The Church according to Paul

Rediscovering the Community Conformed to Christ

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781441219657
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Amid conflicting ideas about what the church should be and do in a post-Christian climate, the missing voice is that of Paul. The New Testament's most prolific church planter, Paul faced diverse challenges as he worked to form congregations. Leading biblical scholar James Thompson examines Paul's ministry of planting and nurturing churches in the pre-Christian world to offer guidance for the contemporary church. The church today, as then, must define itself and its mission among people who have been shaped by other experiences of community. Thompson shows that Paul offers an unprecedented vision of the community that is being conformed to the image of Christ. He also addresses contemporary (mis)understandings of words like missional, megachurch, and formation.

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A Community Like No Other

The Key Themes—from Paul’s First Letter

Most studies of Pauline ecclesiology do not begin with 1 Thessalonians, for the epistle says little or nothing about the major themes commonly associated with the topic. It does not mention the body of Christ or the sacraments, and it does not give explicit instructions about church polity.1 Indeed, the term ekklēsia is used only twice (1:1; 2:14). Nevertheless, because 1 Thessalonians is probably the first record of Paul’s attempt at community formation, it provides a valuable resource for understanding Paul’s ecclesiology and the corporate identity he intended for his readers. As both a record of Paul’s original catechetical instruction and an anticipation of future correspondence, the letter introduces the basic themes of ecclesiology that Paul will develop as he encounters new questions.

THE ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH OF THE THESSALONIANS

Paul addressed his first letter to the “church of the Thessalonians in God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:1) only months after the establishment of this community. According to the narrative in Acts, the community began when “some of them were persuaded” by Paul’s preaching in the synagogue (Acts 17:4) and joined him and Silas, while others reacted with hostility. Among the converts, Luke mentions only devout Greeks and a few leading women (Acts 17:12). Although Luke says little about the collective identity of Paul’s converts and does not describe the founding of an ekklēsia, he suggests their corporate identity when he recalls that “brothers” (adelphoi, NRSV “believers”)—presumably the new converts—helped Paul and Silas escape to Berea (Acts 17:10). Luke’s narrative suggests that the “brothers” had come from the synagogue but now were separated from it. Paul’s address to the “church of the Thessalonians” reflects his assumption that the converts understand their identity as an ekklēsia separate from the synagogue and other communities.

Although 1 Thessalonians depicts the converts in Thessalonica as gentiles who “turned to God from idols” (1 Thess. 1:9), not as former members of the synagogue (cf. Acts 17:1–4), the epistle agrees with the narrative of Acts in one important respect: the preaching of the gospel resulted in the formation of a community composed of those who responded to Paul’s preaching of Christ. They “were persuaded” by Paul’s preaching, “received the word” (1 Thess. 1:6; 2:13), and “turned to God,” separating themselves from the synagogue and from the surrounding society. Paul indicates that his gospel (euangelion) remains the foundation of the church’s existence (1 Thess. 1:5; 2:2, 4, 8–9; 3:2), reaffirming that “we believe that Jesus died and rose again” (1 Thess. 4:14) and “died for us” (1 Thess. 5:10). His original preaching was also an appeal to the listeners to “[turn] to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead” (1:9–10), an adaptation of synagogue missionary preaching.2 Both 1 Thessalonians and the narrative of Acts indicate the divisive character of Paul’s preaching. While some received his message, hostility emerged from the populace (cf. Acts 17:5–6; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 3:2–4). Conflict between church and society existed from the beginning and also existed in the other communities that Paul planted (cf. Phil. 1:28; 1 Cor. 6:4; 2 Cor. 1:3–7).

Paul’s other letters demonstrate a similar interest in the preaching that called the community into existence. According to 1 Corinthians, Paul had preached “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (2:2), “planted” a vineyard (3:6), laid a foundation (3:10), and “fathered” (egennēsa, NRSV “became your father”) the community through the gospel (4:15). He offers a different image in 2 Corinthians 3:2, indicating that the church is the letter that he had delivered (diakonētheisa, literally “ministered”). In Galatians he declares that there is no other gospel than the one that he had preached (1:6–9) and that he had originally “publicly exhibited” Christ as the crucified one (3:1). Similarly, he recalls that in the Philippians’ conversion, God “began a good work” among them (Phil. 1:6). The existence of churches, therefore, was the manifestation of God’s power in Paul’s preaching (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18; Phil. 2:13; 1 Thess. 1:5). Thus Paul does not speak of the conversion of individuals but speaks of the corporate response to the gospel and the beginning of the community. For Paul, to be a believer is to be in a church.3

The Holy Spirit played a decisive role in the founding of the church. It first empowered Paul’s preaching (1 Thess. 1:5; cf. 1 Cor. 1:18; 2:1–4), demonstrating that Paul did not come as an orator with words alone, but with power. As a result of the Thessalonians’ reception of that word “with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1:6 NASB), they became a model of changed lives throughout the wider region (1:6–10). The Spirit is a continuing reality empowering the community for ethical living (4:7). Paul probably does not distinguish it from “God’s word, which is also at work [energeitai]” among them (1 Thess. 2:13 NRSV).4 Thus the church is united not only by a common possession but also by the power at work in its midst.

The presence of the Spirit is a constant theme in Paul’s other letters. Believers receive the Spirit at conversion (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12–13; 2 Cor. 3:1–3; Gal. 3:1–6; Rom. 5:5), and they continue to “live by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16–18; cf. Rom. 8:4), which empowers them to live the ethical life (cf. Rom. 8:1–11; Gal. 5:22–29), work miracles (1 Cor. 12:10; Gal. 3:5), speak in tongues (1 Cor. 12:10, 28), and prophesy (1 Cor. 12:10; 14:1–5). The church is thus the community that lives by the power of the Spirit.

Although 1 Thessalonians says little about the demographics of the converts, it indicates that they were gentiles brought together in a community defined only by its allegiance to Christ. One may also assume that gentiles were incorporated into the community without circumcision and lived alongside Jewish converts from the synagogue. The Thessalonian church, like other Pauline churches,5 probably included people of means as well as those who engaged in manual labor.6 The exhortation to “work with the hands,” which is unique to the Thessalonian letters (1 Thess. 4:11; cf. 2 Thess. 3:12), suggests that at least some depended on manual labor for their existence.7 Although Paul does not mention the presence of women and children, one may assume their presence in the Thessalonian community.8 Indeed, the household baptisms reported in both Acts (10:2; 11:14; 16:15; 18:8) and the Pauline letters (1 Cor. 1:16) suggest the presence of entire family units, including slaves (cf. 1 Cor. 7:17–24; Gal. 3:28), in Paul’s churches.9 Such diversity was unprecedented among ancient associations.10 It presented a potential for conflict, as Paul’s subsequent correspondence indicates. Thus communities defined only by their acceptance of Paul’s preaching included Jews and gentiles, various ethnic groups, the rich and the poor, free people and slaves, and men and women in the close proximity of the house church (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26–28; 7:17–24).11

ESTABLISHING CORPORATE IDENTITY: THE PEOPLE OF GOD

Paul’s task is unprecedented in antiquity. The creation of a corporate identity for converts whose only common interest was the conviction that Jesus suffered, died, and was raised from the dead (cf. 1 Thess. 4:14) separated the believers from the communities from which they had come—the family, the clan, the tribe, the civic assembly (ekklēsia)—and brought them together with those whom they did not choose. This new community came together in a house church, which played a major role in shaping its identity as a household.12 In his catechetical instruction to new converts, Paul established the corporate identity of his converts. The consistent use of the second-person plural indicates that Paul speaks not to individuals but to the entire community.

Our message of the gospel came to you . . . and you became imitators of us and of the Lord, . . . so that you became an example. . . . For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you. (1:5–8)

We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers. (2:13)

As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you . . . we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face. (2:17)

As his use of the “you” plural indicates, Paul writes to communities, creating a collective identity. In the present they suffer together (3:2–3) and encourage one another (4:13; 5:11) in the context of various trials. Because Paul is anxious about their endurance, he sends Timothy to encourage their faithfulness (3:2, 6). He prays that the community will be sanctified at the parousia (3:13). They are his “joy” and “crown” (2:19). Thus he envisions a community that is on a corporate journey that began with conversion and will end at the parousia. From the beginning, allegiance to Christ involved participation in the community.

The formation of the community involves the resocializing of the converts by providing them with a new self-designation, a demarcation between insiders and outsiders,13 a social dialect that would distinguish them from other groups, and a new way of life.14 The frequency of the meetings of the community undoubtedly played a role in the resocialization process. Paul’s instruction that the letter be read to the whole community (1 Thess. 5:27) is probably his expectation for all his letters. The meetings provided the members an opportunity to “encourage one another and build one another up” (4:18; cf. 5:11) and to admonish others (5:14). This identity is a major dimension in Paul’s ecclesiology. His designation for the community is a window into his ecclesiology.

The new social dialect of the Thessalonians expressed the continuity of this gentile community with Israel as the people of God. Indeed, they stand in solidarity with Jewish believers in Judea who have suffered at the hands of “the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets” (1 Thess. 2:14–15). Thus Paul affirms that his converts belong to Israel. Indeed, the foundational image for the church in 1 Thessalonians is that of the people of God, as Paul’s distinctive vocabulary indicates.

Ekklēsia

Paul addresses the community as the “church (ekklēsia) of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” using a variant of his address to the other communities he had founded. Indeed, he writes also to the ekklēsia in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1), to the ekklēsiai of Galatia (Gal. 1:2), and to the ekklēsia in Philemon’s house (Philem. 2). These designations reflect the collective identity of his converts, which Paul inculcated while he was present with them. The fact that Paul writes to churches rather than to individuals also indicates the communal nature of his pastoral work.

Any Greek-speaking audience would have been familiar with the term ekklēsia, which could be used for any assembly (cf. Acts 19:32) and was widely used for the assembly of the free men entitled to vote (cf. Acts 19:39).15 The popular assembly (ekklēsia tou dēmou) was an essential part of the Greek system of governance.16 Having at least some features in comm...