The Life of an Early Church—II

The second class of problems that Paul met at Corinth were those that concerned the common church life. The new religion was not simply an individual life but a life in fellowship. Upon that fellowship Paul laid the greatest stress. In fighting the enemies of this fellowship he knew that he was fighting for Christianity itself. The Roman world of that day, like our own world, was strongly individualistic. The old bonds were breaking and men were seeking the life of individual freedom. That was especially true of the Greeks. Like our own age, they were inclined to underestimate religion as a social fact and Christianity as a fellowship. This fellowship Paul saw assailed by several dangers.

There was the trouble that came from the "advanced" women of the congregation (1 Cor 11:2-16; 14:33-36). They had heard from Paul that Christianity meant not the bondage of rules but the freedom of the spirit. Why should they, then, submit to the old restrictions upon women, such as that which required them to wear a veil in public and forbade them taking part in open meetings? The question was, in fact, the same as that with the progressives who felt they could eat meat offered to idols. It was a purely individualistic point of view, which thought only of the individual conscience and liberty. What these women failed to consider was the effect upon others and upon the church as a whole. There was only one class of Corinthian women which appeared unveiled upon the street and spoke in public, and that was the hetairœ. For Christian women to do this meant not only to shock some of their Christian friends, but to bring suspicion upon the Christian community. As a matter of fact, the Christians were often slandered simply because they were a mingled company of men and women meeting in private. Paul's argument, indeed, is not one that would appeal to us today. He argues more as a Jewish rabbi than as a Christian apostle. But his practical conclusion is both sane and Christian. The only mistake has been to try to make a permanent law for the church out of his practical counsel to the Corinthians.

The same individualism appears in the troubles in connection with the church suppers. It was apparently the common Christian practice to meet in a fellowship supper, just as has been noted at Jerusalem. As a part of this supper or in connection with it, there was a memorial of the Last Supper of the Lord with his disciples, what we call the Lord's Supper, or the Holy Communion. There were probably prayers offered and at a given time such words were repeated as Paul gives here (1 Cor II. 24, 25), and bread and wine were passed to all present. The Corinthian church was made up mostly of the poor. It had, however, some people of means. Some of these brought to these suppers their rich and abundant foods and wines, and feasted by themselves while the poor brethren looked on hungry and envious. They were simply turning the whole into such a pagan feast as they had long been accustomed to. It was pure selfish individualism without thought of the idea of fellowship or the feelings of their poor brethren. "This is not a mere feast," Paul says; "it is a supper with deep and solemn meaning. It is proclaiming the Lord's death; think of that and of your brethren. If you are hungry, eat at home" (1 Cor 11:17-34).

The quarrel about "spiritual gifts" was simply another manifestation of the same spirit, joined to a certain pride and love of display which was characteristically Greek (1 Cor 12 and 14). In Paul's teaching, as with the Jerusalem apostles, the gift of the Spirit to believers was the great fact of the new life. Their religion was not simply a hope of what Jesus would do upon his second appearing; it was a great possession realized in this life. This gift was the source of that spirit which marked so strongly the early church, its joy amid all persecution, its peace and love and hope, and its inextinguishable enthusiasm. The possession of this Spirit manifested itself in different gifts, or forms of Christian activity and usefulness. Prophecy and speaking with tongues were two forms of these gifts which attracted especial attention in the Corinthian church. Prophecy was not prediction, but a form of earnest speech or exhortation upon spiritual themes to which the speaker felt himself driven as by a kind of inspiration. The speaking with tongues, as we have seen, was a kind of rapt, ecstatic utterance of an incoherent kind, whose meaning was understood neither by speaker nor listener.

Here was a great power in the early church; but here was also the possibility of serious danger. The enthusiasm might easily lead to fanaticism and disorder, and the spiritual gifts to spiritual pride. The test of true religion with Jesus was obedient trust in God and the loving service of men. In the new atmosphere these simple homely qualities were in danger of being lost. These conditions actually existed in the Corinthian church. Nothing shows Paul's sanity and moral insight better than the way in which he faced them.

The Corinthians, it seems, were very proud of their gifts, especially of the speaking with tongues. To order and reverence they paid no attention in their meetings, nor did they care whether their prophesying and speaking with tongues was of any help to others. Each man thought that it was of first importance when he felt moved by the Spirit to make himself heard. Nor did one wait upon the other. Two or three of the men with tongues would be speaking their strange medley at the same time. It is easy to imagine what visitors thought when they came in, especially when they saw women taking part in these disorders. With all this there was naturally a good deal of pride and contention.

Here, again, Paul does not simply give commands. He sets up great Christian principles. (1) True Christian gifts have their source in one Spirit, the Spirit of God. There should, therefore, be no conflict and no question of distinction of greater and less. Rather there should be perfect unity. The church is the body of Christ. As the body has different members—feet, hands, and the like—so the church needs different gifts. But all belong together and each must seek to serve the whole, not to live for himself. We are members one of another. (2) The purpose of the gifts is service. The test of their value is the good they do. This test shows the gift of tongues to be of very little value. The man himself may enjoy it, but it does not help others, since they do not understand; and it injures the church, since any visitors hearing it simply say, "These people are mad." But if these people hear a prophet (that is, a preacher or exhorter), then the truth strikes home to their conscience, and they declare, "God is among you indeed." (3) The final principle Paul illustrates in the thirteenth chapter, one of the most beautiful writings in all Christian literature. He calls it the most excellent way, the gift that is above all the other gifts of the Spirit, the spirit of love. For the Corinthians the presence of the Spirit meant the strange utterance and the striking accomplishment. For Paul it meant moral character and life, and these he sums up in the word which Jesus used, love. All your showy gifts, he declares, and all the knowledge of which you are so proud, is worth nothing without this spirit of love. And this love is very different from the spirit you have shown. It is patient and kindly; it has no jealousy or pride; it is modest and humble, full of hope and of faith in men. And when all your tongues and prophecies are done away, this love will last (1 Cor 13).

The last question that Paul takes up is that of the resurrection. He had learned that some among the Corinthians were casting doubt upon the idea of a resurrection from the dead. To the Greek mind it seemed absurd to talk of the body being raised again when it had wasted away in the earth. Here was the Greek spirit at work again, logical, critical, speculative, setting up a philosophy of its own in the place of Christianity. The issue for Paul was not a matter of one form of doctrine as against another. It was Christianity itself as a historical fact that was at stake: was there a living Christ, and had God really come to men in him? He brings forth three considerations. (1) What I have preached to you, the Christ who died and rose again, is the faith of the whole church, of the first disciples and all. "Whether then it be I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed" (1 Cor 15:1-11). (2) We need not be troubled about the physical body that decays or how it shall be raised. It is not the natural body that is raised but a spiritual body, such as it will please God to give (15:35-49). (3) Without this hope we have nothing. If there be no resurrection, then there is no living Christ. And if there be no living, Christ, then our faith is empty. But now the faith is ours with its glorious hope. "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (15:12-19, 29-32, 50-58).

Such were the dangers that confronted the early church from without and within: persecution of enemies, the constant environment of a debased life with which they still had to associate, the pull of the old habits, the peril of fanaticism, and the great gulf between the lofty Christian principles and these folks taken out of the lowest classes of paganism. Why did not Christianity fail? Because it had forces greater than all these. Deeper than the jealousy and strife was the new spirit of brotherhood and love that bound them together. Stronger than the lure of old evil in the world about or in their own hearts was the purifying and transforming power of the new Spirit. And not the least part of the answer to the question is the leadership of such a man as Paul, whose marvelous religious experience and power was joined to such wisdom in practical leadership.

We have little knowledge of the later history of the Corinthian church. The second letter, as we have it, is very hard to understand. The first nine chapters are very different from the last four. The former are full of a spirit of kindliness and confidence and suggest a perfect reconciliation between Paul and the church. The last four chapters take us into an atmosphere of strain and strife, where Paul is fighting for his apostleship. It seems probable that in later years, when Paul's writings were collected, two or three letters were joined together here. At that later time men did not care about the history of the church, but simply to have Paul's words.

Following out this idea, scholars have suggested that we probably have four letters from Paul represented in or two epistles. They would divide them as follows:

1. The first letter: 2 Cor 6:14 to 7:1. This is considered a fragment of the first letter that Paul wrote, it being his answer to a question from the church as to their relation to unbelievers as indicated in 1 Cor 5:9-13. Note how these verses interrupt the order of thought; 7:2 follows naturally upon 6:13.

2. The second letter: our First Corinthians. As we have seen, this was written in answer to further questions from the church and because of information that Paul had received from messengers.

3. The third letter: 2 Cor 10 to 13. The Corinthians had not followed Paul's directions. Timothy had failed in his visit. The strife of the parties had continued and Paul's Judaizing enemies had come in and attacked his authority and his apostleship. Even when Paul visited them personally from Ephesus he had met opposition, and from one man at least even insult. This third letter is Paul's defense and assertion of his authority. It is an impassioned appeal, and should be placed beside his letter to the Galatians. He appeals to his labors, exceeding those of all others (11:16-33). He points to his experiences (12:1-6). He calls to witness the wonderful work he had done among them (12:11-13). He denounces his enemies in the sharpest terms (11:13-15). He declares that he will come a third time to them, and that then he will not spare (13:1-10).

4. The fourth letter: 2 Cor 1 to 9, omitting the fragment of six verses marked above as the first letter. It seems that Paul had made his third visit, that his enemies gave way, that the church punished the offender referred to in 1 Cor 5, and the old relations were established. The echo of the past controversies, and the deep feelings they had stirred, may still be heard in these fine chapters; but the letter itself is full of Paul's usual spirit of joy and peace and confidence, with expressions of deep and tender affection. It has also some of his most beautiful expressions concerning his gospel and his ministry: "It is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 4:6). "Now the Lord [that is, Jesus] is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit" (3:17, 18). "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself" (5:19). "And he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again" (5:15).

Paul's work at Corinth was not in vain. The Corinthians formed one of the strongest, if not the strongest Pauline church. One of the earliest Christian writings that we have outside the New Testament is a letter written to the Corinthians about fifty years after the founding of the church by one Clemens, writing for the church at Rome. Clemens speaks of the church in highest terms: "Who ever dwelt even for a short time among you, and did not find your faith to be as fruitful of virtue as it was firmly established? Who did not admire the sobriety and moderation of your godliness in Christ? And who did not rejoice over your perfect and well-grounded knowledge?" From his references it appears that Paul's name was held in highest esteem and his letters read in the church.

Directions for Reading and Study

As to the position and conduct of women, read 1 Cor 11:2-16; 14:33-36.

As to the Lord's Supper and the church fellowship meals, read 1 Cor 11:17-34.

As to spiritual gifts and the disorders in the church services, read 1 Cor 12, 13, and 14.

As to the resurrection, read 1 Cor 15.

Read the four chapter letter, 2 Cor 10 to 13; select from these chapters all that concerns Paul's life, experience, and person, and write this out in an ordered statement.

Read through the last letter, 2 Cor 1 to 9; select five or six verses aside from those quoted in this chapter, which reflect Paul's conception of his ministry and of the gospel.