C. The Church
Although 1 Corinthians is not often consulted, except by scholars, for Pauline theology, its theological contributions are writ large in the history of the church. For here Paul is doing what he does best, bringing the gospel to bear in the marketplace. For him the truth of his gospel is finally tested in its ability to work its way out in the exigencies of everyday life in some very ticklish situations. Much could be said here; the present observations are limited to three areas, each of which is also crucial to a good understanding of the letter as a whole.
As much as in any of his writings, the essentially eschatological framework of Paul’s theological thinking stands out in bold relief in this letter. For Paul this thinking has its focus in the event of Christ, his death and resurrection, and the subsequent gift of the Spirit. Christ’s resurrection marks the turning of the ages; the subsequent gift of the eschatological Spirit is certain evidence that the End has begun. But the fact that we still live in bodies subject to decay (15:49–53), and that there is yet a future Parousia of the Lord (11:26; 15:23) with a subsequent resurrection (15:20–28), is also clear evidence that what has begun has not yet been fully brought to consummation. Thus for Paul, believers are thoroughly eschatological people, determined and conditioned by the reality of the future that has already begun, but still awaiting the final glory. We are therefore both “already” and “not yet.”
This framework is thoroughgoing in Paul, yet nowhere more evident than here. This is true not only of his language (e.g., the kingdom of God is both now [4:20] and not yet [6:9–11; 15:50]) and of his expectations (e.g., the gifted Corinthians still await the revelation of the Lord Jesus [1:4–8]; at the Lord’s Table we proclaim his death until he comes [11:26]), but especially of his understanding of present Christian life. On the one hand, because the future has already been set in motion, one’s entire present existence is determined by this reality (7:29–31). God’s people live “as if not”; they are not, as others, conditioned by the present order that is passing away. Such a point of view controls Paul’s ethical imperatives at every step. Believers may not take one another to pagan courts because in light of their eschatological existence such things as redressing one’s grievances are mere trivialities (6:1–6); Christians may not attend pagan feasts because the judgments against idolatry of a former time have been written down to warn those on whom the end of the ages has come (10:11). All merely human values and behavior have already been judged by God in Christ; already the present age is passing away (1:26–28; 7:31). Thus believers must exercise internal judgments in the present (5:12–13); the church must cleanse out the old leaven so that it may be a new loaf (5:7–8).
On the other hand, the future that has begun and absolutely conditions present existence still awaits its final consummation. But such a future is as certain as life itself. Again, this certainty has been guaranteed by the resurrection. Just as God raised up the Lord, so he will raise us up (6:14; 15:1–28). Christ is the firstfruits, God’s own surety of the full harvest. When Christ comes again, not only will he raise the dead and transform the living, but by these events he will also have finally destroyed the last enemy, death itself (15:24–28, 54–57).
But neither the certain future nor the reality of eschatological existence in the present means that one has already fully arrived. Death is ours (3:22), but some still die (11:30); the present and future are ours (3:22), but the paradigm of present ethical life is our crucified Messiah (4:10–13). Thus, Christian life is paradox, apparent contradictions held together in tension. The guarantee rests not in present circumstances, but in the absolute certainty of the future that has already determined our present existence as well. The whole of our letter must be understood as flowing out of this essential framework (see on 4:1–5; 6:1–6; 7:29–31; 15:12–28, 35–38).
Related to the eschatological framework just noted is Paul’s insistence on radical obedience to Christ as the norm of Christian existence. If Romans and Galatians make it plain that one is not saved by way of the law, this letter makes it equally plain that the saved are expected to live out their lives in obedience to the “commandments of God” (7:19) and the “law of Christ” (9:21). If such obedience is not required for entry into faith, it is nonetheless expected as the outflow of faith.
Paul understands Christian ethics in terms of “becoming what you are,” a perspective that emerges in 1 Corinthians in a number of ways. He is never short on the imperative, but he always sets it in the context of God’s prior action on our behalf in Christ. Thus Paul commands the Corinthians to clean out the old leaven that they may become a new loaf, because in Christ our Passover they have already become a new loaf (5:7–8); they cannot go to the prostitutes because their bodies have already been set apart for Christ through his resurrection and they are already one S/spirit with him (6:14–17); they must cease acting as in their former pagan way of life or else they will not inherit the kingdom, but at the same time they are reminded that such were some of them and they are so no longer through Christ and the Spirit (6:9–11).
In such ethics there are some absolutes, precisely because some sins are quite incompatible with life in Christ (sexual immorality, 6:12–20; attending temple feasts, 10:14–22). This is not law, in the sense of gaining right standing with God. But it is absolute, since some behavior is absolutely contradictory to the character of God. On the other hand, merely religious scruples—circumcision (7:19); marketplace idol food (8:9–13; 10:23–30)—are irrelevant to the believer, since they have been done away with in Christ. The only exception is when such behavior offends another (10:31–33).
The pattern for all behavior is Christ himself (11:1) as his life is mediated through the life of the apostle (4:16–17; 11:1). Thus the gospel is not turned into law, but neither is it divested of its true response. All is of grace, but grace brings the Spirit who enables the imitation of Christ.
Perhaps the single greatest theological contribution of our letter to the Christian faith is Paul’s understanding of the nature of the church, especially in its local expression. If the gospel itself is at stake in the Corinthians’ theology and behavior, so also is its visible expression in the local community of redeemed people. The net result is more teaching on the church here than in any of Paul’s letters.
Two great images predominate. First, the local church is God’s temple in Corinth (3:16–17). With this imagery Paul makes several points: (a) As the temple of God they are expected to live as God’s alternative both to the pagan temples and to the way of life that surrounds them. Indeed, this is precisely the concern throughout so much of the letter, that there are so many gray areas that the Corinthian Christians are hardly distinguishable from the Corinth in which they live (cf. 5:1; 6:7; 10:32; 14:23). (b) What makes them God’s temple is the presence of the Holy Spirit in their midst. Thus, in contrast to the mute idols that surround them, they are themselves the sanctuary of the living God by the Spirit. And when God’s Spirit is manifested among them by prophetic utterance, pagans will have their hearts searched and judged and they will come to recognize that God is among his people (14:24–25). (c) So sacred to God is his temple that those who would destroy it—as they are doing by their quarrels and worldly wisdom—will themselves be destroyed by God (3:17). This understanding of their existence as a people among whom God is powerfully present by his Spirit makes possible our understanding of 5:1–13, where the church is purified by removing the incestuous man, yet he himself will experience salvation through such an action. Apparently being removed from such a community will lead to his repentance.
Second, the church is the body of Christ (10:17; 11:29; 12:12–26). With this image Paul makes essentially two points: (a) Underlying the imagery is the necessity of unity. As with the preceding image, the key to this unity is their common experience of the Spirit (12:13). Whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, they are one in Christ through the Spirit. Precisely because they are one body in Christ, the rich must cease abusing the poor at the Lord’s Table (11:22, 29); and those who are more visible may not say to the less visible, “we have no need of you” (12:21–26). God has so arranged the body that all the members are essential to one another. (b) But his greater concern with this imagery is the concomitant necessity of diversity. Rather than the uniformity that the Corinthians value, Paul urges that they recognize the need for all the various manifestations of the one Spirit. Otherwise there is no body, only a monstrosity (12:15–20).
Given this concern, therefore, it is of some interest that there is no teaching on church order as such. There is no mention of “elders” or of the “overseers” and “deacons” of Phil. 1:1. Moreover, there is not a hint as to the nature, times, and leadership of their gatherings for worship. Two expressions of worship emerge. According to 11:17–34 they gather at the same place for a meal that is held in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper. But we know nothing as to how often they ate this meal together, nor of its relationship to the expression of vocal worship referred to in 14:26, whether the latter happened in conjunction with the former (very likely) or reflected a separate gathering of its own. In either case, Paul emphasizes the truly corporate nature of such worship. Provision is to be made for “each one” to participate so that the whole body may be edified. The purpose of such worship is twofold. On the one hand, singing, praying, and thanksgiving are directed toward God (11:13; 14:14–17); on the other hand, utterances of various kinds are directed toward the community so that it may be built up.
A final word needs to be said about the considerable importance of this letter to today’s church. The cosmopolitan character of the city and church, the strident individualism that emerges in so many of their behavioral aberrations, the arrogance that attends their understanding of being people of the Spirit, the accommodation of the gospel to the surrounding culture in all too many ways—these and some other features of the Corinthian church are but mirrors held up before the church of today. Likewise the need for discipleship modeled after the “weakness” of Christ (4:9–13), for love to rule over all (13:1–13), for edification to be the aim of worship (14:1–33), for sexual immorality to be seen for what it is (5:1–13; 6:12–20), for the expectation of marriages to be permanent (7:1–40)—these at least, as perhaps some others, are every bit as relevant to us as to those for whom they were first written. It is my prayer that this commentary may help us hear the voice of Paul, inspired by the Spirit, in a still clearer way in our own day.