1 CORINTHIANS 3:1–4:16
PAUL IS NOW READY to present the fourth section of the first essay. The outline of the whole is
The Cross and Christian Unity (1:10–4:16)
1.The Problem: Divisions, Baptism and the Cross (1:10-16)
2.The Wisdom and Power of God: The Cross (1:17–2:2)
3.The Wisdom of God: Revealed Through the Spirit (2:3-16)
4.Christian Unity: Paul, Apollos and Cephas as One (3:1–4:16)
With two homilies on the wisdom of God (in the cross and through the Spirit) firmly in place as a foundation, Paul is ready to take a second look at how his readers should see Paul, Apollos and Cephas. This final section of the essay (4) has four homilies, along with a word of general admonition attached to a personal appeal. These are:
1. | Paul and Apollos: It is about you! (3:1-4) | Paul and Apollos (You) |
2. | The parable of the field and the farmers (3:5-9) | Parable—The Farmers |
3. | The parable of the builders and the building (3:10-17) | Parable—The Building |
4. | Paul, Apollos, Cephas: It is about Christ (3:18–4:7) | Paul, Apollos and Cephas (Christ) |
A concluding general admonition and personal appeal (4:8-16) | ||
The two parables are encased within a frame that discusses Paul, Apollos, Cephas and Christ. Paul opens with the text found in 3:1-4 [see fig. 1.4(1)].
The reintroduction of “Paul and Apollos” includes three cameos that follow one another in a straight-line sequence. The thrust of these three cameos is “Paul and Apollos: It is not about us; it is about you!” The first cameo is structured very much like the first cameo in the previous homily (2:10b-11) with parallel ideas at the beginning repeated at the end that together encase a brief parable in the center.
3:1But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual, | NOT READY | |
| but as people of the flesh, as children in Christ. | Of the Flesh |
| 2I fed you milk, not solid food; | PARABLE OF |
| for you were not ready for it; | Milk and Solid Food |
| and even yet you are not ready, | NOT READY |
| 3for you are still of the flesh. | Of the Flesh |
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For while there is jealousy and strife among you, |
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| are you not of the flesh, | STRIFE MEANS |
| and walking in the ways of mankind? | Of the Flesh |
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3. | 4For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” |
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| and another, “I belong to Apollos,” | DIVISION MEANS |
| are you not merely humans? | Nonspiritual |
Figure 1.4(1). Paul and Apollos: It is all about you! (1 Cor 3:1-4)
Paul had just told them that “among the mature” he was able to present the “deep things of God.” The Corinthians thought that they, above others, were profoundly ready for those deep things. But, alas, they did not yet qualify. In the opening of this letter Paul addressed his readers as “enriched in him [Christ] with all speech and all knowledge… not lacking in any spiritual gift” (1:5, 7). Has Paul so quickly changed his mind about his primary readers? Hardly. It is possible to see this shift from chapter 1:5-6 to chapter 3:1-3 in the light of God’s giving of the Spirit on the one hand (chapter 1) and the Corinthians’ failure to receive those gifts on the other hand (chapter 3). This distinction is already subtly affirmed in the opening of the letter. As noted, in that introduction Paul did not give thanks for the Corinthians, but rather for the gifts of God given to them (1:4). Their reception (and use) of those gifts was not mentioned. Because they failed to properly receive God’s gifts, the “deep things” of God (like the cross) were yet beyond them. So he gave them “milk,” not “solid food.” Even with that nourishment they were “still of the flesh” and thereby not ready for the mysteries of God. What was Paul’s measuring stick to make such a judgment? The text continues:
2. | 3bFor while there is jealousy and strife among you, |
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| are you not of the flesh, | STRIFE MEANS |
| and walking in the ways of ordinary human beings? | Of the Flesh/Ordinary Humans |
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3. | 4For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” |
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| and another, “I belong to Apollos,” | DIVISION MEANS |
| are you not merely human beings?1 | Ordinary Humans |
The issue for Paul was not “You have not completed your introduction to theology, and so I can’t give you an advanced course.” A lack of intellectual acumen was not the problem. Their jealousy and strife were the issue. The word jealousy will reappear in Paul’s classical definition of love in chapter 13.2 Furthermore, the word for “children” in this text (nepios) also reappears in chapter 13. Here Paul begins to point out that his readers have failed to love.
In chapter 1 he noted that “strife” (Aris: a goddess of war) was active among them. Having lived and worked for decades (both as a student and as a professor) in academic institutions, I am intimately acquainted with the academy. Jealousy and strife have not disappeared from that subculture. And at the same time, when those qualities raise their ugly heads, very few connect them to the pursuit of truth. No one says, “Professor X is envious of professor Y, therefore professor X’s courses are superficial.” Paul accused his readers of being “babes in Christ” who could not understand the “solid food” of the “deep things of God” because they were jealous and quarrelsome. As children of the Enlightenment we have largely come to see the acquiring of truth as a head trip, and that a good mind and a willingness to work hard is all that is required to understand any form of truth, including theological truth. Paul disagrees. He was not willing to feed the Corinthians the “solid food” of theology because of broken relationships in their community. When he first preached to them, he had to give them milk to drink. At the time of writing, he was still obliged to do so. Granted, this entire epistle is “solid food,” and he sent it to the Corinthians. This would indicate that a significant part of the congregation in Corinth was not caught up in their quarrels. Paul also told his readers that this letter was for the whole church. We can fondly hope that the church at large was not quarreling as badly as the Corinthians.
The ancient Eastern churches did not have scholars or theologians, but rather “Fathers of the church.” The assumption behind that language is: Only when we see the authenticity of your piety, and your commitment to the church, will we take your scholarship seriously.
The Corinthians thought that when they declared themselves to be “of Apollos” or “of Paul” that they were making complimentary statements about their champions. No, replies Paul, by creating these divisions you are saying nothing about us—you are talking about yourselves, and what you are saying is not flattering! Do not imagine that we are pleased! Your fights are all about you—not about us!
Paul is acting like a mother. He is feeding milk to the children.3 The image is from Isaiah 28:9 which reads:
Whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
The assumption of the text in Isaiah is, “You can’t teach knowledge/the message to a young child.” Paul’s response is, “I have a young child in my arms. I have to become its mother and feed it milk.” A few verses later at the end of this same section, Paul describes himself as their father (4:15). Both images should inform and shape our understanding of Paul and our view of Christian ministry in any age.
This opening of the final section of the essay has at least two major points. First is the affirmation that strife and jealousy impede any attempt to understand the truth of God. Those who do not love cannot penetrate the deep things of God. Second is the window into Paul’s self-understanding. He is the mother (and later father) of the faithful.
After this introduction to this second discussion of “Paul and Apollos,” Paul presents two parables that explain how they should see him and his colleagues. These two apostles are not leaders of competing factions in the church. Instead they are like farmers and builders. The first of these two parables is displayed in figure 1.4(2).
The passage is composed with simplicity, skill and rhetorical balance. Three features are prominent. First, Paul is dealing with a double set of seven (the perfect number). The seven ideas in 1-2 are matched (internally) line by line in 3-4. Second, the matching cameos use step parallelism. That is, the four ideas in 1 are matched in 4 and the three ideas in 2 are balanced in 3. Finally, overall, the four cameos themselves are presented to the reader using ring composition (A-B-B-A).
5What then is Paul? |
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b. | What is Apollos?4 | WE ARE SERVANTS |
c. | Servants through whom you believed, | Assigned by the Lord |
d. | as the Lord assigned to each. |
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2. | e.6I planted, | WE FARM |
| f.Apollos watered, | God Gives Growth |
| g.but God gave the growth. |
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3. | e.7So neither he who plants |
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| f.nor he who waters is anything, | WE ARE NOTHING |
| g.but God who gives the growth. | God Gives Growth |
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4a. | 8The one who plants | WE ARE EQUAL SERVANTS |
b. | and he who waters are equal, | Workers for God |
c. | and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. | |
d. | 9For we are fellow workers for God; |
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Figure 1.4(2). The parable of God’s field and the two farmers (1 Cor 3:5-9)
The topic is “Who are Paul and Apollos?” In 1:10-16 the Corinthians saw them as leaders of opposing parties. Here Paul tells the Corinthians how they should see him and his coworkers. Paul does not discuss this subject apart from his understanding of the church. The agricultural image of planting and the resulting growth is from Isaiah. This theme appears in Isaiah a number of times. One of them is Isaiah 41:19, which reads:
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together.
We note in passing that seven trees are mentioned in this verse. God as a farmer plants these trees in the wilderness and the desert. The same imagery reoccurs in Isaiah 44:3-4.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your descendants,
and my blessing on your offspring.
They shall spring up like grass amid waters,
like willows by flowing streams.
Again, God is the farmer who in this case irrigates the dry ground. The out-pouring of the Spirit is involved.
Isaiah 60:21 is even closer to the language of Paul. There the people are called
The shoot of my planting,
the work of my hands,
that I may be glorified.
In this case God does the planting while at the same time observing the new shoots that result from that planting.
In the age of the Messiah the people will be comforted
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord,
that he may be glorified. (Is 61:3)
Paul takes imagery available to him and uses it. God planted Israel (in a dry place) and Paul (for God) plants the church (among the Gentiles). In both cases the Spirit is involved. Yet, surely the parable of the sower (in Lk 8:4-8), which is prominent in the Synoptic Gospels, is also indirectly reflected here in Paul’s parable of the farmer. Was Paul familiar with the parable of Jesus on this subject? Or is Paul reflecting the language of the church that in turn borrowed from Jesus? We do not know. Yet influence is likely, be it direct or indirect.
In this brief apostolic homily, Paul and Apollos are mentioned four times. Paul calls himself a diakonos (minister/servant). This same word is used for Phoebe (Rom 16:1), for Timothy (1 Tim 4:6) and for other early church leaders. A careful comparison of the seven pairs of images/ideas in this parable of two farmers and “God’s field” reveals the following:
1. Paul and Apollos are servants (not masters). Surely, this self-understanding reflects the person and language of the one who said, “I am among you as one who serves.” In the case of Paul, as with Jesus, this is coupled with a leadership role.
2. Each of them has a special ministry. Paul plants, while Apollos waters. Not all callings are to the same task.
3. The ministry of each is an assignment primarily “from the Lord,” not from the church. In Paul’s case, a part of the church was involved. The Holy Spirit spoke to “the church at Antioch” telling them to “set apart” Barnabas and Saul for a special task. Jerusalem was not involved—only Antioch. If they had waited for Jerusalem to send them a directive to launch the mission to the Gentiles, how long might they have waited? Furthermore, the two men were not trying to advance their careers. The assignment from the Lord was all that mattered.
4. They were equal partners. From the information available to us, it is easy to see that Paul was clearly more prominent than Apollos. Yet Paul describes the two of them as equals.
5. Their separate tasks were equal in value. That is, evangelism and Christian education are of equal importance. It is easy for evangelists and educators to each judge their task to be more important than the other. Evangelists at times reflect an anti-intellectual stance and judge Christian education as a waste of time. Some types of Christian educators look condescendingly at evangelists as semi-intelligent, misguided enthusiasts. Paul does not allow for either of these attitudes. For him the two ministries were equally valid.
6. God gives the growth. That growth was not the result of skillful methods or good publicity. It was and is a gift of God. As he writes, Paul knows that some fields yield little. In Antioch of Pisidia, after initial success, Paul was driven out of the city (Acts 13:13-50). The mystery of the spiritual and numerical growth of the church is beyond human comprehension. Fifty years ago the Makana Jesu church in western Ethiopia had around fifty thousand members and an uncertain future. Today its people number more than four million. God gives the growth, and the Holy Spirit moves in centuries. In the text Paul does not take credit for his successes. Furthermore, God’s action in giving the growth is here described with an imperfect verb. In Greek this means a “past continuous action.” Paul planted and Apollos watered. Those actions were events that happened in the past. But God continuously gives the growth. John Bengel notes that without the action of God to give the growth, “the grain from the first moment would be like a pebble.”5
7. Paul describes himself and his colleague Apollos as “fellow workers for God.” Yes, they are servants of the church in every place, but on a deeper level they are God’s workers. In Isaiah, God planted Israel. Paul is God’s agent assigned to God’s task, and he fulfills it for God by “planting the church.”
8. They are fellow workers, not leaders of competing parties vying for influence and power.
9. Each worker receives wages “according to his labor,” not according to his or her production! A capitalistic world judges the value of everything on the basis of production. This attitude is deeply ingrained in Western society. Throughout history many faithful servants have labored and seen little fruit as judged by the world. God has a different measuring stick, and wages are on the basis of labor, not production. In this text Paul affirms that God is pleased with and will reward that labor, irrespective of the visible results.
Paul then shifts from the farmer to the farm and continues on to discuss the building and the builders. This deceptively simple statement may be the climax of this section of his essay. He writes in verse 9b,
You are God’s field,
God’s building.
The point of climax repeats the images (while reversing the order) of the call of Jeremiah whose task was “To build and to plant” (Jer 1:10). The same double image of builders and farmers appears in Isaiah’s vision of the great day of “the anointed one” who will grant gladness to those who mourn so that they can become builders and “build up the ancient ruins” (Is 61:4). At the same time they are to become farmers and receive a “double portion” of land (Is 61:7).
But there is a difference. Jeremiah was the builder and the planter of the nation of Israel. The people were to build and plant, and by their efforts “raise up the former devastations” (Is 61:4) in Israel. It is profoundly true that in other places the reader is encouraged to join Paul in building and planting. But in this text Paul’s reader is not the builders and planters—rather they are “God’s field, and God’s building.” They are the land and the temple! The struggling, newly born, deeply flawed congregations that he was founding were, in his eyes, the restored land and the glorious temple promised by the prophets. He was not de-Zionizing the tradition; rather he was transforming it into a new form of Zionism that needed no particular geography and no special building! All of this comes to a stunning climax at the end of the parable.
In his parable about farmers, Paul (as noted) echoes Jesus’ parable about a farmer. Here, Paul creates a parable about builders, and the parable of the two builders told by Jesus (Lk 6:46-48) lingers in the background as we will see. At the same time both Jesus and Paul are part of a yet longer tradition regarding this image, and Isaiah is significant.
In Isaiah 28:14-18 the prophet announces the destruction of one building (Israel) and the promise of a new foundation of precious stones on which those who believe can build.6 A second use of this image appears in the Dead Sea Scroll The Community Rule (VIII) which reads,
In the Council of the Community there shall be twelve men and three Priests, perfectly versed in all that is revealed of the Law, whose works shall be truth, righteousness, justice, loving kindness, and humility…. When these are in Israel, the council of the Community shall be established in truth. It shall be an Everlasting Plantation, a House of Holiness for Israel…. It shall be that tried wall, that precious corner-stone, whose foundations shall neither rock nor sway in their place.7
This section of the Community Rule is important for the text before us. The “Council of the Community” was to be both “an everlasting plantation” and at the same time it was “that precious corner-stone.” Paul’s focus on “plantings” and “foundations” appears here in this pre-Christian Jewish document. The Qumran community claimed these prophetic promises for the leadership of their community. Paul claims the same promises, but finds them fulfilled in a different way. The plantation for Paul is the church, “the precious cornerstone” is Jesus Christ, and on him God’s new building (temple) is being built.
A second important early Jewish use of the image of the foundation relates to the second temple. The Mishnah records that when the Jewish authorities cleared the rubble on the temple mount to rebuild the sanctuary, they found an elevated stone in the middle of the old holy of holies. The text reads,
After the ark was taken away a stone remained there from the time of the early prophets, and it was called “Shetiyah.” It was higher than the ground by three fingerbreadths. On this he used to put [the fire-pan].8
As Danby confirms with a note, shetiyah means “foundation.” This text is discussing the rebuilding of the second temple and the celebration of the Day of Atonement. According to this account, on that most sacred day of the year the high priest would take a fire pan (full of charcoal and incense), enter the holy of holies and place the pan on a raised stone in the center of the room. This ritual was a meaningful way to venerate that holy space. Paul must have known of this stone and that its name was “the foundation.” In the text before us, Paul specifically mentions the temple. Surely, as Paul refers to Jesus Christ as “the foundation” of God’s building—the third temple—he is thinking of this stone in the holy of holies of the second temple that was specifically named “the foundation.” Jesus Christ is “the foundation” for the third temple.
From the point of view of historical order, between the affirmations of Qumran and Paul’s two parables are two parables of Jesus. As noted, the first parable of Jesus is that of the sower, and the second is the parable of the two builders.9 Is Paul conscious of the writings of the Qumran community? Has he heard these two parables of Jesus? We are obliged to guess, and allowed to suppose that he is aware of both of these earlier uses of “God’s planting” and “God’s building.” Paul freely created the two parables before us. He could have fashioned parables out of other metaphors. Instead he chose images with both an ancient and a recent history in Jewish thought.
Thus, Jesus was not presented by Paul as “the foundation” in the way that Aristotle is a foundation under the theology of Thomas Aquinas. Rather, in the light of the above texts it is clear that Paul saw Jesus as the center of the holy of holies of the new temple he describes.
The text of the second parable is displayed in figure 1.4(3).
3:10According to the commission of God given to me, |
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| like a skilled master builder |
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| I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. |
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| Let each man take care how he builds upon it. | THE FOUNDATION |
| 11For no other foundation can any one lay | Is Jesus Christ |
| than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. |
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2. | 12Now if any one builds on “the foundation” | BUILT ON |
| with gold, silver, precious stones, | “The Foundation” |
| wood, grass, stubble— | Fireproof versus Flammable |
| 13each man’s work will become manifest; |
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3. | for the Day will disclose it |
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| because it will be revealed with fire, | TESTED |
| and the fire will test | By Fire |
| what sort of work each one has done. |
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4. | 14If the work which any man has built on “the foundation” survives, he will receive a reward. | |
| 15If any man’s work is burned up, | BUILT ON |
| he will suffer loss, | “The Foundation” |
| though he will be saved, | Survived—Burned Up |
| but only as through fire. |
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5. | a.16Do you not know that you are God’s temple |
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| b. and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? |
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| c. 7If any one destroys God’s temple, | THE TEMPLE |
| c'. God will destroy him. | Composed of You |
| b'. For God’s temple is holy |
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| a'. and that temple you are. |
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Figure 1.4(3). The parable of God’s building and the builders (1 Cor 3:10-17)
Five cameos form yet another ring composition. The parable opens (cameo 1) with a discussion of “the foundation,” which is “Jesus Christ.” The matching cameo (5) presents “God’s temple” that is already built on that foundation. In the second cameo (2) Paul addresses “anyone who builds” on that foundation, and focuses on two lists of building materials. There are three items in each list. Gold, silver and precious stones will withstand fire while wood, hay and straw will not. The matching cameo (4) reflects on the result of such a fire. One list survives, and the builder is rewarded. The second list of materials is destroyed, but not the builder. The climax is in the center (3) where Paul projects ahead to “the Day” when all things will be tested and revealed by fire.
Cameo 5 also exhibits ring composition. The three themes of (a) temple, (b) (Holy) Spirit and (c) destroy are presented and then repeated backwards.
Paul now describes himself as a “master builder.” A good master builder can exercise his or her authority by becoming a servant. In fact, that authority, when exercised through servanthood, is in a marvelous way profoundly attractive. For the destitute and dying poor of Calcutta, Mother Teresa became a servant in the most self-emptying way on the streets of that teeming city, and people from India and from around the world were drawn to line up behind her and help her. In like manner, Paul is both “master builder” and “servant.”
As a master builder, Paul was laying a foundation for a building that we soon discover is the (new) temple. For him the only foundation possible was Jesus Christ. His fellow worker Apollos was building upon it, and from the previous parable it is clear that Paul was at ease with Apollos. But there were other would-be builders in Paul’s readership. Hence the warning, “Let each man take care how he builds upon it.” For this building no other foundation was possible. Neither Gnosticism nor Roman imperialism nor Epicureanism nor Stoicism nor the establishment of an independent Jewish state with the Zealots, nor a retreat into the desert with the Essenes were adequate in Paul’s mind as a foundation for the third temple.
But the first cameo in this apostolic homily needs to be examined along with cameo 5, which is its matching cameo. These two cameos appear side by side in figure 1.4(4):
1. | 10According to the commission of God given to me, |
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| like a skilled master builder |
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| I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. |
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| Let each man take care how he builds upon it. | THE FOUNDATION |
| 11For no other foundation can any one lay | Is Jesus Christ |
| than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. |
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5. | a.16Do you not know that you are God’s temple |
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| b. and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? |
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| c. 17If any one destroys God’s temple, | THE TEMPLE |
| c'. God will destroy him. | Composed of You |
| b'. For God’s temple is holy |
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| a'. and that temple you are |
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Figure 1.4(4). Cameos 1 and 5 (1 Cor 3:10-11, 16-17)
One of the striking features of these two cameos is that in cameo 1 only the foundation was in place. Paul had laid the foundation and other builders were lining up to participate in the construction. The completed building was a long way off. But in the matching cameo 5, the reader discovers that the building is “God’s temple,” and that it is somewhat finished in that God’s Spirit has already taken up residence in it. Then the readers were told, “you are that temple.” When Paul wrote those words, the temple in Jerusalem was intact and the twice-daily sacrifices were offered without fail for the sins of the people. The high priest was in residence and the various rituals were observed. Jewish pilgrims flocked to Jerusalem from around the empire because God was present in his holy house. In a unique way it was there that God’s presence (the shekinah) was found among his people.
With the temple in all of its glory still functioning in Jerusalem, Paul announced dramatically to his Jewish and Gentile readers that “you [pl.] are God’s holy temple” and “God’s Spirit dwells in you [pl.].” He is not talking exclusively to the Corinthians. Rather, as he affirms in 1:2, he is addressing “All those in every place upon whom is called the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” All Christians together were the third temple, and the second temple was thereby already obsolete. Comparisons with the Islamic world may be helpful.
Islam honors Mecca because the Ka’ ba, the holy black stone, is in the central sanctuary of Mecca. Consequently, every mosque must be built facing Mecca, and the five prescribed daily prayers must be offered facing Mecca. In the Islamic worldview, it is in the Ka’ ba that God is uniquely present among his people. Imagine a Muslim scholar, say, in France, writing to Muslims across Europe announcing, “The pilgrimage to Mecca is no longer necessary because you as a community are the new sacred sanctuary of Islam, and God now dwells uniquely in you. You are the new Ka’ ba, and your community of faith now constitutes the dwelling place of God among his people.”
Such an announcement would be stunning indeed! The readers would be electrified, and if they accepted this new view of the dwelling place of God, their lives could never be the same again. The proclaimer of this message would not be popular among Muslim leaders elsewhere. Yet such is the earth-shaking nature of what Paul writes to his readers in this passage.
This third temple was already “up and functioning” (cameo 5), but at the same time only its foundation was laid (cameo 1). A great deal of construction work lay ahead. Surely this imagery of the church is appropriate for any age. The church everywhere “is built” and functioning, and at the same time it is barely off of its foundations, with a great deal of construction yet to be completed. In connection with this announcement Paul presents his strongest argument for the unity of all believers who together are the new temple built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. In the center of cameo 5 lies a stern warning that,
Middle Easterners take their sacred spaces and their sacred buildings very seriously, and they always have. The book of Acts records the account of Paul in the temple during his final journey to Jerusalem. On that occasion a rumor circulated that Paul had introduced Gentiles into the temple precinct (Acts 21:28-30). That suspicion was enough to start a riot that almost ended his life. The rumor in the city was “he has defiled this holy place.” It was holy because Israel’s holy God was uniquely present in it. What would have happened if on that occasion Paul had announced to the crowd that there was a new temple under construction (full of Gentiles) where God was now dwelling among his people in a new way?
If the second temple was so very holy, what about the third temple? For Paul, protecting that third temple from damage was of great importance. In cameo 5, Paul affirms that God himself will destroy anyone who tries to destroy the third temple. Ergo, the Corinthians with their quarreling parties were engaged in activities that could damage the third temple and make them the enemies of God.
This brings us to the second “semantic envelope” along with the center climax. The three cameos can be seen in figure 1.4(5).
2. | 12Now if any one builds on “the foundation” | BUILT ON |
| with gold, silver, precious stones, | “The Foundation” |
| wood, hay, straw— | Fireproof versus Flammable |
| 13each man’s work will become manifest; |
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3. | for the Day will disclose it |
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| because it will be revealed with fire, | TESTED |
| and the fire will test | By Fire |
| what sort of work each one has done. |
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4. | 14If the work which any man has built on “the foundation” survives, he will receive a reward. | |
| 15If any man’s work is burned up, | BUILT ON |
| he will suffer loss, | “The Foundation” |
| though he will be saved, | Survived—Burned Up |
| but only as through fire. |
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Figure: 1.4(5). Cameos 2-4 (1 Cor 3:12-15)
The end of cameo 2 and the first line of cameo 4 connect so smoothly that if cameo 3 were missing, no reader would notice the omission. In cameo 2 Paul continues to advise anyone who approaches with the intent of building on the foundation (which is Jesus Christ). Some will come with valuable building materials (gold, silver, precious stones) while others will bring poor quality supplies (wood, hay and straw). Most buildings in the ancient Middle East were constructed out of stone. Paul chooses colorful images for each of his two lists. The one builder comes with gold, silver and precious stones. Paul is borrowing imagery from Isaiah’s parable of the two buildings (Is 28:14-18), which promises a “precious stone” for a new foundation. Both types of builders (bringing their differing building materials) will engage in construction. Then comes the test—which is “the Day.”
In cameo 3 “the Day” (read: the Day of Judgment) will come like a great fire. Amos spoke of a fire that would “devour the strongholds of Jerusalem” (Amos 2:5). Corinth as a city had experienced such a fire. The city had resisted the Roman conquest, and in 146 B.C. was overrun and burned. Naturally the precious metals and gem stones survived that conflagration. It remained a ruin for just over a century and in 44 B.C., rebuilding began. When Paul arrived in Corinth in the early fifties of the first century, the initial stage of reconstruction was no doubt finished, but the commercial success of the city must have guaranteed considerable new construction. Paul’s parable was thus created out of the fabric of life in Corinth at the time of writing.
Furthermore, dating back to the fourth century B.C., Corinth was famous for its work in bronze. Josephus records that the inner sanctuary of Herod’s temple had nine gates whose doors were covered with plates of silver and gold. But one of them on the Eastern side “was of Corinthian brass, and greatly excelled those that were only covered over with silver and gold.”10 Corinthian brass was so stunning that it was judged to be more beautiful than gold or silver. The two doors of that particular gate were sixty feet high according to Josephus and it may be the “beautiful gate” that appears in Acts 3:2. In short, expensive building materials were associated with the city of Corinth.
Jerome Murphy-O’Connor suggests that many of the craftsmen may have escaped the destruction of the city in 146 B.C. and kept the crafts alive. Their descendants most likely returned to restart the guilds after the city was reborn. Corinthian bronze had a highly prized finish that looked like gold or silver. The craftsmen also worked in gold and silver. In any case, much new construction in Corinth was built on scorched earth because the city has been burned. The Corinthians also knew that precious metals and gemstones could survive such a fire.11 Paul’s images of precious metals and destructive fires would have been particularly powerful. And what is the anticipated result of the great “fire” on “the Day”?
Each person’s work will be tested (3). There is no need to pass judgment on that work in the present. Some will fail to build on “the foundation.” Others will indeed build on the only sure foundation, and yet do so with inferior materials. The latter will “suffer loss.” It is painful to watch years of effort destroyed, especially when the destruction leaves behind it the verdict of “worthless.” Paul encouraged his readers with the assurance that the builder “will be saved” even if his work is destroyed.
Paul is here dealing with divisions in the church at Corinth and the judgments that the various parties were making against one another. Such judgments must be left for “the Day,” knowing that the work of some will survive and the work of others will perish. Paul’s advice is, “Select the best building materials and build on the only foundation that will last. That is all that matters.” Those who choose the wrong building materials will sustain painful losses—but their own lives will be saved.
This parable of God’s building and the builders includes the following ideas:
The church is God’s field (the land) and God’s building (the temple). The land of Israel and the temple in Jerusalem are thereby rendered obsolete.
Paul is both a servant and the commissioned master-builder. He laid the foundation.
Jesus Christ is the foundation of the new temple. (There is no other.)
Some are building on that foundation. Others use materials that will last (gold, silver, precious stones). Some are using poor quality materials (wood, grass and stubble).
On the day of judgment, fire will test the work of all. The work of some will last and the efforts of others will be burned up. But the builders will be saved in spite of it.
The Corinthians are “off the hook.” They do not need to pass judgment on shoddy efforts. The day of judgment will deal with that problem.
The readers of Paul’s letter are already God’s holy temple, and the Holy Spirit is already present in that temple even though there is a great deal of building yet to be completed.
God will destroy anyone who tries to tear down this third temple.
Having presented these two parables Paul takes a final look at how his readers should see their leaders [see fig. 1:4(6)].
1. | 18Let no one deceive himself. |
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| If any one among you thinks he is wise in this age, |
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| let him become a fool that he may be wise. | NO BOASTING |
| 19For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. | About Yourselves |
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2. | For it is written, |
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| “He catches the wise in their craftiness” | SCRIPTURE: |
| 20and again, | No Boasting |
| “The Lord knows | About Leaders |
| that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” |
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| 21So let no one boast of men. |
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3. | For all things are yours, |
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| 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas | PAUL—APOLLOS |
| or the world or life or death | All Yours |
| or the present or the future, |
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| all are yours; |
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| 23and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. |
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4a. | 4:1This is how one should regard us, | SEE US AS |
| as servants of Christ | Servants and |
| and stewards of the mysteries of God. | Stewards |
| 2Moreover it is required of stewards | Under |
| that they be found faithful. | Judgment |
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4b. | 3To me it is trifling to be judged by you |
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| or by any human court. |
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| I do not even judge myself. | THE LORD |
| 4I am not aware of anything against myself, | Judges Me |
| but I am not thereby acquitted. |
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| It is the Lord who judges me. |
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4c. | 5Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, |
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| before the Lord comes, | THE LORD |
| who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness | Judges and |
| and will disclose the purposes/motives of people’s hearts. | Commends All |
| That every person receive his commendation from God. |
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5. | 6I have applied all this to myself | PAUL—APOLLOS |
| and to Apollos for your benefit, brethren, | All Yours |
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6. | that you may learn by/in us |
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| not to go beyond that which is scripture, | SCRIPTURE: |
| that none of you may be puffed up | No Getting Puffed Up |
| in favor of one against another. | About Leaders |
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7. | 7For who sees anything different in you? |
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| What have you that you did not receive? | NO BOASTING |
| Then, if you received it why do you boast | About Yourselves |
| as if you did not receive it? |
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Figure 1.4(6). Paul, Apollos and Cephas: It is about Christ (1 Cor 3:18–4:7)
This apostolic homily can be called a modified prophetic rhetorical template. It exhibits the traditional seven inverted cameos with a climax in the center. At the same time it is modified in that the center is extended and divided into three sub-cameos presented in a sequence as indicated in the formatting of figure 1.4(6) above.12
This type of three-stanza center appears five times in Isaiah 40–66. One clear case is Isaiah 44:18-20 [see fig. 1.4(7)].
1. | 18They know not, nor do they discern; |
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| for he has shut their eyes so that they cannot see, | THEY CANNOT |
| and their minds so that they cannot understand | Understand |
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2. | 19No one considers, | THEY DO NOT |
| nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, | Understand |
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3. | “Half of it | WOOD FOR |
| I burned in the fire, | Heat |
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4. | I also baked bread on its coals, | WOOD FOR |
| I roasted flesh and have eaten; | Cooking |
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5. | and shall I make the residue of it an abomination? | WOOD FOR |
| Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” | Idols? |
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6. | 20He feeds on ashes; | THEY DO NOT |
| a deluded mind has led him astray, | Understand |
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7. | and he cannot deliver himself or say, | THEY CANNOT |
| “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” | Understand |
Figure 1.4(7). Isaiah 44:18-20
Here Isaiah uses the prophetic rhetorical template of seven cameos. But the center is a series of three cameos that follow a straight-line sequence. Again, Paul uses a literary style available to him from the writing prophets.
Returning to 1 Corinthians 3:18–4:7, the first three cameos are carefully balanced with the last three. Cameo 5 is redundant but it is needed to balance cameo 3. The very center (4b) uses ring composition. This center is held together with a matching of ideas more than a pairing of words. This can be seen as follows in 4:3-4:
3Your judgment of me is trivial
Any court judgment of me is trivial
I do not judge myself
4I know nothing against myself
I am not acquitted (by a court)
The Lord judges me
Immediately after the opening cameo (2) and just before the closing cameo (6), Paul quotes or invokes Scripture. This identical rhetorical feature occurs in the apostolic homily on the cross [1:17–2:2; see fig. 1.2(1)]. With these features in mind we turn to the text.
Paul is once again attempting to heal the Corinthian divisions by reference to the hymn on the cross in 1:17–2:2. It is important to catch Paul’s train of thought by means of his carefully crafted parallels as seen in cameos 1 and 7, which are as follows:
1. | 3:18Let no one deceive himself. |
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| If any one among you thinks he is wise in this age, | NO BOASTING |
| let him become a fool that he may be wise. | About Yourselves |
| 19For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. | (Look at yourselves) |
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7. | 4:7For who sees anything different in you? |
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| What have you that you did not receive? | NO BOASTING |
| Then, if you received it why do you boast | About Yourselves |
| as if you did not receive it? | (Others look at you) |
Figure 1.4(8). Cameos 1 and 7 (1 Cor 3:18-19; 4:7)
In his introduction to the epistle, Paul complimented his readers by saying, “in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge” (1:5). At least some of the Corinthians had “knowledge” and may have been considered “wise” in the wisdom of this age. Paul may be referring to the secret knowledge claimed by the Gnostics. But here he focuses on the wisdom of God revealed in a cross. Only by becoming fools (as judged by the world) could they become wise in the things of God. The “secret wisdom of God” revealed through the Spirit (2:10b-16) was also involved. Only the humble can acquire such wisdom. It is like learning a foreign language as an adult. To do so one must become “a fool” and accept to be easily surpassed by a small child. So it is with the wisdom of God. Only self-confessing fools qualify to take a course in wisdom. Clearly the Corinthians were boasting about having enough wisdom to choose Paul against Apollos. If they had had the wisdom of God available to self-confessed fools (1), they would not have boasted about themselves (7). The word “boasting” will also reappear in the center of chapter 13.
The rejection of boasting continues in cameo 7 where Paul asks, “What have you that you did not receive?” Life, breath, community, family, daily bread, education, teachers, the gospel, the spiritual gifts—what did the Corinthian Christians have that they did not receive? All their named leaders were gifts. Paul refuses to allow for the pitting of one apostolic leader against another. This brings us to the second pair of cameos [see fig. 1.4(9)].
2. | 3:19bFor it is written, |
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| “He catches the wise in their craftiness”13 | SCRIPTURE: |
| 20and again, “The Lord knows | No Boasting |
| that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”14 | About Leaders |
| So let no one boast of men. |
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6. | 4:6bthat you may learn by/through15 us |
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| not to go beyond that which is scripture, | SCRIPTURE: |
| that none of you may be puffed up | No Getting Puffed Up |
| in favor of one against another. | About Leaders |
Figure 1.4(9). Cameos 2 and 6 (1 Cor 3:19b-20; 4:6b)
Trying to reconcile Paul’s Old Testament quotations with the Greek and Hebrew originals is an arduous task. Yet at least some of Paul’s reasons for quoting these texts are obvious. God’s wisdom is beyond anything that humankind can produce. For Paul Scripture was an authoritative source that shed light on a discussion of the wisdom of people versus the wisdom of God. The conclusion of the matter is: Therefore, “let no one boast of men.” Let not the Calvinist boast of Calvin or the Lutheran boast of Luther. Having completed advanced theological degrees in both Calvinistic and Lutheran institutions, I am convinced that each tradition has a great deal to teach the other. Surely one can rejoice in one’s own tradition and at the same time be open to new insights out of another. The Corinthians were setting one teacher against the other. The balancing cameo (6) is both amazing and complicated.
Paul writes (literally), “That in us you may learn the things not beyond that which is written.” Thiselton presents a marvelous, extensive, fully documented discussion of this dense verse. He sets out and discusses seven interpretive options16 and his thoughtful conclusion is,
Most of all, he [Paul] urges the sufficiency of the gospel of the cross interpreted within the framework of biblical tradition, as against the misguided and indeed damaging effects of trying to add “wisdom” aspects or notions of being “people of the Spirit” without the cross.17
Cameos 2 and 6 both focus on Scripture. A proper understanding of Paul’s intent surely includes the affirmation that church tradition, reason and experience are all valuable. But none of them must ever be allowed to “go beyond scripture” (4:6). This will prevent being “in favor of one [leader] against another.” Christian history is strewn with wreckage caused by violations of Paul’s directives in this matched pair of texts.
The third set of parallel cameos is displayed in figure 1.4(10).
3. | 3:21bFor all things are yours, |
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| 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas | PAUL—APOLLOS |
| or the world or life or death | All Yours |
| or the present or the future, all are yours; |
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| 23and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s |
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5. | 4:6I have applied all this to myself | PAUL—APOLLOS |
| and to Apollos for your benefit, brethren, | All Yours |
Figure 1.4(10). Cameos 3 and 5 (1 Cor 3:21-23; 4:6)
The sweeping nature of what Paul is saying takes the reader’s breath away. In cameo 3 Paul includes the full list that appeared in 1:12. Paul, Apollos, Cephas and Christ are mentioned. But here in cameo 3 being “of Paul” or “of Apollos” or “of Cephas” lose their preeminence because all believers are (literally) “of Christ” and Christ is “of God.” The divisions in the church then and now pale in the bright light of such a comprehensive worldview. The rising movement of the text must not be missed. The three church leaders are mentioned first. Next comes “the world, or life or death or the present or the future.” The text finally reaches its summit with “you are of Christ and Christ is of God.” The view from that lofty height does not allow for quibbling over Paul, Apollos and Cephas. Instead, the reader is powerfully stimulated to reflect deeply on what Paul intends when he writes “all things are yours” as the mind and spirit move up the high mountain to its summit. The Christian traditions out of Syriac, Coptic, Greek, Armenian, Latin, Arabic, German, French, English and Spanish as they are in harmony with Scripture and currently affirmed in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and North America (and more)—are all ours!
In the matching cameo (5) Paul tells his readers that he has applied “all this” to himself and Apollos for their benefit. In the fourth century Chrysostom argued that Paul chose to omit the names of the contending Corinthian leaders and astutely mentions only himself and Apollos. Chrysostom writes, “if he had applied his argument in their persons, they would not have learnt all that they needed to learn, nor would have admitted the correction, being vexed at what was said.”18
This brings us to the extended cameo that forms the climax of this apostolic homily [see fig. 1.4(11)].
4a. | 4:1This is how one should regard us, | SEE US AS |
| as servants of Christ | Servants and |
| and stewards of the mysteries of God. | Stewards |
| 2Moreover it is required of stewards | Under |
| that they be found faithful. | Judgment |
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4b. | 3And to me it is trifling to be judged by you |
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| I do not even judge myself. | THE LORD |
| 4I am not aware of anything against myself, | Judges Me |
| but I am not thereby acquitted. |
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| It is the Lord who judges me. |
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4c. | 5Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, |
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| before the Lord comes, | THE LORD |
| who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness | Judges and |
| and will disclose the purposes/motives of people’s hearts. | Commends All |
| That every person receive his commendation from God. |
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Figure 1.4(11). Cameo 4a, b, c (1 Cor 4:1-5)
This center forms an important point of emphasis not only for the homily but for this section of the essay. The Corinthians had seen their founders as leaders of competing and conflicting groups in the church. As noted, ethnicity may have been involved. In any case, after three closely argued chapters Paul at last tells his readers how they should see him and his leadership team. The question of “judgment” runs through the three parts of this climax.
Within a few verses Paul uses four key words to define himself and his colleagues. Two of these were in the parable about farmers (3:5-9). The other two are in this text. Seen together the four are as follows:
diakonoi assigned by the Lord | (servants assigned by the Lord) |
sunergoi for God | (fellow workers for God) |
huperetai of Christ | (assistants to Christ) |
oikonomoi of the mysteries of God | (stewards of the mysteries of God) |
The first two make clear that they are servants “assigned by the Lord” and that they work for God (not the Corinthians). The third and fourth appear in the text before us. I have chosen to translate huperetai as “assistants.” As a Greek word it was used for a physician’s assistant, an adjutant and a priest’s helper.19 It was also the word for a synagogue official, and in the Gospels it is used for assistants in the temple in Jerusalem. In a detailed discussion of the synagogue in the early Christian centuries, Shemuel Safrai notes that huperetes was the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word hazzan. He writes,
The head of the synagogue had an adjutant the hazzan, undoubtedly the huperetes of Luke 4:20, who acted as executive officer in the practical details of running the synagogue…. The hazzan acted in fact as master of ceremonies throughout the whole liturgy.20
In Paul’s mind Christ was the head of the synagogue/church, and the apostles were the huperetai.
In this text Paul asks his readers to look on the apostolic band as “assistants to Christ” and “stewards of the mysteries of God.” In the parable about the farmers, Paul presented himself as a servant. But having been assigned by “the Lord” he and his colleagues were, on the deepest level, “fellow workers for God” rather than “servants of the Corinthians.” In the first two out of the four words listed, lowliness is emphasized. Here, leadership is central.
In every place Paul was ready to serve the church gathered in that city. But he obeyed orders from a higher authority. In regard to his readers he was not a “quivering mass of availability.” One of the illuminating texts in this regard is Mark 1:35-38. In that account Jesus withdraws early in the morning “to a lonely place” for prayer. Simon and others follow him, find him and say “Everyone is searching for you.” Jesus replies, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.” The people he served did not control his agenda—he did! Paul acts out this theology with clarity when in the book of Romans he writes, “But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions,… I go to Spain” (Rom 15:23-24). How could there be nothing left to do in Greece or Asia Minor? Were Christian communities established in all the towns and villages of the area? As “a servant of Christ” Paul was on his way. The people he served could not trump that higher obedience.
Paul also saw himself as a “steward of the mysteries of God.” The inner core of his identity was not formed by counseling or administration or even by preaching. He was certainly engaged in first-century forms of those activities as he lived out his “anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor 11:28). But out of the inner core of his identity he sensed responsibility for the “mysteries of God.” This vision of Christian leadership is a noble standard for the church in every age.
This title of “steward of the mysteries of God ” appears in this first essay, where he discusses the cross, the Trinity and the hidden mysteries now revealed through the Spirit. Then in essay five, he concludes with “behold, I tell you a mystery” (15:51). There the steward again fulfills his assigned task. This theme provides an inclusio, a thread that helps connect the end to the beginning and bind the letter together.
Yet Paul does not act out his servanthood and stewardship as a freelancer. By its very nature the apostolic band required some clear authority that could provide oversight and review. A steward is a steward for someone, and the servant cannot serve in a vacuum. He concludes this opening section of the cameo by saying, “moreover it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” Found by whom?
Two aspects of this statement are worthy of note. First, biblical languages (and modern Arabic) have no word for honesty. Honesty is a Roman concept, and the word has roots in Latin, Old French, Italian and Spanish. It has to do with commitment to an impersonal ideal. The biblical word is faithful, which requires a person to whom one is faithful. A servant is faithful to his or her master. Paul was faithful to “our Lord Jesus Christ” (as stated repeatedly in the opening chapter). One day the master will say, “Give an account of your stewardship.”
Second, Paul does not say the steward must be “successful” but rather “faithful.” A parallel to this text is the parable of the talents in Luke 19:12-27, where a master gives large sums of money to his servants and leaves. On his return he calls them in that he might know “how much business they had transacted.”21 The first was successful, but the master congratulates him on his faithfulness, not on his success. The first is clearly more important than the second.
The second cameo (4b) in this compound center reads:
4b. | 3And to me it is trifling to be judged by you |
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| or by any human court. |
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| I do not even judge myself. | THE LORD |
| 4I am not aware of anything against myself, | Judges Me |
| but I am not thereby acquitted. |
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| It is the Lord who judges me. |
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Paul displays a deep sense of spiritual and psychological balance. No one judges him—neither his readers nor any human court, nor even himself. The Corinthian efforts to put him under their microscope and tear him to pieces will not influence him. They can pass any judgment they like—it will not affect him. His personal worth is not related to how they feel about him. At the same time when Paul is under personal attack, he does not dissolve in a barrage of self-criticism. Yet, he is not acquitted—the Lord will judge him!
In cameo 4c Paul continues on the same subject.
4c. | 5Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, |
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| before the Lord comes, | THE LORD |
| who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness | Judges and |
| and will disclose the purposes/motives of people’s hearts. | Commends All |
| That every person receive his commendation from God. |
|
The Corinthians had assumed the right to subject their leaders to scrutiny and then divide up into competing groups on the basis of their conclusions. Paul knew that the key to all of this was the inner motive of those involved. It was time for acceptance, not judgment. The Lord, in his good time, would bring to light the motives of hearts now hidden in darkness. Then and only then every person, not just Paul, Apollos and Cephas, but everyone will receive “their commendation from God.” Case closed.22
If Paul’s admonitions are followed, the party spirit that was dividing the church would evaporate, and the Corinthians could recover health as a part of the one body of Christ.
This homily includes the following themes.
The wisdom of God is beyond the wisdom of this age.
One must “become a fool” to acquire such wisdom.
Boasting before God is not acceptable, because all we have comes to us as gifts.
Boasting about various leaders is meaningless.
The Christian must never go beyond Scripture.
All Christian leaders belong to all Christians, and all Christians belong to Christ in God.
Authentic Christian leaders are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
The Lord alone can judge others, because he alone knows the secrets of the heart.
Paul accepts the judgment of the Lord, but not the judgment of the Corinthians.
Lowliness is always an essential part of authentic Christian leadership.
Paul concludes this opening essay with some final reflections [see fig. 1.4(12)].
Paul is winding down as he brings his first essay to an end. He again uses seven cameos to express his concluding thoughts and his personal appeal. Paul opens with three cameos of comparison between the Corinthians and the apostles (1-3). To this he adds three cameos that describe the world within which the apostles carry out their mission (4-6). There is a climax in the center of each half of the homily. In the center of the first (2) he offers the parable of the Roman spectacle. This creates an encased parable. The center of the second half describes the apostles’ responses to their suffering.
At the same time the two sets of three cameos interlock. Cameo 2 (Paul’s suffering) becomes the beginning (4) and the end (6) of the next section and thus locks the two sets of cameos together. Cameo 2 presents a picture of brutalized, ragged captives at the end of a Roman victory parade. The picture is filled out in 4 and 6. This method of interlocking occurs also in Isaiah 48:1-11 and Isaiah 55:6-9.
In the last cameo (7) Paul asserts his authority as their “father” with the right to “admonish” them. The final line is his personal appeal. Some type of personal appeal concludes each of the five essays. It is a form of literary signature. With it he is “signing off ” on this first topic.
8Already you are filled, already rich! |
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| Without us you have become kings! | YOU AND WE |
| And would that you did rule, |
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| so that we might rule with you! |
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2. | 9For I think that God has exhibited us apostles last, |
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| like men sentenced to death; | THE PARABLE OF |
| because we have become a spectacle | God’s Spectacle |
| to the world, to angels and to men. | (the apostles’ condition) |
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3. | 10We are fools for Christ’s sake, |
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| but you are wise in Christ. |
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| We are weak, but you are strong. | WE AND YOU |
| You are held in honor, but we in dishonor. |
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4. | 11To the present hour we hunger and thirst, |
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| we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, | OUR CONDITION |
| 12and we labor, working with our own hands. |
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5. | When reviled, we bless; |
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| when persecuted, we endure. | OUR RESPONSE |
| 13when slandered, we try to conciliate; | To Our Condition |
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6. | we have become as the scapegoats of the world, |
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| the offscouring of all things until now. | OUR CONDITION |
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7. | 14I do not write this to make you ashamed, |
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| but to admonish you as my beloved children. | CONCLUDING |
| 15For though you have countless guides in Christ, | Personal Appeal |
| you do not have many fathers. |
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| For I became your father in Jesus Christ through the gospel. | |
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| 16I urge you, then, be imitators of me. |
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Figure 1.4(12). Christian unity: Paul, Apollos and Cephas—concluding remarks (1 Cor 4:8-16)
The first three cameos in this homily are seen in figure 1.4(13).
Paul opened this first essay (1:4-9) with gentle compliments telling them that they were enriched in Christ in “all speech and all knowledge” and “not lacking in any spiritual gift.” In the center of the essay he started to open a can of worms related to their failures and flatly told them that they were still “children” and were thus only able to digest milk. Now at the end he pulls out all the stops and speaks to them harshly with irony and sarcasm.
1. | 8Already you are filled, already rich! |
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| Without us you have become kings! | YOU AND WE |
| And would that you did rule, |
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| so that we might rule with you! |
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2. | 9For I think that God has exhibited us apostles last, |
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| like men sentenced to death; | THE PARABLE OF |
| because we have become a spectacle | God’s Spectacle |
| to the world, to angels and to men. | (the apostles’ condition) |
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3. | 10We are fools for Christ’s sake, |
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| but you are wise in Christ. |
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| We are weak, but you are strong. | WE AND YOU |
| You are held in honor, but we in dishonor. |
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Figure 1.4(13). Cameos 1-3 (1 Cor 4:8-10)
Cameo 1 concentrates on the Corinthians while in cameo 3 the emphasis tilts in the direction of Paul and his colleagues. The Corinthians think they have become kings (without kingdoms) and they imagine themselves to be wise, strong and held in honor. They believe Paul and his friends are weak, foolish and dishonored. Paul is not amused by their preposterous views.
Then dramatically his ironic mood shifts as he exposes some deep pain. This pain appears as he tells the parable of the Roman spectacle in cameo 2. He becomes calm and reflective as he contemplates the idea that God is leading a great triumph with the world and the angelic hosts watching. After a major military victory Roman generals were given a grand parade through the streets of Rome. The conqueror rode in a chariot near the front followed by priests and notables. The victorious army marched behind them. Then came wagons loaded with captured booty. At the very end were captives in chains who, at the conclusion of the parade route, would be killed in a public sacrifice to the Roman gods. Paul wonders if God has formed such a parade and has placed the apostles at the end under sentence of death. What is amazing about this parable of the Roman triumph is its similarity to the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus was also in a (Roman) parade that ended with his death in a public place.
On July 18, 1944, the German martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a letter from prison to a friend. In it he said,
“Christians stand by God in God’s suffering,” and that distinguishes Christians from pagans. “Could you not keep awake with me one hour?” Jesus asks in Gethsemane. This is the reversal of everything a religious person expects from God. Human beings are called to suffer with God’s own suffering caused by the godless world.23
Later in the same letter Bonhoeffer continues, “Being swept into the messianic suffering of God in Jesus Christ happens in the most varied ways in the New Testament.”24 In Philippians 3:10 Paul writes, “that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Was this what Paul was thinking about as he wrote the parable of the Roman triumph?
As noted, the center of this first essay focuses on the power and wisdom of the cross (1:17–2:2). As Paul concludes his discussion of this topic, his mind returns to the theme of the cross with hints of his own participation in the suffering of Christ.
This is an often neglected Pauline cry of dereliction. If this is God’s triumphal parade, why are the apostles at the end anticipating death? “My God, my God—why…?” Like Jesus, Paul is perhaps not expressing his studied conclusions but rather his deepest feelings. This is how he feels, and surprisingly, he is not ashamed to expose those feelings to his readers. Perhaps this is because such feelings connected him to the suffering of Jesus.
In the second set of three cameos Paul moves beyond the Corinthians and looks back over his ministry at large [see fig. 1.4(14)].
4. | 11To the present hour we hunger and thirst, |
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| we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, | OUR CONDITION |
| 12and we labor, working with our own hands. |
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5. | When reviled, we bless; |
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| when persecuted, we endure. | OUR RESPONSE |
| 13when slandered, we try to conciliate; | To Our Condition |
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6. | we have become as the scapegoats of the world, |
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| the offscouring of all things until now. | OUR CONDITION |
Figure 1.4(14). Cameos 4-6 (1 Cor 4:11-13)
Paul contemplates his apostolic band and sees a small group of traveling preachers who are hungry, thirsty, poorly dressed, wounded and homeless. To top it off, they have to pay their own way. Paul appears to be borrowing vocabulary from a list in Isaiah 58:7. In that text God speaks, telling the people
Is not this the fast that I choose:…
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him.
Paul’s Greek word for “ill clad” (v. 11) also means “half-naked.” The Hebrew phrase in the above text for “homeless poor” is ‘anawim marudeem which includes the idea of the wandering, homeless poor. Isaiah’s text describes the apostles. For decades Paul had no permanent address, no place to call his own. Three out of the five descriptive words Paul selects appear in Isaiah’s list. Paul’s choice of words also links cameo 4 to the great “self-emptying” passage in Philippians 2:6-8. Here, to a lesser degree, we see the self-emptying of Paul.
Comparisons with the passion of Jesus are again compelling. John’s Gospel records that on Easter evening Jesus appeared to the disciples in a locked room where they were hiding in fear. He showed them his hands and his side and said to them, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” In the text before us, a few sentences after this devastating description of his ministry, Paul writes “be imitators of me.” I spent forty years in ministry in four different countries of the Middle East and survived seven wars with many life-threatening dangers. But I was rarely seriously hungry or thirsty. I tried to dress simply, but I was never “half-naked.” I was never beaten, nor was I ever homeless, and I was not obliged to pay my own way. Had I been called on to walk in Paul’s shoes, how would I have responded? Who is able for these things? Both the conversation with Jesus on Easter evening and the concluding remarks in this f irst essay are stunning challenges to all who choose to travel the narrow way. Even more amazing is the manner in which Paul responded to this litany of hardships.
When insulted, he blessed. When persecuted, he endured. When slandered, he sought reconciliation. In traditional Middle Eastern culture (and elsewhere), retaliation is considered one of the marks of an honorable self-respecting person. Aristotle agreed, and made “great-heartedness” (megalopsukhia) the highest virtue.25 He then defined that virtue to include an unwillingness to endure insult. Cultures East and West endorse this view. For centuries the Islamic world has granted the right and indeed affirmed the duty of taking revenge to preserve honor. Islam has traditionally criticized Christianity for its failure to endorse the exercise of that right. Paul’s responses to insult, persecution and slander were not approved or applauded in the culture of which he was a part. For the Jewish community, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was still a sacred law to be observed. But the “mind of Christ” and his sacrificial life pointed Paul in a radically new direction. That new narrow way, here on display, links Paul’s earlier discussion of the cross to his personal life. This is how he takes up his cross and follows Jesus.
Paul then offers two final descriptions of his condition (cameo 6). The NRSV translates the first “We have become like the rubbish of the world.” The word is peri-katharma, which was used to describe the dust and dirt that is thrown out at the end of a round of house cleaning. BAGD describes this word as “that which is removed as a result of a thorough cleansing, i.e., dirt, refuse…. Purification results from this activity.”26
The second word, peri-psema, also has to do with scrapings, cleaning and purifying.
Regarding this text, William Orr and James Walther write,
[Paul] knew what physical deprivation meant…. His reward was often insult, persecution and slander; but Paul responded according to the irenic admonition of Jesus. The end result of all this was that the dirt scoured from the world was poured upon him and his apostolic co-laborers. They then acted as cleansing agents, taking to themselves hate, malice, and bitterness; and by absorbing this without violent or vengeful response, they took away those evils. Thus in a particular way they were carrying on the work of Christ.27
Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” He continues and mentions “the mystery hidden for ages and generations and now made manifest to his saints” (Col 1:24, 26).
As seen above, Paul brings this essay to its conclusion with a stunning homily composed of seven remarkable cameos. Only the final personal appeal remains [see fig. 1.4(15)].
7. | 14I do not write this to make you ashamed, | CONCLUDING |
| but to admonish you as my beloved children. | Personal Appeal |
| 15For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ,28 |
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| you do not have many fathers. |
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| For I became your father in Jesus Christ through the gospel. |
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16I urge you, then, be imitators of me. | ||
Figure 1.4(15). Cameo 7 (1 Cor 4:14-16)
As noted earlier, Paul was acting like a mother and feeding milk to a young child (the Corinthians). Now he presents himself as their father. The “guardian” in Greek culture was a well-known figure with a great deal of responsibility for forming the character of the child. But the father was naturally more important.
Paul’s use of the metaphor “father” is significant. Behind him is Hosea 11:1-9 and the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. When these three texts are compared, six themes appear in all three, and one theme surfaces in two of the three. The list is as follows:
A father and his children appear in each.
The father is insulted and badly treated by his wayward children.
The father tries to reconcile/conciliate and calls his children beloved.
The father admonishes the wayward children.
The father goes beyond what is normally expected of a human father.
The father directly or indirectly presents himself as a model for his children to emulate.
Compassion is mentioned specifically (Hosea, Jesus).
It is certain that Paul knew the book of Hosea. The comparisons between Paul’s use of the metaphor “father” and the parable of the prodigal son make it possible that Paul (directly or indirectly) knew something of that parable. Thus three of the parables of Jesus can be seen to share theological and ethical content with this section of Paul’s first essay.
In conclusion, the following aspects of Paul’s concluding remarks can be noted.
Arrogance is irritating. The Corinthians saw themselves as rich, powerful and wise. Paul spares nothing as he points out their flawed self-image.
Paul openly admits that he becomes discouraged and makes no attempt to hide his feelings. At times he feels (like Jesus?) he is on the way to his death. In the final essay Paul affirms “I die every day” (15:31).
Yet, Paul accepts being a “fool for Christ’s sake.”
His lifestyle involves great hardship.
When cursed, persecuted and slandered, he responds with love.
He absorbs evil, and in the process that evil dies.
He is their father in the gospel and writes to admonish, not to shame, his “children.”
The final personal appeal “be imitators of me” is not an ego trip for Paul. Students of a rabbi were expected to live with the rabbi. They could learn from him in two ways. His teachings provided one method of learning. Watching him live in observance of the law provided the other. How did he keep the sabbath? What about ceremonial purity? Which food stuffs did he subject to the tithe? Observing the rabbi’s lifestyle was an indispensable part of the learning process. Paul would naturally assume this teaching method— but what a litany of suffering! As noted earlier, this final admonition needs to be placed beside the admonition of Jesus in the upper room on Easter night when he showed the fearful disciples his hands and his side and said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21).
We will observe similar signature conclusions at the ends of each of the other four essays.
This brings us to the second essay.