A. PAUL GREETS THE CHURCH, 1:1-2
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia. 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Behind the Text
Paul’s salutation, Paul . . . . To the church. . . . Grace and peace, rooted in Near Eastern epistolary traditions, follows the form of ancient letter writing prevalent in Paul’s day. Paul uses nouns, however, rather than verbs, differing from the Greek convention. The form names the writer, those addressed, and follows with the greeting proper. A typical example of the letter opening appears in a letter recorded in Acts 23:26-30: “Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings” (v 26, cf. Acts 15:23). Although Paul’s letter to Corinth has an intensely personal tone, it is like all of his letters, a communal letter, intended for public use in a religious gathering, that is, they were to be read in church time and time again for the instruction and admonition of the congregation (Doty 1973, 24). The apostle in his letters expands the form of the salutation used in the Graco-Roman period with a distinctly Christian accent as Romans 1:1-7 and 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 amply illustrate. The Christianized salutation appears throughout the larger Pauline Corpus. The blessing, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, is somewhat uniform (Rom 1:7; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; 2 Thess 1:2; 1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2; Philem 3) with the exceptions of Colossians 1:2, which has “God our Father” only, and 1 Thessalonians that uses simply the invocation of “grace and peace to you.”
PAUL CHARACTERIZES HIS MINISTRY, 2:14--6:10
2. A Ministry of Suffering (4:7---5:10)
Paul continues with his theme of “we have this ministry” (4:1) as he moves on in his defense to the apostolic ministry as “a ministry of suffering.” Here he delves more deeply into his profound vision of the new covenant ministry. Due possibly to the reproaches of his critics who thought apparently that an apostle should be one whose power and presence they could respect and admire, Paul turns from the sublimity of his mission to the actual misery of his physical existence. The frail apostle was continually exposed to suffering and death (1 Cor 4:11-13; 2 Cor 1:8; 6:4-5; 11:23-27). But it was a suffering that released the resurrection life of Jesus into the lives of the Corinthians (4:7-15). Even the apostle, himself in the midst of outer decay, was experiencing inner renewal (4:16-18). The sure hope for the heavenly home was at work in his life (5:1-10). The boldness of the new covenant ministry is enhanced rather than hampered by the weakness of its ministers (cf. 13:4). Two issues are in his mind, the relationship between suffering and ministry, and the prospect of death (Murphy Murphy-O’Conner 1991, 44). 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 3It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 5:1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Behind the Text Paul’s use of the apologetic rhetorical structure continues with first what has been variously called a tribulation/hardship list or a catalog of affliction/suffering. These catalogs, common in antiquity, were used most notably by Stoic and Cynic sages to demonstrate their superiority over circumstances. Those most similar to those in the New Testament are found in Epictetus and Seneca, Epictetus viewing tribulation as sent by God affording an opportunity to demonstrate moral character (Witherington 1995, 388). Eight of these lists or catalogues appear in Paul’s writings. They can be classified as “simple lists” (Rom 8:35; 2 Cor 6:4-5; 11:23-29; 12:10) and “antithetical lists” (1 Cor 4:10-13; 4:8-9; 6:8-10; Phil 4:12; Hodgson 1983, 66-67). Lists were composed as individuals and nations suffered misfortune of all kinds affording a widespread literary background from which Paul could have drawn—from Greco-Roman philosophy to the wide range of Jewish literature (Harris 2005, 341; Hodgson 1983, 67-80). Among the influences on Paul’s style is the antithetical structure of the present list (4:8-9) linked by paronomasia (play on words) that reflects the Cynic-Stoic diatribe (Bultmann 1985, 113; Martin 1986, 83; cf. Epkt.diss. II 19, 24). The parallel is only formal, for content and function differ. The Stoic or Cynic sage is self-sufficient and strong, but Paul as a sage, unlike them, is sustained by the power of God. He “is God-reliant and God-confident” (Witherington 1995, 388). With the rhetorical function of these catalogs, Paul is establishing his credibility as he defends his apostleship with a paradoxical appeal to human weakness as the occasion for the manifestation of divine power. Paul’s use of the antithetical structure characterizes also much of 4:16—5:10 (McCant 1999, 43, 48). Particularly in 4:13-15 Paul indicates his Old Testament and later Jewish background as well as he reflects the tradition of the righteous sufferer whom God does not abandon. In addition to his quotation of Psalm 116:10, other passages in 2 Corinthians reflect this tradition. For example behind 1:3-11 stands Psalm 71:20-21:
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. Other places besides 1:3-11 and 4:7-18 where Paul reflects this tradition in the letter include 6:1-10 and 8:9 (cf. Hafemann 2000, 187, n. 16). One could go on to say that Paul’s spirituality was biblical for as one who has “lived in the Bible,” the Bible has formed his world view and where his place in it is (Young and Ford 1987, 62-63). Possible parallels to Greek and Jewish literature abound in 5:1-10, but they will be noted as they apply in the next section (cf. Thrall 2004, 357-359). In the Text Paul turns to face the human realities of his apostolic ministry that he had previously touched on (1:8-9): But we have this treasure (v 7). With a new imagery, treasure in jars of clay, Paul opens up an essential aspect of his ministry as he considers the life of Jesus as revealed in affliction (4:7-15). In these verses, Paul writes of power in the midst of weakness (vv 7-9), life in the midst of death (vv 10-12), and of faith leading to speech (vv. 13-14; Harris 2005, 338). From Paul's perspective, as already observed in the letter (1:3-10; 2:14), suffering and glory belong inseparably together in a kind of paradoxical polar tension. For, if the glory of Christ is revealed in his passion and death, must not also the glory of the apostolic office be revealed through suffering? Thus the very "act of God which the gospel is, is an act of suffering." For Paul the gospel was “the message of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18) and in his ministry he was “resolved to know nothing . . . except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (2:2). Paul’s testimony was that he wanted above all “to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil 3:10). As an apostle, Paul, through his actual physical hardships and dangers, was reenacting the sufferings of Christ (1:5) and thus confronting his hearers with the resurrection power of the living Christ. Here we meet in the letter a second interchange of opposite experiences (1:3-7), now the interchange of life and death. We have, or are entrusted with, now (de) writes Paul, this treasure in jars of clay (v 7). We have (echoen) is used by Paul significantly throughout the discussion of his apostolic ministry (3:4, 12; 4:1, 7, 13; 5:1; 6:10; 7:1). Treasure (thēsauron), which can mean either a place where something can be stored for safekeeping (Matt 2:11; 13:52) or that which is stored up (Matt 6:21; Luke 12:34; BDAG 2000, 456), has been interpreted as either the gospel (Thrall 2004, 322) or Paul’s ministry (McCant 1999, 42). Ambrosiaster (fl. c. 366-384 C.E.) uses the inviting (apt, promising, suggestive, illuminating) phrase, “the sacrament of God in Christ” ACCS NT VII). As indicated by the parallels in the phraseology of the preceding verses--this ministry . . . our gospel . . . the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ . . . the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ—Paul’s use of treasure here appears to center in the gospel of God’s glory as revealed in Christ (BDAG 2000, 456). The term reaches out to highlight Paul’s ministry, his preaching of the glorious gospel of Christ. Paul’s point, however, is that this treasure is contained in fragile earthenware or jars of clay. The jars of clay is not referring to a negative view of the body as the mere receptacle of the divine soul or spark as some thought in Paul’s day. Rather, Paul’s ministry as characterized by suffering is possessed in a personality or life compared to a common and fragile clay vessel, a metaphor for humans in the Old Testament (Isa 29:16; 30:14; 64:8; Jer 18:6; 19:11; Ps 31:12; Job 10:9) and in the writings from Qumran (1 QS 11:22; 1QHa 1:21-22; 3:20-21; 4:29). Suggested by these references is both insignificance and destructibility. Paul’s allusion here is most probably to an earthen jar in which precious treasures were often stored, hidden, or carried as valuable coins possibly in a triumphal procession (2:14). The contrast is between the inexpensive container and its priceless content. For Paul, the minister possesses a mortal frailty that embraces the total person (cf. 1:8; 7:5), most specifically a vulnerable apostolic life, yet a life that only magnifies the power inherent in the apostolic ministry (cf. 12:9). The purpose (hina) of his paradoxical expression, writes Paul, is “that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God (tou theou) and does not come from us (ex hēmōn)” (NRSV). In the true apostle the power is “transcendent” (RSV) in the midst of hardship and danger. With the first of his four catalogues of hardship in the letter (4:8-9; 6:4-10; 11:23-29; 12:10), the apostle illustrates from the trials experienced in the course of his ministry (cf. 6:4-5; 11:23-27; 1 Cor 4:11-13) how the excess of power in his ministry is clearly God’s (vv 8-9). Paul expresses this in four adversative contrasts or balanced antitheses consisting of eight nominative plural present participles all stressing continuous action. The use of antitheses, a distinctive characteristic of Paul’s writings, appeals to the emotions with their “attentional novelty” that allows its paired elements to be mutually interpretive, encouraging assent by the hearer (McCant 1999, 44). The four participles could be linked back to echomen in verse 7 reading we have, . . . being hard pressed. Most translations, however, see the participles as syntactically independent, taking the place of the indicative, as in NIV, We are hard pressed, which starts a new sentence. The first element in each antithesis illustrates the human weakness while the second element, more intense than the first, indicates the divine deliverance from it: hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. The qualifying adverbial phrase, on every side (en panti) or “in every way” (NASB), may belong with all four of the antitheses forming an inclusio with always (pantote) in verse 10. The negative particles with participles, ou rather than the expected mē in New Testament Greek, is best explained either as negating a single idea in the four antitheses (BDAG 2000, 733; BDF 1961, 430.3) or the proper negative “of a downright fact” (Moulton I 1908, 232). This use of the negative particle as expressing what is “clear cut and decisive” (Robertson 1934, 1137-1138) is sometimes translated as “never” (eg. JB; NEB): afflicted . . . , but never crushed. (Harris 2005, 343). The effect is a stress on the redeeming factor of the Lord’s presence (cf. Matt. 28:20) in the apostolic suffering. In the first of the apostle’s four antitheses Paul and his helpers are hard pressed (thlibomenoi; cf. 1:4, 6, 8) on every side, but not crushed (v 8). The first term is comprehensive indicting any kind of “trouble” (1:4), distress (1:6), or hardship (1:8). The second term (stenochōroumenoi), also general in meaning, has the image of confinement in a narrow space. The negative used expresses that they are in a situation from which there is no way to escape. Second they are perplexed (aporoumenoi), but not in despair (exaporoumenoi; cf. 1:8). Paul speaks of despair in 1:8 subjectively, but here from the standpoint of faith. Many interpretive renderings of Paul’s play on words are suggested such as “confused but not confounded” (Hughes 1962, 138); Harris’ succinct “at a loss, but not lost” is quite attractive (2005, 343). Both terms mean to lack means or resources, so to be in doubt or at a loss (McCant 1999, 45). The third antithesis, persecuted (diōkomenoi), but not abandoned (v 9), has the picture of pursuit as in a hunt or battle, but diōkō is used mostly of persecution in Paul’s letters (1 Cor 4:12; Gal 1:13, 23; Phil 3:6). Abandoned (egkataleipoumenoi) looks to the future (cf. 1:10) and can be viewed as a divine passive as in LXX (Gen 18:15; Deut 31:6, 8; 1 Chron 28:20; Ps 16:10; 37:25, 28) speaking of being abandoned by God. A related verb was used by Jesus as he cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken (katelipes) me” (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34; Ps 21:2 LXX). Paul is subordinating his story to the story of Jesus (McCant 2006, 48). As Barclay translates, “We are persecuted by men, but never abandoned by God” (1956, 220). The final antithesis, struck down, but not destroyed, employs the figure of physical combat whether as in wrestling and boxing or as in a military combat setting. Acts 14:18-20 records an instance in which Paul was attacked in Lystra, dragged out of the city, and left for dead. But eventually with the aid of his disciples he was able to get up, and, miraculously (?), went on to Derbe the next day. The four antitheses of the hardship/suffering catalog (vv 8-9) speak of a life of daily endurance in the midst of adversity that demonstrates Paul’s dependence, not in his human virtue and character, but on the “extraordinary power” (NRSV) of God. In 4:10-11 Paul gives a Christological interpretation of the experiences described in the antitheses of verses 8-9. He interprets it theologically in terms of the death and resurrection of Jesus in order to indicate his understanding of his sufferings as an apostle. Paul sees the four aspects of suffering as the death of Jesus, or as the dying of Jesus (BDAG 2000, 688), and the four aspects of deliverance as the life of Jesus (v 10). But with nekrosis, does Paul have in mind the process of dying in parallel with the always being given over to death (v 11)? Or is he referring to the state of being dead as in Romans 4:19, Paul’s only other use of the word. The immediate context appears to favor the dying of Jesus (cf. 8:36; 1 Cor 15:30-31). Barrett defends this going so far as to translate the phrase as “the killing of Jesus” (Barrett 1973, 139-140). Seen thus, the apostle’s thought is that as ministers of the gospel we always carry around in our body that same process of dying that culminated in the passion of Jesus. As an apostle, Paul is making known the gospel, and his suffering plays an integral part in this revealing process, perhaps suffering in the stead of the Corinthians. But more than that, proclaimed in the apostolic gospel is the resurrection of Jesus. That same resurrection life, the life of Jesus, is now revealed (phanerōthē; cf. 2:14; 4:2, 11) in Paul’s body, that is, in a life that bears the marks of Jesus (cf. Gal 6:17). Because the apostle shares in “the death that Jesus died” he shares also in “the life that Jesus lives” (NEB). In the words of Chrysostom (344/354-407 C.E.), “it is the daily deaths which they died, by which the resurrection also was shown” (ACCS NT VII, 233). The emphasis in both is on the present existence of the apostle, not Paul’s physical death and future resurrection. In an explanatory restatement of these assertions (v 10) with an introductory for (gar), Paul adds some clarifying features (v 11). First, always here is aei rather than pantote as in verse 10, though essentially synonymous; aei may put greater stress on the aspect of duration in its position as first in the sentence (aei gar). Second, we (v 10) becomes we who are alive (hēmeis hoi zōntes), highlighting the life-death paradox at the heart of verses 10-12 (Harris 2005, 347). NRSV translates “while we live” meaning clearly Paul’s physical life. Third, being given over to death (thanaton) for Jesus sake, explains carry around in our body the death of Jesus or dying (nekrōsin) of Jesus (v 10), for the verb being given over (paradidometha) is “intimately linked with the passion of Jesus (cf. Mark 9:31; 10:33; 14:10; 1 Cor 11:23). Fourth, Paul’s suffering was on account of (dia) or for Jesus’ sake. The remarkable, atypical for Paul, the fourfold recurrence, or anaphoric, use of the name of Jesus rather than the royal title “Christ” in verses 10-11 indicates how closely Paul linked the career of Jesus with that of his own as a servant of the Servant, a solidarity in suffering and dying. Fifth, Paul’s identity with Jesus in his suffering continues to be stressed by the replacement of in our body (sōmsati) with in our mortal flesh (thētē sarki) in the emphatic position. Rhetorically, Paul, with a rhythmic pattern and repetition, infuses passion into his discussion and seeks to compel his readers to hear what he says, that is, to persuade them that suffering characterizes his ministry just as it did the ministry of Jesus (McCant 1999, 46). The life of Jesus is inevitably revealed in the mortal flesh of the minister who can so identify with Christ's death (vv 10-11). The union between Christ's death and resurrection is absolute. They cannot be separated, either in the life of the Christian or in the pattern of the ministry (cf. Rom 6:4, 8, 17; Gal. 2:20; Phil 3: 10). Participation in one is participation in the other. So the life of Jesus presented by the life of the apostle to the Corinthians is the resurrection life of the Jesus who was crucified (cf. Acts 2:42). It is the life that the once earthly Jesus now lives at God's right hand, effective in the Church through the presence of the Holy Spirit (1:22; 5:5), who communicates the resurrection life of Jesus as Lord (3:17; Rom. 1: 4). With a strong conclusion (hōste), Paul wraps up his thought as he speaks to those who are tempted to despise the character of his ministry: So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you (v 12). The second clause is literally but life in you; the verb energeitai is not repeated. The first clause repeats in summary form the essence of verse 8-9, 10a, and 11a. The second clause shifts perspective to the experience of the Corinthians themselves. There is an inherent connection between the continuing process of the dying of Jesus in Paul’s ministry and the Corinthians’ enjoyment of the life of Jesus (v 10) in their exuberant spirituality: Paul exposes himself to the forces of death that the Corinthians might be exposed to the force of life. What is in him the sign of theCross is in them the sign of the Resurrection! The mark of a true apostle is that “he is, like Jesus, a suffering and dying figure, whose work and power and victory arise from his weakness and infirmity and defeat” (Munck 1959, 184). Thus in the apostle as in his Lord, as William Beardslee commented a half century ago, "the tension between this age and the age to come shows itself at its sharpest.” In these verses Paul has furnished the theological basis for his conviction that his suffering, like the death of Jesus, mediates to others the resurrection power of God, that is, the life of Jesus (Hafemann, 200, 184).
From the Text:
Can we still believe in heaven? Why is a belief in heaven important? See Jerry > Walls, Heaven: The Logic of Eternal Joy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).
As Paul continues with the defense of his apostolic ministry he is confident. To those who would disparage his ministry because of its vulnerability to humiliation and affliction he now describes it as “a ministry of suffering” (4:7—5:10). How can the apostle keep up his courage in the face of all the difficulties? As we read in the text, Paul sees the life of Jesus revealed in his afflictions (4:7-15), he knows his life as one of outer decay but inner renewal (4:16-18), and in it all he realizes the hope for a heavenly home (5:1-10). To put it succinctly Paul understands his present life as one characterized equally by both the “dying of Jesus” (NASB) and the “life of Jesus” transforming both present and future. Paul’s witness challenges us to ask, what should be our perspective as we seek to live as Christians and serve others in a world like ours? Paul’s answer for our day is simple yet profound. Simply put, he would have us center our self-understanding in the death and resurrection of Jesus. As we, with Paul-like courage, confidence, and up-lifted spirits (4:1, 16; 5:6, 8), attempt to face the “unexpecteds” of our earthy course as Christians, Paul’s description of his ministry leads to three profound affirmations about the nature of our faith. We can face the crucibles of life because (1) we center our faith in the cross and resurrection of Jesus, (2) we live by faith in the unseen, and (3) we possess a confident faith in the future. First, as Paul begins to apply his daring affirmation of “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (4:6) to the hard realities of his ministry, with him we center our faith in the cross and resurrection of Jesus (4:7-15). Paul’s descriptive metaphor for his ministry is a “treasure in jars of clay” as he lists its difficulties in antithetical prose, “hard pressed . . . perplexed . . . persecuted . . . struck down” on the one hand, but not “crushed . . . in despair . . . abandoned . . . destroyed” (vv 7-9) on the other. William Barclay calls these “the great paradoxes of the Christian life” (1956, 223). How can this be true? The apostle’s suffering was very real, but it did not spell defeat. Rather Paul saw it as carrying around in his body “the death of Jesus” (v 10), that is, Paul, in the midst of all the hardships of life and ministry, could identify with the worldly weakness on display in the Cross of the incarnate Christ. Christian faith sees all of life taken up into the pattern of the earthly life and death of Jesus. The harsh realities of life are never meaningless, for they partake of the redemptive presence of God in Christ in the world. How can this be? Just as Paul’s faith saw in his human weakness an opportunity for God, faith can open up our lives to the resurrection life of Jesus. “So that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (v 10; cf. v 11) are the apostle’s words. The cross of Jesus means the resurrection of Jesus. In the crucibles of life our faith is not in a half but in a whole Christ, a Jesus both crucified and risen! The two cannot be separated either in Jesus’ life or in ours. Therefore declares the apostle to the Corinthians that in his ministry to them “death is at work in us, but life is at work in you” (v 12). Such is the nature of Christian life and witness in the world. With Chrysostom (344/354-407 C.E.) “we bear about the power of his dying that the power of his life may be manifest” (ACCS NT VII, 211). The result is a freedom to be and a release to speak, for Paul, having quoted the Psalmist in difficult circumstances (116:10), bears witness to having the “same spirit of faith” affirming that “we also believe and therefore speak” (v 13). In G. Campbell Morgan’s words, "faith creating testimony . . . is one secret of power . . . in the Christian ministry” (Morgan 1946, 239). From the biblical perspective, preaching partakes of the character of witness, which, by its very nature, demands authenticity. Helmut Thielicke reminds us that "people today are not generally asking the question: 'Where shall I learn to believe?’ . . . People are rather asking, 'Where can I find credible witnesses?'" This kind of faith works in our present lives as it reaches out to the future for we like Paul “know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus” (v 14). Part of the package of a “Cross and Resurrection” faith is the certainty of future life, not only for us but for those to whom we minister: “All this is for your benefit . . . for he will present us with you in his presence” (vv 15, 14). The power of the Resurrection did not end with Jesus. It reaches to all who by faith conduct their earthly vulnerable lives in the light of the Cross. Otherwise life can be simply tragic, having no purpose, no meaning in our suffering.
Frank G. Carver March 27, 2007 San Diego, CA
William Baird, Paul's Message and Mission (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1960), 68. Ambrosiaster is the “name given by Erasmus to the author of a work once thought to have been composed by Ambrose,” ACCS NT VII, 325. Homilies on The Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians 5.3. NPNF 1 12:321.
William. A. Beardslee, Human Achievement and Divine Vocation t» the Message of Paul (Naperville, Illinois: Alec R, Allenson, 1961), 114.
Homilies on The Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians 5.3. NPNF 1 12:233. Helmut Thielicke, The Trouble With, the Church: A Call for Renewal (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1965), 15.