Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Roy E. Ciampa is Professor of New Testament and Chair of the Division of Biblical Studies at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts.
Brian S. Rosner is Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Ethics at Moore Theological College and Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Ancient History at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

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The First Letter to the CORINTHIANS

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Contents

Editor's Preface......................................................................................xivAuthors' Preface......................................................................................xviChief Abbreviations...................................................................................xviiSelect Bibliography...................................................................................xxiiINTRODUCTION..........................................................................................1I. The Church in Corinth..............................................................................2II. The Identity and Aims of the Apostle Paul.........................................................6III. The Interpretation of 1 Corinthians..............................................................19I. Letter Opening, 1:1-9..............................................................................53II. True and False Wisdom and Corinthian Factionalism, 1:10–4:17................................68III. "Flee Sexual Immorality" and "Glorify God with Your Bodies," 4:18–7:40.....................189IV. "Flee Idolatry" and "Glorify God" in Your Worship, 8:1–14:40................................367V. The Resurrection and Consummation, 15:1-58.........................................................736VI. Letter Closing, 16:1-24...........................................................................839I. Subjects...........................................................................................868II. Authors...........................................................................................883III. Scripture References.............................................................................891IV. Extrabiblical Literature..........................................................................913

Chapter One

I. LETTER OPENING, 1:1-9

The opening verses of 1 Corinthians contain formal elements that are not unexpected in an ancient letter. However, these features should not be written off as merely perfunctory. Both the salutation (1:1-3) and the thanksgiving (1:4-9) are distinctive in the Pauline corpus, and together they set the stage for Paul's instructions in the ensuing sixteen chapters. Two tasks are key to discerning their function as an introduction to the rest of the letter: (1) a comparison with the openings of Paul's other letters highlights their distinctiveness; and (2) paying close attention to biblical echoes and allusions supplies clues to the biblical-theological framework that Paul is seeking to construct in his response to problems in the church in Corinth.

A. Salutation, 1:1-3

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ — their Lord and ours:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The Sender(s): Paul, Apostle of Jesus Christ (and Sosthenes), 1:1

1:1 Like most letters in Paul's day 1 Corinthians begins with a salutation consisting of the form: A (v. 1) to B (v. 2), greetings (v. 3). In identifying himself Paul draws attention to the fact that he is an apostle, an agent or messenger of Christ Jesus. This assertion appears in all of Paul's epistolary prescripts with the exception of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Philemon. In 1 Corinthians, as in Galatians, it functions to bolster his standing in a community where at least some were questioning his authority.

Paul stresses the divine origin of his apostleship in two ways: he was called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, probably an allusion to his experience on the Damascus road; and his apostleship is by the will of God. It was not of his own choosing (cf. 15:5-7 and 10: "By the grace of God I am what I am"). This conviction produced in Paul a rare combination of genuine humility and supreme confidence, a profound sense of both privilege and obligation. Paul's reference to his own apostleship, if understated here, is more fully developed later in the letter. In 9:1-2 he reminds the Corinthians that their own favorable standing before God is a result of his "work in the Lord" and that they are "the seal of [his] apostleship," thus highlighting the direct relevance of Paul's status and stature for the Corinthians' ongoing spiritual life. Further, in 4:14-16 he admonishes them as their "father," another way of referring to his role as the apostolic founder of the church. And in 15:1-2 Paul explicitly reminds them that their salvation came about when Paul preached the gospel to them.

On eight occasions Paul cites others in the address of his letters, in this case our brother Sosthenes. Sosthenes is not mentioned elsewhere in Paul's letters. The bare reference to him here suggests that he was known to the Corinthians. It is quite possible that he is the "Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue," mentioned in Acts 18:17, who was treated roughly by the bystanders at Gallio's tribunal. Perhaps he later became a Christian and traveled to Ephesus with Paul. Why does Paul refer to Sosthenes here? It is not that he is a co-author; most of the verbs and pronouns in the letter are in the first-person singular. 1 Corinthians 16:21 implies that Paul did not write out the letter, but dictated it to someone, which was a common practice in his day. Since greetings from those with Paul in Asia (Minor) are left until 16:19-20, Sosthenes may be Paul's amanuensis or personal secretary, although we cannot be certain.

2. The Addressees: The Church in Corinth as God's Holy People under the Universal Lordship of Christ, 1:2

1:2 Paul writes to the church of God in Corinth. Since there were probably several house churches in Corinth, "[t]he singular [church] indicates already Paul's intention to call them to unity — they are one church, God's church." They belong to God, not to any of their teachers or leaders (cf. 3:21-23). The term church referred to Israel as the gathered people of God in the LXX and to the public political assembly in a Greek city. Paul uses it to mean the local community of believers. The addition of "of God" to "church" is unique to 1 and 2 Corinthians in Paul's epistolary prescripts. The words are echoed in 3:9 in further descriptions of the church in Corinth ("the field of God, the building of God") and recall the origin of Paul's apostleship (v. 1), which is also (by the will) of God. In apocalyptic Judaism, the equivalent Hebrew expression for church of God is used to refer to God's eschatological people. Roloff suggests that the term was used by Paul "because it corresponded with the eschatological self-understanding of the Church, which understood itself to be the company elect by God and determined by him to be the center and crystallization-point of the eschatological Israel now being called into existence by him." Thus, when Paul designates the Corinthians the church of God, he is not comparing them to any other club or society in town but evokes their place in...