Christianity Texts
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In order to understand the relationship between 1 and 2 Corinthians, it is important to appreciate their role as foundational texts of the Christian--and especially Pauline--mission of the apostolic period. They do not present the whole picture of formative Christianity; that is, they are not sufficient to explicating it. They are, however, necessary, and although each has its particular objective, they achieve more complete resonance to the extent they are considered a unit. That is because of the circumstances under which the texts emerged, which have to do with the determination of the apostolic- and postapostolic-era evangelists to adhere to the injunction to teach all nations and tell them "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matt. 28.19-20). For Paul, as will be seen, this came down to articulating and requiring adherence to doctrine as Paul articulated it.In order to arrive at such a reduction, however, which is nothing more than an assertion of ecclesiastical authority, the complexities of the Corinthian case must be addressed. For only by taking seriously and disposing of the issue fronts that appear to have been threatening to motivate the new Christians to abandon their doctrinally problematic new religion in Corinth could Paul seriously hope to achieve the objective of religious and spiritual unity. Jesus' evangelical adjuration to the apostles can be thought of as a "given" of the first-century Christian mission. However, backgrounding that
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ave about Christ crucified as the crucible of the power and wisdom of God (1 Cor. 24). It is given to the Christian cult only to know the glories of the kingdom of heaven, as revealed by Jesus Christ. That issue is decisive, and it occupies virtually the whole of 1 Cor. 1-3, wherein Paul introduces, states, and restates the unique and superior qualities of the church, whether at Corinth or Ephesus or Rome, differentiating the culture (cult) of the church from all and sundry and deploring rivalry in the sect, whether Jewish spiritual or Greek secular or pagan tradition or the various individuals who claim special religious knowledge. He intended "to create a group with a clear sense of its moral and theological identity while at the same time incorporating a heterogeneous group of people: Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free" (Witherington 29)
So much for strategy, to unify the experience of the faith across social cleavages. After using 1 Cor. 4 to reassure the faithful that he has their best interests at heart, Paul proceeds addresses specific tactical issues, taking up various aspects of moral instruction, notably regarding how people live as social and sexual and religious beings. One specific question that Paul is
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Approximate Word count = 2878
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)
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