St. Paul's Early Epistles Syllabus

St. Paul the Apostle The Early Epistles (The Corinthian Correspondence, Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians)

Valentin de Boulogne. Saint Paul Writing His Epistles (oil on canvas), c. 1620. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

with

Dr. Bill Creasy

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2 St. Paul the Apostle The Early Epistles

(The Corinthian Correspondence, Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians)

Author: St. Paul the Apostle

Recipient: The believers in Corinth, Galatia and Thessalonica

Date Written: c. A.D. 50-52; 54-57

The Corinthian Correspondence

St. Paul arrived in Corinth sometime in late A.D. 50, the last stop on his 2nd missionary journey (A.D. 50-52). When Paul walked the 52-mile trek from Athens to Corinth, he entered one of the greatest and most modern cities of the Roman Empire.

Archaeology suggests that Corinth was occupied as early as 6500 B.C., and by 740 B.C. (about the time of the biblical king Ahaz and the Jewish prophet Isaiah) it was a major Greek city with a population of at least 5,000 people. By 400 B.C. Corinth was one of the largest and most powerful cities in Greece, with a population of over 90,000, and by the end of the 2nd-century B.C. it was capital of the Achaean League, a confederation of over 50 Peloponnese city-states.

Corinth’s power and influence came to an abrupt end, however. In 146 B.C. Rome declared war on the Achaean League, and the Roman General Lucius Mummius Achaicus attacked Corinth; put all the men of the city to the sword; sold the women and children into slavery; shipped statues, paintings, works of art and anything else of value to Rome; and he razed Corinth, reducing it to ashes. For his swift and decisive victory over Corinth and the Achaean League, Rome awarded Mummius a triumphal procession: he entered Rome in a chariot drawn by four white horses, the general himself was crowned with laurel leaves, and he wore a purple and gold-embroidered triumphal toga. The crowds cheered him wildly.

Thomas Allom. The Sack of Corinth (oil on canvas), 1870. Private collection.

[Sold at Christie’s auction, Lot 28, May 31, 2012 for £51,650].

Corinth would not lay long in ashes, though, for its geographic location was strategically too important. Straddling the narrow, 4-mile wide isthmus that links the Peloponnese peninsula with mainland Greece, Corinth boasted two major harbors: Lechaeum to the west on the Corinthian Gulf and Cenchreae to the east on the Saronic Gulf. Lechaeum was the principal port for trade with Italy and Sicily, while Cenchreae served commerce in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas:

Harbor on the Gulf of Corinth, leading out to the Ionian Sea.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

5 In 44 B.C., shortly before his assassination on March 15 (“the ides of March”), Julius Caesar ordered that Corinth be rebuilt as a major maritime center of commerce, ruled by Roman officials and colonized chiefly by Caesar’s retired military veterans, plebeians, freedmen and a minority of Romanized Greeks. In this way, Corinth lost its Greek identity and became a thoroughly Roman city.

By St. Paul’s day, new Corinth was a little over 100 years old—a modern, bustling commercial center with a large population of sailors, merchants . . . and con-men of every sort. There was money to be made in Corinth, and plenty of people made plenty of it, including former slaves and their descendants. Seneca (4 B.C. - A.D. 65), the Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist, writing a letter to Lucilius, procurator of Sicily (c. A.D. 65) “on the good that abides,” savages one such upstart, a man named Calvisius Sabinus, the nouveau riche son of a slave, for his pretentions and bad taste:

“Calvisius Sabinus . . . had the bank account and the brains of a freedman [an ex-slave]. I never saw a man whose good fortune was a greater offence against propriety. His memory was so faulty that he would sometimes forget the name of Ulysses, or Achilles, or Priam—names which we know as well as our own attendants. No major-domo in his dotage, who cannot give men their right names, but is compelled to invent names for them—no such man, I say, calls off the names of his master’s tribesmen so atrociously as Sabinus used to call off the Trojan and Achaean heroes. But none the less did he desire to appear learned.”

(Moral Letters to Lucilius, 27, 5)

Corinth was a prime example of social mobility in the 1st-century Roman Empire, a place where fortunes rose and fell depending on one’s abilities, work ethic . . . and luck. Indeed, with continual construction, expansion and rebuilding in 1st-century Corinth, archaeology has uncovered hundreds of inscriptions from building projects that testify to incessant public boasting and self-promotion, the marks of an upwardly-mobile, status- conscious society. Here’s one example:

Dr. C. and his Logos students inspect an inscription in Corinth that reads: “Erastus pro idilitate s.p. [sui pecunium] stravit,” or “Erastus in return for the treasurership, paved with his own money.” Erastus was a member of the church St. Paul founded at Corinth (Romans 16: 23).

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Because of its vibrant maritime trade, Corinth hosted a large transient population from the many cultures that surrounded the Mediterranean, and as one would expect, those cultures exerted significant social, religious, political and economic influences on the resident population. In Corinth temples to Poseidon, Apollo, Hermes, Aphrodite and Isis co-existed with a Jewish synagogue and with the embryonic Christian “house” churches founded by St. Paul.

Temple of Apollo in Corinth.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

As one might expect, catering to hundreds—if not, thousands—of sailors and traveling salesmen, all of whom spent their money freely while in town, immorality also flourished in Corinth. Although largely in ruins during St. Paul’s day, the temple of Aphrodite, had stood prominently atop the Corinthian acropolis, and it had been staffed by 1,000 temple prostitutes, giving Corinth its notorious age-old reputation for immorality. The historian Strabo (c. 64 B.C. – 24 A.D.) writes in his Geographica, reflecting back nearly 500 years:

“[In Corinth] the temple of Aphrodite [during the 6th century B.C.] was so rich that it owned more than a thousand temple slaves, courtesans [etai√ra], whom both men and women dedicated to the goddess. And, therefore, it was also on account of these women that the city was crowded with people and grew very rich; for instance, the ship captains freely squandered their money, and hence the proverb, ‘Not for every man is the voyage to Corinth’ [for the company of women was very expensive in Corinth!]. Moreover, it is recorded that a certain courtesan said to the woman who reproached her with the charge that she did not like to work or touch wool: ‘Yet, such as I am, in this short time I have taken down three webs [caqeiÆlon i∆stiu√ß].’”1

(Geographica, VIII, 6, 20)

1 There is a wickedly delightful play on words in the ending phrase “taken down three webs,” which cannot be captured in English: it reads, “lowered three masts,” or “debauched three ship captains.”

8 Indeed, since the 6th century B.C.—and into St. Paul’s day, “Corinthian girls” were noted for their generous and extraordinary “talents.”

The Temple of Aphrodite sat atop the Acropolis in Corinth.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Although Scripture includes two epistles to the Corinthians, the Corinthian correspondence consists of at least five exchanges between St. Paul and the church. Corinth’s socially diverse, status-conscious population, its thriving economy and its large number of transient workers presented enormous challenges to the small, fledgling church, a community that spanned the entire socio-economic spectrum. In an affluent society where commerce and skilled trades were abundant and upward social mobility and class distinctions were commonplace, forming a Christian community where “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3: 28) posed enormous challenges, and tensions among groups emerged quickly and sharply, manifesting themselves in factions and divisions, lawsuits among believers, sexual scandals and questions on marriage.

The Corinthian correspondence addresses all of these . . . and more.

9 1 Corinthians Outline

I. Introduction (1: 1-9)

II. The Body of the Epistle (1: 10 – 15: 58)

A. Reported Divisions and Abuses (1: 10 – 6: 20) 1. Factions and Divisions (1: 10 – 4: 21) 2. Immoral Behavior (5: 1 – 6: 20)

B. Answers to the Corinthian’s Questions (7: 1 – 11: 1) 1. Marriage and Virginity (7: 1-40) 2. Food Offered to Idols (8: 1 – 11: 1) a. Exercising knowledge and love, part 1 (8: 1-13) b. St. Paul’s example (9: 1-27) c. Exercising knowledge and love, part 2 (10: 1 – 11: 1)

C. Problems in Liturgical Assemblies (11: 2 – 14: 40) 1. Dress and Decorum (11: 2-16) 2. Celebration of the Eucharist (11: 17-34) 3. The Spiritual Gifts (12: 1 – 14: 40)

D. The Resurrection (15: 1-58)

III. Conclusion (16: 1-24)

2 Corinthians Outline

I. Introduction (1: 1-7)

II. The Body of the Epistle (1: 8 – 13: 10)

A. Crisis Between St. Paul and the Corinthians (1: 8 – 7: 16) 1. Past difficulties and relationships (1: 8 – 2: 13) 2. St. Paul’s ministry (2: 14 – 7: 4) 3. Resolution of the Crisis (7: 5-16)

B. The Collection for Jerusalem (8: 1 - 9: 15)

C. St. Paul's Defense of His Ministry (10: 1 - 13: 10)

III. Conclusion (13: 11-13)

10 Galatians

Crossing the snowy Anatolian mountains into Galatia.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

St. Paul traveled through Galatia on his 2nd Missionary Journey, A.D. 50-52. Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern-day Turkey. Paul never intended to go there on his 2nd missionary journey, but when he, Silas and Timothy were in Pisidian Antioch, St. Paul became ill and needed medical care. Instead of going south to Perge and Antalya as planned, Paul and company went north over the mountains into Galatian territory, presumably to find the medical care he needed.

Importantly, Galatia is a territory, not a city. While in transit through it, Paul founded several church communities, eventually arriving in Troas on the west coast of Asia Minor, where Paul and company met Luke, the physician, apparently receiving the medical care Paul needed. St. Paul could not have spent much time at individual stops in Galatia, so the churches he founded had only the most rudimentary instruction. While in Corinth, St. Paul writes an epistle to the Galatian churches, explaining more fully the gospel message and addressing problems that had arisen in their communities.

11 Galatians Outline

I. Introduction: The Cross and the New Age (1: 1-10)

A. Prescript (1: 1-5) B. Rebuke: The Occasion of the Letter (1: 6-10)

II. The Truth of the Gospel (1: 11 – 2: 21)

A. How Paul Received and Defended the Gospel (1: 11- 2: 14)

B. The Truth of the Gospel Defined (2: 15-21)

III. The Defense of the Gospel (3: 1 – 5: 12)

A. Rebuke and Reminder: Faith, Spirit and Righteousness (3: 1-6) B. Argument: Abraham’s Children through Incorporation (3: 7 – 4:7) C. Appeal (4: 8-31) D. Exhortation and Warning: Faith, Spirit and Righteousness (5: 1-12)

IV. The Life of the Gospel (5: 13 – 6: 10)

A. The Basic Pattern of Life: Serving One Another in Love (5: 13-15) B. Implementing the New Life: Walking by the Spirit )5: 16-24) C. Some Specific Parameters of the New Life (5: 25 – 6: 6) D. The Urgency of Living the New Life (6: 7-10)

V. Closing: Cross and New Creation (6: 11-18)

12 The Thessalonian Correspondence

The modern city of Thessaloniki, the 2nd largest city in Greece and the major harbor in the northern Aegean Sea, just as it was during St. Paul’s day.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

After leaving Galatian territory on his 2nd missionary journey, St. Paul and company made their way to Troas, and from Troas they sailed to Neapolis (modern-day Kavala) in eastern Macedonia, a small seaport on the Aegean Sea. Passing through Neapolis, they continued five miles north to Philippi, a Roman garrison city, where they met Lydia and her friends and formed a small church community there.

Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke then headed west to Thessalonica, in St. Paul’s day an important commercial center on the Roman Via Egnatia and the major harbor on the northern Aegean Sea. St. Paul spent only “three Sabbaths” [savbbata triva] (Acts 17: 2) in Thessalonica, but the church he founded there became a spiritual dynamo. In 1 Thessalonians, St. Paul writes:

“Our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the holy Spirit and [with] much conviction . . . so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”

(1 Thessalonians 1: 5-7)

St. Paul’s brief stay in Thessalonica produced a rock-solid church.

St. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians sometime in A.D. 51-52, and it is probably his first epistle. Recall that after “three Sabbaths”—or just three weeks—a Jewish mob hunted the streets for Paul, and Timothy and Silas got him out of town in the middle of the night, spiriting him off to Berea, 45 miles to the west. From Berea, Paul sailed south to Athens, and continued on to Corinth. After several months in Corinth, Timothy and Silas finally arrived, bringing news—and perhaps a letter—from Thessalonica. The Thessalonians had questions for St. Paul, and Paul responds to those questions with 1 Thessalonians.

St. Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians takes the themes of 1 Thessalonians and develops them further, sometimes taking them in new directions, much as ten years later he writes Colossians and further develops its themes in Ephesians. In 1 Thessalonians, St. Paul addresses questions brought to him from Thessalonica by Timothy and Silas; in 2 Thessalonians, he elaborates on his answers, perhaps responding to additional questions or requests for clarification.

Combined, the two epistles address two stages in an ongoing conversation.

14 1 Thessalonians Outline

I. Address (1: 1)

II. Autobiography (1: 2 – 3: 13) A. Thanksgiving (1: 2 – 3: 13) B. Concluding Prayer (3: 11-13)

III. Exhortation (4: 1 – 5: 22)

A. Introduction (4: 1-2) B. On Marriage (4: 3-8) C. On Brotherly Love and Self-Sufficiency (4: 9-12) D. Eschatological Exhortation (4: 13 – 5: 11) E. On Intra-communal Relations (5: 12-22)

IV. Conclusion (5: 23-28)

2 Thessalonians Outline

I. Address (1: 2)

II. Thanksgiving and Exhortation (1: 3 – 2: 12)

A. Thanksgiving Proper (1: 3-12) B. Exhortation: The Day of the Lord (2: 1-12)

III. Thanksgiving and Exhortation (2: 13 – 3: 5)

A. Thanksgiving Period Proper (2: 13-14) B. Exhortation (2: 15 -3: 5)

IV. Commands (3: 6-15)

A. Discipline of the Disorderly (3: 6-12) B. Congregational Admonition (3: 13-15)

V. Conclusion (3: 16-18)

A. Prayer for Peace (3: 16) B. Greeting (3: 17) C. Benediction (3: 18)

15 St. Paul the Apostle The Early Epistles

(The Corinthian Correspondence, Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians)

Syllabus

Lesson #1: St. Paul the Apostle

Valentin de Boulogne. Saint Paul Writing His Epistles (oil on canvas), c. 1620. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

St. Paul traveled over 10,000 miles by sea and by land during three missionary journeys: 1) A.D. 46-48; 2) A.D. 50-52; and 3) A.D. 54-57; Paul evangelized all of Asia Minor and a good portion of Macedonia and Greece; Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament; and during his many years of travel, Paul suffered greatly for Christ and for the Church:

“Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11: 24-28)

Just who was this man who worked so tirelessly for Christ, this man who accomplished so much for the kingdom of God?

Lesson #2: On the Road to Corinth

Archaeological site of Corinth. The temple of Aphrodite sat atop the acropolis.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

St. Paul’s 2nd missionary journey spanned A.D. 50-52, eighteen months of which he spent in Corinth, a very modern, cosmopolitan city with a population exceeding 50,000. Strategically located as a center of maritime trade, Corinth linked the Peloponnese

17 Peninsula to mainland Greece via a narrow, 4-mile wide Isthmus, with the Gulf of Corinth on the northwest and the Saronic Gulf on the east.

Rome destroyed ancient Corinth in 146 B.C. during the war between Rome and the Achaean League, but Julius Caesar rebuilt it in 44 B.C. as an ultra-modern metropolis, controlling maritime trade between Asia and Rome.

In Lesson #2 we follow St. Paul on his journey to Corinth.

Lesson #3: The Church at Corinth

J. Sadeler. St. Paul at the House of Aquila and Priscilla (engraving, 29980i), n.p., n.d. The Library at Wellcome Collection, London.

The rebuilt city of Corinth was not only an exceedingly prosperous double-seaport town, but it was the political and economic capital of Achaia, eclipsing Athens which had been in decline since its defeat by the Roman general Sulla in 88 B.C.

18 on the resident population. In Corinth temples to Poseidon, Apollo, Hermes, Aphrodite and Isis co-existed with a Jewish synagogue and with the embryonic Christian “house” churches.

Corinth catered to hundreds—if not, thousands—of sailors and traveling salesmen, all of whom spent their money freely while in town, and—as we might expect— immorality flourished. Although largely in ruins during the mid-1st century A.D., the temple of Aphrodite, had stood prominently atop the Corinthian acropolis, and it had been staffed by 1,000 sacred prostitutes, giving Corinth its notorious reputation for immorality. The historian Strabo (c. 64 B.C. – 24 A.D.) writes in his Geographica, reflecting back nearly 500 years:

“[In Corinth] the temple of Aphrodite [during the 6th century B.C.] was so rich that it owned more than a thousand temple slaves, courtesans [etai√ra], whom both men and women dedicated to the goddess. And, therefore, it was also on account of these women that the city was crowded with people and grew very rich; for instance, the ship captains freely squandered their money, and hence the proverb, ‘Not for every man is the voyage to Corinth’ [for the company of women was very was expensive in Corinth!]. Moreover, it is recorded that a certain courtesan said to the woman who reproached her with the charge that she did not like to work or touch wool: ‘Yet, such as I am, in this short time I have taken down three webs [caqeiÆlon i∆stiu√ß].’”2

(Geographica, VIII, 6, 20)

Indeed, since the 6th century B.C.—and into St. Paul’s day—“Corinthian girls” were noted for their generous and extraordinary “talents.”

St. Paul decided to form a church community there!

2 There is a wickedly delightful play on words in the ending phrase “taken down three webs,” which cannot be captured in English: it reads, “lowered three masts,” or “debauched three ship captains.”

Lesson #4: Introduction to the Corinthian Correspondence (1: 1-15)

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Although Scripture includes two epistles to the Corinthians, the Corinthian correspondence consists of at least five exchanges between St. Paul and the church. Apart from Ephesus, Paul spent more time in Corinth than at any other church he had founded, for it was the most troubled and contentious community of them all.

One can understand why.

Corinth, with its socially diverse population, thriving economy and large number of transient workers presented enormous challenges to its small, fledgling Christian community, a community that spanned the entire socio-economic spectrum. Most permanent residents were Greek, although a large number were retired Roman military veterans, and a smaller number were Jews. The Roman character of Corinth is evident by the names of those we meet in Corinth: Aquila, Priscilla, Crispus, Lucius, Gaius, Tertius, Erastus, Quartus and Fortunatus, among others. Although St. Paul says that “not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” (1 Corinthians 1: 26), some were, such as Crispus and Sosthenes,

20 both of whom were synagogue leaders, and Erastus, Corinth’s [oi∆kono√moß] “Treasurer” or “Director of Public Works” (Romans 16: 23). In an affluent society where commerce and skilled trades were abundant, upward social mobility and class distinctions were commonplace, marks of the nouveau riche. In a Christian community where “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3: 28), tensions among groups emerged quickly and sharply, manifesting themselves in factions and divisions, lawsuits among believers, sexual scandals, questions on marriage and challenges to St. Paul’s leadership.

The Corinthian correspondence addresses all of these.

Lesson #5: Factions and Divisions in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1: 1 –2: 16)

Codex Amiatinus, 1 Corinthians 1: 1-21 (Fol. 950r), 8th century. Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (Laurentian Library), Florence.

[This is the earliest surviving manuscript of St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate version of the Bible.]

After St. Paul’s Introduction (1: 1-3) and Thanksgiving (1: 4-9) he turns to the problems at hand. Paul learns from “Chloe’s people” in Corinth that there are factions and divisions in the Corinthian church: some claim to follow Paul; some

21 Apollos; some Cephas [Peter]; and others Christ. The church in Corinth is little more than two years old—and already there are four denominations! St. Paul addresses the matter firmly, stressing the simplicity and unity of the Gospel message, as well as the source of knowledge and the spiritual immaturity of those who depend upon their own learning and their overinflated sense of self.

Paul really goes after them!

Lesson #6: The Worldly and the Spiritual (1 Corinthians 3: 1 –6: 19)

Rembrandt. The Apostle Paul (oil on canvas), c. 1657. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

22 Building on his argument that our source of knowledge is not our own learning, but divine revelation through the Spirit, St. Paul goes on to contrast “worldly wisdom” with “spiritual wisdom,” the latter being infinitely superior to the former.

It is one thing for an uneducated person to make such a statement, dismissing hard- earned classical learning, philosophy and rhetoric out of hand, while not possessing it; it is quite another for St. Paul to do so, for there were few people in the ancient world more learned than Paul. The fact that he does so elevates “spiritual wisdom” to the summit of all knowledge, a summit attained only through careful attention to the still, small voice of God, a voice that can be drowned out by the incessant voice of our own egocentric reasoning and our boastful chattering about it.

Lesson #7: Now for the matters you wrote about . . . (1 Corinthians 7: 1 – 8: 13)

Carl Rottmann. Corinth with Acro-corinth [the Acropolis] (oil on board), 1847. New Pinakothek, Munich.

[Carl Rottmann, a 19th-century German landscape painter, portrays the dwarfed, eroded ruins of Corinth as an emblem of mutability and human vanity, a memento mori.]

23 Apparently Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus had delivered a letter to St. Paul from Corinth (1 Corinthians 16: 15-18)—or those from “Chloe’s people” had brought it with them—and now Paul turns to four questions raised in that letter, the first three of which deal with marriage, virginity and sexuality (always hot topics!), and the last of which deals with meat sacrificed to idols.

All four questions deal with practical day-to-day matters in any church community, but they are especially relevant to the Corinthian community, a church in crisis.

Lesson #8: St. Paul Asserts His Rights as an Apostle (1 Corinthians 9: 1 – 10: 33)

Caravaggio. Conversion on the Way to Damascus (oil on canvas), c. 1600. Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.

24 Was St. Paul really an Apostle? After Jesus’ Ascension, we read that the remaining eleven Apostles decided they must appoint another to take the place of Judas, who had hanged himself. We read:

“During those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place). He said, ‘My brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled which the holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry. He bought a parcel of land with the wages of his iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out. This became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem, so that the parcel of land was called in their language ‘Akeldama,’ that is, Field of Blood. For it is written in the Book of Psalms:

‘Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.’ And: ‘May another take his office.’

Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.’ So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.”

(Acts 1: 15-23)

The word “apostle” is a∆po√stoloß from the Greek compound of a∆po√, (from) and ste√llw, (I send)—or “messenger.” Anyone who is “sent” can be an apostle, but the criterion for being a “capital A” Apostle is that a person must have been an eyewitness to Jesus entire public ministry, from his baptism in the Jordan River by John through his Ascension from the Mount of Olives.

Given that criterion—established by the Apostles themselves—Paul does not qualify. This will be an ongoing issue in St. Paul’s relationship with the Corinthian church, especially as it concerns his leadership in that community.

Here St. Paul asserts his rights as a “capital A” Apostle, and in 2 Corinthians he will defend his apostleship even more vigorously.

25 Lesson #9: Propriety in Worship (11: 1-34)

The Church is the people of God, all of whom comprise the one body of Christ. The church as a physical building owned by the people of God for the purpose assembling the community in worship, and as such, the “church” did not exist until the mid-3rd century. The first church building devoted exclusively to liturgical use is at Dura Europos on the Euphrates River in eastern Syria:

The Dura Europos Church (chapel is on the right). Since this photo, the structure has been looted and extensively damaged by ISIS. Fortunately, the frescoes—which include the earliest existing images of Jesus—were removed, and they now reside in the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven.

When St. Paul was in Corinth, however, people met in “house” churches, the homes of individual people. Groups might consist of a few people to as many as 20 or 30, depending upon the size of the home in which they met. Obviously, larger groups would meet in the larger homes of wealthy people. Such gatherings would include teaching by leaders such as Paul, Apollos, Peter or other “traveling evangelists” (hence, the factions who followed them); fellowship; and a meal, which included a Eucharistic celebration. If there was any Scripture reading at all, it would have been from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

So, what protocols were involved? Who read? Who taught? Who prepared the meal? What did they eat? Who lead the prayers? What prayers were said? What did people wear? Did they stand or sit?

26 Remember, it is the early 50s and the New Testament has not been written yet. Teaching and preaching were purely oral and would vary from one teacher or preacher to another. The Church will not have an agreed-upon core set of beliefs until the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325!

St. Paul addresses the practical, fundamental issues of liturgical worship in such a setting.

Lesson #10: Spiritual Gifts (12: 1 – 14: 40)

This is a fresco from the baptistery in the Dura Europos church, c. A.D. 233. Scholarly consensus identifies the image as “The Samaritan Woman at the Well” from John 4: 1-42. More recent research, however, suggests the image is the Virgin Mary at the moment of the annunciation, as told in the Protevangelium of James, a 2nd century apocryphal work that places Mary at the well in Nazareth when Gabriel speaks to her. If so, this would be the earliest extant image of Mary. Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven.

We learn in the Acts of the Apostles and The Gospel according to John that when a person places his or her faith in Christ and is baptized, the Holy Spirit dwells within that person to comfort and guide them in the Christian life and to provide them with “spiritual gifts”; that is, talents, gifts and abilities to be used in the service of the

27 family of God. All believers receive “spiritual gifts”: the trick is to know what they are . . . and what they are not!

In Corinth, however, those gifts became not a blessing to the community, but the subject of boasting: “My spiritual gift is bigger than your spiritual gift!”

Good grief!

Lesson #11: Excursus: Jesus’ Crucifixion, Burial and Resurrection

Sandro Bottecelli. Lamentation over the Dead Christ (tempera on panel), c. 1490-1492. Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

Christianity stands or falls on the literal resurrection of Christ: either he was physically, bodily raised from the dead, or he wasn’t. If he wasn’t—if Jesus’ resurrection was a fraud, or simply a metaphor for new life—then our faith, no matter how sincere or deeply held, is an illusion, and we should have the courage to look elsewhere for truth. If he was resurrected, though, that changes everything.

In this lesson, we examine closely Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

28 Lesson #12: The Corinthians and Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 16: 24)

Matthias Stom. Supper at Emmaus (oil on canvas), c. 1633-1639. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

The Corinthians have their doubts about Jesus’ literal, physical, bodily resurrection— as well as their own—and in this lesson St. Paul addresses those doubts point by point, as he moves toward the conclusion of his epistle.

29 Lesson #13: Words of Comfort (2 Corinthians 1: 1 – 2: 17)

The 1st page of 2 Corinthians, Biblia Latina (Johann Pruss, Strasbourg, 1486), Fol. P vii, recto. Bodleian Library, Oxford.

Piecing together the events that lead to 2 Corinthians is notoriously difficult, but in this lesson, we take a stab at it.

• On his 2nd missionary journey, St. Paul spends 18 months in Corinth, A.D. 50-52; • In A.D. 54 St. Paul arrives in Ephesus on his 3rd missionary journey, where he spends nearly 3 years, A.D. 54-57; • In the winter of 54, word arrives in Ephesus from “Chloe’s people” informing St. Paul of trouble in Corinth, and a letter from Corinth arrives at about the same time, delivered by Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus; • St. Paul responds by writing 1 Corinthians, a rather harsh letter, especially as it addresses the expulsion of the immoral brother (1 Corinthians 5), lawsuits

30 among believers (1 Corinthians 6) and propriety in worship (1 Corinthians 11); • When the church at Corinth receives 1 Corinthians they are stung by it, and harsh criticism of Paul follows, especially regarding St. Paul’s authority, his apostleship and his motives; • St. Paul makes a quick and painful visit to Corinth, apparently taking them to task (2 Corinthians 2: 1); • Upon returning to Ephesus, St. Paul has 2nd thoughts about his visit, and he writes 2 Corinthians to smooth things over.

That seems to be the sequence.

Now, on to 2 Corinthians and words of comfort.

Lesson #14: St. Paul Defends His Apostleship, Part 1 (2 Corinthians 3: 1 – 4: 18)

Holy Monastery of Varlaam in Meteora, Greece. Construction began in 1517/1518, and the main church was completed in 1541/1542.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Although St. Paul begins his epistle with words of comfort he quickly turns to defending his apostleship, a necessary step in establishing his authority over the Corinthian community. As we read in the opening sentence of Romans, Paul is a

31 “called” Apostle, called by Christ himself while on the road to Damascus, called to a specific task: to take the Gospel message to the Gentiles.

Admittedly, Paul did not spend three years with Jesus walking the roads of Galilee, teaching and preaching like the other Apostles did; his call was not a matter of time and geography: his call was a call of destiny to bring the message of a new covenant to a new people.

Paul’s eternity—and the eternity of those in Corinth—depend upon Paul’s answering his call faithfully.

Lesson #15: St. Paul Defends His Apostleship, Part 2 (2 Corinthians 5: 1 – 7: 16)

The Resurrection of the Dead (Limoges enamel on copper plate), c. 1250. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

[This plaque is the bottom segment of a larger crucifix The Latin inscription reads: “By fixed design, crucified with the Crucified.”]

In Lesson #13 St. Paul continues defending his Apostleship, emphasizing his “partnership” with the Corinthians and his love for them, then cataloguing his hardships—a rhetorical plea for sympathy, which ends in the woeful: “You are not constrained by us; you are constrained by your own affections”; or better, “We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us (2 Corinthians 6: 12).

Paul then ends his defense (for the time being) with a plea for understanding.

32 Lesson #16: By the way, I’m taking up a collection . . . (2 Corinthians 8: 1 – 9: 15)

Detail of Jerusalem from the Madaba mosaic map, c. A.D. 542-570. Byzantine Church of St. George, Madaba, Jordan.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Having ended his “soft” defense, St. Paul now moves to the matter of taking up a collection for the church in Jerusalem. Rhetorically, Paul builds on the reconciliation he’s achieved, striking while the iron is hot!

In Romans, we see how deftly St. Paul presents his case for the Roman church to support—both through prayer and money—his planned mission to Spain. Here, Paul foregoes such subtlety and makes a direct plea, which includes shaming the Corinthian church into a large contribution by comparing their possible lukewarm, anemic donation to the far more generous churches in Philippi and Thessalonica!

33 Lesson #17: Back on the Defense! (2 Corinthians 10: 1 – 13: 14)

Orthodox icon of Saints Peter and Paul. Are they embracing, wrestling . . . or both?

St. Paul concluded the “soft” defense of his Apostleship at 7: 16, but Paul just can’t seem to let it go. The Corinthian’s questioning his Apostleship seems a personal affront to Paul, and in Lesson #15 he strikes back, boldly asserting his apostolic authority and mocking those who say “his letters are severe and forceful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible” (2 Corinthians 10: 10). Paul warns them that “what we are in word through letters when absent, that we also are in action when present” (2 Corinthians 10: 11), and he asserts that he is “not in any way inferior to [those] ‘super apostles’” (2 Corinthians 11: 5) about whom they boast.

St. Paul spares no one’s feelings here!

34 And then he goes on to catalogue his sufferings, comparing them to the “super apostles,” and warning the Corinthians of an imminent visit:

“This third time I am coming to you. ‘On the testimony of two or three witnesses a fact shall be established.’ I warned those who sinned earlier and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not be lenient . . .”

(2 Corinthians 13: 1-2)

St. Paul then closes 2 Corinthians with a formulaic ending.

Wow, scorching!

Lesson #18: Final Thoughts: Corinthians in Context

Valentin de Boulogne. Saint Paul Writing His Epistles (oil on canvas), c. 1620. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

St. Paul founded many Christian communities during his 20+ years of missionary activity. He is rightly called THE Apostle. But St. Paul’s relationship with the church at Corinth was unique. In this final lesson, we place the Corinthian

35 correspondence within the context of St. Paul’s other epistles and letters, as well as within the context of his overall missionary activity.

Lesson #19: An Introduction to Galatians

St. Paul traveled through Galatia on his 2nd Missionary Journey, A.D. 50-52. Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern-day Turkey. Paul never intended to go there on his 2nd missionary journey, but when he, Silas and Timothy were in Pisidian Antioch, Paul became ill and needed medical care. Instead of going south to Perge and Antalya as planned, Paul and company went north over the snowy mountains into Galatian territory, presumably to find the medical care he needed.

Importantly, Galatia is a territory, not a city. While in transit through it, St. Paul founded several church communities, eventually arriving in Troas on the west coast of Asia Minor, where Paul and company met Luke, the physician, receiving the care Paul needed. St. Paul could not have spent much time at individual stops in Galatia, so the churches he founded had only the most rudimentary instruction. On arriving in Corinth in late A.D. 50, St. Paul wrote an epistle to the Galatian churches, explaining more fully the gospel message and addressing problems that had arisen in their communities.

36 Lesson #20: St. Paul’s Gospel (1: 1 – 2: 21)

St. Paul Disputing with the Greeks and Jews (enamel on copper alloy), c. 1170-1180. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of the church, became St. Paul, the great Apostle of the church. We know St. Paul’s conversion story, but exactly where did Paul get his understanding of Christ and of the gospel message? St. Paul never traveled the roads of Galilee with Jesus; he never heard Jesus preach and teach; he never witnessed the miracles Jesus performed; and not until much later did Paul speak with any of Jesus’ other Apostles. St. Paul writes Galatians early in the A.D. 50s, long before any of the Gospel writers told their story about Jesus. Yet, St. Paul is arguably the most influential of all of Jesus’ Apostles. Without him, we would not have Christianity, as we know it today.

So, where did St. Paul get his understanding of Christ?

In this lesson, we explore that question.

37 Lesson #21: St. Paul’s Defense of the Gospel (3: 1 – 5: 12)

The Dying Gaul (1st-century B.C. Roman marble replica of a 3rd-century B.C. Greek bronze original). Capitoline Museums, Rome.

[The original Dying Gaul was commissioned c. 230-220 B.C. by Attalus I of Pergamon to celebrate his victory over the Galatians. In describing the Celts [Galatians] at the battle of Telemon in 225 B.C., the Greek historian Polybius writes: “The [Galatians] had discarded [their] garments owing to their proud confidence in themselves, and stood naked, with nothing but their arms, in front of the whole army . . .” (Histories II, 28)].

After St. Paul had left Galatian territory, other teachers came through preaching other gospels, gospels that emphasized good works. To them, St. Paul had famously said: “[If I] or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one we preached, let that one be accursed [ajnavqema]; or “tell them to go to hell!”

In this lesson, we explore St. Paul’s understanding of the relationship between faith and works, especially as it applies to the Galatian churches—keeping in mind that Galatians is a very early epistle (early A.D. 50s), and St. Paul further refines his thinking on faith and works in both Romans (A.D. 57) and Ephesians (A.D. 60-62).

38 Lesson #22: Living St. Paul’s Gospel (5: 13 – 6: 18)

Gustave Doré. Paolo and Francesca da Rimini (oil on canvas), 1863. Private Collection.

[Sold at Christie’s auction, Lot 1061, July 17, 2014 for £60,000].

Having established the proper relationship between faith and works in our previous lesson, St. Paul now goes on to discuss the freedom that grace provides us, and the correct use of that freedom in living out our lives in Christ.

39 Lesson #23: Introduction to the Thessalonian Correspondence

Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke then headed west to Thessalonica (modern-day Thessaloniki, the 2nd largest city in Greece today), in St. Paul’s day a commercial center on the Roman Via Egnatia and the major harbor on the northern Aegean Sea. St. Paul spent only “three Sabbaths” [savbbata triva] (Acts 17: 2) in Thessalonica, but the church he founded there became a spiritual dynamo. In 1 Thessalonians, St. Paul writes:

(1 Thessalonians 1: 5-7)

Unlike St. Paul’s brief transit through Galatia that resulted in doctrinal uncertainty and confusion, Paul’s brief stay in Thessalonica produced a rock-solid church, but one that had many questions.

40 Lesson #24: “St. Paul in Thessalonica,” 1 Thessalonians, Part 1 (1: 1 – 3: 13)

Michelangelo. The Last Judgment (fresco), 1536-1541. Sistine Chapel, Vatican City.

St. Paul’s wrote 1 Thessalonians sometime in A.D. 51-52; it is his first epistle. Recall that after “three Sabbaths”—or just three weeks—a Jewish mob hunted the streets for St. Paul, and Timothy and Silas got him out of town in the middle of the night, spiriting him off to Berea, 45 miles to the west. From Berea, Paul then sailed south to Athens, and on to Corinth. After several months in Corinth, Timothy and Silas finally arrived, bringing news—and perhaps a letter—from Thessalonica. The Thessalonians had questions for St. Paul, and Paul responds to those questions with 1 Thessalonians.

Virtually everyone in the 1st-generation church believed that Christ would return during his or her lifetime, and St. Paul and the Thessalonians were no exception. The Thessalonians were eager to know about this Parousia [Parousiva], this “return of Christ,” for if Christ’s return were imminent, that would have a profound effect on how one lived in the present. Why work hard and build up your 401k, if you’re never going to use it?

Believing that Christ would return “soon” [ejn, (Revelation 1: 1)] does not give license for irresponsibility, however, and St. Paul begins his epistle by using his own behavior in Thessalonica as an example of how one ought to live during these “last days.”

41 Lesson #25: “The Return of the King,” 1 Thessalonians, Part 2 (4: 1 – 5: 28)

Opening page of 1 Thessalonians from Minuscule 699 (manuscript on parchment, fol. 18r), 10th century. British Library, London.

[This codex contains the complete text of the New Testament on 369 leaves, with some decorative illumination.]

In the second half of 1 Thessalonians, St. Paul gets down to brass tacks, telling the Thessalonians, not when Christ will return (for even Jesus did not know that, c.f., Matthew 24: 36), but how he will return.

Bear in mind that St. Paul writes 1 Thessalonians only 20 years after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection and 40 years before John writes the book of Revelation. In this lesson, we’ll examine what the early church believed about the Parousia and how it arrived at those beliefs.

42 Lesson #26: “More on ‘The Return of the King,’” 2 Thessalonians (1: 1 – 3: 18)

Lightning strike at Thessaloniki’s harbor!

Photography by Kent and Shelly Seitz Logos Bible Study students

St. Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians takes the themes of 1 Thessalonians and develops them further, sometimes taking them in new directions, much as ten years later he will write Colossians and further develop its themes in Ephesians. In 1 Thessalonians, St. Paul addresses questions brought to him from Thessalonica by Timothy and Silas; in 2 Thessalonians, he elaborates on his answers, perhaps responding to additional questions or requests for clarification.

The two epistles combined address two stages in an ongoing conversation.

43 Bibliography

The Corinthian Correspondence

Robert J. Banks. Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Historical Setting. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishers, 1980.

C. K. Barrett. Essays on Paul. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 1982.

Jouette M. Bassler, et al. Pauline Theology, Volume 2: 1 and 2 Corinthians, David M. Hay, ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.

W. H. Bates. "The Integrity of II Corinthians," New Testament Studies 12 (1965-1966), pp. 56-69.

Stephen Benko. Pagan Rome and the Early Christians. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984. [On the kiss in early Christian worship, see pp. 79-102.]

Reimund Bieringer, et al. 2 Corinthians: A Bibliography (Biblical Tools and Studies 5). Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2008. [This is a complete bibliography on 2 Corinthians through 2007, containing over 1,900 entries: very useful for the serious scripture scholar or for the acquisitions department of a seminary or university library!]

Reimund Bieringer and Jan Lambrecht, eds. Studies on 2 Corinthians (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 112). Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 1994.

C. C. Black. "Rhetorical Criticism and the NT," Proceedings of the Eastern Great Lakes and Midwest Bible Societies 8 (1988), pp. 77-92.

John K. Chow. Patronage and Power: A Study of Social Networks in Corinth. JSNT Sup 75. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1992.

Nils A. Dahl. "Paul and the Church at Corinth," in Studies in Paul. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1977, pp. 40-61.

M. de Boer. "The Composition of 1 Corinthians," New Testament Studies 40 (1994), pp. 229-245.

Eva Cantarella. Pandora's Daughters: The Role and Status of Women in Greek and Roman Antiquity. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.

44 Raymond F. Collins. First Corinthians (Sacra Pagina 7). Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1999.

Hans Conzelmann. 1 Corinthians (Hermeneia: a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible). Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988.

G. E. M. de Ste. Croix. The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World (1st edition, US). Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1989

Will Deming. Paul on Marriage and Celibacy: The Hellenistic Background of 1 Corinthians 7 (Society for New Testament Studies Supplement Series 83). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

D. J. Doughty. “The Presence and Future of Salvation in Corinth,” Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 66 (1975), pp. 61-90.

Donald Engels. Roman Corinth: An Alternative Model for the Classical City. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

Gordon D. Fee. The First Epistle to the Corinthians (New International Commentary on the New Testament), revised edition. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014.

John T. Fitzgerald. Cracks in an Earthen Vessel: An Examination of the Catalogues of Hardship in the Corinthian Correspondence (Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 99). Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988.

Joseph A. Fitzmyer. First Corinthians: a New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries). New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

Joseph Fontenrose. The Delphic Oracle: It's Responses and Operations, with a Catalogue of Responses. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979.

Victor Paul Furnish. II Corinthians (The Anchor Bible, Vol. 32A). New York: Doubleday and Company, 1984.

S. R. Garrett. "The God of This World and the Affliction of Paul: 2 Corinthians 4: 1- 12," in Greeks, Romans and Christians, ed. Donald L. Balch, et al. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991, pp. 99-117.

Dieter Georgi. The Opponents of Paul in 2 Corinthians: A Study of Religious Propaganda in Late Antiquity, revised ed. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986.

David W. J. Gill. "The Meat-Market at Corinth (1 Corinthians 10: 25)," Tyndale Bulletin 43 (1992), pp. 389-393.

45 Peter D. Gooch. Dangerous Food: 1 Corinthians 8-10 in Its Context. Waterloo: Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1996.

C. R. Holladay. 1 Corinthians 13: Paul as Apostolic Paradigm," in Greeks, Romans and Christians, ed. Donald L. Balch, et al. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991, pp. 80- 98.

R. A. Horsley. “‘How Can Some of You Say There Is No Resurrection of the Dead?’ Spiritual Elitism in Corinth.” Novum Testamentum 20 (1978), pp. 203-240.

R. A. Horsley. "Wisdom of Word and Words of Wisdom in Corinth," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 39 (1977), pp. 224-239.

Allan R. Hunt. The Inspired Body: Paul, the Corinthians, and Divine Inspiration. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1996.

John C. Hurd. The Origins of 1 Corinthians. London: SPCK, 1965.

Jan Lambrecht. "Paul's Christological Use of Scripture in 1 Corinthians 15: 20-28," New Testament Studies 28 (1982), pp. 502-527.

Jan Lambrecht. Second Corinthians (Sacra Pagina). Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998.

T. H. Lim. "Not in Persuasive Words of Wisdom but in Demonstration of the Spirit and Power," Novum Testamentum 2 (1987), pp. 137-149.

A. Duane Litfin. St. Paul's Theology of Proclamation: 1 Corinthians 1-4 and Greco- Roman Rhetoric (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 79). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Nils Wilhelm Lund. Chiasmus in the NT: A Study in the Form and Function of Chiastic Structures (reprint of the original 1942 edition). Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers. 1992.

Ramsay MacMullen. Paganism in the Roman Empire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981.

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

Dale B. Martin. Slavery as Salvation: The Metaphor of Slavery in Pauline Christianity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.

Dale B. Martin. "Tongues of Angels and Other Status Indicators," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 59 (1991), pp. 547-590.

46 Ralph P. Martin. 2 Corinthians, rev. ed. (Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 40). Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishers, 2014.

Wayne A. Meeks. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.

Margaret M. Mitchell. Paul and the Rhetoric of Reconciliation: An Exegetical Investigation of the Language and Composition of 1 Corinthians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993.

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor. "The Corinth that Paul Saw," Biblical Archaeology 47 (1984), pp. 147-159.

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor. St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archaeology (3rd revised and expanded edition). Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2002.

Keith F. Nickle. The Collection: A Study in Paul's Strategy. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1966.

Jerome H. Neyrey. Paul in Other Words: A Cultural Reading of His Letters. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990.

Gerald G. O'Collins. "Power Made Perfect in Weakness: II Corinthians 12: 9-10," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 33 (1971), pp. 528-537.

Stephen M. Pogoloff. Logos and Sophia: The Rhetorical Situation of 1 Corinthians (Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 134). Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992.

E. Randolf Richards. The Secretary in the Letters of Paul. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1991.

William Slater. Dining in a Classical Context. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991.

D. E. Smith. "Meals and Morality in Paul and His World" (SBL Seminar Papers, 1981, ed. by K. H. Richards). Chico: Scholars Press, 1981.

Thomas Stegman. The Character of Jesus: The Lynchpin of Paul's Argument in 2 Corinthians (Analecta Biblica). Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 2005.

Stanley K. Stowers. Letter Writing in Greco-Roman Antiquity. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986.

47 Stanley K. Stowers. "Social Status: Public Speaking and Private Teaching, the Circumstances of Paul's Preaching Activity," Novum Testamentum 26 (1984), pp. 59-81.

Jerry L. Sumney. Identifying Paul's Opponents: the Question of Method in 2 Corinthians (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 40) Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1990.

Charles H. Talbert. Reading Corinthians: A Literary and Theological Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989.

Gerd Theissen. The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth (trans. By John H. Schultz). Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981.

Anthony C. Thiselton. “Realized Eschatology in Corinth,” New Testament Studies 24 (1977-1978), pp. 520-526.

D. F. Watson, "The NT and Greco-Roman Rhetoric: a Bibliography," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 31 (1988), pp. 465-472.

L. L. Wellborn. "On the Discord in Corinth: 1 Corinthians 1-4 and Ancient Politics," Journal of Biblical Literature 106 (1987), pp. 85-111.

L. L. Wellborn. Politics and Rhetoric in the Corinthian Epistles. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1997.

L. M. White. The Social Origins of Christian Architecture: Building God's House in the Roman World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.

Robert Louis Wilken. The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

Wendell Willis. Idol Meat in Corinth: The Pauline Argument in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1985, 2004.

Vincent L. Wimbush. Paul the Worldly Ascetic: Response to the World and Self- Understanding according to 1 Corinthians 7. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1987.

B. W. Winter. "Civil Litigation in Secular Corinth and the Church: The Forensic Background to 1 Corinthians 6: 1-8," New Testament Studies 4 (1991), pp. 559- 572.

Antoinette Clark Wire. The Corinthian Women Prophets: A Reconstruction through Paul's Rhetoric. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991.

48 Ben Witherington. Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.

Frances Young and David F. Ford. Meaning and Truth in 2 Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishers, 1987.

Galatians

C. E. Arnold. “‘I Am Astonished That You Are So Quickly Turning Away’ (Gal. 1: 6): Paul and Anatolian Folk Belief,” New Testament Studies 51 (2005), pp. 429-449.

______. “‘Returning to the Domain of the Powers: Stoicheia as Evil Spirits in Galatians 4: 3, 9,” Novum Testamentum 38 (1996), pp. 55-76.

James P. Arnold. “Jewish Christianity in Galatians: a Study of the Teachers and Their Gospel,” Ph.D. diss., Rice University, 1991.

E. Baasland. “Persecution: a Neglected Feature in the Letter to the Galatians,” Studia theologica 38 (1984), pp. 135-150.

Michael Bachmann. “The Church and the Israel of God”: On the Meaning and Ecclesiastical Relevance of the Benediction at the End of Galatians,” pp. 101-123 in Anti-Judaism in Galatians? Exegetical Studies on a Polemical Letter and on Paul’s Theology. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008.

Richard Bauckham. “James and the Jerusalem Church,” pp. 415-480 in The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting, ed. by Richard Bauckham. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.

Hans Dieter Betz. Galatians: a Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Churches in Galatia. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.

______. “The Literary Composition and Function of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians,” New Testament Studies 21 (1975), pp. 353-379.

Normand Bonneau. “The Logic of Paul’s Argument on the Curse of the Law in Galatians 3: 10-14,” Novum Testamentum 39 (1997), pp. 60-80.

Peder Borgen. “Some Hebrew and Pagan Features in Philo’s and Paul’s Interpretation of Hagar and Ishmael,” pp. 151-164 in New Testament and Hellenistic Judaism, ed. by Peder Borgen and Soren Giversen. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 1995.

J. P. Braswell. “‘The Blessing of Abraham’ Verses ‘The Curse of the Law’: Another Look at Gal 3: 10-13.” Westminster Theological Journal 53 (1991), pp. 73-91.

F. F. Bruce. The Epistle to the Galatians: a Commentary on the Greek Text (The New International Greek Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.

Brendan Byrne. “Sons of God”—“Seed of Abraham”: a Study of the Idea of the Sonship of God of All Christians in Paul against the Jewish Background (Analecta biblica, 83) Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1979.

Nancy Calvert-Koyzis. Paul, Monotheism and the People of God: The Significance of Abraham Traditions for Early Judaism and Christianity (Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Supplement Series, 273). London: T & T Clark, 2004.

Douglas A. Campbell. The Deliverance of God: an Apocalyptic Reading of Justification in Paul. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.

Ardel B. Caneday. “The Faithfulness of Jesus Christ as a Theme in Paul’s Theology in Galatians,” pp. 185-205 in The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical, and Theological Studies, ed. by Michael F. Bird and Preston M. Sprinkle. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009.

______. “‘Redeemed from the Curse of the Law’: The Use of Deut 21: 22-23 in Gal 3: 13.” Trinity Journal 10 (1989), pp. 185-209.

H. C. C. Cavallin. “‘The Righteous Shall Live by Faith’: A Decisive Argument for the Traditional Interpretation.” Studia theologica 32 (1978), pp. 33-43.

Stephen Anthony Cummins. Paul and the Crucified Christ: Maccabean Martyrdom and Galatians 1 and 2 (Society for the Study of the New Testament Monograph Series, 114). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Nils A. Dahl. “Paul’s Letter to the Galatians: Epistolary Genre, Content, and Structure,” pp. 117-142 in The Galatians Debate: Contemporary Issues in Rhetorical and Historical Interpretation, ed. by Mark D. Nanos. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2002.

James D. G. Dunn. The Epistle to the Galatians. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1993.

Mark W. Elliott. “Pivstiß CristouÆ in the Church Fathers and Beyond,” pp. 277-289 in The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical, and Theological Studies, ed. by Michael F. Bird and Preston M. Sprinkle. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009.

Susan M. Elliott. Cutting Too Close for Comfort: Paul’s Letter to the Galatians in Its Anatolian Cultic Context (Journal for the Study of the New Testament. Supplement Series, 248). London: T & T Clark, 2003.

50 William R. Farmer. “James the Lord’s Brother, according to Paul,” pp. 133-153 in James the Just and Christian Origins, ed. by Bruce D. Chilton and Craig A. Evans (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 98). Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 1999.

Jospeh A. Fitzmyer. “Justification by Faith in Pauline Thought: a Catholic View,” pp. 77-94 in Rereading Paul Together: Protestant and Catholic Perspectives on Justification, ed. by David E. Aune. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.

Ronald Y. K. Fung. The Epistle to the Galatians (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988.

S. J. Gathercole. “The Doctrine of Justification in Paul and Beyond: Some Proposals,” pp. 219-241 in Justification in Perspective: Historical Developments and Contemporary Challenges, ed. by Bruce L. McCormack. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.

Robert G. Hall. “The Rhetorical Outline for Galatians: a Reconsideration.” Journal of Biblical Literature 106 (1987), pp. 277-287.

Richard B. Hays. The Faith of Jesus Christ: an Investigation of the Narrative Substructure of Galatians 3: 1 – 4: 11 (Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series, 56). Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983; republished by Eerdmans in a revised and expanded 2nd edition, 2001.

Martin Hengel and Anna Maria Schwemer. Paul between Damascus and Antioch: the Unknown Years. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.

Richard W. Hove. Equality in Christ? Galatians 3: 28 and the Gender Dispute. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999.

Debby Hunn. “Christ versus Law: Issues in Galatians 2: 17-18,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 72 (2010), pp. 537-555.

Philip H. Kern. Rhetoric and Galatians: Assessing an Approach to Paul’s Epistle (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, 101). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Richard N. Longenecker. Galatians (Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 41). Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.

Joel. Marcus. “‘Under the Law’: the Background of a Pauline Expression,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 63 (2001), pp. 72-83.

Frank J. Matera. “The Death of Christ and the Cross in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians,” Louvain Studies 18 (1993), pp. 283-296.

______. Galatians (Sacra Pagina 9). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992.

R. Barry Matlock. “Saving Faith: The Rhetoric and Semantics of pivstiß in Paul,” pp. 73-90 in The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical, and Theological Studies, ed. by Michael F. Bird and Preston M. Sprinkle. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2009.

Douglas J. Moo. Galatians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.

______. “‘Law,’ ‘Works of the Law,’ and Legalism in Paul,” Westminster Theological Journal 45 (1983), pp. 73-100.

______. “Justification in Galatians,” pp. 160-195 in Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century; Essays in Honor of D. A. Carson on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday, ed. by Andreas J. Köstenberger and R. Yarbrough. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011.

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor. “Paul in Arabia,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 55 (1993), pp. 732-737.

K. S. O’Brien. “The Curse of the Law (Galatians 3: 13): Crucifixion, Persecution, and Deuteronomy 21: 22-23,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 29 (2006), pp. 55-76.

Michael Peppard. “Adopted and Begotten Sons of God: Paul and John on Divine Sonship,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 73 (2011), pp. 92-110.

J. T. Reed. “Using Ancient Rhetorical Categories to Interpret Paul’s Letters: a Question of Genre,” pp. 292-324 in Rhetoric and the New Testament: Essays from the 1992 Heidelberg Conference, ed. by Stanley E. Porter and Thomas H. Olbricht (Journal for the Study of the New Testament: Supplement Series 90). Sheffield: JSOT, 1993.

Vincent M. Smiles. The Gospel and the Law in Galatia: Paul’s Response to Jewish- Christian Separatism and the Threat of Galatian Apostasy. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1998.

C. D. Stanley. “‘Under a Curse’: a Fresh Reading of Galatians 3: 10-14,” New Testament Studies 36 (1990), pp. 481-511.

Todd A. Wilson. The Curse of the Law and the Crisis in Galatia. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007.

52 Donald J. Verseput. “Paul’s Gentile Mission and the Jewish Christian Community: a Study of the Narrative in Galatians 1and 2,” New Testament Studies 39 (1993), pp. 36-58.

Ben Witherington III. Grace in Galatia: a Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998.

The Thessalonian Correspondence

F. F. Bruce. 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 45), reissued edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982; 2015.

Richard Bauckham. The Fate of the Dead: Studies on the Jewish and Christian Apocalypses (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 93). Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1998.

George P. Carras. “Jewish Ethics and Gentile Converts: Remarks on 1 Thes 4, 3-8,” pp. 306-315 in The Thessalonian Correspondence (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 87), ed. by Raymond F. Collins. Leuven: University Press/Peeters Publishers, 1990.

J. Delobel. “The Fate of the Dead according to 1 Thes 4 and 1 Cor 15, pp. 340-347 in The Thessalonian Correspondence (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 87), ed. by Raymond F. Collins. Leuven: University Press/Peeters Publishers, 1990.

Karl P. Donfried. 1 & 2 Thessalonians: a Critical and Exegetical Commentary (The International Critical Commentary). London: T & T Clark, 2016.

______. Paul, Thessalonica and Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002.

______and Johannes Beutler, eds. The Thessalonians Debate: Methodological Discord or Methodological Synthesis. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.

______and I. Howard Marshall. The Theology of the Shorter Pauline Letters (New Testament Theology). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Gordon D. Fee. The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.

Traugott Holtz. “The Judgment on the Jews and the Salvation of All Israel: 1 Thes 2, 15-16 and Rom 11, 25-26, pp. 284-294 in The Thessalonian Correspondence

53 (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 87), ed. by Raymond F. Collins. Leuven: University Press/Peeters Publishers, 1990.

Frank Witt Hughes. Early Christian Rhetoric and 2 Thessalonians (Library of New Testament Studies). Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1989.

Robert Jewett. The Thessalonian Correspondence: Pauline Rhetoric and Millenarian Piety (Foundations and Facets: New Testament). Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986.

Abraham J. Malherbe. The Letters to the Thessalonians: a New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, 32B). New York: Doubleday, 2000.

______. Paul and the Thessalonians: the Philosophic Tradition of Pastoral Care. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987.

I. Howard Marshall. 1 & 2 Thessalonians: a Commentary. Regent College Publishing,

______. “Election and Calling to Salvation in 1 and 2 Thessalonians,” pp. 259-276 in The Thessalonian Correspondence (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 87), ed. by Raymond F. Collins. Leuven: University Press/Peeters Publishers, 1990.

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor. Paul the Letter-Writer: His World, His Options, His Skills (Good News Studies, 41). Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1995.

Colin R. Nicholl. From Hope to Despair in Thessalonica: Situation 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, 126). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Earl J. Richard. First and Second Thessalonians (Sacra Pagina, vol. 11). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1995.

E. Randolph Richards. Paul and First Century Letter Writing: Secretaries, Composition and Collection. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004.

Todd D. Still. Conflict at Thessalonica: a Pauline Church and Its Neighbors (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Series, 183). Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.

Charles A. Wanamaker. Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians (New International Greek Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990.

54 Ben Witherington III. 1 and 2 Thessalonians: a Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006.