewed as foolishness (3:18—23). But God viewed the world's wisdom as foolishness. God's evaluation of the worldly wisdom that prompted boasting and stirred dissension should silence all human boasting at last.

Paul's own ministry exemplified the principles that he had just explained (4:1—20). He desired others to view him as a servant and a manager, not as a celebrity. His only aim was to be faithful to the Master he served. It mattered little to him whether he passed the judgment of others, but it was of supreme importance that he pleased God. Consequently, no room remained for personal pride and arrogance based on one's giftedness or the results
of his ministry. With biting sarcasm, Paul contrasted the experience of the apostles with the Corinthians’ own arrogant self-appraisal. He presented the humility, self-sacrifice, and self-obeisance of the apostles as a model fit for all believers to follow.

Paul's earlier sarcasm was not intended to shame the Corinthians. He loved them like a father loves his children. Indeed, they were his spiritual children since he had first preached the gospel to them. Now they should seek to imitate him like a little boy imitates his father. Timothy, who would soon visit the Corinthians, was also Paul's spiritual son who exemplified the love and faithfulness to the Lord that was appropriate for one of Paul's children. He would remind the Corinthians of Paul's example. Paul would eventually come to Corinth and was prepared to use the rod of discipline on the arrogant and divisive members of the family as a father must sometimes do.

B. Immorality in the Church (5:1—13)
Paul had heard reports that a member of the church in Corinth was committing incest with his stepmother. This sin was so deplorable that not even pagans tolerated it. Yet the church celebrated this sin in a confused attempt to flaunt its freedom in Christ. Paul called the church to repent and to expel this person from the church. This expulsion had two major purposes. First, it would hopefully lead to the sinner's repentance and restoration. Second, it would protect the church from an immoral influence that might corrupt the entire congregation.

Although it was impractical for believers to attempt to dissociate themselves from unbelievers who lived sinfully, believers should break fellowship with so-called believers who live immorally. As OT Israel expelled certain individuals from the congregation for particularly heinous sins (5:13 quotes Deut 17:7), so the Christian church must expel those who sin with impudence.