Page 154 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Student Textbook

fortune on the community. It often involves being looked down on and being suspicious to the members
of the community. The situation was similar in the communities in the Hellenistic world. Like Paul, we
must learn to minister carefully in a world that may view our refusal to take part in certain ceremonies
or cultural views as hostile. The question is, will we be faithful in proclaiming the Gospel despite the
danger we may face?

Social:

In the Hellenistic world there was many social customs that help us understand the meaning of different
parts of the epistles in the New Testament. The Greeks for instance valued schools and rhetoric. This
became an issue for the Corinthian church when the “super apostles” accused Paul of being bad at
public speaking and lacking power in his ministry (2 Corinthians 10:7). This was the issue that caused
Paul to say “examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith” in 2 Corinthians 13:3-7

“since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing
with you but is powerful among you. For He was indeed crucified in weakness, yet He lives by
God’s power. And though we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him to serve
you. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for
yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you fail the test? And I hope you will realize that
we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not that
we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to
have failed.”

Notice that faith in this case is not personal saving faith but the message about Jesus. They were arguing
about Paul’s credibility as the confirmed teacher of the Gospel because his message was considered
weakness due to his lack of rhetorical skill and the lack of miraculous signs that confirmed them in
Corinth. This is because of the background of rhetoric and sign seeking from deities in Corinth. Paul
wasn’t saying “examine your works to see if you truly believe in Jesus and are going to Heaven.” He was
saying that the Corinthians should examine themselves as to whether their view of his ministry and
gospel were accurate and approved by Christ. If they were confirmed then it is the Corinthians that had
failed to keep the “faith”, the accurate message of Jesus, and needed to return to the truth. The issue
was not whether they were saved or not, it was whether they were being faithful to the true gospel as
they looked for signs and proof from God to confirm who was teaching it. A lot of terrible theology has
resulted from missing this background when reading this verse.

In the social order houses of the upper class had atriums. Houses of the lower class often did not. This
may be why there were issues of class distinctions among the Corinthians. The Lord’s Supper would be
celebrated by the wealthy, possibly in the dining room, and the rest would wait until later or would
arrive after the others had started. Paul condemned this. Local custom had no place establishing class
and wealth distinctions in the body of Christ. This type of behavior is tempting in all cultures. Even
among some of our African pastoral students there is a tendency to measure importance based on tribe,
position or family name. My friends this has no place in the body of Christ. When we meet, we are one
and should not function as though some are better than others. There is one exception that Jesus
himself established - the greatest is to be the servant of all.

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