In this passage of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses several concerns. He is addressing the situation of a man who has sinned not only against himself, but against the Corinthian Church as well. He explains why he wrote a letter rather than bringing sorrow upon them. Paul is sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and in love, writes to the church encouraging them to discipline this man in love for the purpose of restoring him. He urges the Corinthians to be obedient and love the man through forgiving and encouraging him. Paul shares with them his trust in the Lord for the outcome of this matter and how burdened he was for restoration to take place. He warns them of the need to not allow Satan a foothold through this matter. Finally, Paul puts the focus on Christ; for it is in Him that we are adequate thereby becoming His fragrance to others. In this passage, Paul first addresses the fact that he did not want to return to the church at Corinth and bring pain upon them again. Paul had a previously painful situation with this church. We are not told the specifics of the current situation which caused Paul to write to Corinth, but we know that Paul was very sensitive in dealing with the matter. He did not desire to harm them or bring sorrow upon them. The word “pain” Paul was referring to is from the Greek word lúpē. This word means to grieve, torment, afflict with sorrow, or bring pain upon. We see similar instances where this word is used in scripture. Job said, “nights of trouble are appointed me” (Job 7:3) . Jeremiah similarly said, “My sorrow is beyond healing, my heart is faint within me” (Jer. 8:18). Paul didn’t want to bring undue sorrow upon the church or cause the situation to intensify ... ... middle of paper ... ...e around us, we can agree with Mr. Sankey the hymn writer, faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Works Cited Garland, David E. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001. Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996. New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987. Walvoord, John F., Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983. Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1996. Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2000.
Walvoord, John F., Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
Murray, John. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. The Epistle to the Romans. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1968)
How does Paul use the metaphors of the “body as temple of the Holy Spirit” and the community as the “body of Christ” to deal with the following problems in Corinth: (a) morality; (b) relationships between Christians at the Lord’s Supper; (c) differences
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
Paul first lays the groundwork for the context of what he is gonna talk about. The problem he addresses in the Corinthian church is sexual morality. Specifically, incest of some sort (Mother or step mother..probably the latter) (1Cor 5:1). Then he moves to those who have approved of the sexual behavior and rightly condemns them (1Cor 5:2). As a side note, Paul elsewhere condemns people who approve of those that practice sin (Rom 1:32). Why didn't they loose ...
Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians was both his way of showing gratitude and to give further instruction to his early Christian followers on how to maintain their faith in Jesus Christ, they now all possessed. The Thessalonians had not always been followers of Christ they were previously Gentiles who then converted to Christianity. Paul gave thanks and further instruction to the Thessalonians so that they could stay prepared for the Advent. I believe that Paul was aware that the followers of Christ what be subjected to temptation and suffering for spreading the Gospel. The Gentiles and Satan could have a great influence on followers of Christ if they are not prepared. Paul knows the struggle of being converted and in result prepared the Thessalonians through ministry and prayer.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Eds. Michael D. Coogan, et al. 3rd Ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Watts, John D.W. Nahum. Vol. 34, in World Biblical Commentary, edited by David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker, 61-90. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1984.
Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the “Spirit”; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Wenham, G.J., Moyter, J.A., Carson, D.A. and France, R.T., eds. New Bible Commentary. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998.
However, even when looking to the first letter Paul wrote it is essential that the reader keep in mind that prior to this Paul had already been traveling about and ministering to churches all about, meaning he would have already experienced many things. So, with this thought in mind the first letter he wrote was Galatians. Paul is believed to have been in Antioch when he wrote this letter and the year is believed to have been A.D. 49, which would have been during his first missionary journey. Now, the reason why Paul wrote this letter is because he had learned that the church of Galatia was not only stumbling in their walk, but had outright turned from Paul 's teachings. At the time a group known as the Judaizers were misleading church into believing that Gentiles needed to follow the same laws set out for the Jewish people, claiming that this was the necessary for salvation. Paul was adamant that this was not at all true and reiterated to the church that all they needed to do for salvation is accept Christ as their savior. The main difference between what Paul was saying and what others were trying to convince the church of Galatia is essentially that Jesus was not the only way to salvation, an idea that angered Paul
As with most other Pauline attributed documents, 1 Corinthians is believed to be a single document that addresses salient topics and rationalizes Paul’s view of faithfulness to Christ with Corinth citizens. The newly founded church of Corinth was in correspondence with Paul requesting his answers to questions they posed on topics ranging from marriage to the resurrection of the dead; the latter being one of the most highlighted in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s assurance of resurrection illustrates a concern for Corinth as he admonishes their disbelief in resurrection of the dead with a series of explanations as to why such doubt would render the faith of Christ “in vain”. Given the context of the time, Paul’s correspondence with Corinth clearly had an original intent of educating and admonishing Corinth on their views on resurrection. However, modern Christianity in its many forms has established an interpretation that slightly strays from its original inscription. Regardless, Paul’s letters not only shaped the ideals of Corinthians believers but influenced the Christian ideals of post mortem resurrection or eternal life as well.
We are called to be the sons of God in the sense to love each other. Christian community has the task to follow God’s example to help others with love as Jesus did with his sacrifice (Ephesians 5:1-2). In this way, Paul is inviting people to imitate Jesus’ example, in the present world. Also, in these verses to the Ephesians, he affirms that when people forgive and sacrifice for others, they are showing true love for the neighbor. However, the world is not living a great situation; there are several cases in which one another offends themselves in different ways. Later, Paul affirms in the same letter that the days are evil (5:16). Nowadays, there are difficult times; daily we are noticing many catastrophes around the world which most of them are caused by the man. Hence, the Christians must help others, even if is someone that offends us or has
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
First of all, Paul's words in I Corinthians chapter 7 are in response to a question asked by some of the Corinthian saints who had previously corresponded with him. Paul is writing to