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These lecture notes provide an overview of 1 Corinthians and related topics. It details assessment methods, assignments, and theological themes. The notes cover the historical, literary, and cultural context, and an overview of the main content. It also describes Paul and the early church's social context.
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I Corinthians AN URBAN PENTECOSTAL CHURCH IN TROUBLE WEEK ONE 1 Assessment Methods Learning Outcomes Type Due Dates Weighting...
I Corinthians AN URBAN PENTECOSTAL CHURCH IN TROUBLE WEEK ONE 1 Assessment Methods Learning Outcomes Type Due Dates Weighting 1. Describe the socio-historical Comprehensive Objective Nov. 28 30% background relevant to Paul’s Examination Corinthian correspondence as well as the letter’s respective structures, Outline of Letters Oct. 24 5% themes, theology, and styles. Chronology of Paul’s letters Oct. 31 5% and visits 2. Explain passages in the Corinthian Critical responses to weekly Oct. 24, 31, 15% letters and make application to questions Nov. 7, 14, 21 contemporary Pentecostalism in Asia. Course Notebook Nov. 28 10% 3. Assess Paul’s concern for, and Exegetical Essay (word count Nov. 28 35% correction of, an erring church in light 2,000) of Pentecostalism. Demonstrate critical engagement with both the primary biblical materials and secondary literature from a range of perspectives. 2 Assignments OUTLINE Do up a table of contents only by reading Readings in 1 Corinthians Read through as much as you can in one shot because it's a letter the bible alone without referring to commentaries Readings in Thomas Schreiner, 1 Corinthians (available *The reason we do that is so that we learn to think by ourselves rather than in Alphacrucis Library) Reading of textbooks are supplementary and Prof Doug would usually not preach from textbooks relying on "experts" to learn about the bible - have your own revelation Outline of 1 Corinthians 1 Cor writes it in a very logical manner, unlike 2 Cor Chronology of Paul’s visits and letters to the Corinthians Follow through with Prof Doug's verses and we should be able to get the chronological order right. If we do it thoughtfully, points will be awarded to all. Study Guides/Notebook Passages have been broken down accordingly so that we can use it to submit the notebook. Make sure you answer all the questions to help you reflect. Objective Exam Exegetical Essay All that you need to study for the exam is within the study guide provided. There will be false and multiple choice matching Make sure your name is written on the actual assignment The essay will be on "The Lord's Supper". and please use Times New Roman 12 pt font. Make sure your name is written clearly and in Times New Roman, 12pt. 3 Don't number the first page of your essay. Books relied on or cited in the lectures Barrett, C. K. A commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians. New York: Harper & Row, 1968. Bruce, F. F. 1 and 2 Corinthians: based on the Revised standard version. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1980. Ciampa, Roy E and Bruce S. Rosner. The First Letter to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010. Fee, Gordan. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Revised Edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014. 4 Books relied on or cited in the lectures Garland, David. 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2013. Hays, Richard. First Corinthians. Louisville, Ky.: John Knox Press, 1997. Morris, Leon. 1 Corinthians: an introduction and commentary. Downers Grove, IL : IVP Academic, 1985, 2008. Schreiner, Thomas E. 1 Corinthians. Downers Grove: IVP. 2018. 5 BIG PICTURE The early church was established during what was called the Graeco-Roman World. It is a Mediterranean System When we look at the New Testament, we always ask the question: "What is the culture there like?" During the time in which the chapter/verse was written The Social Context of the Early Church 6 Social Context of the Early Church Mediterranean culture Households run by patriarchs Love for honor/fear of shame Honour comes by how people think of me. For Eg: When you do something, does it bring honour or shame? Status/role-Slaves/owners Status is your station in life, like your trade and it goes up and down the social ladder and for the most part, Patronage & Quid pro quo (friendship) ittoo.doesn't change with generation. Usually, if your mother was a slave, you and your children would be slaves It is repeated in cultures that are poorer but those who are not so poor, they get an education and they Religion (pantheon of the gods) are able to come out of that. Patronage means if you get a position, you will use that position to help your friends - That's how it works Hellenism (Greeks) during this world. I'll do something for you and you do something for me. So they say, it's who you know and so everything is done on this basis - This is the Mediterranean culture. The Polis Common Language The Pantheon of Gods means they had a diversity of religion within their culture. When Alexander the Great, who is a Greek, conquered this land, it Religious Pantheon brought a common language that runs across the empire. 7 This language would be the language used in business and commerce. All of the letters in NT are written in Greek. So the people can understand in Roman and also in Greek. Just like in Singapore - we understand both English and Mandarin. ROMANS JEWS 1.75K miles of roads were built so that 1.The Jews were dispersed Romans Jewish wagons and troops can move easily around Europe throughout the empire; they were not gathered in one area, BUT GOD Efficiency Diverse, but Jews shared always has a plan B. There was 2.In order to have commerce, they something very attractive about Communication (roads the same basic story: needed to conquer to become a colonial being a Jew during this time. power Security Common Texts 2.They had strong convictions about 3.Everything was taxed in Rome, so morality as they had the OT. Power & War Shared stories from the corruption was also very immense *This brings order and sense, predictability Taxes texts 4.The social economic structures were Socio-economic Convictions and very layered - Beautiful people on top, then professionals who keep the 3.Plan B is when Paul starts to look for common ground and preaches in and political patterns commitments wealthy families operating, then the the synagogues and that is where he bottom layer who are largely on finds his first converts. - Ruling families Practices welfare *1/3 of them were likely slaves. - Stratified society 5.In order to make money from the - Welfare people, they were very brutal. Political tension The world of the early church is made up of all of these cultural contexts 8 SIMILARITIES TO OUR CURRENT WORLD 1.The Graeco-Roman Empire actually looks very similar to our current world. We think: How does World of A.D. 50-65 cf World of 2024 (Asia) the Corinthian church world match up with Asia? Roads—50,000 miles 2.Globalisation and technology has allowe us to have contact from anywhere in the world. The Commerce, arts, culture (Roman, Greek, Jewish) Graeco-Roman world had 50K miles of roads which allowed them to communicate very far; commerce was global during the early church similar to that of Asia - Singapore is one of the epicentres for Travel globalisation and business. Global: Common language in urban centers & for 3.During this period of Paul's ministry, the people travelled. This was unique to that time, the idea commerce of travelling. When we read this passage, we don't think so much about it because similarly, we too always travel. Paul has been to Rome 72 times! *After the 1st century, this door of travel closes Local: Lexus and the Olive Tree for 1,900 years until now, in our time. Key cities 4.Lexus and the Olive Tree is the idea of "Local Global" - Everyone has their own culture, the food Pluralism & Syncretism you eat, the language you speak, customs etc. BUT when you walk out the door, everything else turns global. Paul works locally but he thinks globally. He doesn't just think about the church at Ideas 7.Paul is one of the most entrepreneurial of his generation and Corinth but the thinks of the church of Christ globally. We all belong to something much greater generations thereafter. He was creative with his ideas than ourselves. Pagans 5.Paul always does his missionary work strategically in key cities. He holds a strategic approach in Icons 8.Pagans: People don't care about any of the Gods. his missiological process. It is always from the key cities that the gospel spreads. They are non-religious Divided society 6.The Pantheon of Gods - also known as Pluralism; where there are many Gods and people are used to this. Everybody loves to hear your story of miracles 9 until you start telling them the bid story that there is only one way to heaven and t is through Jesus Christ. 9.Divided Society of the haves and the have not: Throughout the OT, the bible breaks barriers - rich/poor, Jesus is not another God on the fireplace, He is the only God on that slave/free, Jew/Gentile and Paul will take a temperature of the church by the ability to do that through fireplace and that creates a lot of friction and can split families. Similar to the power of the Holy Spirit. what many families go through in today's times. Imagine when Paul and his team came into one of these cities, he had the Five Major Transitions veterans, rich, poor, slaves, gentiles, Jews, women, marginalised altogether. This is what contributed to the problems in the church. We are saved not just to go to heaven but saved to proclaim the good news especially to the poor! Geographically—from Jerusalem and outward. Linguistically—from Aramaic of Palestine to the All of Jesus's Disciples are Jewish, yet they have to work their way through a koine Greek of the Hellenistic world—all NT letters in huge geographical change in major cities - a different language but yet they are tasked to do missionary work in a place completely different from what they Greek. were used to Culturally—from a sect within Palestinian Judaism to an assembly within the dominant Greco-Roman Culturally: It's like going from a rural country to a metropolitan country. So sociologically, there is a difference. culture. Sociologically—from a rural to urban (cults). Demographically: The gospels are all Jewish but after the Pentecost, it Demographically—from Jews to Gentiles. By A.D. 70, becomes all gentile so the early church has a Roman culture and that is the reason why God chooses Paul because he was able to function as both Roman the majority of the Christians were Gentile in and Jew equally. background. 10 Timeline (A.D.) Paul established the church and he is there for 18 months but then the relationship with the Corinthians is rocky and he has to work through 5-10 Birth of Paul his heartache with them. 30, 31 Cross, Resurrection, Ascension, Most of the story takes place in Ephesus his third missionary journey Pentecost (Acts 1-6) The Good News Begins in Jerusalem 32, 33 Stephen is stoned (Acts 7) 35, 36 Paul is converted (Acts 9:1-9) Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem (Acts 9) The Good News Spreads to the Gentiles 43, 44 James the apostle is executed (Acts 12) 11 47, 48 Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13-14) 49 The Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) 49-51/52 Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36- 18:22) 53-57 Paul’s Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:23- 21:14) 58-62 Paul as Prisoner and trip to Rome (Acts 21:15- 28:10) 62-64 Paul is Prisoner in Rome (Acts 28:11-31) 12 13 A Very Short Introduction to Corinthians 14 Corinth THE BRIDGE Third largest city (after Rome and Alexandria) in the The Corinthians built a bridge which was an apparatus that extends for 6KM Roman Empire. Located on an isthmus 6km wide. There is another route, however it was very dangerous Population: 400,000-700,000 (estimate). So the entire civilised Graeco-Roman world will pass through this port and therefore a lot of riches would come to them through this. A bridge built across the isthmus allowed ships to unload at one port, and have cargo dragged across the land bridge to the port on the other side. Corinth became the crossroads between Europe and Asia (East/West and North/South trade routes). Commerce exploded. 15 The city’s location offered opportunities for the entrepreneur to become rich. Corinth hosted the Isthmus Games; a 14,000-seat amphitheatre. Corinth was cosmopolitan and wealthy. The arts, philosophy, religious syncretism, and sacred prostitution flourished. 16 The People of Corinth People came from everywhere: Jew/Gentile, slave/free (approximately 1/3 of population were slaves), rich/poor, and male/female. The city attracted merchants, tradespeople, artisans, and philosophers (lovers of wisdom). The city also attracted gold diggers, troublemakers, cheats, and crooks. 17 The Temple of Aphrodite was dedicated to This church would be the first in their region “sacred prostitution”. Prostitution was routinely They have no one else to copy or take after practiced. Their culture is like establishing a church in that of a rich city They tried to use theology to fit into their culture Fornication in Corinth was so rampant, “to fornicate” became a verb – “to Corinthianise”. The church at Corinth was “a mirror of the culture”. 18 Paul the Person Born in Tarsus (a Greek city) to Jewish parents. Roman citizen Thought in Greek, educated in Hebrew. Trained in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. Pharisee. Persecuted the Church. Converted on Damascus Road. Leader: 80 people with Paul, 40 worked with him, and 9 were women. 19 Paul the Apostle/Theologian Lead missionary sent to the Gentile world. Provided the Church with its first theology. Paul was a task theologian. Most of his letters were written to solve problems in the Early Church (1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Philemon). Paul treated sticky issues with a theological response (incarnation, cross, resurrection, and Second Coming). 20 Paul and the Corinthians Paul planted the church in Corinth (with Silas and Timothy) during his second missionary journey in A.D. 49/50. Paul stayed for 18 months (Acts 18). Converts/members–representing a cross-section of secular society: Priscilla and Aquila: Jews, business owners* Crispus: Jew, patron, and leader of the synagogue* Sosthenes: Jew, leader in the synagogue, and co- worker Gaius: Roman, all the churches met in his home* 21 Titius Justus: Roman, lived next door to the synagogue* Fortunatus and Quartus: Romans Stephanas (household): Greek, the church met in his home* Erastus: Greek, city treasurer, highest ranking member* Phoebe: Greek, Paul’s patron, also a pastor* Chloe: Greek, businesswoman and patron* Achaicus and Lucius: Greeks *wealthy or at least people of means 22 Important Terms Honor and Shame: Honor and shame refer to the ongoing gain or loss of esteem determined by one’s peers, family, and social-economic class. Status and Role: Status is a person’s position in society. Role is the expected behavior matching one’s status. Status is based primarily on such things as wealth, education, rhetorical skill, family pedigree, and political connections. 23 Patron/Patronage: Person of higher social standing provides services or money to lower-class person (client). The client was expected to repay (with interest) as well as give loyalty to the patron. Note: In the early church, a patron is also a person who provides a service or financial support without expecting payback. For example, Lydia, Phoebe, and Chloe were patrons to Paul. Note: In secular culture, there were minimal social relationships between classes. Not so in the Church. 24 The Story A Pentecostal/charismatic church, blessed with spiritual gifts. Leaders speak in the tongues of angels. They believe the “Spirit” revealed to them “divine wisdom and knowledge.” Therefore, they believe they enjoyed special status. They are spiritually mature, more spiritual and spiritually superior to others. 25 The Corinthians challenge Paul, arguing about the cross, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection. They criticize Paul for not being spiritual. Furthermore, they say Paul is clumsy when he speaks and lacks the capacity to “go deep” when he preaches. Their moral behavior includes tolerance of incest and participation in blatant acts of sexual immorality. Regardless, the Corinthians are arrogant, boastful, and proud. 26 “The Corinthians may have the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit doesn’t have them!” Though they speak in tongues, they don’t act like new creatures in Christ. They still follow the values and standards of secular Corinthian culture. To make matters worse, they are in open rebellion against Paul (their spiritual father). They see little reason why Paul has a right to correct them. 27 1 Corinthians is Paul’s response to: (1) the problems he has heard from Chloe’s people (1 Cor. 1-6), and (2) “questions” the Corinthians raised in a letter they have written to Paul (1 Cor. 7-16). Paul’s task is to reestablish his authority as an Apostle, and convince the Corinthians he is right, and they are wrong. His response is combative. Paul will confront the problems “head on”, one after another. There are 11 specific problems. 28 Eleven Problems What Paul has heard (1-6) Factions in the Church (1:10-4:21) Incest/tolerant leadership (5:1-13) Brother takes brother to Courts (6:1-11) Believers going to Prostitutes (6:12-20) 29 What the Corinthians have written (7-16) Marriage and Sex (7:1-40) Liberty: Meat Offered to Idols (8:1-10:33) Women in Worship (11:1-16) The Lord’s Supper (11:17-34) Spiritual Gifts & Chaos (12:1-14:40) Resurrection from the Dead (15:1-58) The Collection (16:1-4) 30 Theological Themes in 1 Corinthians Eschatology as a theological framework focused on Christ’s death, resurrection, and return. Jesus Christ, the cross, salvation, and power of the Spirit. The Church, as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and as the body of Christ. Moral Living in Christ. Paul’s theological indicative and moral imperative. 31 The So What? Pentecostal/charismatics worshipping in urban churches struggle with similar problems. The cult of personalities. Spiritual elitism (emphasis on strength rather than weakness). Arrogance, stubbornness, and divisiveness. 32 A theology adjusted to fit our culture. Sexual and other moral sins, rampant in contemporary urban culture, also in the church. The centrality/uniqueness of cross and gift of salvation. Proper use of the spiritual gifts. 33 Exegesis Assignment Sources: Commentaries marked with a star in the bibliography. Translation: NIV is fine What did the original meaning of the text? What did the original audience understand? 34 NOTE Outline All texts have a historical and a cultural context Literary context is what is happening around the verses The outlining should go in a chronological manner that you can do by bullet Introduction points The aim is to get the Corinthian correspondence order right Historical/Political/Cultural Context Remember to use Times New Romans, 12pt, no need for notes or citations but Literary Context add in footnotes and sources Content (the main part of your assignment) Analysis (verse by verse) Theological Concepts Summary Application Bibliography 35 A First Step (before consulting the commentaries) POINTERS MENTIONED BY PROF DOUG Don't go into the commentaries but learn to see it for your selves. Read the passage several times Read the passage again and again until you get the storyline of the story What is the general storyline? Paul is famous for repetitions Paul runs a laundry list of "here is who you were and this is who you are now" Look for Are there causes and effects? This is what you did and this is what you will become. Any ideas, phrases, words that you don’t know What about metaphors? Paul was famous for this Patterns Don't ever con-speculate, interpret what is there from God's inspired word. You may infer something but be very careful. Repetitions Contrasts and comparisons Lists Cause and effect Images, metaphors Figures of speech 36 POINTERS TO NOTE Look for Paul has a rhetorical style of asking questions Take a look at conjunctions - when it says "therefore", go back and ask why is it there for? Question and answers Or just but? What comes after the but? Conjunctions Look at the verbs and see how they drive the passage. Are they active or passive? What about if there were anything emotional? Terms, dialogues that go back and forth and if Verbs: active, passive, past, present, future he is talking both ways. *The thing about the letters is that it's just one side of the story Emotional terms and we need to fill in the other side, which is the Corinthians side. Note the tone of voice, is he angry/pastoral? Dialogue Any other themes or changes Tone Where is God's role in the story? What does it mean to think theologically? What about the people? - You can do a mindmap Scene changes Read the text and see what springs out at you, what comes to your mind Actions/roles of God Submit the first draft of your essay by 7 Nov Actions/roles of people Essay will be on Chapter 11:17-34 and The Lord's Supper Read from different translations such as NASB, ESV, NTL, RSB Diagram the passage Prof Doug will look at what difference does it make? How can I use it in your personal life or in a teaching- the application of the exegesis Now to the commentaries 37 For Next Week OTHER MATTERS There are no exams on 2 Corinthians Try and read 1 Corinthians in a single sitting (it will take Exams will be a closed book Rule of thumb for an exegetical research and essay is 2.5hrs per page about an hour). If it is too much, read 1 Corinthians 1-6. spent writing your research and re-writing it etc. Study Guide Notebook Introduction with outline for notes - Two Assignments: Outline of 1 Corinthians; Chronology of Paul’s visits and letters to the Corinthians (see syllabus for instructions) Start reading 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. 38