Wisdom, Knowledge, and Spirituality in Self-defense

A Rhetorical Exegetical Study of 1 Corinthians 1–6

Seth Kissi

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781532662324
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Most of the challenges today's church is experiencing were experienced by the early church in New Testament times. Knowing this makes it possible to handle the challenges of today more effectively and in a way in which perplexity gives way to sober and informed attitudes. This book brings to the fore the role human sentiments within relational and ministerial dynamics play in creating problems of strife, rivalry, and unhealthy competition among leaders and members of the church, and provides opportunity to reflect on how to stem such negative tendencies. The study reveals the coherence of Paul's arguments in places where many existing commentaries find him digressing. Its focus on Paul's rhetorical strategies and the Greek text helps to clarify a number of issues that remain puzzles in many commentaries. The book also highlights clues in Paul's argument that indicate the direction, the interpretative frame, and the intended rhetorical effect of his arguments, avoiding the unhealthy imposition of general Pauline views on some statements in 1 Corinthians, as found in many books on the market. These, against insightful background in pluralism and complexity of wisdom, knowledge, oratory, persuasion, and inspiration, offer useful lenses that make Paul's argument consistently and coherently meaningful.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Tension, strife, division, rivalry, and unhealthy competition among leaders and members afflict the church from time to time. Yet not many leaders are able to respond appropriately to these challenges. Notwithstanding the fact that no church wants bad press concerning these challenges, failure to handle them properly worsens such situations. Understanding how such developments come about and evaluating how they have been handled in the past put one in a better position to handle such matters competently in today’s church. This is what this book offers. The Corinthians’ perception and treatment of Paul and Apollos as reflected in the words of Paul, who felt poorly rated by members of his congregation, provide us with essential sociocultural dynamics from which we can learn. Understanding Paul’s feelings about the situation also prepares one for some of the unfortunate realities of ministry. By appreciating the developments that resulted in the situation as reflected in 1 Corinthians, one comes to terms with the negative effects of some attitudes of church leaders and members, making the need for guarding against these attitudes imperative.

The book demonstrates the beauty, elegance, and force of Paul’s rhetoric. Some puzzles in 1 Corinthians 1–6 are resolved, giving fresh insight into spiritual truths with respect to Paul’s pronouncements. By setting the events in 1 Corinthians against the right background, this book helps the reader to appreciate how the attitude of the Corinthians toward teachers of wisdom and inspired men in their city influenced the problematic attitude of the believers toward their church leaders. To what extent did Paul’s attempt to defend himself influence the tone of his arguments? How are the readers rated in terms of the very bases on which they had judged Paul? How do Paul’s arguments reveal his emotions regarding how the Corinthians treated him? These and many more questions of practical relevance for today’s church are answered in this study.

Several rhetorical studies have focused on 1 Corinthians. Most of these studies are preoccupied with the identification of the rhetorical devices used and the points made with those devices. They, however, present aspects of Paul’s writings belonging to the same rhetorical unit as though they were disjointed and unrelated. The situation is not better in commentaries that employ other approaches to the study of Paul’s writings. In a number of instances, Paul is presented as digressing from his address of a particular issue. I contend that Paul is a very consistent writer. It takes a little patience for one to appreciate the coherence of his writings. What this rhetorical critical approach brings to the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 1–6 is the demonstration of coherency within the first two rhetorical subunits and how this enhances understanding of the subunits. The insistence of the approach on following the development of the writer’s thought, step by step, and identifying how each division relates to the other (and/or gives support and meaning to the writer’s view) makes this coherence evident.

Among others, the attention given to the Greek text contributes immensely to the clarification of a number of issues on which other scholars have held different views that create difficulties in understanding Paul. Three examples should suffice here:

(1) Almost all existing commentaries on 1 Corinthians 2:1–3 fail to recognize the nexus between the image of one “in weakness and in fear and much trembling” that Paul paints of himself in 1 Corinthians 2:3 on the one hand, and his resolution to preach nothing but Christ and him crucified in the preceding two verses on the other hand (1 Cor 2:1–2). The failure to recognize this nexus is due to lack of attention not only to the flow of the argument, but also to the verb, ἐγενόμην (I became) in 1 Corinthians 2:3.

(2) There is a prevailing tendency to present the judgment Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 3:5–15 as applicable to Paul and Apollos and other workers in the Corinthian church. This interpretation fails to recognize three things from Paul’s argument: (i) The distinct roles Paul assigns to himself (as the planter [ἐφύτευσα] and sole layer of the foundation [ἔθηκα]) on the one hand, and the roles he assigns to Apollos (as one who waters [ἐπότισεν] as well as the builder upon the foundation [ἐποικοδομεῖ] Paul laid) on the other hand; (ii) the fact that Paul does not find anything wrong with his work which he did as a “wise” or “skillful” (σοφὸς) layer of the foundation, but raises caution about the work of the builder on the foundation; and (iii) the fact that Paul applies all the argument in the rhetorical subunit to himself and Apollos.

(3) Attempts to interpret literally Paul’s injunction that the sexually immoral man be handed over to Satan has led to difficulties in interpretation in existing commentaries. A careful look at Paul’s argument, however, shows that it cannot be another way of expressing the judgment of excommunication. Indeed, it is a sarcastic depiction of the very thing the immoral man had done. He had given his body to Satan in sexual immorality, confident that he was going to obtain the salvation of his spirit.

On the rhetorical devices Paul used and their significance, not much attention has been given in rhetorical studies to how they reveal Paul’s intent of demonstrating that his readers were infants in Christ who were worthy only of milk. Not much focus is given to how these devices reflect his tendency to prove that the readers are unspiritual (1 Cor 3:1) and lack sound knowledge and wisdom. The uniqueness of the rhetorical devices he employs in 1 Corinthians 1–6 as compared with his other writings is indicat...