CHAPTER 1
This is supposed to be Paul’s most personal letter. It’s also supposed to be one of the most
enigmatic and difficult to really parse.
Apparently, Paul’s authority in Corinth has come under question. He ended his first letter by saying he’d come
visit soon, but he hasn’t. Also,
apparently some have questioned his authority as an apostle. This is mostly stuff I know from reading the
introduction.
As for the chapter itself, it starts off with the typical
“Hi, how are you” stuff. Paul tells them
he suffered an affliction and nearly died.
Illness or enemies: you make the call?
My hunch is the affliction was an illness, but it’s a little unclear. Get used to being unclear. It’s something he notes in part to excuse
his absence from the community that he’d promised to visit.
And he needs to provide some sort of excuse because it’s
readily apparent that many Corinthians are upset at him for not showing
up. In fact, a header in the chapter is
“The Crisis Between Paul and the Corinthians.”
Yeah, that sounds bad. He pleads
with them that though he hasn’t come, he still intends to come. He admits some inconsistency, but at the
same time pleads to a consistency on overall matters. He didn’t come when they expected, but he’ll get there when he
can.
CHAPTER 2
Much of this treads the same ground. It’s a definite departure from the previous
letters of Paul. Those mostly focused
on theology and faith, where this one is Paul discussing his situation,
problems, and emotional turmoil in order to justify himself to an upset
Corinthian congregation.
He starts talking about his ministry and what qualifies him
for it. Apparently, this line of thought will go on for several chapters. Here, Paul notes that his sincerity given to
him from God allows him to be a minister for Christ.
CHAPTER 3
So, Paul wonders, do I need to justify myself to you
Corinthians again? Apparently he
does. It sounds like some others have
come to Corinth to talk about Jesus, and these guys had official qualifications
– they had a letter with some official whatevers on it justifying their
position. What could that letter be? To
date, the only one we’ve seen issue any sort of official letters is James
Christ back in Jerusalem during the Acts of the Apostles book. And from what we’ve seen of Paul’s theology
in previous letters, Paul and James weren’t on the same page, so if there were
anyone from the James Gang coming to Corinth, that could ding Paul’s authority,
Paul may not have a letter, but he doesn’t need you – “You
are our letter,” he tells them, “written on our hearts.” His proof to them isn’t a piece of paper,
but the fact that many of them have felt the Holy Spirit due to their contact
with Paul. That’s not a bad argument to
make, all things considered.
Moving forward, the letter gets lots in a theological debate
where we don’t quite know what the other side is, and Paul is more responding
to that unknown position rather than making his clear. Let’s see …. Paul talks of Moses and the old
law. I think he calls it the “ministry
of death.” That would fit his
theological thrust in the previous letters.
He makes an analogy about Moses having to put a veil on his face (this
is something from Exodus), and notes people had the law veiled from them, until
Christ.
If it is an emissary from James Christ coming north, that
might explain this. James was more in
tune with traditional Mosaic Law than Paul was, after all. And Paul had violated the rules he was told
to abide by when he left Jerusalem. (Oh
yeah, in the background on my mind is what I’ve read in the Bart Ehrman books
about how the disputes Paul sometimes talks of in his letters might be a sign
of dispute between James and Paul.
Maybe I read that in “Paul and Jesus” by James Tabor; it all bleeds
together for me).
CHAPTER 4
I didn’t get much from this chapter. Paul continues to justify his ministry to
his critics – but we really don’t know who his critics are or what they’re
criticizing Paul for exactly.
Paul thinks a minister of Christ should be transparent, so that
the word of Christ goes through him purely and perfectly, without the minister
getting in the way. The irony is that
Paul is making that point in the letter than it is so far almost exclusively
about himself, and not about Christ.
CHAPTER 5
Paul still tries to justify himself to the people of
Corinth. He notes the importance of
having courage, even in the face of risk and danger. He notes, “We would rather leave the body and go home to the
Lord” then give up preaching about Christ.
This is one way to justify his ministry. Look, I’m so convinced in this that I’m willing to risk death for
it. What greater mark of sincerity do
you people need?
Paul actually uses this to make an interesting analogy
between his ministry’s credibility and his theology. His theology has always prioritized inner faith over all
else. Loving Christ matters; getting
circumcised is immaterial. Well, the same
is true of qualifications. So some guys
with an outer qualification – a piece of paper giving them stature – have come
to Corinth. Big deal. What matters aren’t your outer
qualifications – just as circumcision doesn’t mean you’ll go to heaven. What does matter is your inner
qualifications – and Paul has plenty of that.
He’s willing to risk death for Christ – so why would a piece of paper
mean more?
Also, one thing I should point out: Paul often speaks in
first person plural: we. Is this the
birth of the royal “we” here? Paul uses
it, Popes will use it, kings will use it – it means the writer feels justified
in speaking for the entire community. I
didn’t see this happen at all in the Old Testament. It’s possible kings or emperors before Paul did it, but he’s the
first guy to do it in the Bible. At the
very least, it serves a precedent for Popes to do it.
CHAPTER 6
This is more of the same.
Paul is justifying his ministry some more.
CHAPTER 7
Finally, this portion of the letter is winding up. Paul has spent half of it justifying
himself. Clearly, he feels a strong
need to do so. People are upset he
didn’t come when expected, and others with some Official Paperwork on their
side have undermined Paul’s word in the community.
CHAPTER 8
OK, Paul is done defending himself and now moves on to other
matters. First off, he is raising funds
to give to the Christian community in Jerusalem. Also, he is sending three followers of his to Corinth to help
out. One is named Titus, and Paul never
names the others, so we don’t know who they are. One is said to be, “the brother who is praised in all the
churches for his preaching of the gospel.”
The third is just described as “our brother.”
I’ll point out that we haven’t seen a reference to Luke yet
in any of these Paul letters. I wonder
when we’ll come in contact with him.
He’s believed to be the author of his gospel and Acts because: 1) since
Acts is mostly about Paul the author is believed to be someone in Paul’s
circle, and 2) the author appears to be a Gentile. Luke was a prominent Gentile hanging with Paul – but we haven’t
seen him mentioned yet. Sure, I’m only
in my third Paul letter with 10-11 more to go, but these are the three long
letters.
CHAPTER 9
This is another chapter I didn’t get much out of. It calls on people to give and to
serve. The more you reap, the more you
will sow. That’s a nice sentiment, and
explains a lot of why churches are so heavily involved in charity.
CHAPTER 10
The last four chapters are all on the same main theme – Paul
defending his ministry. He’s done it
earlier, but it really seems quite a bit stronger here.
Actually, he first starts backing into it. He starts apologizing into his defense,
noting that he’s not the strongest public speaker that there is. He notes that people have criticized him for
sounding so strong in his letters but comparatively tepid in person. Paul even mock-quotes a critic: “His letters
are severe and forceful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is
contemptible.” Bummer. You’d think all the experience Paul had in
founding churches would make him a better public speaker, but that’s life.
Paul admits he’s not a good public speaker, but says, in
effect, so what? Is that the
point? He has the Holy Spirit within
him – now that’s the point!
Oh, Paul tells us he doesn’t mean to boast and doesn’t like
to boast. He thinks that gets in the
way of things. But you know what? Since he doesn’t boast and others do, maybe
people are taking him for granted.
Maybe he should boast a bit.
(Actually, what I’m saying here is partially late Chapter 10, and
partially early Chapter 11. They bleed
together).
CHAPTER 11
Now Paul is starting to really rev up. Apparently, some people have come to Corinth
and led the faithful astray. Some
people have come and told the flock that Paul is wrong about Christ, and that
they’re approach is right. Paul is horrified
that someone has come and preached “another Jesus” than his version. We’re in the midst of an early Christian
theological rumble.
Who are Paul’s opponents?
He never says. He refers to them
as “these `superapostles.’” That’s
it. So who could the superapostles
be? My best hunch – and this comes out
of the writings of Biblical scholars like Bart Ehrman and especially James
Tabor in his book “Paul and Jesus” – it’s probably the actual apostles; you
know – some of the guys mentioned in the gospels.
Think it through.
First, Paul never really does denigrate the credentials of his opponents
that much. Paul more promotes his own
credentials than the other way around.
Second, his choice to call these guys “superapostles” is
interesting. He’s acknowledging that
they’re apostles but putting them down at the same time. It’s Biblical snark – he’s overinflating
their credentials to belittle them.
Third, who else could have enough juice in Corinth to cause the flock to
pull away from Paul? Think about it –
if it was some random shepherd from the countryside told them that Paul was
wrong, would anyone listen? But if an actual apostle of Christ who knew Jesus
said Paul was wrong – well, that’s a whole other mess of potatoes.
And let’s think for a second. Earlier in this letter Paul denigrated people coming to Corinth
with impressive paper credentials. Paul
said that didn’t matter. Well, whoever
is coming to town has some impressive credentials then.
Lastly, always remember – the message Paul sends in these
letters is clearly and explicitly different from the message coming out of
Jerusalem. James Christ and the
apostles wanted people to follow the Laws of Moses, only making an exception
for circumcision with gentiles. Paul
tells everyone to ignore the laws. It
all adds up to Paul and the apostles not being on the same page. It’s not the image we have of Paul at all,
but it fits with what we’re seeing here.
Oh, and Paul doesn’t just denigrate them as
superapostles. He calls them false
apostles who “masquerade as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of
light. So it is not strange that his
ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness.” Wow!
Paul isn’t pulling his punches there.
Paul then compares and contrasts himself with the false
superapostles. Are they Hebrew? Me too.
Israelites? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? “I am still more.”
And that last little bit finally allows Paul to go off on a
boasting little rant of his own. I am still more, he says? Here is his rant, in full: “Are they
ministers of Christ? (I am talking like
an insane person,) I am still more, with far greater labors, far more imprisonments,
far worse beatings, and numerous brushes with death. Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus
one. Three times I was beaten with
rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a
day on the deep, on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from
robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers, in
toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, though hunger and thirst,
through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me
of my anxiety for all the churches.” So
people think they have better claims to stature than Paul? Get bent, James Christ and the
apostles.
There is a strong strain of martyrdom in Christianity. Obviously, it comes from Christ martyring
himself on the cross to save all mankind.
But you can see plenty of it in Paul.
His credentials? He’s suffered –
suffered for the cause, suffered for you.
Oh, and he finishes up by telling us that he had to leave
Damascus in a basket. So that’s where
that story comes from.
CHAPTER 12
This continues on a similar theme, but gets a little
weird. Paul tells us he knows someone
who 14 years ago made it to the third level of heaven (sounds like a Nintendo
game) and was paradise and heard many things. It’s not clear if he’s talking
about some allegory, someone he knows, or his own experience of
conversion. (This letter was written
around 57 AD it’s believed, so that would put the conversion at 43 AD). I think Paul is talking about himself, but
it’s hard to say.
After that little odd digression, Paul reaffirms that he is
second to none; certainly not second to this mysterious band of
superapostles. Paul believes the people
of Corinth are wavering because he was too humble and not boastful enough. He felt that was the way to go. He felt that as the founder of the church,
it was not his place to put his burdens upon them. As Paul says by way of analogy: “Children ought not to save for
their parents, but parents for their children.” That’s a nice line – and a famous one, too. Oddly enough, Paul isn’t really talking
about parents and children at all.
CHAPTER 13
Paul leaves on a somewhat
threatening note. He’ll return, and
when he does, he won’t be lenient with them.
Then he gives a few lines of typical giving thanks and to rejoice.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
This is a mixed bag.
There isn’t much great theology here compared to the earlier
letters. Much of this is really hard to
get at as Paul more refers to the disputes at the heart of this letter instead
of explaining them. But it has its
moments, especially in Chapter 11.
No comments:
Post a Comment