Peter Kirby

What are your thoughts on this start to a guide to 1 Corinthians?

"Address and Greetings" (1 Corinthians 1:1-3)
1Co 1:1 Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the purpose of God, and Sosthenes the brother,
1Co 1:2 To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been made holy in Christ Jesus, saints by the selection of God, with all those who in every place give honour to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
1Co 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

EXPLANATION

Greetings are a way of starting a letter by saying some kind words. In a modern letter, the greetings would come after the expression "Dear Sir." In this case, the receivers of Paul's letter are in "the church of God which is in Corinth," people who are Corinthians. Like most letters from Roman times, the start of the letter has three parts: (1) Name of the Writer, (2) to the Receiver, (3) Greetings.

1.In the first verse, Paul says that he is an apostle. The reason that Paul says this is that the church in Corinth has doubts about the authority of Paul. They make themselves judges of Paul (4:1-5) and put his position as an apostle into question (9:1-23). Later he will give his readers proof of being an apostle: he was the start of the church in Corinth (4:15), and Paul saw the living Jesus after his death (9:1-2). Paul says that to be an apostle is his "calling," the work for Paul in line with God's purpose. Paul says that God's act, God's desire, comes before his own. Paul can be modest (for example 15:9, "having no right to be named an apostle"), but he is also certain that his work is exactly what God wants him to do. The words "of Jesus Christ" are in reference to the origin of Paul's authority, not necessaily in reference to Paul's personal relation to Christ. Paul adds "Sosthenes the brother" to his own name as a sender of the letter. Though Paul commonly sent letters along with others, this was not common in Roman times; one of the few other examples is from the Latin writer Cicero. Experts are uncertain as to who Sosthenes is, but it is possible that he is the Sosthenes in Acts 18:17, the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth who was punished in front of Gallio. If so, he had become a believer and was now with Paul in Ephesus. Because 16:21-24 is an addition to the letter with Paul's pen, it seems that Paul used a secretary for most of the letter, and it is possible that Sosthenes was the secretary.

2.The letter is sent to all the church at Corinth, not only to a part of it. The word "church" (Greek εκκλησια) had been used before in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) in reference to Israel as a people who get together (see Deuteronomy 4:10 and many other verses). In Paul's time, the word "church" became a term used for the society of believers in Christ who are waiting for him to come back. Verse 1:2 is the only case in the letters of Paul with a long expansion of the address to the receivers: "those who have been made holy in Christ Jesus..." Similar to the reference to Paul as apostle, the stress is on the Corinthians as God's people in reaction to God's act. The words "made holy" seem to have the meaning of "became Christian" (see also 1:30 and 6:11). This way of talking gives the suggestion that they have the character of God who has set them apart and made them holy. As it will be clear in this letter, behavior that can be seen is part of Paul's understanding of what is holy. The meaning of "saints," a term that was also used for Israel, is "God's holy people." Similar to the way that Paul is an apostle by God's calling, the Corinthians are God's new people by God's calling. However, they seem more similar to unbelieving Corinthians than they do God' holy people in Corinth. The words "with all those who in every place give honour to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours" are used in connection with the words "saints by the selection of God," though the structure makes it only possible that the words are used of Paul and Sosthenes (with the meaning that all the churches send the letter with Paul and Sosthenes) or of "the church of God which is in Corinth" (with the meaning the letter is addressed to all Christians everywhere). The meaning is that there is a big picture here, of which the Corinthians are a part. Paul is saying, let the Corinthians keep in memory that they are set apart to be holy, along with all believers, though they have made the attempt of doing things against the plans of God. Paul's "in every place" has the more exact meaning "in every meeting-place," saying that people in many places get together to give respect to Jesus.

3.The common greeting in Hellenistic society is χαιÏ?ειν, which has the meaning "to be happy," but at the start of the letter it is a way to say, "Greetings!" In Paul's writing, this becomes χαÏ?ις ("grace"), with the addition of the Jewish greeting shalom ("peace"). So, in place of simply "greetings," Paul says, "grace and peace to you." The word "grace" is an expression of God's acts in relation to humans; in Christ, God has given himself to them in a way that is both free and kind. The good things that come to those receivers of God's grace are things of "peace," meaning "well-being, completeness." The one is the outcome of the other, and both come out of "God our Father" and were made real in history through "our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul's language is Christ-focused: Paul is an apostle of Christ Jesus, the Corinthians have become believers in Christ Jesus, and the churches are those who give respect to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; grace and peace come from God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is clear, however, that in Paul's mind the Son is under the Father and obedient to the Father.

As seen from these points, Paul takes the accepted Roman structure of addressing a letter and makes changes to it in a Christian manner.

kind thoughts,
Peter Kirby

Ben C Smith

It might be helpful, as support, to cite a few actual Greco-Roman letter greetings for comparison. Unless you are reasonably sure that your entire readership has already analyzed Greco-Roman letter greetings to death.

I like, BTW, how you sustain several lengthy paragraphs on the greeting alone, often merely glossed in the commentaries. And here I am recommending that you extend your comments by including letter samples.

My two cents.

Ben.

Peter Kirby

Ben,

Your suggestion is good. I have made this addition, "(For example, a letter of <vocab>Hadrian</vocab> written in AD 118 starts out, 'Imperator Caesar Trajan Hadrian Augustus, son of god-like Trajan Parthicus, son of the son of god-like Nerva, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunician power for the second time, Consul for the second time, to the city of the Delphians, greetings.' The list of many positions has the purpose of proving the authority of the letter and makes for an increased reputation of the Emperor in the eyes of those who have read it.) Here is an explanation of these three parts in Paul's letter:"

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

kind thoughts,
Peter Kirby

Amaleq13

I suggest you quit being such a slacker and do something productive for a change. All you do is lay on the couch and watch TV!!! Oh, wait. That's me. Never mind.


Is this project ultimately going to be online or in a book or what? It looks great so far.

Peter Kirby

It is either to be put on FreeStudyBible.com or both to be put on FreeStudyBible.com and put in a book.

I am at work on 1:4-9 now.

kind thoughts,
Peter Kirby