I Cor 1:1-9; Epiphany II; Every Gift and All Knowledge

"Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

I. Introduction

Introductions and salutations in Pauline letters rarely make for scintillating reading. Sometimes when such an introduction is missing or truncated, as in Galatians, we know that Paul is angry at a situation in the congregation. The twofold function of these brief words at the outset of a letter is to express the Apostle's feelings for the congregation as well as to highlight for the perceptive reader some of the issues that will occupy Paul in the remainder of the letter.

These two items (feelings and issues) are also present in our text for the day. First, Paul feels warmly toward the community, and he stresses again and again his as well as their call to discipleship (vv. 1,2,9). There is a danger of the community splitting over certain spiritual practices; thus Paul stresses the community's call to be in the "fellowship" (koinonia--v. 9) of Jesus Christ. There is only one fellowship, regardless of the gifts of grace given to individual members of the community.

But, second, he also wants to explore issues with them, ideas which are "up for grabs" in the Church of Corinth, and he drops broad hints in the saluation regarding those important ideas. The two most significant are the concept of "knowledge" (v. 5) and "charismatic gifts" (v. 7). The remainder of this essay will speak briefly about how Paul cleverly and perceptively highlights these issues in the first few verses of the letter.

II. Enriched....In Knowledge (v. 5)

Paul's language is almost hyperbolic in v. 5. He thanks God that "in everying you have been enriched in him, in every word and in all knowledge." The little word for "all/every" (pas) occurs three times in the 12 words of the verse. So emphatic is Paul on the point that it encourages us to look beyond the introduction to consider what might be the issue here. I Cor. 8-10 speaks about the "problem" of knowledge. In earliest Christianity there were people, popularly known as "Gnostics," who claimed to have special insight into the revelation of God in Christ. Often this special knowledge was of a cosmological struggle between a "higher" and "lower" God, or the fact that one had to "put off the body" in order to rise or ascend into the heavenly realm. Those with special "knowledge" then would claim special status in the community as teachers: indeed, they claimed, their words could free people from the bondage to this world, a bondage which Christ alone has broken.

We don't know specifically if some of Paul's opponents in Corinth taught an early form of Gnosticism. We do know, however, that Paul focuses on Christian "knowledge" and "wisdom" in several passages. As early as I Cor. 2:12-14 he speaks of a certain kind of wisdom that he imparted to people, a wisdom not of this world but of God. Then, his extended discussion on the subject of consuming meat offered to idols in chs. 8-10 is framed in terms of Christian "knowledge" (cf. 8:1). Christians have enough knowledge to realize that since idols are lifeless beings, any food offered to them is not really desacralized or spiritually "contaminated," for how can something non-existent contaminate food? But, if Christians acted on this knowledge without regard to the conscience or scruples of "weaker" sisters and brothers, it might result in the weaker siblings' falling in faith. Thus, knowledge shouldn't be used as a sort of "club" to beat others into submission. It should be used in humility to build community. By telling his hearers in the salutation that he knows they have been filled with all knowledge, he tips his hand that proper use of knowledge (to build community) is basic to his purpose in writing. The point is no less relevant to us today--proper stewardship of knowledge and wisdom is essential to building the community of faith.

III. Not Lacking..In Any Charisma (v. 7)

The other topic that Paul puts in "blinking lights" in this section is the subject of the gifts of the Spirit, or the charismata. I like the way he phrases the opening part of v.7--"so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift while you wait for the revelation..." The word charisma appears strikingly few times in the NT. Paul uses it 5X in Romans and 7X in I Cor, but it only occurs four other places in the NT. Thus, we can see that the proper definition, understanding and use of these gifts is crucial for Paul in this letter. Indeed, since I Cor. was written a few years before Romans, we can conclude that this occasion where discussion of what such a gift was (and how to use it) took place.

It is tantalizing to connect the two subjects--knowledge and spiritual gifts--and to hypothesize that the Corinthian church community was influenced by a proto-Gnostic theology which stressed both. If this was the case, we might be able (and some scholars have) to try to construct the lineaments of this theology. But for our purposes this isn't necessary. All we need do is understand that the subject of gifts of the Spirit is the major focus of Paul in chs. 12-14. He doesn't want the congregation to be ignorant, either of spiritual gifts or so-called spiritual people (I Cor. 12:1). In some of Paul's most insightful and original writing, he not only likens the Church to a body, with more glorious and more modest members, but he stresses that there are people in the Church, based on gifts (charismata), who occupy crucially different roles in the Church. There are the "greater" (and by implication, the lower) gifts, mentioned in I Cor. 12:31.

Different kinds of gifts, from those placed under the Christmas tree to those given by the gifting of the Spirit, always have, and probably always will, provide the context for dispute among the recipients. Some might claim that one of the gifts is essential for all Christians to have. Some might declare that someone who claims to have a gift really does not have the charisma. Some might even say that the congregation really isn't supplied with all the necessary gifts to make it run well and grow. In short, charismata can provide the context for bickering and complaint. Paul already anticipates that later discussion by mentioning here that the Corinthian congregation lacks no charisma. God has equipped the Church with what it will need to flourish.

Conclusion--the Firmly-Founded Church

As Paul concludes his greeting, he uses a Greek verb twice to stress what he really thinks about the Church. It is bebaio, which means "to be firmly founded" or "firmly established." The testimony regarding Christ was firmly established among the Corinthians (v. 6); as a result, God shall firmly establish the Church until the end time (v. 8). The verb is derived from the Greek word baino, which means to "go" or to "walk." In the perfect tense, which is represented by the repetition of the original "b" with "e," the verb means to "go firmly." Hence the firm establishment in our verses here arises from a community that has been and is "going firmly" in a good direction. The firmly-founded Church is not an ossified fossil that clings gamely to a past message; it is a dynamic and moving body that applies the message of the call of God to the ever-changing realities of life in our age.

Thus, even though we can't say that Paul's greeting is scintillating, it is a good and solid one. We would be fortunate to receive such a greeting in our day...

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