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Download: The ‘Gospel’

Many idiomatic expressions using the term “gospel.”

Take it as gospel

It’s the gospel truth

Preaching the gospel

Spreading the gospel

According to the gospel of [so-and-so]

The word “gospel” is from the Old English gōdspell

In the New Testament, “gospel” is translated from the Greek word euangelion.

The Good News of Isaiah…

“It seemed good to the Greeks of Asia, in the opinion of the high priest Apollonius of Menophilus Azanitus: “Since Providence, which has ordered all things and is deeply interested in our life, has set in most perfect order by giving us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as a savior, both for us and for our descendants, that he might end war and arrange all things, and since he, Caesar, by his appearance (excelled even our anticipations), surpassing all previous benefactors, and not even leaving to posterity any hope of surpassing what he has done, and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the good news [euangelion] for the world that came by reason of him,” which Asia resolved in Smyrna. [Priene 150.40-41, c. 9 B.C.]

Mark 1:1, 14-15

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the good news of God and saying, “The time has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent and believe the good news.”

“We will say more about both elements of this good news in a little while. But it’s important to emphasize right away that what Paul was talking about was not what most people today imagine. If you mention the Christian good news, most people today imagine that you’re talking about an option you might like to take up if you feel so inclined. A piece of advice. For some, it’s a new kind of spirituality: here is a Jesus-focused interior life for those who want that kind of thing. For others, it’s a new way of living: here is a Jesus-based morality you, or indeed your community, might like to follow. For others again, it’s about taking out an option on your future—a kind of retirement plan, except that the retirement in question takes place after your death rather than before it. It’s a way of making sure that you at least will be safe and sound, even if the rest of the world isn’t. Some people, as we will see, highlight this last element, and when they talk about the good news or the gospel, they focus almost exclusively on this aspect. Some people do the same with the idea of reestablishing our present relationship with God after being cut off through sin. None of these ways of looking at things are, as they stand, totally wrong. The message of Jesus and the message about Jesus do include something about spirituality, something about morality, something about the ultimate future, something not least about our relationship with God. But all these miss the main point. The good news brought by Paul (and before him, by Jesus, though we will come to that presently) was not about an option you might wish to take up. It wasn’t a piece of advice about something you might or might not wish to do. It was news. They claimed it was good news. When Paul told people his good news, he didn’t mean for them to say, “Well, that’s interesting. I’ll see if that’s going to suit me or not.” He wasn’t inviting them to try on a new way of thinking or living that would enable them to live differently or think differently. He was telling them that something had happened which had changed the world, that the world was now a different place, and that he was summoning them to be part of that new, different reality. He was telling them about an event that would cause them to adjust their entire lives in order to come into line with the way things now were.”

~N. T. Wright, Simply Good News, pp. 19-20

That God’s kingdom has arrived, calling people to repentance, faith, and a new way of life under God’s reign.

Download: Four Gospels, One Jesus

The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) form the first four books of the New Testament.

With different emphasizes, different portrayals, and different vantage points a historical record deepens and becomes richer and more dynamic.

Why not synthesize into one Gospel?

Portrait of Jesus: The King

Portrait of Jesus: The Servant

Portrait of Jesus: The Savior

Portrait of Jesus: The Son of God

“Synoptics” means “to see together”

Synoptic Gospel Distinctives

·       The ‘Gospel’ Genre

·       The Gospels Are Historical Literature

·       The Gospels Are Narrative Literature

·       The Gospels Are Theological Literature

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

“Theological narrative” tells a story and conveys an important point with it.

John 11:3 Phileo is a word that expresses deep friendship, affection, and warmth, love between close companions.

5, 11 They were more than disciples; they were friends.

8 Stone you – 10:31-32 Jesus, undaunted, knew that God would guide and protect him.

9 Look fellows, I am doing God’s will. Everything is going to be all right. I am not afraid, nor should you be. You are with me.

14 Sleep – focus your attention on the living and not the dead.

16 Thomas’ reaction could be interpreted as confidence or sarcasm and fear.

17 Four days

Yes, in the time of Jesus, the custom in Jewish culture was to bury the dead on the day of death, just as it is today.

One of the clearest prophetic signs comes from Jonah’s experience:

“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17 KJV)

Jesus himself referenced this as a prophecy of his own death and resurrection:

“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of

Jesus said he wanted us to make disciples. Inviting friends and acquaintances to come to church is a great way to get in the game. After all, Christianity is really helpful with major problems people are struggling with today.

Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus commissioned the church to make disciples of all nations. This is the “game”. Are you in it or on the bench?

Five Problems that Christianity Helps With

1. Plunging Birthrates (Gen 1:28; Prov 17:6; Mark 10:13-14)

Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program: “A considerable body of research has suggested that religious service attendance powerfully affects health and also affects other aspects of flourishing such as meaning in life, character, and close social relationships. Specifically, research has indicated that those who attend religious services at least weekly are about 30% less likely to die over a 10- to 20- year follow-up, are about 30% less likely to become depressed, and are over five times less likely to commit suicide …. Other evidence suggests that religious service attendance is associated with subsequently greater meaning in life, greater social connection and social support, and a 30% to 50% reduction in divorce. See https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/how-to-flourish.

Isaiah 35:5-6 and 42:6-7; Luke 4:16-20 Jesus understood from the Scriptures that he was to heal the blind. However, there was no specific instruction given on how to do it. So how did he know what to do?

Matthew 12:22-23 With the possessed blind and mute man, he cast out the demon.

Matthew 20:29-34 Two blind men cried out to him. Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes.

Mark 8:22-26 Jesus took the blind man from Bethsaida by the hand and led him out spitting on his eyes and laying hands on him. The man was not instantly healed.

Mark 10:46-52 In Jericho, Jesus said, “Go, your faith has made you whole.”

John 9:1-41 He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and applied the clay to his eyes. Go wash in the pool of Siloam.

Each incident required its own unique application, so how did he know?

Proverbs 1:20-23 Wisdom calls out everywhere.

Proverbs 8:1-12 Wisdom is readily available all the time.

Proverbs 9:1-6 Jesus understood the availability of wisdom

James 1:5-8 God gives it generously and without reproach.

Proverbs 4:1-12 Accurate knowledge is essential, but by itself it is not enough. We need wisdom, just like Jesus needed it.

Proverbs 15:2; 18:2; 26:11; 13:20

We have a deficiency−the lack of wisdom. However, this can be our greatest asset for it forces dependency and communication with God.

Luke 2:40, 52 Jesus grew in wisdom. Solomon and David lost their wisdom

Eph. 1:17; Col. 1:9 Pray for knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

John 8:32

1 Kings 22:13-18. Ahab wanted to know the truth, but when Micaiah told him the truth, it wasn’t received well.

Galatians 4:12-20. Paul’s concern for the Galatians was grounded in speaking the truth about the good news of Christ. But he was also concerned that they then might make him their enemy because they didn’t want to hear it.

Ephesians 4:11-16. The truth is important for our growth, but how we speak it is just as important as the need for us to speak it.

Ephesians 4:29. When we tell the truth, we must do so with a heart toward building up and strengthening others, not tearing them down.

Proverbs 20:30; 27:6. No one wants their pride/ego to be hurt, but sometimes the truth hurts. But real friends are willing to tell you the truth. And most often, they do it because they care about you. Sometimes we need “tough love” to help us become more mature, more disciplined, and more Christ-like in our lives.

Download: Concluding Thoughts on 1 Corinthians

Major Issues in 1 Corinthians

In addition to these eleven issues, we spent time considering how Christianity compared to ancient philosophical schools, how to translate 1 Corinthian 6:9 with reference to homosexual practices, Christology with a focus on 1 Corinthians 8:6, and good deal of time focused on divine speech in the pagan world and in the church.

After Paul Left Corinth1

Clement’s Letter to the Corinthians

Dionysius, Overseer of Corinth

Application

The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. Edited by Michael W. Holmes. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003.

Eusebius. The History of the Church. Translated by Jeremy M. Schott. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2019.

Jerome. “On the Lives of Illustrious Men.” In Theodoret, Jerome, Gennadius & Rufinus: Historical Writings. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Vol. 203. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series. New York, NY: Christian Literature Publishing, 1890.

Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome. St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology. 3rd ed. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002.

1. For this chronology I’m indebted to Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology, 3rd ed. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 173-74.
2. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, ed. Michael W. Holmes (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003).
3. Jerome, “On the Lives of Illustrious Men,” in Theodoret, Jerome, Gennadius & Rufinus: Historical Writings, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, vol. 203, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (New York, NY: Christian Literature Publishing, 1890).
4. Eusebius, The History of the Church, trans. Jeremy M. Schott (Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2019), 210.

Download: Eschatology of 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:7-8; 3:12-13; 4:5; 5:5; 6:2-3, 9-10, 14; 11:26; 15:3-8, 12-14, 20-28, 35, 58; 16:22

Eschatology: belief about the last things or end times.

The Corinthian Christians struggled to accept Paul’s teaching about resurrection (1 Cor 15:12, 35).

Afterlife Option 1: Non-Existence

Afterlife Option 2: Ascending to Heaven or Joining the Stars

Afterlife Option 3: Pluto (Hades) Myth

Afterlife Option 4: Reincarnation

The Resurrection of Christ

Paul’s Mini-Apocalypse (1 Cor 15:20-28)

Application

Aeschylus. Agamenmnon, Libation-Bearers, Eumenides. Translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. Vol. 2. Loeb Classical Library, edited by Jeffrey Henderson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008.

Cristóbal, Alberto Bernabé and Ana Isabel Jiménez San. Instruction for the Netherworld: The Orphic Gold Tablets. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, edited by D. Frankfurter H. S. Versnel, and J. Hahn, vol. 162. Ledien: Brill, 2008.

Euripides. Cyclops, Alcestis, Medea. Translated by David Kovacs. Vol. 1. Loeb Classical Library, edited by Jeffrey Henderson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 2001.

Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classica. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1998.

Lattimore, Richmond. Themes in Greek and Latin Epitaphs. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1962.

Lucian. Anacharsis, Menippus, on Funerals, a Professor of Public Speaking, Alexander the False Prophet, Essays in Portraiture, Essays in Portraiture Defended, the Goddesse of Surrye. Translated by A. M. Harmon. Vol. 4. Loeb Classical Library, edited by T. E. Page. London, England: William Heinemann, 1925.

Martin, Dale B. The Corinthian Body. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1995.

Pausanias. Description of Greece. Translated by W. H. S. Jones. Vol. 1. Loeb Classical Library. London, England: William Heinemann, 1918.

Plato. The Republic of Plato. Translated by Allan Bloom. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2016.

Sicily, Diodorus of. The Library of History Iv.59-Viii. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 3. Loeb Classical Library, edited by G. P. Goold. London, England: William Heinemann, 1939.

Virgil. Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid 1-6. Translated by H. Rushton Fairclough. Vol. 1. Loeb Classical Library, edited by Jeffrey Henderson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Wiegand, Theodor. “Sechster Vorläufiger Bericht Über Die Von Den Königlichen Museen in Milet Und Diyma Unternommenen Ausgrabungen.” In Abhandlungen Der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften. Edited by Georg Reimer. Philosophisch-Historische Classe. Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Akademie dier Wissenschaften, 1908.

1. Richmond Lattimore, Themes in Greek and Latin Epitaphs (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1962), 84.
2. Lattimore, 84.
3. Lattimore, 34.
4. Lattimore, 50.
5. Lattimore, 39-40. Translation from ChatGPT.
6. Lattimore, 34. Theodor Wiegand, “Sechster Vorläufiger Bericht Über Die Von Den Königlichen Museen in Milet Und Diyma Unternommenen Ausgrabungen,” in Abhandlungen Der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, ed. Georg Reimer, Philosophisch-Historische Classe (Berlin: Verlag der Königlichen Akademie dier Wissenschaften, 1908), 46. Available at https://archive.org/details/abhandlungenderk1908akaduoft/page/n509/mode/2up?view=theater.
7. Lattimore, 35.
8. Homer, The Iliad, trans. Robert Fagles, Penguin Classica (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1998), 561-62.
9. Lucian, Anacharsis, Menippus, on Funerals, a Professor of Public Speaking, Alexander the False Prophet, Essays in Portraiture, Essays in Portraiture Defended, the Goddesse of Surrye, trans. A. M. Harmon, vol. 4, Loeb Classical Library, ed. T. E. Page (London, England: William Heinemann, 1925), 113-19.
10. Lattimore, 87.
11. Lattimore, 36.
12. Plato, The Republic of Plato, trans. Allan Bloom (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2016), 297-303.
13. Alberto Bernabé and Ana Isabel Jiménez San Cristóbal, Instruction for the Netherworld: The Orphic Gold Tablets, Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, ed. D. Frankfurter H. S. Versnel, and J. Hahn, vol. 162 (Ledien: Brill, 2008), 54.
14. Aeschylus, Agamenmnon, Libation-Bearers, Eumenides, trans. Alan H. Sommerstein, vol. 2, Loeb Classical Library, ed. Jeffrey Henderson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008), 437.
15. Pausanias, Description of Greece, trans. W. H. S. Jones, vol. 1, Loeb Classical Library (London, England: William Heinemann, 1918), 387.
16. Diodorus of Sicily, The Library of History Iv.59-Viii, trans. C. H. Oldfather, vol. 3, Loeb Classical Library, ed. G. P. Goold (London, England: William Heinemann, 1939), 43.
17. Virgil, Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid 1-6, trans. H. Rushton Fairclough, vol. 1, Loeb Classical Library, ed. Jeffrey Henderson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004), 253-55.
18. Euripides, Cyclops, Alcestis, Medea, trans. David Kovacs, vol. 1, Loeb Classical Library, ed. Jeffrey Henderson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 2001), 239-41.
19. Dale B. Martin, The Corinthian Body (New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1995), 114.
20. Martin, 107-08.

Self-control is the ability to tell yourself “no” when you’re tempted to do something wrong and “yes” when you don’t feel like doing something right. Jesus provides us with sterling examples of what godly self-control looks like in the real world. Rather than fleeing pain and pursuing pleasure, we should develop our self-control muscle so that we can live like Jesus.

Proverbs 25:28 Self-control is limiting your spirit—your impulses. It is exercising dominance over your desires. It is telling yourself “no” when you’re tempted to do something wrong and “yes” when you don’t feel like doing something right.

Proverbs 16:32 Anger is an area where self-control is extremely important. Uncontrolled anger is one of the most self-destructive forces in the world.

1 Corinthians 7:5, 9 Lust is another area where you must exercise self- control. This applies both to those who are married as well as singles.

John 6:11-15 Jesus resisted the temptation of fame and power when he fed the 5,000. Although his PR agent might have had disagreed, Jesus knew that the mob was fickle and untrustworthy.

Mark 14:55-61; Isaiah 53:7 When facing the false accusations about destroying the temple, Jesus remained silent before the high priest.

Mark 15:29-32; Matthew 26:51-54 On the cross, suffering in agony, Jesus was continually mocked and falsely accused by his opponents. They dared him to come down and prove he was the Messiah. Jesus had to control himself the whole time.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Like with athletes in training, self-control requires persistence and intensity. It’s like a muscle strengthened through use.

Download: Love and Edification in the Corinthian Assembly

1 Corinthians 12:12-29; 13:1-13; 14:1-40

The Body Analogy

Body Parts Together

Speaking in Tongues as a Status Indicator

Love as the Key to Manifesting the Spirit in the Assembly

Practical Instruction for Spirit Manifestations in the Assembly

Application

Aristides, Publius Aelius. Orations 27-53. Translated by Charles A. Behr. Vol. 2. Leiden: Brill, 1981.

Chrysostom, Dio. Discourses 31-36. Translated by Lam J. W. Cohoon. Vol. 3. Loeb Classical Library, edited by T. E. Page. London, England: William Heinemann, 1940.

Martin, Dale B. The Corinthian Body. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1995.

Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome. St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology. 3rd ed. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002.

Schreiner, Thomas R. 1 Corinthians. Vol. 7. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, edited by Eckhard J. Schnabel. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018.

Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Vol. 13. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000.

Wright, N. T. Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.

1. Dio Chrysostom, Discourses 31-36, trans. Lam J. W. Cohoon, vol. 3, Loeb Classical Library, ed. T. E. Page (London, England: William Heinemann, 1940), 355-7.
2. Publius Aelius Aristides, Orations 27-53, trans. Charles A. Behr, vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill, 1981), 32.
3. Dale B. Martin, The Corinthian Body (New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1995), 40.
4. Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology, 3rd ed. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 190-1.
5. Martin, 87-8.
6. Martin, 87.
7. Martin, 95-6, 101-2.
8. Anthony C. Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, vol. 13, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000), 1121-23, 26.
9. Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 Corinthians, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018), 291.
10. Thiselton, 1005.
11. N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 200.