Jeff Ragan’s Reviews > The First Epistle to the Corinthians > Status Update

"The Corinthians have argued that there is no reality to the...idols...Paul agrees, but he qualifies his agreement in two directions. First, the...'gods' have a reality of a kind that must...inform...their relationship with other believers & their...relationship to...God...Second...the Corinthians have a relationship to...God that must finally determine both their own lives & how they relate to other believers"(415).

"The problem is primarily attitudinal. They think Christian conduct is predicated on gnosis ('knowledge') and that knowledge gives them exousia ('rights/freedom') to act as they wish in this matter. Paul has another view: The content of their knowledge is only partially correct; but more importantly, gnosis is not the primary ground of Christian behavior; agape ('love') is" (401-2).

"To be 'in the Lord' is to have one's life come under the eschatological view of existence outlined at the beginning (vv. 29-31). Such a woman lives from such a radically different perspective and value system from that of a pagan husband that a 'mixed' marriage, where the 'two become one,' is simply unthinkable" (392).

"...we are to live out our lives in the present age, whether married or not, as those who have been determined by the 'foreshortened time.' Being eschatological people is to free us from the grip of the world & its values. We are to live...as fully in the world but not controlled by its systems or values. Such freedom...removes from one the anxiety about which existence might be better..." (384).

"...what is often heard is that Paul prefers singleness to marriage...But quite in contrast to Paul's own position...we often read into that preference that singleness is somehow a superior status. That causes some who do not wish to remain single to become anxious about God's will in their lives...Marriage...lies totally outside the category of 'commandments' to be obeyed or 'sin' if one does otherwise" (369).

"Precisely because our lives are determined by God's call...we need to learn to continue there as those who are 'before God.' Paul's concern is not with change as such...but with 'living out one's calling' in whatever situation one is found...let one serve the Lord, & let the call of God sanctify...the situation, whether it be mixed marriages, singleness, blue-or white-collar work, or socioeconomic condition" (356).

"Paul's intent is not to lay down a rule that one may not change; rather, by thus hallowing one's situation in life, he is trying to help the Corinthian believers see that their social status is ultimately irrelevant as such...they can live out their Christian life in any of the various options; therefore their desire to change is equally irrelevant - because it has nothing to do with genuine spirituality" (344).

"First, Paul does not speak to the question of remarriage at all. If that is one's concern, then it must be wrestled with in the much larger context of Scripture; and the answer is not clear-cut. In many cases such marriages are clearly redemptive. Even if it is not the ideal situation, God still redeems our fallenness, whether it be individuals or broken marriages" (338).

"What is not allowed by Paul is remarriage, both because for him that presupposes the teaching of Jesus that such is adultery and because in the Christian community reconciliation is the norm. If the Christian husband and wife cannot be reconciled to one another, then how can they expect to become models of reconciliation before a fractured and broken world?" (328).

"The net result of all this is (a) that Paul seems almost certainly to be forbidding something that is already going on, and (b) that he altogether eliminates abstention as a normal practice, acceding to it only hypothetically and under certain conditions, on the basis of his Jewish background" (313).