Concerns about the apostle Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 7 on marriage are sadly ignored by many Christians. Much of this is because of our desire for things outside of what is good and right. What is more, is that I am greatly disturbed by some do not believe Paul is writing scripture in parts of this chapter because of his expression in verse 12 "(I, not the Lord)" and in verse 25, "I have no command from the Lord, but give my judgement." The troubling belief is that Paul is offering his own advice about marriage, but since he was single we should just ignore him. My concern for this position is great for it requires Paul in all his letters to clarify to us whether he is writing God's words (as in 7:10) or his own words (as in 7:12 & 25). Scripture is fully human and fully divine, fully inspired in all verses.
Why does Paul use these expressions then? Instead of an indication that Paul is moving from divine to human authorship he is likely making reference in 7:10-11 to a known saying from the historical Jesus. While Jesus lived he said many things, not all of them are recorded in the gospels (as John makes clear in John 21:25). Luke makes reference to the saying "it is more blessed to give than to receive" in Acts 20:35. It is likely that a document containing such expressions existed and was drawn upon by Matthew, Mark and Luke in the writing of their gospels as many of their stories are duplicates. So Paul is giving married couples the very words of Jesus to guide their decision. He could be drawing on Matthew 5:31-32, or another record or Jesus' teaching on divorce.
When he comes to verse 12 then, Paul is answering a specific question of a believer married to an unbeliever. This question was not asked of Jesus as the church was yet to be founded. So Paul cannot provide another quote, but gives his own council, which is on par with every other word Paul has recorded in scripture. As Peter assures us, in all of Paul's letters he speaks scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). In 1 Corinthians 7:25, Paul makes the case for his words by being trustworthy by the Lord's mercy. Paul's words in this chapter are God's words to us. Will we listen?
Showing posts with label 1 Corinthians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 Corinthians. Show all posts
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
'brothers' in 1 & 2 Corinthians
The term ‘brothers’ is used 36 times in 1 & 2 Corinthians. The ESV translates this directly from ‘adelphoi’. With the rise of gender-inclusive language over the past two decades there has been a greater need to clarify the translation of this word. While some translations have opted to be inclusive in the text (ie: ‘brothers and sisters’ as translated by the TNIV and NLT) it is best to keep the text pure and understand how this word should be understood.
Adelphoi often refers to the family bond between two males from the same mother. In the gospels, this is the usual sense (Matthew 4:18, John 7:3), but not the only (Matthew 25:40). In 1 Corinthians, only once does the word have this force (9:5 when Paul refers to the half-brothers of Jesus). So what does it mean 35 other times?
In his correspondence with the Corinthians, Paul uses the term ‘adelphoi’ to refer to the whole church. Several indicators have led to this conclusion. First, Paul is writing a letter with the understanding that it would be read aloud to the entire church. Second, it is obvious that Paul is not writing to a group of biological brothers (1:2). Third, Paul uses other terms to address them that do not have a male quality (ie: 3:16, 4:14, 7:8, 7:25).
The word that usually refers to male siblings is now being used to refer to a church. Why doesn’t Paul use the expression ‘brothers and sisters’? Probably the most natural reason is because it is the same word root. In the greek language words are either masculine, feminine or neuter. This usually has nothing to do with sexuality (ie: ‘night’ is feminine, yet is is a time of the day). However, in the case of ‘adelph’ the ending changes the gender. Adelphoi means brothers and Adelphai means sisters. It would seem redundant to use the masculine and feminine forms in the 35 uses of the word.
In our reading of the text of 1 & 2 Corinthians, we understand Paul to be addressing the whole congregation of believers when he uses the word ‘brothers’.
Those of you who don’t enjoy such technical work haven’t read this far. But the implications of this are huge. Was the letter written to just the men of the the church, or to the men and women? I am preaching and applying this to all of us because I believe this to be Paul’s intended audience. And we must be careful to gain this application from the text itself, not from broader to be gender inclusive.
Adelphoi often refers to the family bond between two males from the same mother. In the gospels, this is the usual sense (Matthew 4:18, John 7:3), but not the only (Matthew 25:40). In 1 Corinthians, only once does the word have this force (9:5 when Paul refers to the half-brothers of Jesus). So what does it mean 35 other times?
In his correspondence with the Corinthians, Paul uses the term ‘adelphoi’ to refer to the whole church. Several indicators have led to this conclusion. First, Paul is writing a letter with the understanding that it would be read aloud to the entire church. Second, it is obvious that Paul is not writing to a group of biological brothers (1:2). Third, Paul uses other terms to address them that do not have a male quality (ie: 3:16, 4:14, 7:8, 7:25).
The word that usually refers to male siblings is now being used to refer to a church. Why doesn’t Paul use the expression ‘brothers and sisters’? Probably the most natural reason is because it is the same word root. In the greek language words are either masculine, feminine or neuter. This usually has nothing to do with sexuality (ie: ‘night’ is feminine, yet is is a time of the day). However, in the case of ‘adelph’ the ending changes the gender. Adelphoi means brothers and Adelphai means sisters. It would seem redundant to use the masculine and feminine forms in the 35 uses of the word.
In our reading of the text of 1 & 2 Corinthians, we understand Paul to be addressing the whole congregation of believers when he uses the word ‘brothers’.
Those of you who don’t enjoy such technical work haven’t read this far. But the implications of this are huge. Was the letter written to just the men of the the church, or to the men and women? I am preaching and applying this to all of us because I believe this to be Paul’s intended audience. And we must be careful to gain this application from the text itself, not from broader to be gender inclusive.
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