1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 4 STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
WISDOM IN SPIRITUAL FATHERHOOD
1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-13
4:3: HERE, AS IN ROMANS 2:15, JUDGE-(Greek-anakrinein) is difficult to render in English: ANAKRINEIN is comparable to the investigation that takes place before and during a trial and preceding judgement; krinein-(v. 5; Matthew 7:1) to rendering of a verdict: Many Corinthians prejudged Paul as an unfaithful steward; some denied his apostolic authority-(see Introduction to 2 Corinthians)...For Paul it is improper for them, or even for himself, to prejudge his life, for Christ is the judge...
4:6: IN THIS EXPRESSION, BEYOND WHAT IS WRITTEN, most likely Paul refers to the whole OT, reminding the Corinthians that all Scripture urges us not be proud or contentious: PUFFED UP in Greek suggests the swollen inflammation around an infected wound; it may be rendered "arrogant"-(vv. 18, 19; and 1 Corinthians 5:2):
4:7: PAUL DIRECTS a series of sharp questions to the Corinthians to deflate their pride...Nothing justifies thinking ourselves better than or above anyone else...
4:10: IRONY and SARCASM are bitter medicine, and Paul uses them here-(vv. 8-13) with full force...The three parallel statements WE ARE FOOLS, WE ARE WEAK, WE ARE DISHONORED are heaped upon each other in a stinging series...The relative comfort of the Corinthians Christians is contrasted with the persecuted, poverty-stricken and uncertain life of the apostles-(vv. 11-13; see Mark 6:4; and Mark 9:35; and Mark 10:31)...
4:12-13: THE APOSTLES have endured all kinds of humiliation, being treated as FILTH, and instead of fighting back have responded with love toward their persecutors-all for the joy of serving Christ and reconciling the world to God...
APPEAL AND WARNING
1 CORINTHIANS 4:14-21
4:14-16: PAUL SOOTHES THE SORENESS of his rebuke by reminding them of his fatherhood- (see the note on Matthew 22:9-10)...As in a family, so in the Church, maturing children need parental guidance...The apostles to the Gentiles-thus to most Christians-writes IMITATE ME because he imitates Christ- (1 Corinthians 11:1)...
4:18-20: PAUL will soon visit Corinth and face those who prejudge him to see if any POWER- (Greek- dunamis) lies behind their WORD...Citizenship in THE KINGDOM OF GOD, discovered in the Church, does not consist in mere talk, but is manifested in a growing life of grace...
1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5 STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
INCEST: THE CHURCH MUST BE PURE
1 CORINTHIANS 5:1-13
5:1: SEXUAL IMMORALITY-(Greek-porneia, from which we get-"pornography") originally mean prostitution, later immorality in general...In this case of incest, HIS FATHER'S WIFE is not the man's own mother, but a stepmother: Even so, this sin is grievous among Jews and Gentiles alike...
5:2: THE GREEK WORD FOR MOURNED-(pentheo) is also used in the Septuagint to refer to (1): GRIEVING FOR THE DEAD, AND (2): SORROW OVER UNREPENTANT SINNERS-(see- Neh 8:9; Isaiah 24:4; Daniel 10:2; and Amos 8:8): TAKEN AWAY FROM AMONG YOU refers to excommunication...
5:4: MY SPIRIT-(Greek pneuma) is Paul's human spirit, which is being sanctified by the Holy Spirit...
5:5: IN THE CHURCH there is protection from the destructive power of SATAN- (Matthew 16:18): This protection is here removed through excommunication in the hope that, having experienced the difference between God's rule and Satan's, this offender may repent and in the end BE SAVED: THE FLESH-(Greek- sarx) Is not synonymous with "body"- (Greek- soma; see v. 3): Paul is calling for the DESTRUCTION not of the body but rather of the lusts of the flesh...
5:6-8: THE ISRAELITES WERE TO REMOVE THE LEAVEN (v. 7) from their houses in preparation for Passover- (Exodus 12:1-30), the remembrance of their freedom from Pharaoh's bondage: Christ, crucified and risen, is our Paschal Lamb, OUR PASSOVER: United to Him in baptism, our life becomes an unending deliverance from evil...Since our life in Christ includes keeping THE FEAST (v. 8), Passover fulfilled in Eucharist, the old leaven of MALICE AND WICKEDNESS must be continually removed from us personally and corporately...
5:9: MY EPISTLE to which Paul refers is apparently lost: There is evidence Paul wrote letters which were lost and not incorporated in the NT canon- (see Colossians 4:16)...
5:12-13: THOSE...WHO ARE OUTSIDE is an ancient Semitic expression for those outside the community of God- (see WSir-Prologue- see Mark 4:11; Colossians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; and 1 Timothy 3:7)...
PSALM 18 (19) STUDY GUIDE & BREAKDOWN
PSALM 18 (19)
PSALM 18 (19): REVEALS GOD THE WORD- (THE END, v. 1) becoming Man in the womb using Mary's womb as His throne: For His Nativity, all creation bore witness to THE GLORY OF GOD revealed in His Incarnation-(vv. 1-5): And in His birth from the womb of the Virgin, He was likened to the sun rising from the east, to a bridegroom coming from his chamber, and to a strong man ready to run a race, to bring salvation to the world- (vv. 6-15):
Commentaires