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How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth Lesson 3 “The Epistles (Le>ers) -‐ Learning to Think Contextually” Objec&ve -‐ To begin to learn the skill of thinking contextually about the literature that we read in the Bible and recognizing how important this is in the process of interpretaKon. Materials • The Bible. PAGE 1 OF 21
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• Book -‐ Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth, third ediKon (Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 2003). • ArKcles. • Lectures. • The Internet. Procedures 1. To examine the importance of examining context. 2. To examine the nature of le>ers and epistles. 3. To examine the importance of historical context. 4. To pracKce the techniques learned using 1 Corinthians 1-‐4. 5. To examine the importance of literary context. 6. To examine how to deal with problem passages. !
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There are a variety of diﬀerent genres (types) of literature used in Biblical texts and the ﬁrst of those that we will examine is the Epistle/Le>er. One of the reasons to start with this genre is that the wriKngs that use this genre appear, at ﬁrst glance, to be so easy to interpret. The appearance of being easy, however, can be very decepKve. As an example of the diﬃculKes that can be encountered in interpreKng epistles try leading a group of ChrisKans through 1 Corinthians and ask the group how Paul’s opinion at 1 Corinthians 7:251 is to be taken as God’s word? Another quesKon might be how does the excommunicaKon of a ChrisKan brother as recounted in 1 Corinthians 5 relate to the contemporary church where such a person can simply go down the street, or across town, to another church? How do we get around the implicaKon in 1 Corinthians 11:2-‐16 that women should wear a head covering when praying and prophesying in church when in 1 Corinthians 14:34, they are told to “be silent” (σιγάτωσαν)? Perhaps these examples make it clear that Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. NRSV
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interpreting the Epistles may not be as simple as it first appear to be?2 To move on to an examinaKon of this genre it is perhaps best to start with what it is that allows us to deﬁne a work as an epistle. The genre is not a homogeneous lot. There is a technical disKncKon between an epistle and a le>er. Technically speaking, le>ers were not wri>en for a public audience, but only for the person or persons to whom they were addressed. By contrast the epistle was an arKsKc literary form that was intended for the public in a more general way. Romans and Philemon diﬀer from one another not only in content, but also to the degree that the le>er to Philemon is far more personal than is Romans. In contrast to any of Paul’s le>ers, 2 Peter and 1 John are more closely aligned to the classic deﬁniKon of an Epistle (they are wri>en to a much more general public).3 For our purposes we will not deal with these sharp technicaliKes, but it is important to recognize that there are diﬀerent forms and that some authors may use these terms in their more technical manner. 2
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Third
ed. (Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 2003), p. 55.
3
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp.
55-56.
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In the same way that there is a generally accepted standard form to a modern le>er (date, salutaKon, body, closing, and signature), so also there was a standard form for an epistle in the 1st century A.D. Thousands of ancient le>ers have been found and most of them display the same form as do those that are in the New Testament. The form consists of: 1. The name of the author (e.g. Paul, Peter, John, etc.). 2. The name of the recipient (e.g. to the church in Corinth, Rome, exiles of the dispersion, etc.). 3. The greeKng. 4. The prayer wish or thanksgiving. 5. The body. 6. The ﬁnal greeKng and farewell. Some of the New Testament do not have some of these elements, but do have others. For instance James and 2 Peter both are addressed as le>ers, but lack the familiar ﬁnal greeKng and farewell. Despite this variety, all the documents that we refer to as epistles in the New Testament are technically occasional documents (they arise out of, and are intended for, a speciﬁc occasion. All of them were PAGE 5 OF 21
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wri>en in the ﬁrst century, originally for a ﬁrst century audience, and this fact at Kmes makes their interpretaKon diﬃcult.4 The ﬁrst thing that must be done in order to begin the process of interpretaKon is to form a tentaKve, but informed, reconstrucKon of the situaKon which the author was addressing. What was going on that caused the le>er to be wri>en in the ﬁrst instance? Other important quesKons are: How did the author come to know about the situaKon that he is addressing? What kind of relaKonship does the author have with his audience? What are the aqtudes of the author and the audience that are reﬂected in the le>er? How does one begin this process? First, you will need to consult a Bible dicKonary, a good introducKon, or the introducKon to the epistle in a good commentary. This will provide the invaluable informaKon that will allow the process of interpretaKon to proceed to the next phase. Secondly, it is crucial for study purposes to develop the habit of reading the enKre le>er from beginning to end in one seqng, as the original audience will have done.5 4
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp.
56-58.
5
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, p. 59.
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Once you have read the le>er through, it is important to reread the le>er keeping your eyes open for the answers to the quesKons above and other quesKons that may be relevant to the text. As you read through the text it may prove helpful to make notes. Here is a list of four types of notes that should prove helpful: 1. What do you noKce about the recipients of the le>er (are they Jews, Greeks, wealthy, poor, slaves or free). 2. NoKce the aqtude of the author. 3. Note any speciﬁc informaKon as to the reason the le>er was wri>en. 4. Note the natural and logical divisions within the le>er. It may be that one reading is not enough to accomplish all of this so reread the le>er again and again searching for these answers. Geqng the big view is extraordinarily important in this process. SomeKmes we focus too much on the details and lose track of the larger context; this can cause us to develop a distorted interpretaKon. CreaKng, or having access to a working outline of the document can prove to be an invaluable help in understanding the message.6 None 6
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp.
59-62.
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of these steps should be incredibly diﬃcult and the best place to begin looking for the answers to the quesKons above is within the document itself, using a Bible dicKonary, an introducKon or commentary to verify your results and ﬁll in any gaps that you may have let is also advisable, but only ater your iniKal examinaKon of the document. Let us begin by doing a quick pracKce exercise using 1 Corinthians 1-‐4. It would be best to read it couple of Kmes through before you begin, preferably in two diﬀerent translaKons. This would be something that it would be good to assign to the class a week ahead of Kme, if possible. To be fair this secKon is one of the more diﬃcult ones that we could examine. In 1:10-‐12 Paul says that the church in Corinth is divided in the name of their leaders (cf. 3:4-‐9; 3:21-‐22; 4:6). It is important to noKce that they are quarreling (1:12; 3:3) and they are “puﬀed up in being a follower of one over against the other” (4:6; cf. 3:21). A careful reading will also cause 2 other things to surface: 1. There appears to be bad blood between Paul and the church in Corinth (4:1-‐5; 4:18-‐21). 2. One of the key words in this secKon is “wisdom” or “wise.” These words occur 26 Kmes in PAGE 8 OF 21
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chapters 1-‐3. It is also clear that Paul uses these terms, more oten than not, in a pejoraKve manner. Though that is not always the case as Christ has become the wisdom for God in 1:30.7 The use of “wisdom” in the manner that Paul uses it hear makes it almost certain that it in some way is part of the problem. The quesKon is, but how? Anything that is said to speciﬁcally answer this quesKon resides in the arena of speculaKon on our part, but educated speculaKon at least. The suggesKon is that the Corinthian believers were beginning to think of their new ChrisKan faith as some kind of “new divine wisdom.” This then caused them to evaluate their leaders in merely human terms, as they would have the many iKnerant philosophers who so commonly passed through Corinth plying their wares. It is important to note, as helpful as this guess might be, and as well as it might preach, it is speculaKon and goes beyond strictly what we can ﬁnd in the text itself. From the answer that Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 1-‐4 we can be certain of three things: 1. On the basis of 3:5-‐23 it is clear that the Corinthians have very seriously misunderstood the nature and funcKon of leadership in the 7
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp.
62-64.
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church. 2. In a similar vein, on the basis of 1:18-‐3:4 they seem to also have misunderstood the basic nature of the Gospel. 3. On the basis of 4:1-‐21 they are wrong in their judgements regarding Paul and they need to make a reevaluaKon there.8 The next phase in studying the epistles is to learn to trace Paul’s argument through the le>er. SomeKmes Paul writes in extremely long sentences and this can make tracing his arguments more of a challenge. Despite this it can be done with just a li>le Kme and eﬀort. The place to start is to trace the argument of 1 Corinthians 1:10-‐4:21, paragraph by paragraph, using a sentence or two explain the point of each paragraph in its relaKonship to the argument as a whole, or explain how each paragraph funcKons as part of Paul’s response to division. It is important to think in terms of paragraphs for this to work eﬀecKvely. The quesKon that needs to be asked repeatedly is: “What is the point?” In another sentence or two explain why you think Paul makes that point here? How does what Paul says here contribute to the argument?9 8
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, p. 64.
9
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp.
64-65.
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We do not have the Kme to do this for all of 1 Corinthians 1-‐4, so let us do this, in some detail with the three crucial paragraphs in the second part of Paul’s response 3:5-‐16. Up to this point Paul has responded to their rather inadequate understanding of the gospel by conKnually poinKng them back to the heart of the gospel, which is a cruciﬁed Messiah. This fact stands in contradicKon to human wisdom (1:18-‐25), as also does God’s choice of those who would be a part of his people (1:26-‐31). The point Paul is making here is that they think the gospel is some new form of wisdom. How can that be possible? By what wisdom would it have seemed prudent to choose you to become part of the people of God? Paul says that his own preaching proves that this is not the case too (2:1-‐5). Paul can be very sarcasKc and pointed. This is not some form of wisdom like they were so accustomed to receiving periodically from the iKnerant philosophers who came to town with their new form of wisdom.10 This is something enKrely diﬀerent, it is indeed wisdom, but not like anything that they have ever experienced before, nor anyone else for that ma>er. This is the wisdom of God revealed to his people 10
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, p. 65.
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through the Spirit. Since Paul’s audience do indeed have the Spirit, Paul now conKnues with his argument by way of transiKon; he calls upon them to stop acKng like people who do not possess the Spirit of God (3:1-‐4). Evidence of their acKng as if they do not have the Spirit is found in their quarreling over Paul and Apollos. They are acKng like mere human beings and not like the children of God that they are called to be by the Gospel and the through the Spirit of God. What then about the next three paragraphs? It is important to noKce ﬁrst that the content of 3:5-‐9 deals with nature and funcKon of the leaders over whom the members at Corinth are quarreling. Paul emphasizes the fact that these leaders are merely servants, not lords, as the Corinthians seem to be making of them by their arguments. In verses 6-‐9 he makes two points, using an analogy from agriculture, about their status as servants. Both of these points are criKcal in addressing the Corinthian misunderstanding: 1. Both Paul and Apollos are joined together in a common cause, despite the fact that their tasks diﬀer. 2. Everything, and everyone, belongs to God; this PAGE 12 OF 21
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includes the church, the servants, the growth and the struggles.11 The church belongs to God and not to the people. It is his church. It is important to noKce how crucial these two points are in addressing the problem. The Corinthians are dividing the Church of Jesus Christ on the basis of the divisions regarding these leaders. These servants of God are being used in the tug of war that is ripping apart the peace and diverKng the church from focusing upon their mission before God. It is important to note that 3:10-‐15 is sKll part of this same context and even though there is a change of metaphors the same issue is sKll being addressed, this conﬂict over leaders that is dividing the church. According to the metaphor of Paul it is also possible to build in a way that will not last through the tesKng of the “Day” and the “ﬁre.” It is also possible to build well in a way that will last through the tesKng of this Kme. Building the church using human wisdom, eloquent speech, and human techniques in ways that circumvent the centrality of the cross is building with wood, hay and straw.12 These building materials will not persist through the ﬁre 11
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, p. 65.
12
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp.
65-66.
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that will test them (3:12-‐15). These are things that are impressive to men, but they are not the things that are important to God. It is also important to note how Paul uses the temple metaphor in a collecKve sense; it is not the individual that is the temple of God; it is the collecKve group (2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19-‐22). This same meaning is reﬂected here at 1 Corinthians 3:16-‐17. The second person pronouns that are used here are all plural. To put this in West Texas vernacular “yall” are the temple of God. This ﬁts into Paul’s argument here because by their disputaKons and ﬁghKng they are destroying the temple of God and he warns them that this comes with a consequence. That consequence should make us all take a big gulp, it is a dire warning of the most serious kind. Anyone that destroys the temple of God will themselves be destroyed (φθείρω) by God himself. The church is precious to God and he will not idly sit by and allow it to be destroyed by those who fail to grasp the gospel message.13 The mission of God is too important to be stopped or hindered in any way by any individual or group, even when they call themselves the Church of Jesus Christ. 13
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, p. 66.
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The argument of Paul now has returned full circle to the point that he made at the beginning when he exposed their inadequate understanding of the gospel: A gospel that is in no way based upon human wisdom, but that in every way stands as a contradicKon to it. This then in turn exposes their inadequate understanding of leadership in the church while at the same Kme warning both the leaders and the church itself of the consequences for any who promote division. It is important to noKce how the exegesis (interpretaKon) is self-‐contained here; there was no necessity to go outside of the text to understand the point that Paul was making. Secondly, there is nothing in the text that does not ﬁt into Paul’s argument here. Third, this all makes perfectly good sense for the perspecKve that Paul is puqng forward. This then is what exegesis is all about. This is not too hard for anyone to do who uses reasonable care and takes the Kme to carefully examine the text in its context. The rewards of doing this are tremendous.14 To be sure there are texts that are tremendously diﬃcult for us. Many Kmes these texts are so diﬃcult for us because they were not 14
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp.
66-67.
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wri>en to us. The original author and the audience understood each other, but they are from a Kme and a culture that are very diﬀerent from our Kme and our culture. SomeKmes we will have to remain content with our lack of knowledge. Not having of the other side of this conversaKon makes the wri>en communicaKon especially diﬃcult. Despite the uncertainty regarding some of the precise details we need to recognize our limitaKons and not express a level of certainty that is not actually warranted by the informaKon that we have available regarding the text. Take for example 1 Corinthians 15:29 in the conversaKon regarding bapKsm for the dead. Paul neither condemns nor condones the pracKce he simply refers to it for a reason totally diﬀerent from the pracKce itself. Even without being able to understand all of the details, very oten the point of the whole passage is sKll within the grasp of the interpreter. It is important to note that with such a passage, ater the struggle has gone as far as it can go, this is the Kme to consult a good commentary. It is also important to note that if you sKll have unanswered quesKons; do not PAGE 16 OF 21
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despair, scholars who have spent major parts of their life studying a parKcular passage of Scripture sKll have lots of quesKons.15 What we have done in this secKon is only half of the process. Next week we will take up the other half of the process, but let’s go ahead and begin some of that even today for this text. We will be looking at a variety of texts next week. !
15
Gordon D. Fee, and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp.
69-70.
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Synopsis
As we study the Bible it is important to recognize that there are diﬀering types of literature (genres) and in the process of interpretaKon it is important to use the right techniques when dealing with diﬀering genres. In this secKon we are dealing with the Epistle/Le>er genre, which on the surface appears to be very easy to interpret, but may not be as easy as it ﬁrst appears. In order to help us understand the diﬃculty of interpretaKon of the Epistles asking quesKons form texts in the Epistles can prove very helpful. People learn be>er when they see something is useful to them. The markers that determine whether or not something is in this genre can vary some but this group includes everything from Romans to Jude, basically. They had certain things that were to be put into a le>er in a manner very similar to what we would have today. In the process of interpretaKon the ﬁrst step is to read the document through from beginning to end, the way you would a le>er that was sent to you today. The second thing to do is to read it through, perhaps again and again making notes as you read about PAGE 18 OF 21
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such things as to whom the le>er is addressed, the aqtude of the author, any speciﬁcs and note natural divisions in the le>er. Making an outline of the le>er is very helpful, or at least looking at a good outline. Do this as an exercise on 1 Corinthians 1-‐4, work with your class through this procedure. You may want to get the class to read this through before the class. Ask quesKons of the text. Keep asking what is the point that Paul is trying to make here? Note words that are used repeatedly, they can oten be a key to understanding a text. In the material of 1 Corinthians it is plain to see that there is a problem with leadership and with the concept of wisdom. Discuss this with your class and ask them quesKons about what they think is going on in Corinth. Recognize that we are going to emphasize applicaKon next week, but that the focus will not be strictly on this text so go ahead and ask how this applies today? !
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Ques&ons
1. What do you think is the diﬀerence between poetry and prose? 2. How might interpretaKon be aﬀected by the type of literature something is? 3. What is ﬁguraKve speech? Can you give an example? 4. How would you begin if you were going to write a le>er today? 5. How would you end a le>er if you were going to write a le>er today? 6. What do greeKngs and conclusions tells us about a le>er today? 7. What can we learn about the author and the audience from the way a le>er is wri>en? 8. Have you ever heard just one side of a conversaKon and come to a wrong conclusion? How did you get things straightened out? 9. How can you determine the aqtude of the author by what the person writes in a le>er? 10. What do you think the relaKonship was like between Paul and the church of Corinth? 11. How do you think the church at Corinth had come to understand the purpose of leadership in the Church? PAGE 20 OF 21
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12. How had they come to the wrong conclusion about leadership in the church? 13. How do you think what Paul said to the church in Corinth applies to us today in the church? 14. What is the diﬀerence between church leadership and that of the world? 15. What is wisdom? 16. How does the wisdom of God diﬀer from the wisdom of men? 17. How does Paul respond division in the church? 18. What kinds of things cause division in the church? 19. How does the Spirit ﬁt into Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians? 20. How does Paul use the temple metaphor in chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians?
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