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1 Corinthians

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background

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written in 52 or 54

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written from Ephesos (modern day Turkey, across the Aegean Sea from Athens)

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not his first letter to them

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we know that the Corinthians wrote to Paul

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he writes e.g. "now concerning idol food" or "now concerning spiritual gifts" indicating tha the is responding to topics they had mentioned in their leters

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this letter is part of a long interaction with this community

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1 Corinthians 1:10 is the theme of the letter

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the rhetoric of the letter is deliberative discourse

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conjoles the community towards future action

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structure

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1:1-3 prescript

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1:4-9 exordium of thanksgiving

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1:10-17 narratio (proposition)

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1:18-15:57 body of letter

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15:58-16:24 conclusions

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themes

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sexual behavior

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what you should eat

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whether they should engage in prophecy or speaking in tongues

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resurrection of the body

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the middle of the Pauline correspondence

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we don't have to assume that the ekklesiai to which Paul wrote did not have the same opinions

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we don't have the letters from the assemblies to Paul

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what role did Paul have at Corinth

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what support or opposition did he receive there

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with the Corinthian correspondence, we have more than one letter

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Paul knew this community well and it was reflected in his writing

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talks about having baptized only Crispus and Gaius

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Paul was not the only religious leader in this community

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says that those in Corinth say that "I belong to Paul" or "I belong to Apollos" or "I belong to Cephas" or "I belong to Christ" indicating that community members thought of themselves as having been initiated by different leaders

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"I myself planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth"

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2 Corinthians

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by the time this letter was written, tensions had built

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pastiche of letters written over time and edited together later

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most straightforward letters are 2 Corinthians 8-9

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administrative letters

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about poverty

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giving money for the saints

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cajoling the Corinthians and others in the region to give money

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in 16 Paul talks about "carrying your gift to Jerusalem" which refers to giving money for the poor and saints in Jerusalem

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2 Corinthians 10-13

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may be what was referred to as "the letter of suffering, anguish, and tears"

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10:10 mentions that Paul's "personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible" but that "his letters are weighty and strong"

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Paul argues that he glorifies God in his weakness, not in his strength

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refuses to accept the Corinthians' money

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a defense letter

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that Paul is up to being an apostle