Getting Biblical in Daily Life
Entire libraries could be filled up just with the books that have been penned about Paul's theology in 1 and 2 Corinthians. And now, watch as we attempt to condense two thousand years of commentary into a few paragraphs.
Hang on, let us pee first.
Okay, now we're ready.
Who's Got the Power?
Paul is really concerned with issues of authority. Mainly, who has the authority to lead a church? Who really speaks for God? And who gets to tell everyone what to do?
Naturally, Paul sees himself in this position. He also discusses at length how you can tell if someone was truly sent by God or if they're just faking it:
- Real apostles are honest to a fault (2 Corinthians 1:12).
- Real apostles spread the word of God and convince others to go along (2 Corinthians 3:1-4).
- Real apostles don't brag about themselves all the time (1 Corinthians 2:3-5).
- Real apostles suffer. A lot (2 Corinthians 11:23).
- If you're a real Christian, you'll know a real apostle when you see one (1 Corinthians 14:37-38).
Of course, Paul fits all these categories very nicely (or at least he thinks he fits them very nicely). That gives him the right to speak for God on earth and to instruct the church in the things God has told him. Whoa. That's some pretty major authority right there.
Weakness Is Strength and Other Mind-Benders
So Paul thinks that real apostles suffer. And he doesn't just mean they get a lot of blisters from their travels. Paul is talking torture, beatings, starvation, arrest, and near beheadings (and, eventually, not-so-near beheadings). You know, the good stuff.
His basic point is that if you're willing to put yourself through all that, then you must be the real deal. If apostleship were all flowers and rainbows and magical visions of God, then everyone would do it. But the job description includes lots of grueling conditions that only a select few can withstand. The true apostles are the ones that don't wimp out or shy away from the tough stuff God wants them to do. See Jesus on the cross if you need more examples.
Not only suffering does an apostle make. Weakness is also a mark of a man who's been sent from God. Paul tells us over and over again how much he sucks at preaching and how ineffective his words are compared to some of the flashier public speakers into town. Yet somehow, he still manages to convince mass amounts of people to follow Christ. It's definitely not because he's so suave and smooth, so it must be because God is speaking and working through him. Apostle status confirmed!
We're All in This Together
Once Paul establishes he's a bona fide man of God, it's time for him to move onto his second favorite topic—togetherness. Paul is big on the idea that Christians are all in this together. Selfishness is a pet peeve of his. He uses the metaphor of the body to explain how Christians must work together in order to survive and honor God. After all, a foot can't go walking off on its own. It needs the legs and muscles to make any kind of headway.
The majority of his advice for the church is based around this principle:
- It's not nice to sue other Christians (1 Corinthians 6:1-8). People don't usually like someone who takes them to court.
- If the food you're eating hurts other people, then don't eat it (1 Corinthians 8:9-13). Paul hates hurt feelings.
- At communion time, make sure every gets a taste (1 Corinthians 11:18-34). Sharing is caring.
- Don't everyone speak in tongues all at once (1 Corinthians 14:26-31). It's just rude.
- Got some extra money? Then give to those in need (2 Corinthians 8:13-15). And look sharp about it!
Resurrection of the Body
The one big theological point that Paul harps on in these two letters is the resurrection of the body during the apocalypse:
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)
It seems that some Corinthian Christian doubted that this whole resurrection thing was going to happen. This could be because they were influenced by the Greek idea that the body was nothing compared to the soul. Who would want a boring, wrinkly old body in Heaven anyhow? Or it could be because they just thought the idea was just a little wacky.
Whatever the reason, Paul is fighting mad about this. According to this guy, our bodies are definitely going get resurrected. If not, we're all going look pretty stupid for following Jesus and then getting nothing out of it. Why is this going to happen? Because Jesus' body rose again with him after he died. Why would God do that for Jesus and not for us?
Paul admits that he doesn't really know what are bodies are going to look like when they're raised. Hopefully we won't be like skeleton or zombie versions of ourselves. He explains that we will have a "spiritual body," but that it will be a body nonetheless. Our perishable bodies won't be able to go into the realm of the imperishable (i.e., Heaven), but we'll get something better. Shmoop is personally hoping that God makes our hair a little shinier.
Apocalypse Very, Very Soon
Speaking of the end of the world, Paul thought it was going happen. Soon. He keeps dropping hints to it in his letters. Don't judge others, the world is gonna end soon. Don't sin, the world is gonna end soon. Don't bother getting married, the world is gonna end soon. And be sure that, when the world actually comes to an end, you know where your towel is.
This view was pretty typical of Christians in the early church. They believed that Jesus had promised he'd come back and finish righting the wrongs in the world (mainly the wrongs done to Christians). Just look at the Book of Revelation if you don't believe us. The heavens open up, plagues rain down, and God takes back what is rightfully his (read: the world).
They were off by at least 2,000 years. But, hey, no one's perfect.