Page 151 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

idols comes up. Paul says anyone can eat it who can do so with a clean conscience. Anyone who cannot
is sinning if they eat it. To participate in these festivals and rituals was not just the religion of the local
community. It was often seen as what it meant to be part of the community. This is like African
Traditional Religion in different tribes. To refuse to participate can be seen as inviting bad fortune to the
community. It often involves being looked down on and being suspicious of 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 were many social customs that helped 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 weak 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 in 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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