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February 10, 2025 Fruit of the Spirit in Christ 5: The Faithfulness of Christ
Even from childhood, Jesus was about his Father’s business (Luke 2:41-52). He always did the Father’s will (John 5:30; 6:38; 8:28-29; 14:31). Humility is the key to his faithfulness. The Christian life isn’t about you. It’s about God and the work God is doing. When we humbly join God in his work, we discover a life of adventure, just as the life of Christ was filled with great adventure. Faithfulness to God isn’t easy. It requires sacrifice, and sometimes suffering. However, when we suffer for our faithfulness to God, there’s joy in the suffering, because we know it’s not in vain, and we have great hope for the future. God invites us to join him in his work because he loves us and wants a relationship with us. Will we be faithful to do the work God calls us to do? The choice is ours.
“Faithful” is defined as “loyal and steadfast in allegiance”, “reliable”, “constant and unwavering.”
The sun, moon, and stars always move as God ordained (Psalm 8:3-4; 19:1-2). Faithfulness to God produces peace, order, and harmony. Disobedience produces chaos, disorder, and strife.
Hebrews 4:15 – Jesus was tempted as we are, yet he never sinned.
Luke 2:41-52 – Even from childhood, Jesus was always about his Father’s business.
Jesus always did the Father’s will, glorifying the Father, not himself (John 5:30; 6:38; 8:28-29; 14:31). Humility is the key to faithfulness.
The Christian life isn’t about you. It’s about God and the work God is doing. God is at work in the world. He invites us to join him in his work.
Luke 4:1-8 – Satan offered Jesus the kingdom without the cross, but Jesus remained faithful to God’s plan.
The life of Christ was full of adventure. There is no greater adventure than joining God in his work.
Luke 22:39-46 – “Not my will but yours be done.” Jesus was faithful even to death on a cross.
Faithfulness to God isn’t easy. It requires sacrifice, and sometimes suffering. But there’s joy in the suffering. See Philippians 1:29, 1 Peter 5:8-9, John 16:33, James 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 4:17, Romans 8:18, and 1 Peter 4:12-16.
Hebrews 12:1-2 – For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross.
God invites us to join him in his work because he loves us and wants a relationship with us. Like a gentle and loving father with a little child – that’s how God is with us.
The post Fruit of the Spirit in Christ 5: The Faithfulness of Christ first appeared on Living Hope.
47 min
February 07, 20258. Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in 1 Corinthians
Download: Divorce and Remarriage in 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 7:1-16
1 Corinthians 7:1-2
v1 Paul had received a letter from the Corinthians. From 1 Cor 16:17, we learn the letter carriers were Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achiacus.
Paul responded to their specific inquiries in 7:1, 25; 8:1; 12:1; and 16:1.
Their question (or statement) here was, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” Paul responds to this throughout the chapter.
Asceticism
Cynics discouraged any marriage or having children.
Stoics encouraged marriage but discouraged sex beyond procreation.
Musonius Rufus: “Men who are neither licentious nor wicked must consider only those sexual acts which occur in marriage and which are carried out for the creation of children to be right, since these acts are also lawful, but they must consider acts that chase after mere pleasure, even if they occur in marriage as wrong and unlawful.”1 (Musonius Rufus, Lecture 1)
Philosophers going back to Plato and Aristotle saw bodily desires as inconveniences that needed to be restrained and put under control. They did not practice strict abstinence, but they prioritized pursuing philosophy over such mundane matters.
Doctors like Hippocrates (460–370 bc) and Galen (129–200 ad) believed too much sex weakened men and depleted his vitality.
The Pater Familias in the Roman World
The oldest father of the household was the pater familias who held patria potestas: authority over the family, including his wife, the slaves, his children, their wives, etc. This power included whether or not to receive a newborn into the family.
Hilarion: “I beg and entreat you, take care of the little one, and as soon as we receive our pay I will send it up to you. If by chance you bear a child, if it is a boy, let it be, if it is a girl, cast it out.”2 (Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 744)
Apuleius: “Her husband’s father, having to be away on a journey, left instructions with his wife, her mother-in-law, who was pregnant, that if the child turned out to be a member of the weaker sex, it should be put to death at birth. While he was away, a girl was born; but mother-love was too strong for her, and disobeying her husband’s orders she entrusted the child to neighbours to bring up. On his return she told him that it was a daughter and had been duly put to death.”3 (Apuleius, The Golden Ass23)
Roman Marriage
Girls married in their mid to late teens. The youngest marriageable age for them was twelve. Boys married in their mid to late twenties. The fathers of bride and groom agreed upon a betrothal and a dowry. The father of the bride gave her a dowry that her husband could use so long as they were married. If divorce occurred, the husband had to return the complete dowry to his ex-wife.
Plutarch: “Marriages ought not to be made by trusting the eyes only, or the fingers either, as is the case with some who take a wife after counting up how much she brings with her, but without deciding what kind of helpmate she will be.”4 (Plutarch Moralia 141, Advice to Bride and Groom 24)
Marriage contract from 2nd c. bc: “Apollonia shall remain with Philiscus, obeying him as a wife should her husband, owning their property in common with him. Philiscus shall supply to Apollonia all necessaries and clothing and whatever is proper for a wedded wife, whether he is at home or abroad, so far as their property shall admit. It shall not be lawful for Philiscus to bring in any other wife but Apollonia, nor to keep a concubine or lover, nor to beget children by another woman in Apollonia’s lifetime, nor to live in another house over which Apollonia is not mistress, nor to eject or insult or ill-treat her, nor to alienate any of their property to Apollonia’s disadvantage. If he is shown to be doing any of these things or does not supply her with necessaries and clothing and the rest as has been said, Philiscus shall forfeit forthwith to Apollonia the dowry of 2 talents 4,000 drachmae of copper. In the same way it shall not be lawful for Apollonia to spend the night or day away from the house of Philiscus without Philiscus’ consent or to have intercourse with another man or to ruin the common household or to bring shame upon Philiscus in anything that causes a husband shame. If Apollonia wishes of her own will to separate from Philiscus, Philiscus shall repay her the bare dowry within ten days from the day it is demanded back.”5 (Tebtunis Papyrus 104)
Love in Roman Marriages
Epitaph for Claudia (100-76 bc): “Stranger, what I ask is but a little thing: stand close and read carefully. This is the not so beautiful sepulcher of a beautiful woman. The name her parents gave her was Claudia. Her husband she cherished from the depths of her heart. She gave birth to two sons: one of these she left on the earth, the other she placed beneath the earth. She was possessed of charming speech, and moreover a pleasing gait. She maintained the household. She made wool. I have spoken. Go forward.”6 (CIL I2 1211)
Double funerary stele of Aurelius Hermia and Aurelia Philematium (80 bc):
“Left side: Lucius Aurelius Hermia, freedman of Lucius, a butcher from the Viminal Hill. She who has gone before me by reason of fate, with chaste body, a unique spouse, loving, she was possessed of my heart, she lived faithful to a faithful husband with equal application, when in no bitterness, she departed from her duty.
Right side: Aurelia, freedwoman of Lucius. Aurelia Philematio, freedwoman of Lucius. While I lived, I was named Aurelia Philematium, chaste, modest, ignorant of the crowd, faithful to my husband. A husband, whom I am without, alas, who was a fellow-freedman. He was to me in fact and in truth more than and beyond a parent. He took me to his bosom at the age of seven years, at the age of forty years I am in the hands of death. He prospered in the eyes of all due to my constant dutifulness.7 (CIL 12.1221; British Museum 1867: 0508.55)
Musonius Rufus (54-68 ad): “In marriage there must be, above all, companionship and care of husband and wife for each other, both in sickness and in health and on every occasion. … Such a marriage is admirable and deserves emulation; such a partnership is beautiful.”8 (Musonius Rufus, Lecture1-2)
Plutarch’s advice (90-100 ad): “[I]t is a lovely thing for the wife to sympathize with her husband’s concerns and the husband with the wife’s, so that, as ropes, by being intertwined, get strength from each other, thus, by the due contribution of goodwill in corresponding measure by each member, the copartnership may be preserved through the joint action of both. … Such a copartnership in property as well is especially befitting married people, who should pour all their resources into a common fund, and combine them, and each should not regard one part as his own and another part as the other’s.”9 (Plutarch, Moralia 140, Advice to Bride and Groom 20)
Adultery in the Roman Empire
Plutarch: “The lawful wives of the Persian kings sit beside them at dinner, and eat with them. But when the kings wish to be merry and get drunk, they send their wives away, and send for their music-girls and concubines. In so far as they are right in what they do, because they do not concede any share in their licentiousness and debauchery to their wedded wives. If therefore a man in private life, who is incontinent and dissolute in regard to his pleasures, commit some peccadillo with a paramour or a maidservant, his wedded wife ought not to be indignant or angry, but she should reason that it is respect for her which leads him to share his debauchery, licentiousness, and wantonness with another woman.”10 (Plutarch, Moralia 140, Advice to Bride and Groom 16)
Plutarch (writing 90-100 ad): “They say that the cat is excited to frenzy by the odour of perfumes. … Now inasmuch as women are affected in this way, not by their husbands’ using perfume, but by their having connexion with other women, it is unfair to pain and disturb them so much for the sake of a trivial pleasure, and…to be pure and clean from all connexion with others when they approach their wives.”11 (Plutarch, Moralia 144, Advice to Bride and Groom 44)
Martial (writing in 90ad in Rome): talks about a guy whose wife had 7 children, all from other men: “You have been made, Cinna, by Marulla the father of seven—not children, for there is no son of yours, nor son of a friend or neighbour; but creatures conceived on truckle-beds and mats betray by their features their mother’s adulteries. This one who struts with curly hair, a Moor, confesses he is the offspring of Santra the cook; but that other with flat nostrils, blubber lips is the very image of Pannichus the wrestler. Who is not aware, if he has known and seen blear-eyed Dama, that the third is the baker’s son?”12 (Martial, Epigrams 39)
Juvenal (writing in 120 ad from Rome): “Marry a wife, and she’ll make some smart guitarist or flute-player a father, not you. Or, when you…hang your front-door with outsize laurel wreaths, it’ll all be to welcome an infant whose face, in the tortoiseshell cradle, under its canopy, recalls some armoured thug, some idol of the arena.”13 (Juvenal, Satire 76-81; cp. 6.597-601)
Augustus Legislated against Adultery and Unchastity (18 bc)
He instituted penalties for not marrying, incentives for those with large families, and punishments for adultery.
Suetonius: “When he discovered that bachelors were getting betrothed to little girls, which meant postponing the responsibilities of fatherhood, and that married men were frequently changing their wives, he dealt with these evasions of the law by shortening the permissible period between betrothal and marriage and by limiting the number of lawful divorces.”14 (Suetonius, Augustus 34)
Cassius Dio: “Since the free-born population contained far more males than females, he allowed all those who so desired—with the exception of senators—to marry freedwomen, and directed that their offspring should be regarded as legitimate. … At this time, too, some men were becoming betrothed to infant girls …Augustus made an order that no betrothal should be valid unless the man married within two years of giving his word. In other words, the girl must be at least ten years old at the time of the betrothal.”15 (Cassius Dio, The Roman History 16)
The New Roman Woman
Bruce Winter: “Ancient historians have observed that around 44 b.c. evidence of a ‘new’ type of woman emerged in certain circles in Rome…a woman in high position, who nevertheless claims for herself the indulgence in sexuality of a woman of pleasure.” … [F]irst-century women, unlike their Greek sisters in Hellenistic and Classical Greek times, appeared in the public domain. The imperial wives appear to have set a precedent for wives of senatorial rank and others in the social hierarchy. …’[N]ew’ women had emerged and they were supported by those who were themselves avant-garde, including some male literary figures of the early Roman Empire who were influential in promoting this lifestyle. These ‘new’ women had an unsettling influence on the status quo.”16
Martial: “The way you’re marrying your toy-boy, and making your former adulterer your husband, so the Julian Law can’t make an example of you—Proculina, you’re not getting married; you’re signing your confession.”17 (Martial, Epigrams 22)
Seneca the Younger: “Surely no woman is embarrassed by divorce anymore, now that certain famous and highborn ladies keep track of the years not by counting consuls but by counting husbands; they leave home to get married but get married to get divorced. Divorce was feared only as long as it was unusual. But it is in the news all the time now; so they have learned to emulate what they hear about so often. And surely there is no scandal in adultery anymore either, now that we are at the point where a woman only takes a husband to make her lover jealous. … Any woman who does not see that marriage is just a name for having only one lover must be simpleminded and behind the times. The shame for these misdeeds has long since evaporated as the practice has become more widespread.”18 (Seneca, Benefits 16.2-4)
1 Corinthians 7:3-6
Sex for Christians is about mutuality. The wife is faithful to her husband and the husband is faithful to his wife. The husband has authority over his wife’s body and the wife has authority over her husband’s body. Such vulnerability requires trust.
Nancy Pearcey: “In this historical context, the Christian view of marriage was nothing short of revolutionary. At its core was a new form of sexual equality. To the shock of the ancient world, both sexes were held to the same moral standard. Christianity condemned promiscuity among men as well as women. It stood out as radically different because it taught that a husband actually wrongs his wife by committing adultery. Jesus said, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her” (Mark 10:11). Such even-handed treatment was genuinely novel.”19
Unlike the new woman of Roman society or the sexual revolution of the 1960s, Christian marriage limits extramarital sex for both spouses. Domestic abuse is particularly sinful and heinous because it violates the mutuality and trust necessary for a healthy Christian marriage.
1 Corinthians 7:7-11
Paul tells the unmarried and widows to stay single, if possible, but if not to get married. To the separated, he tells them to remain single or be reconciled to their spouses. For this command, he actually cites Jesus!
1 Corinthians 7:12-16
Now we encounter the new scenario of a mixed marriage between a Christian and a pagan. In such cases, Paul tells the Christian to stay in it if possible.
Household gods were a regular aspect of home piety for which the wife was responsible. Vesta, lares, penates, the family genius, deceased ancestors, and other more popular gods were part of the house.
Bibliography
The Tebtunis Papyri. Edited by Arthur Hunt Bernard Grenfell, Gilbart Smyly. Vol. 1. London, England: Oxford University Press, 1902.
Apuleius. The Golden Ass. Translated by E. J. Kenney. London, England: Penguin, 2004.
Dio, Cassius. The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus. Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. Penguin Classics. London, England: Penguin, 1987.
Hubbard, Moyer V. Christianity in the Greco-Roman World. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
Johnson, Marguerite. Sexuality in Greek and Roman Society and Literature: A Sourcebook. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Routledge, 2022.
Juvenal. The Sixteen Satires. Translated by Peter Green. 3rd ed. London, England: Penguin, 2004.
Martial. Epigrams. Translated by Walter C. A. Ker. Vol. 1. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1961.
Martial. Epigrams. Translated by Gideon Nisbet. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford, England: Oxford University, 2015.
Pearcey, Nancy. The Toxic War on Masculinity. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2023.
Plutarch. Moralia. Vol. 2. Loeb Classical Library, vol. 222. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1928.
Rufus, Musonius. Lectures & Sayings: Revised Edition. Edited by William B. Irvine. Translated by Cynthia King. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace, 2011.
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. On Benefits. Translated by Miriam Griffin and Brad Inwood. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2011.
Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars. Translated by Robert Graves. London, England: Penguin, 2007.
Winter, Bruce. Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003.
Musonius Rufus, Lectures & Sayings: Revised Edition, ed. William B. Irvine, trans. Cynthia King (Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace, 2011), 55.
P. Oxy 744 in Moyer V. Hubbard, Christianity in the Greco-Roman World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010), 180. The original had “wife,” which I replaced with “sister,” owing to the original Greek, which reads “ἀδελφῇ.”
Apuleius, The Golden Ass, trans. E. J. Kenney (London, England: Penguin, 2004), 293.
Plutarch, Moralia, vol. 2, Loeb Classical Library, vol. 222 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1928), 317.
The Tebtunis Papyri, ed. Arthur Hunt Bernard Grenfell, Gilbart Smyly, vol. 1 (London, England: Oxford University Press, 1902), 452.
Marguerite Johnson, Sexuality in Greek and Roman Society and Literature: A Sourcebook, 2nd ed. (New York, NY: Routledge, 2022), 126.
Johnson, 127.
Rufus, 57.
Plutarch, 313.
Plutarch, 309.
Plutarch, 333-5.
Martial, Epigrams, trans. Walter C. A. Ker, vol. 1, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1961), 381.
Juvenal, The Sixteen Satires, trans. Peter Green, 3rd ed. (London, England: Penguin, 2004), 37.
Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, trans. Robert Graves (London, England: Penguin, 2007), 63.
Cassius Dio, The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus, trans. Ian Scott-Kilvert, Penguin Classics (London, England: Penguin, 1987), 169-70.
Bruce Winter, Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003), 21, 37-8.
Martial, Epigrams, trans. Gideon Nisbet, Oxford World’s Classics (Oxford, England: Oxford University, 2015), 113.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, On Benefits, trans. Miriam Griffin and Brad Inwood (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2011), 68-9.
Nancy Pearcey, The Toxic War on Masculinity (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2023), 52.
The post 8. Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in 1 Corinthians first appeared on Living Hope.
0 min
February 06, 20257. Lawsuits in 1 Corinthians
Download: Lawsuits in 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 6:1-11
1 Corinthians 6:1 The Corinthian Christians were taking each other to court in the city. Although chapter 5 had dealt with sexual immorality (incest) and the second half of chapter 6 also dealt with sexual immorality (prostitutes), this section (1 Cor 6:1-8) deals with lawsuits. What ties this together?
Dale Martin: “What underlies and connects all these issues is Paul’s anxiety about the boundaries of the body. … Paul’s primary concern is to maintain the boundaries separating the church from the cosmos; he considers it inappropriate for internal arguments to be settled by outsiders.”1
Roman Legal System
Cassius Dio: “It is imperative that anyone who from time to time commits a crime should pay the penalty. Most men are not kept within the bounds of moderation by mere admonition [warning], or even by example; it is absolutely necessary to punish them by disfranchisement, by exile, or by death. Moreover such penalties are not infrequent in an empire the size of ours which contains such a vast population, especially at the time of any change of government. …[I]f a man is accused of committing a private offence, he is brought before a private court and must answer to a jury of his equals. If he is charged with a public crime, then in this instance too a jury of his peers, who are chosen by lot, judges the case. This makes it easier to accept the verdicts which are reached by these juries, since men recognize that whatever penalty they suffer neither originates from a judge’s power nor has been wrung from him as a favour.”2 (Cassius Dio, The Roman History7)
Public crimes (criminal law): crimes against society where the government prosecutes the defendant for murder, bribery, forgery, adultery, robbery, etc.
Private crimes (civil law): lawsuits between private individuals regarding theft, property damage, breaching a contract, fraud, etc.
High Status and Wealthy Individuals Had Advantages at Court
Seneca the Elder: “Is it any wonder to you that a poor man hasn’t summoned up the courage to accuse a rich man? He keeps quiet, yet finds himself accused.… This rich man was powerful and influential, as he himself acknowledges: he thought he could never have anything to be afraid of, even if he were accused.”3 (Seneca the Elder, Controversiae1.6-7)
Juvenal: “Can I afford to accost her? It’s the same with court witnesses: morals don’t count. If Numa or Scipio took the stand – and he escorted the Mother goddess to Rome! – or Metellus who rescued Minerva’s image from the blazing shrine, the immediate question would still be: “How much is he worth?”, with only an afterthought on his character. “How many slaves does he keep? What’s his acreage? How big, how good, is his dinner-service?” Each man’s word is as good as his bond – or rather, the number of bonds in his strong-box. A pauper can swear on every altar between Samothrace and Rome – he’ll still pass for a perjurer.”4 (Juvenal, Satire 136-145)
Bruce Winter: “If the defendant was a parent, a patron, a magistrate, or a person of high rank, charges could not be brought by children, freedmen, private citizens, and men of low rank respectively. Generally, lawsuits were conducted between social equals who were from the powerful (οἱ δυνατοί) of the city, or by a plaintiff of superior social status and power against an inferior. The reason for these proscriptions was to avoid (i) insulting the good name of the person concerned or (ii) showing lack of respect for one’s patron or superiors.”5
Reputation of Lawyers
Dio Chrysostom: “…clever pettifogging lawyers, who pledge their services to all alike for a fee, even to the greatest scoundrels, and undertake to defend unblushingly other men’s crimes, and to rage and rant and beg mercy for men who are neither their friends nor kinsmen, though in some cases these advocates bear a high report among their fellow-citizens as most honourable and distinguished men.”6 (Dio Chrysostom, Orations 123)
Although criticized by some (like Dio Chrysostom), lawyers were respected for their knowledge of the law and their expert skills of persuasion (rhetoric). Cicero (106–43 bc) was a very famous Roman lawyer whose career enabled him to became a quaestor, a praetor, and a consul.
1 Corinthians 6:1-3
Here we’re not talking about criminal cases, but civil ones as the phrase “trivial cases” in v2 makes clear.
Bruce Winter: “Legitimate reasons for pursuing enmity relationships into the civil courts included: to settle scores with political opponents; retaliation for breaching relationships of trust and obligation; to take up the baton on behalf of offended relatives and friends; to compete for a rung on the ladder of the cursus honorum of political posts in the city; jealousy of a young rising star, to undercut the powerful because of their disproportionate influence in politeia; to retaliate against those who interfered with one’s political aspirations; and to undermine a power base secured by one’s clients by attacking them.”7
Paul reminds them they are going to rule the world, so they should be competent to sort out such issues internally.
1 Corinthians 6:4-6
Paul is exasperated with their behavior.
He calls their cases “trivial” (v2) and “ordinary” (v4).
David Gill: “Young men drawn from the social elite might bring “trivial cases” to demonstrate their forensic skills. Perhaps some of the social elite from the church at Corinth are bringing “trivial” civil cases against fellow Christians in order to establish their own position (and harm their opponents), and this has caused tensions within the church.”8
v5 “I say this to your shame” is a massive statement. Shaming someone in their society was taken very seriously. Anyone would agree that it is shameful to take one’s brother or sister to court.
Bruce Winter: “It is easy to overlook the significance of the highly unusual way in which Paul used a familial term here and elsewhere (1:10, 26; 2:1; 3:1; 4:6; 5:11; 6:6). No Roman would have used the term ‘brother’ of another person except one who shared the same bloodline or a male who had been formally adopted into the family. When Paul used this term, he indicated that the Christian community is ‘family’ and, as such, it would be unheard of for its members to engage in litigation. It was the role of the paterfamilias to rule in disagreements among blood or adopted brothers.… Romans considered it highly inappropriate to engage in intrafamily litigation.”9
They didn’t have a strong understanding of boundaries between the body of Christ and the world. Paul labors to increase their solidarity within the community of faith. Ironically, when the Jews brought Paul to Gallio, he told them to resolve the matter internally (Acts 18:14-15).
1 Corinthians 6:7-8
Going to court involved slander. That was standard operating procedure. From a community perspective then, it was a loss because both would be attacked.
Bruce Winter: “The proceedings were not conducted disppasionately but with great acrimony. ‘What the Romans called reprehension vitae or vituperation – a personal attack on the character of one’s opponents – was taken as normal; and manuals of rhetoric dealt in great detail with the most effective ways to construct a vituperation’.… The prosecutor, with his hostile speeches and damaging evidence of his witnesses, caused great personal resentment and loss of dignity for the defendant. No areas were immune from ferocious attacks.… ‘In Quintilian’s manual on rhetoric…we are expressly told that the beginning of a court speech should contain a consideration of the persons involved, and this must involve the blackening (imfamandam) of the person on the other side.’”10
It would be better to just take the hit and be defrauded than to exacerbate enmity within the community through vexatious litigation.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
They didn’t have to be that way anymore. Those old behaviors that had characterized them were behind them now. They’ve been washed, sanctified, and justified. They are now high-status people in Christ—those destined to rule the world in the kingdom of God.
Faulty Application
Sometimes Christians have chosen to cover up internal crimes on the basis of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8. This is a faulty application since Paul was not addressing criminal activity, but civil cases (lawsuits) between private individuals. Christians have the same duty to report serious crimes that other citizens have.
Community Application
It’s really easy to judge outsiders, but that’s not what we’re called to do.
Bruce Winter: “[T]he Corinthian church appeared to have judged the outsider when they had no right to do so (5:12) but failed dismally to judge the insider [who was sleeping with his father’s wife] when that was their task (5:13). Paradoxically, they had allowed the unrighteous outsiders to judge the insiders (6:1) when they should have resorted to using a fellow Christian who, by reason of his legal training, would have had the requisite qualifications to act as a private arbitrator.”11
Instead, we should judge ourselves. Where are we out of alignment with what the Bible says?
T. Wright: “[W]here in today’s church — in my church — are we behaving in such a way that we are shaming the gospel in the eyes of the world?12
Bibliography
Chrysostom, Dio. Discourses 1-11. Translated by J. W. Cohoon. Vol. 1. Loeb Classical Library. London, UK: William Henemann, 1932.
Dio, Cassius. The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus. Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. Penguin Classics. London, England: Penguin, 1987.
Elder, Seneca the. Controversiae, Suasoriae. Translated by M. Winterbottom. Vol. 2. Loeb Classical Library. London, England: William Heinemann, 1974.
Gill, David W. J. “1 Corinthians.” In Romans to Philemon. Edited by Clinton E. Arnold. Vol. 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.
Juvenal. The Sixteen Satires. Translated by Peter Green. 3rd ed. London, England: Penguin, 2004.
Martin, Dale B. The Corinthian Body. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1995.
Winter, Bruce W. After Paul Left Corinth. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001.
Dale B. Martin, The Corinthian Body (New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1995), 174-5.
Cassius Dio, The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus, trans. Ian Scott-Kilvert, Penguin Classics (London, England: Penguin, 1987), 92-3.
Seneca the Elder, Controversiae, Suasoriae, trans. M. Winterbottom, vol. 2, Loeb Classical Library (London, England: William Heinemann, 1974), 377.
Juvenal, The Sixteen Satires, trans. Peter Green, 3rd ed. (London, England: Penguin, 2004), 17-18.
Bruce W. Winter, After Paul Left Corinth (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001), 60.
Dio Chrysostom, Discourses 1-11, trans. J. W. Cohoon, vol. 1, Loeb Classical Library (London, UK: William Henemann, 1932), 357.
Winter, 65.
David W. J. Gill, “1 Corinthians,” in Romans to Philemon, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 131.
Winter, 70-1.
Winter, 66.
Winter, 73.
N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 66.
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February 03, 2025 Fruit of the Spirit in Christ 4: The Patience of Christ
Jesus embodied patience through his gentle teaching, forgiveness, and endurance of human weakness. He corrected his disciples with kindness, bore their misunderstandings without frustration, and showed mercy even when betrayed or denied. His patience was demonstrated as he willingly suffered for humanity while waiting for them to fully understand and follow him.
Matthew 14:23-33 When the disciples struggle against strong winds on the sea, Jesus walks on water to them. Instead of immediately calming the storm, he patiently reassures them.
Mark 9:33-37 Jesus patiently corrects his disciples when they argue about who is the greatest. He does not rebuke them harshly. Instead, he waits until they arrive at their destination and asks what it was they were discussing. Knowing their pride, he takes the opportunity to teach them an important lesson, patiently explaining that true greatness comes from humility and service.
Matthew 26:36-46 Jesus asks Peter, James, and John to stay awake and pray with him in the Garden at Gethsemane because he is very troubled. Instead, they fall asleep on him not once, not twice, but three times. He doesn’t react with anger or frustration, but rather patiently corrects them. Jesus’ patience in the face of extreme distress and disappointment is an inspiration for all of us.
Luke 22:56-62 After Jesus was arrested, a servant girl and others recognize Peter as one of his followers, but he denies knowing Jesus three times. Jesus does not rebuke or reject Peter, even after his repeated denial. Instead, he patiently allows Peter to come to his own realization of his actions, later restoring him with love and grace.
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50 min
February 01, 20256. Homosexuality and Singleness in 1 Corinthians
Download: Homosexulaity and Singleness in 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Greek and Roman Pederasty
The Greeks had institutionalized consensual pedophilia between citizens of equal rank. An older man would enter a sexual relationship with a preadolescent boy that included mentoring and, ultimately, business opportunities. The Romans likewise practiced pederasty, but never within the same rank and not for the purposes of helping the child’s future.
Moyer Hubbard: “[P]ederasty was also widely practiced and was considered an acceptable form of sexual expression between an adult male and a prepubescent teen, usually of lower social rank. A common subject for Martial’s epigrammatic wit is lamenting the boy who matures and turns to heterosexual relations; other times he simply extols the delights of pederasty. Indeed, in Martial’s circles, pedophilia was so pervasive that he warns young men about to marry that they had better visit the prostitute’s district and find someone who will train them to enjoy women. … [M]arriage contracts often contained a stipulation against bringing a boy-lover into the home.”1
Marilyn Skinner: “[R]ank and class were more decisive in calibrating sexual power relations than physiological manhood. The body of the Roman vir, the adult citizen male, was regarded as inviolable, legally protected from sexual penetration, beating, and torture. … Although sexual attraction to youths was regarded as completely normal, just as it was in Greece, Roman men were rigorously prohibited by law as well as custom from sexual contact with freeborn citizen boys. Violation of the physical integrity of a citizen youth was treated as the equivalent of unlawful relations with married or unmarried women and punished as stuprum, a criminal sexual act. … Pederasty, as an institutionalized cross-generational relationship of two Roman citizens, thus becomes unthinkable. Furthermore, because slaves and prostitutes were the only legitimate objects of male homoerotic desire, relationships with boys were often treated as trivial even by those who viewed them in a favorable light.”2
Horace: “When your throat is parched with thirst, do you insist on having a golden tankard [cup]? When famished do you turn up your nose at all but peacock and turbot [expensive fish]? When your organ is stiff, and a servant girl or a young boy from the household is near at hand and you know you can make an immediate assault, would you sooner burst with tension? Not me. I like sex to be there and easy to get.”3 (Horace, Satire 113-119)
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Two words present significant translation difficulties
malakoi (μαλακοί): male prostitutes (NRSVUE), boy prostitutes (NABRE)
arsenokoitai (ἀρσενοκοῖται): men who engage in illicit sex (NRSVUE), sodomites (NABRE)
Neither of these are very good translations. Each one limits the meaning of both words more than necessary.
Arsenokoitai (Ἀρσενοκοῖται)
Let’s begin with the second of the two key words (arsenokoitai). The Greek translation of Leviticus 20:13 is the likely background from which Paul was pulling for this word.
Leviticus 20:13 (NETS)
And he who lies with a male [arsenos] in a bed [koiten] for a woman, both have committed an abomination; by death let them be put to death; they are liable.
Thus the Greek reads arsenos koiten (ἄρσενος κοίτην), which are the two words Paul combined into one in 1 Corinthian 6:9 (arsenokoitai). Thus, Paul has in mind a man who is having sex with a man.
Malakoi (Μαλακοί)
The other word in question (malakoi) derives from the word malakos, meaning “soft” and can refer to soft clothing. However, the standard Greek dictionary (BDAG) includes this second definition: “pert. to being passive in a same-sex relationship, effeminate of catamites of men and boys who are sodomized in such a relationship.”4
Effeminate Men in the Ancient World
Juvenal: “Supposing none of these exits catches your fancy, don’t you think it better to sleep with a pretty boy? Boys don’t quarrel all night or nag you for little presents while they’re on the job, or complain that you don’t come up to their expectations, or demand more grasping passion.”5 (Satires 33-7)
Phaedrus: “Then somebody asked old Aesop what paradoxical process had produced men-women [masculine women] and vice versa [feminine men]. “The same Prometheus … had spent the day producing in separated piles those two parts which decency demands to be concealed by clothes, intending to attach them to their respective bodies. But Bachhus unexpectedly invited him to dinner. He indulged deeply in heaven nectar and only got home late at night, with unsteady steps. Then with heavy head and drunken fumbling he fitted female fixtures onto males, and members meant for males onto females. And that’s why today we all too often see passion diverted into depraved paths.”6 (Phaedrus, Fables15)
Juvenal: “Perhaps you despise the unwarlike Rhodians, the scented sons of Corinth – and rightly so: what harm can ever befall you from youths who put on perfume and shave their legs to the crotch? But steer clear of rugged Spain, give a very wide birth to Gaul…”7 (Satires 112-115)
Epictetus: 1 He was once visited by a young student of rhetoric who was stylishly dressed and who had a very elaborate hairdo. … 27 “Are you a man or a woman?”
“A man.”
“So adorn yourself as a man, not as a woman. A woman’s skin is naturally smooth and soft; if she’s hairy, she’s a freak and she’s put on display in a freak show in Rome. 28 In the case of a man, this happens if he’s without hair: if he’s naturally hairless, he’s a freak, so if we find a man trimming and tweezing his hair, what are we to make of him? Where shall we exhibit him and how shall we advertise him? ‘Come and see a man who’d rather be a woman!’ 29 What a scandalous spectacle! No one would believe the advertisement! By Zeus, I imagine that even men who tweeze do so without appreciating what it is they’re doing.
30 “Man, what reason do you have for finding fault with nature in your case? That it brought you into the world as a man? Are you saying that it should bring everyone into the world as women? In that case, what good would all your primping do you? If everyone was a woman, for whom would you be beautifying yourself? 31 You don’t like the way things are? Then why not go the whole hog and remove—what shall I call it?—remove the cause of your hairiness. Turn yourself into a woman in all respects, so that we’re not left in doubt, rather than being half man, half woman. 32 Who are you trying to please? Women? Then please them as a man.”
“Yes, but they like smooth-skinned men.”
“Go hang yourself! If they liked sexual deviants [κίναιδος = cinaedus], would you become a sexual deviant? 33 Is that your job, is that what you were born for, to please dissolute women? 34 Is the kind of person we make a citizen of Corinth, and possibly city warden, or superintendent of the cadet force, or commander of the armed forces, or president of the games?8 (On Personal Adornment 3.1.1,27-34)
Marilyn Skinner: “To be a Roman vir, a “real man,” was to be hard in every sense—physically to be impervious to pain or fatigue, mentally to be stern and unyielding, and, of course, inevitably to take the insertive position in sexual congress. … The Romans borrowed from the Greeks the word kinaidos, denoting a man who allowed himself to be entered anally. … Latinized as cinaedus, it meant the opposite of vir; thus Romans could be assigned to one of two categories, “man” (vir) or “non-man” (cinaedus).”9
Putting It All Together
malakoi (μαλακοὶ): the passive participant in male on male sex of any age
arsenokoitai (ἀρσενοκοῖται): the active participant in male on male sex of any age
Paul spoke to the Corinthians in such a way that communicated both roles were sinful acts. He did not outlaw homosexuality in our modern sense of orientation. Like the Old Testament, Paul solely focused on the sex act itself. Corinthian Christians should not engage in sex with the same sex.
Furthermore, Paul fully believed that people who engaged in this activity could become washed, sanctified, and justified (1 Cor 6:11)
Singleness
Paul was single; Jesus was single; many effective Christians over the last two millennia were single. Marriage is not salvation.
1 Corinthians 7:7-9 Paul thought singleness was better than marriage.
1 Corinthians 7:28 Married people face distresses that singles don’t.
1 Corinthians 7:32-35 Single people can serve God more effectively.
1 Corinthians 7:36-40 What matters most is your relationship with God, not your marital status.
God loves masculine women and feminine men. God loves those who are attracted to the same sex. God loves those who don’t like their biological sex. God wants everyone to come to Christ and have eternal life. However, once someone becomes a Christian, he or she is bound to live within the boundaries God has set for behavior. Choosing singleness is available for anyone, but especially those who—for whatever reason—do not want to marry someone of the opposite sex.

Bibliography
Bauer, Walter, Frederick William Danker, William F. Arndt, F. Gingrich, Kurt Aland, Barbara Aland, and Viktor Reichmann. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Epictetus. The Complete Works: Handbook, Discourses & Fragments. Translated by Robin Waterfield. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2022.
Horace. Satires and Epistles. Translated by Niall Rudd. London, England: Penguin, 2005.
Hubbard, Moyer V. Christianity in the Greco-Roman World. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
Juvenal. The Sixteen Satires. Translated by Peter Green. 3rd ed. London, England: Penguin, 2004.
Phaedrus. The Fables of Phaedrus. Translated by P. F. Widdows. Austin, TX: Univeristy of Texas Press, 1992.
Skinner, Marilyn B. Sexuality in Greek and Roman Culture. Oxford, England: Blackwell, 2005.
Moyer V. Hubbard, Christianity in the Greco-Roman World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010), 188.
Marilyn B. Skinner, Sexuality in Greek and Roman Culture (Oxford, England: Blackwell, 2005), 195-7.
Horace, Satires and Epistles, trans. Niall Rudd (London, England: Penguin, 2005), 58.
Walter Bauer et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000).
Juvenal, The Sixteen Satires, trans. Peter Green, 3rd ed. (London, England: Penguin, 2004), 36.
Phaedrus, The Fables of Phaedrus, trans. P. F. Widdows (Austin, TX: Univeristy of Texas Press, 1992), 102.
Juvenal, 65.
Epictetus, The Complete Works: Handbook, Discourses & Fragments, trans. Robin Waterfield (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2022), 212-6.
Skinner, 212.
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0 min
January 30, 20255. Sexual Immorality in 1 Corinthians
Download: Sexual Immorality in 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 5:1-3; 6:12-20
Venus (Aphrodite) and Prostitution
Venus, the Roman goddess driving physical attraction, romance, and fertility was a big deal in Corinth. She had a temple on the Acrocorinth.
Strabo: “The sanctuary of Aphrodite was so rich that it possessed more than a thousand temple slaves—hetairas—who had been dedicated to the goddess by both men and women. Because of them, the city was crowded and became rich. The shipowners spent freely and easily, and thus a proverb says, “the voyage to Corinth is not for all men.””1
Jerome Murphy-O’Connor: “Many New Testament introduction and commentaries have stressed this aspect because it appears to provide an explanation for the attention that Paul was obliged to give to sexual problems in 1 Corinthians 5-7. However, the context clearly indicates that Strabo is here referring to the pre-146 c. city and not the newly constituted Roman colony that he visited in 29 b.c. Then he saw only a “small temple of Aphrodite” (21b); the same adjective would apply to the two that Pausanias mentions. …Corinth did have “a great army of prostitutes” (Plutarch, Moralia 768a), but it is doubtful that the situation there was any worse than in other port-cities of the eastern Mediterranean.”2
Corinth Was Known for Lewdness
Martial: “You live on Senate Street, Laelia; your mother (who never used make-up) was descended from the sunburnt Etruscans, your tough old dad’s from somewhere round Aricia … But you’re forever stockpiling Grecisms … Have you no shame? … The bed’s where such expressions should be heard … You should hear yourself talk—and you a respectable married lady. … But even if you get all Corinth by heart and can recite it, Laelia, you still won’t quite be Lais.”3
Lais was a famous hetaira or courtesan in Corinth who lived four centuries before Christ. A hetaira was a cultured prostitute who only worked for the wealthy. Lais was known for her beauty and wit and her exorbitant fees.
Roman Sensibilities about Marrying a Stepmother
1 Corinthians 5:1-2 A man in the church was living with his father’s wife
Gaius: “Moreover, I cannot marry my former mother-in-law or daughter-in-law, or my step-daughter or step-mother. We make use of the word “former,” because if the marriage by which affinity of this kind was established is still in existence, there is another reason why I cannot marry her, for a woman cannot marry two men, nor can a man have two wives. Therefore, if anyone should contract a nefarious and incestuous marriage, he is considered to have neither a wife nor children, hence the issue of such a union are considered to have a mother but no father, and for this reason are not subject to paternal authority, but resemble children whom the mother has conceived through promiscuous intercourse”4 (Gaius, Institutes63-64)
Catullus, a crass poet writing a century earlier considered incest one of the most defiling things a person could possibly do (Catullus, Poem 88).
Jewish Sensibilities about Marrying a Stepmother
Leviticus 20:11 (see also Lev 18:8; Deut 27:20) The Torah regarded lying with one’s father’s wife as a capital crime.
Mishnah, Sanhedrin 7.4
“These are [the felons] who are put to death by stoning: He who has sexual relations with (1) his mother, (2) with the wife of his father, (3) with his daughter-in-law, (4) with a male, and (5) with a cow.…“5
Chow’s Dowry Theory
Why would someone marry his father’s wife? If his father was deceased, the concern could be over losing the stepmother’s dowry.
John Chow: “[I]n Paul’s day, material interests, which might include money and power, rather than sex and affection seem to have a bigger role to play in the establishment of a marital relationship. Indeed, for the sake of keeping wealth, men in those days could do some strange things. The satirists tell us that there were husbands who were willing to condone their wives’ acts of adultery in return for the control of their dowries. …For on the one hand, through marriage, he would not have to pay higher taxes. On the other hand, he would immediately be able to have total control over his share of the inheritance from the father who probably was dead at that time. Better still, through marrying his stepmother he might have been able to preserve in his house his stepmother’s dowry to his father and might even have access to the possessions of his wife’s family.”6
Hand Him over to Satan
1 Corinthians 5:3-5 Paul has told them to cast the man out of the church.
Anthony Thiselton: “[F]or the offender himself sudden removal from a platform of adulation to total isolation from the community would have a sobering if not devastating effect.”7
James South: “[It means] putting him outside the sphere of God’s protection within the church and leaving him exposed to the satanic forces of evil in hope that the experience would cause him to repent and return to the fellowship of the church. The ‘flesh’ to be destroyed is thus not his physical body.”8
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Sin is contagious.
Dale Martin: “Paul is not afraid that social contact between a Christina and a non-Christian will pollute the church; but he does think that the disguised presence within the church of a representative from the outside, from the cosmos that should be “out there,” threatens the whole body. … In that case, the only remedy is violent expulsion of the polluting agent, which will result in the return of the body to a clean, healthy state.”9
1 Corinthians 5:9-12 Paul didn’t want them to isolate themselves from their unbelieving neighbors and coworkers. Rather, he wanted them to hold the line within their own community, among those who had already become believers.
Prostitution in the Roman Empire
Sex for pay was a legal though scurrilous profession in the Roman Empire.
Horace: “The sight of a certain aristocrat leaving a brothel drew a famous remark from Cato: ‘Keep up the good work!’ he said. ‘Whenever a young man’s veins are swollen by accursed lust, he’s right to go down to that sort of place instead of grinding other men’s wives.’” (Horace, Satire 2.31-34)10
Marguerite Johnson: “In the Roman world, the legal practice of sexual labour was placed under the jurisdiction of the Curule Aediles; workers were required to register and, during the reign of Caligula (37-41), to pay tax. … [T]he brothels ensured there would be less likelihood of adultery. In other words, commercial sex ensured that wives were safe from other men. The perceived role of the worker as some kind of societal safety valve, a requirement for the maintenance of a calm home environment, may also be witnessed in the more graphic sources … [W]orkers of both sexes were there to provide services one would not ask of a wife. These workers were, nevertheless, despised and ridiculed.”11
Corinthian Slogans
1 Corinthians 6:12-15 Depending on your translation, some of these words will be in quotation marks, indicating that they were what the Corinthians were saying, not the instruction of Paul.
David Gill: “The Roman love of food is reflected in the cookbooks that have survived from antiquity, such as that attributed to Apicius. His recipes include, “Numidian chicken,” “rabbit with fruit sauce,” “liver sausage,” “anchovy delight without the anchovies,” and “sweet and sour pork.””12
Jay E. Smith: “[T]he notion that the body was morally irrelevant—that sin was an internal matter of motives and intentions and not an external matter related to the body—was commonplace. …It was in this environment that the slogan ‘Every sin that a person commits is outside the body,’ with its belief that bodily actions were morally irrelevant, could come to expression.”13
1 Corinthians 6:15-20 Verse 18 is likely another slogan to which Paul replied.
v12a Corinthians: “All things are permitted for me”
Paul: “But not all things are beneficial”
v12b Corinthians: “All things are lawful for me”
Paul: “But I will not be dominated by anything”
v13 Corinthians: “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food and God will destroy both one and the other.”
Paul: “The body is meant not for sexual immorality but for the Lord and the Lord for the body.”
v18 Corinthians: “Every sin that a person commits is outside the body”
Paul: “But the sexually immoral person sins against the body itself”
Temple Prostitutes, Brothels, or Banquets?
Older commentaries drew on the Strabo quote I started with about Aphrodite and her temple prostitutes to interpret 1 Corinthians 6. However, this was not the case when Paul was there. Brothels were common in cities. We have archeological evidence from Ephesus and Pompeii as well as plenty of literary evidence. Banquets were another venue where high-end prostitutes worked.
Cicero: “[I]f there is anyone who thinks that youth should be forbidden affairs even with courtesans, he is doubtless eminently austere (I cannot deny it), but his view is contrary not only to the licence of this age, but also to the custom and concessions of our ancestor. For when was this not a common practice? When was it blamed? When was it forbidden? When, in fact, was it that what is allowed was not allowed?”14 (Cicero, Pro Caelio 48)
Bruce Winter: “Gluttony and drunkenness were an accepted part of social life in Corinth, as were the promiscuous ‘after-dinners.’ For grand dinners such as the series of banquets given by the President of the Isthmian Games for the citizens of Corinth, travelling brothels could be brought in by the host to cater for guests after the dinner in the place where it was held. The élite who gave private banquets to which they invited clients as well as other guests provided not only for their physical hunger but also for their sexual appetites. It needs to be noted that 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 does not state that Christians actually went to brothels. They were having sexual intercourse with prostitutes in the context of dinner. … The strong adversative ‘but’ used on both occasions in 6:12 was Paul’s way of giving clear warning against choosing the path of gluttony and whoring that epitomized conduct at banquets attended by young men who had gained the freedom of adulthood. If Christian youths affirmed that they had come of age and all was now permitted, Paul countered with a statement that not everything was beneficial.… Fornication, like drunkenness, was one of the grounds for exclusion from the kingdom (6:9-10).”15
Bibliography
Chow, John K. Patronage and Power: A Study of Social Networks in Corinth. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1992.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Pro Caelio, De Provinciis Consularibus, Pro Balbo. Translated by R. Gardner. Loeb Classical Library. London, England: William Heinemann, 1970.
Gaius. The Institutes of Roman Law. Translated by Edward Post. 2017, Reprint, 1904. Originally published as 1904.
Gill, David W. J. “1 Corinthians.” In Romans to Philemon. Edited by Clinton E. Arnold. Vol. 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.
Horace. Satires and Epistles. Translated by Niall Rudd. London, England: Penguin, 2005.
Johnson, Marguerite. Sexuality in Greek and Roman Society and Literature: A Sourcebook. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Routledge, 2022.
Martial. Epigrams. Translated by Gideon Nisbet. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford, England: Oxford University, 2015.
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.
Neusner, Jacob. The Mishnah: A New Translation. New Haven, CT: Yale, 1988.
Smith, Jay E. “The Roots of a ‘Libertine’ Slogan in 1 Corinthians 6:18.” The Journal of Theological Studies 59, no. 1 (2008): 63-95.
South, James T. Disciplinary Practices in Pauline Texts. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1992.
Strabo. The Geography. Translated by Duane W. Roller. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge, 2020.
Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Vol. 13. Nigtc. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000.
Winter, Bruce W. After Paul Left Corinth. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Strabo, The Geography, trans., Duane W. Roller (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge, 2020), 375.
Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology, 3rd ed. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 56-7.
Martial, Epigrams, trans. Gideon Nisbet, Oxford World’s Classics (Oxford, England: Oxford University, 2015), 181.
Gaius, The Institutes of Roman Law, trans. Edward Post (2017: repr., 1904), 74.
Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven, CT: Yale, 1988).
John K. Chow, Patronage and Power: A Study of Social Networks in Corinth (Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1992), 137-8.
Anthony C. Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, vol. 13, Nigtc (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000), 396.
James T. South, Disciplinary Practices in Pauline Texts (Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1992), 43.
Dale B. Martin, The Corinthian Body (New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1995), 170.
Horace, Satires and Epistles, trans. Niall Rudd (London, England: Penguin, 2005), 55.
Marguerite Johnson, Sexuality in Greek and Roman Society and Literature: A Sourcebook, 2nd ed. (New York, NY: Routledge, 2022), 135-6.
David W. J. Gill, “1 Corinthians,” in Romans to Philemon, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 133.
Jay E. Smith, “The Roots of a ‘Libertine’ Slogan in 1 Corinthians 6:18,” The Journal of Theological Studies 59, no. 1 (2008): 95.
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Caelio, De Provinciis Consularibus, Pro Balbo, trans. R. Gardner, Loeb Classical Library (London, England: William Heinemann, 1970), 465-7.
Bruce W. Winter, After Paul Left Corinth (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 88, 91-2.
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0 min
January 27, 2025 Fruit of the Spirit in Christ 3: The Peace of Christ
The fruit of the spirit, peace, as seen in the ministry of Jesus is viewed with practical suggestions on how to maintain peace throughout life’s complexities. The Prince of Peace gives us peace via the holy spirit.
Isaiah 9:6 Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Despite facing continuous immense temptations and challenges, including persecution and crucifixion, Jesus maintained inner peace and faith in God’s plan. He also brought peace to humanity, peace with God and each other. He is the perfect example.
Mark 3:1-6 Jesus had a long nose.
ESV Mark 3:21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
31-35
Matthew 11:21-30 To maintain peace, Jesus prayed and focused on those that did believe. He was thankful for what he had rather than continuing to lament what did not have. He rallied in the relationship with God his Father.
Matthew 26:36-46 When faced with torture and death, he prayed, and God sent an angel.
62-64 Jesus kept his eyes on his hope.
John 14:26-31; 16:32-33 We have peace as a fruit of the spirit.
Philippians 4:5-9 1) Remember the Lord is always with you; 2) pray; 3) focus on what you have, not what you do not have; 4) rally in your relationship with Yahweh and Christ; 5) be thankful; and 6) focus on the hope.
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43 min
January 25, 20254. Philosophy and Wisdom in 1 Corinthians
Download: Philosophy and Wisdom
Most people encountering the Corinthian Christians would not have thought of Christianity as a religion. In the Roman world, religions were about collective duty to the gods, usually expressed in ritualized sacrifices and festivals carried out by trained priests and their assistants on behalf of the city. Christianity had no flamines, sacrificuli, victimarii, haruspices, augurs, animal offerings, temples, or statues. Rather Christians met regularly to listen to the public reading of texts, eat together, and live out a moral code. To the outsider, Christianity resembled a philosophical sect more than a religion.
1 Cor 1:17-25 Paul talks about the wise, the scholar, and the debater of this age. He mentions that Greeks are always looking for wisdom. In fact, philosophy literally means the love of wisdom. Though the first recorded Greek philosophers emerged six centuries before Christ, three hundred years later, several important pioneers-initiated schools of philosophy were well-known by Paul’s time.
Platonism (Plato, 427-347 bc)
It’s hard to overstate the massive influence Plato has had throughout human history. He talked of another realm beyond the physical where idealist and unchanging realities existed. These Forms emanated from the Good or the One. Although we are living in a shadow world, our souls are capable of ascending and contemplating the true realities. As we pursue virtue, preferring reason to emotion and rationality to irrationality and mental perceptions over sense perception, we attain true happiness.
Cynicism (Diogenes of Sinope, 412-323 bc)
Upon watching a mouse patter around in a carefree manner, Diogenes adopted extreme minimalism and ultra simple living. He trained himself to face hardship with equanimity. He was bold, confident, and provocative, sometimes amusing and other times offending those who encountered him.
Jerome Murphy-O’Connor: “The fundamental principle of Diogenes’s philosophy was that happiness could be achieved only by satisfying one’s natural needs in the easiest and cheapest way. Since this inevitably involved a certain shamelessness, he was known as the “Dog” (Cyne) and followers as Cynics.”1
Diogenes Laertius: “And he endured being sold into slavery with great dignity. On a voyage to Aegina, he was captured by pirates under Scirpalus’ command, transported to Crete, and put up for sale. And when the herald asked him what he was good at, he replied, “Ruling over men.” Pointing to an affluent Corinthian, the above-mentioned Xeniades, he said, “Sell me to him; he needs a master.” Thus, Xeniades purchased him, took him home to Corinth, put him in charge of his own sons, and entrusted him with his entire household. And Diogenes performed all his duties in such a manner that Xeniades went about saying, “A kindly deity has entered my house.” …Diogenes’ friends wanted to ransom him, for which he called them imbeciles. For he maintained that lions are not the slaves of those who feed them; it is the feeders, rather, who are the lions’ slaves. For fear is the mark of a slave, and wild beasts make men fearful. Diogenes possessed astonishing powers of persuasion, and hence could easily sway anyone he liked with his arguments.”2 (Lives74-75)
Diogenes of Sinope died in Corinth at the age of 90 and was buried by the gate that opened toward the isthmus. 450 years later when Pausanias visited Corinth in the second century, he saw memorials to Diogenes there.
Skepticism (Pyrrho of Elis, 360-270 bc)
Diogenes Laertius: “[Pyrrho] introduced the notion of inability to attain conviction and that of suspension of judgment … For he said that nothing is beautiful or ugly, or just or unjust, and that likewise in all instances nothing exists in truth, but men do everything by custom and by habit.”3 (Lives, 9.61)
Diogenes Laertius: “To them the Skeptics reply, “We acknowledge our human feelings; for we recognize that it is day, that we are alive, and many other things that appear in life; but with regard to the things the dogmatic philosophers affirm so positively in argument, claiming to have comprehended them, we suspend judgment on the grounds that they are not certain, and we know only what we feel. For we admit that we see, and we recognize that we think this or that; but how we see or how we think we do not know. And in ordinary conversation we say that a certain thing appears white, but without affirming strongly that it actually is ”4 (Lives 9.103)
Epicureanism (Epicurus, 341-270 bc)
Although maligned as a hedonist, Epicurus and his followers, the Epicureans, were sophisticated philosophers who pursued pleasure and avoided pain.
Diogenes Laertius: “Even when he is tortured the wise man is content. … The wise man will not consort with women in any manner proscribed by law … Nor will he punish his servants … The Epicureans do not think that the wise man will fall in love; nor will he be concerned about his burial; nor do they think that love is sent by the gods … Nor will the wise man make fine speeches. They maintain that sexual relations are never beneficial, and that one should be grateful not to be injured by them. The wise man will not marry and beget children … He will not talk nonsense when drunk … He will not participate in politics … or make himself a tryant, or live like a Cynic, … or be a beggar. … The wise man will also experience grief, … He will avail himself of the law courts … He will take thought for his property and for the future. He will love the countryside.”5 (Lives 118-120)
Epicurus: “[P]leasure is the beginning and the end of a happy life. … And it is because pleasure is our first and innate good that we choose every pleasure, though we often forgo many pleasures when a greater annoyance results from them. And we regard many pains as preferable to pleasures when a prolonged endurance of pains brings us greater pleasure. …For simple fare brings as much pleasure as an extravagant feast, once the pain of want has been removed; and barley cake and water give a hungry man the greatest pleasure. To accustom oneself, therefore, to simple, inexpensive fare supplies the essentials of health, and enables a man to face the demands of life without shrinking, and puts us in a better condition when we encounter expensive fare from time to time, and makes us fearless of fortune. But when we say that pleasure is our goal, we do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or the self-indulgent, as the ignorant think, or those who disagree with or misinterpret our views. By pleasure we mean the absence of pain in the body and of torment in the soul. For it is not drinking bouts and continuous carousals, nor the pleasures to be had with boys and women, nor the enjoyment of fish and all the other delicacies a luxurious table furnishes that produce a pleasant life, but the sober reasoning that examines the basis of every choice and aversion, and banishes the beliefs that afflict the soul with its worst torments.”6 (Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus in Diogenes, Lives129-132)
Stoicism (Zeno of Citium, 334-262 bc)
Initially studying under the Cynic Crates, Zeno founded his own school, lecturing while walking up and down the painted stoa (columns). This is why they called his followers stoics.
His goal was to live in harmony with nature and pursue the virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Doing so leads to joy and cheerfulness. Pursuing pleasure, by contrast, results in an irrational yearning, despondency, and anxiety.
Diogenes Laertius: “The wise man is free of passion … The wise man is free of vanity, for he is equally indifferent to good and bad reputation. … The good aim genuinely and vigilantly for their own improvement … They are unpretentious … They are not overly busy … They will drink in moderation, but will never get drunk. Nor will they go crazy … The wise man will not be afflicted by grief, since grief is an irrational contraction of the soul … The good are also god-fearing, for they are conversant with the customs that concern the gods, and piety is knowledge of how to serve the gods. Moreover, they will sacrifice to the gods; and they keep themselves pure by avoiding offenses against the gods. … [T]he wise man will take part in politics if nothing prevents him … And he will marry … and beget children. And he will live like a Cynic, since the Cynic way of life is a shortcut to virtue … [T]he good man will not live in solitude, for he is suited by nature for society and for action. He will also submit to training for the sake of physical endurance. … The wise man does everything well. … [V]irtue is sufficient for happiness.”7 (Diogenes, Lives 117-127)
Stoicism was the most influential philosophy in the first century, especially among the elite in positions of power.
Paul Undercuts Philosophy
1 Cor 2:1-5 Paul did not come with “superior speech or wisdom,” instead he focused on tell them the good news about a crucified hero. He did, however, bring demonstrations of the spirit and power.
1 Cor 2:6-8 Most people don’t get the true, exclusive wisdom of God since he has hidden it.
1 Cor 2:9-16 Undermining Plato, Diogenes, Pyrrhos, Epicurus, and Zeno, Paul says there’s a deeper truth beyond worldly wisdom that only spiritual people can perceive.
1 Cor 3:1-4 If they will be mature and spiritual rather than childish and fleshly, they must stop the divisiveness.
Bibliography
Laertius, Diogenes. Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Translated by Pamela Mensch. Edited by James Miller. New York, NY: Oxford, 2020.
Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome. St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology. 3rd ed. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002.
Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology, 3rd ed. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 24.
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, trans., Pamela Mensch (New York, NY: Oxford, 2020), 214.
Laertius, 339.
Laertius, 351.
Laertius, 385-6.
Laertius, 387-8.
Laertius, 257-60.
The post 4. Philosophy and Wisdom in 1 Corinthians first appeared on Living Hope.
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January 23, 20253. Factions and Status at Corinth
Download: Factions and Status at Corinth
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 Paul sent this letter to the Corinthians along with Sosthenes, the synagogue official (Acts 18:17). Paul calls them sanctified saints, emphasizing the idea of separation from the world. Lastly, he includes a statement that they are part of the larger family of God throughout the world.
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 Chloe was probably a business owner in Corinth or Ephesus. Her people were likely employees (or slaves) who reported to Paul about what was happening in the church at Corinth. The main issue he addresses first is divisiveness.
Julio-Claudian Influence in Corinth
Julius Caesar decided to found Corinth, naming it after himself.
Corinth had twelve voting tribes, most of which were named after family members of Julius and his adopted son, Augustus.
The names on coins likewise show a great emphasis on the Julio-Claudian extended family.
Nevertheless, the emperors and their family members were badly behaved by any standards. Their lust for power, ruthlessness in executing the opposition, willingness to commit adultery, and hubris in divinizing deceased predecessors combined to provide the Corinthian people with terrible examples.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9; 4:1 Paul’s message was simple. We’re all on the same team. Paul and Apollos are both servants of Christ who are stewarding God’s mysteries. Don’t divide; instead pursue unity.
Wealth in Corinth
Most of the Corinthians were not wealthy (1 Cor 1:26).
Corinth was known for lavish spending.
“For it is not to furnish gymnastic or musical contests that the Corinthians need so much money, but they buy bears and panthers for the hunting shows which they often exhibit in their theatres. And they themselves by reason of their wealth are naturally able to support these great expenses.” (Pseudo-Julian, On Behalf of the Argives 409a)1
Corinthian Bronze
“How great was the wealth which was plundered or burnt may be judged from the fact that we are told that all the Corinthian bronze work, which enjoys so high a repute throughout the world, was a survival from the conflagration. For the damage inflicted on this rich city in itself caused a higher value to be placed upon Corinthian bronze, because, by the melting together of countless statues and images by the flames, brass, gold and silver ore were fused into one common mass.”2 (Florus, Summary of Roman History32)
“Corinthian bronze is valued before silver and almost before gold…This is a compound that was produced by accident, when Corinth was burned at the time of its capture; and there has been a wonderful mania among many people for possessing this metal.” (Pliny the Elder, Natural History1, 6)3
“Nine of the ten gates were overlaid with gold and silver, their side-posts and lintels likewise, but the other gate, outside the sanctuary, was of Corinthian bronze, and far more valuable than those with silver and gold plating.”4 (Josephus, Jewish War 201)
Corinthian Rulers
aedile (aediles): two elected each year to maintain streets, public works, the forums, public revenue, and judge cases
duovir (duoviri): two elected each year to oversee political, religious, social, and legal systems
flamen (flamines): a priest who oversaw worship, festivals, and temple management for a a particular god like Jupiter or the divinized Julius Caesar
Augustalis (Augustales): wealthy nonaristocrats who used their wealth to promote the honor of the Julio-Claudians through monuments, buildings, and festivals.
agonothetes (agonothetae): president of the Isthmian games who underwrote most of the expenses (highest honor in the city)
quaestor (quaestores): an administrator who managed the city treasury and oversaw public contracts
Wealthy Individuals
Gnaeus Babbius Philinus: “…was not prepared to take the chance that his successor might not agree with the projected monument! The absence of his father’s name suggests that Babbius was an ex-slave, which is confirmed by his servile cognomen Philinus or “Darling.” His origins perhaps explain his sense of insecurity.”5
Crispus and Sosthenes: each called a ἀρχισυνάγωγος (archisynagogos), a title honoring benefactors who donated to the synagogue
Gaius: as the host to the whole church (Rom 16:23), he must have been wealthy enough to have a large house
Erastus: city treasurer, which likely means he was a quaestor though we also have an inscription labelling (a different?) Erastus aedile
Phoebe: benefactor of Paul and many others who lived in Cenchreae and served as a deacon (Rom 16:1-2)
Paul Reveled in the Corinthian Christians’ Low Status
1 Cor 1:26 Not many of them were wise, powerful, or of noble birth.
1 Cor 6:9-11 Some of them were sexually immoral, thieves, and drunks.
1 Cor 1:27-29 God’s wisdom was to work with the foolish, weak, low, and despised in the world to shame the wise, strong, and exalted.
1 Cor 4:7-13 Paul put himself and the other apostles as last of all, inverting the typical power structure
Bibliography
Elder, Pliny the. Natural History: Books 33-35. Translated by H. Rackham. Vol. 394. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1952.
Florus, Lucius Annaeus. Epitome of Roman History. Translated by Edward Seymour Forster. Loeb Classical Library. London, England: William Heinemann, 1960.
Josephus, Flavius. The Jewish War. Translated by Martin Hammond. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford, UK: Oxford Univerity, 2017.
Julian. The Works of the Emperor Julian. Translated by Wilmer Cave Wright. Vol. 3. Loeb Classical Library. London, UK: William Henemann, 1913.
Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome. St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology. 3rd ed. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002.
Julian, The Works of the Emperor Julian, trans. Wilmer Cave Wright, vol. 3, Loeb Classical Library (London, UK: William Henemann, 1913), 89-91.
Lucius Annaeus Florus, Epitome of Roman History, trans. Edward Seymour Forster, Loeb Classical Library (London, England: William Heinemann, 1960), 143.
Pliny the Elder, Natural History: Books 33-35, trans. H. Rackham, vol. 394, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1952).
Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War, trans. Martin Hammond, Oxford World’s Classics (Oxford, UK: Oxford Univerity, 2017), 271.
Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archeology, 3rd ed. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), 27.
The post 3. Factions and Status at Corinth first appeared on Living Hope.
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January 21, 2025 Fruit if the Spirit in Christ 2: The Joy of Christ
Jesus’ joy was found in being an obedient servant to Almighty God. He expressed joy in sharing, serving, and suffering. Perhaps Jesus’ most significant example of living with joy is how he focused on God’s promises during his darkest hours and used God’s truth and faithfulness as a way to endure through unimaginable suffering.
Luke 10:21-22
Perhaps the most exultant description of Jesus in all of Scripture.
Joy in Sharing
This is the best saying of Jesus not recorded in the Gospels. There is something about giving that results in more joy than receiving does.
Acts 20:35
Joy in Serving
Jesus taught that there was joy in service. His life and ministry are a testimony to this. He served others rather than being served himself.
John 15:11
John 17:13
Mark 10:45
John 4:34
Joy in Suffering
No one was more acquainted with suffering than Jesus. But he faced all the pain with an outlook that was focused on joy.
Mattew 5:10-12
Hebrews 12:1-2
The post Fruit if the Spirit in Christ 2: The Joy of Christ first appeared on Living Hope.
48 min

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