The Morality Of Paul's Converts

by Freed,Edwin D.

• ISBN13: 9781845530228
• ISBN10: 1845530225
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-08-08
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

A careful analysis of the texts of Paul's letters shows that in every church there were two main groups of converts: those who were haptized and those being instruted for baptism. Baptized converts became members of a renewed covenant community of God from which persons who continued to sin were expelled. Paul was always after he became a member of the the group of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Consequently, his primary message of Gentiles was faithfulness toward God, along with the moral probity of those who believe. Paul eventually developed beliefs about Jesus the Messiah as the Son of God and Lord, in order to win Gentile converts to faithfulness toward God. Being made righteous, the original meaning of Paul's word usually translated as 'justified, ' brings out the depth of Paul's emphasis on the morality of converts.

Author Biography

Edwin D. Freed is Emeritus Professor of Religion, Gettysburg College, having taught biblical studies for thirty-six years.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xv
Abbreviations	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
Paul the Jew and Jewish Influence on his Ideas	p. 1
Paul and the Author of the Fourth Gospel	p. 2
Judaism and Christianity	p. 4
Paul and Jesus the Messiah (Christ)	p. 4
Hebrew Covenantal Ideas	p. 5
God and his People, the Hebrews	p. 6
Covenantal Ideas and the Members of Paul's Churches	p. 8
The Community at Qumran	p. 11
Entrance into the Community or Covenant	p. 11
Living within the Community	p. 12
Baptism	p. 14
Vindication from Sins	p. 15
Organization of the Community	p. 16
Summary and Observations	p. 17
The Renewed Covenant Community of God	p. 19
'Church(es)', according to Paul	p. 19
Assemblies Set Apart as Communities of God	p. 21
How Paul Addresses Members of the Assemblies	p. 21
Not as Christians	p. 21
Brothers	p. 22
Communities of Brothers: Brotherhoods	p. 23
Those Who Believe or Believers	p. 24
Holy Ones	p. 25
Called or Chosen	p. 26
Clarification and a Preview of Life within the Renewed Community	p. 27
Baptism: The Rite of Entrance into the Renewed Community	p. 31
1 Corinthians 6.9-11	p. 31
Paul's Use of Hagiazo	p. 32
Paul's Use of Dikaioo	p. 33
Use of Dikaioo in 1 Corinthians 4.4	p. 34
Use of Dikaiosune	p. 36
Romans 6	p. 37
The Symbolism of Baptism	p. 39
Paul on Baptism and Christians Today	p. 41
Preparation for Baptism and Moral Life	p. 43
Didache ('Teaching')	p. 43
Baptism and the Salvation of Converts	p. 47
1 Thessalonians: The Place to Begin	p. 50
Polytheism, Antithesis of Paul's Theology and Moral Teachings	p. 50
Believers and what They Believed	p. 51
Faithfulness toward God	p. 51
Faithfulness toward God and Receiving the Spirit	p. 54
Spirit of God or Spirit of Christ?	p. 56
Faithfulness toward God and Beliefs about Jesus	p. 58
The Morality of Paul and Converts	p. 60
Determining Different Groups of Believers at Thessalonica	p. 62
The Case for Leaders or Presiding Persons	p. 63
The Leaders and Other Believers	p. 64
The Mood of the Letter	p. 66
The Mood of the Letter and Role of the Leaders	p. 67
The Challenge to Be Blameless in Holiness	p. 69
Paul's Ideas of Forgiveness and Those of the Author of Hebrews	p. 72
1 Thessalonians: The Place to Begin, Continued	p. 74
Work of the Leaders and Purpose of the Letter	p. 74
Instructions for the Unbaptized Group	p. 75
Called for Holiness of Life	p. 76
Faithfulness Is More than Belief	p. 78
Becoming Worthy of the Kingdom of God	p. 79
Imitate Paul's Behavior	p. 80
Paul Defends his Own Behavior	p. 81
Paul Pleases God, not Humans	p. 81
Further Instructions for Unbaptized Converts	p. 82
Refrain from Illicit Sexual Activity	p. 83
Men and their Sex Life	p. 84
Love of Brothers	p. 84
'Those on the Inside' and 'Those on the Outside'	p. 86
Instructions Specifically for the Leaders	p. 90
Concerning Brothers Who Have Died	p. 90
Concerning Those Who Cause Problems	p. 92
The Ataktoi	p. 92
The Oligopsychoi	p. 93
The Astheneis	p. 93
Final Exhortations to the Leaders and Prayer	p. 95
Converts as Moral Persons in an Idolatrous, Immoral World	p. 96
1 and 2 Corinthians: Morality Comes to an Immoral City (1 Corinthians 1-6)	p. 98
Polytheism in the City of Corinth	p. 98
Determining the Groups of Believers	p. 99
Where to Begin	p. 99
A Letter Fragment in 2 Corinthians 6.14-7.1	p. 100
The Converts Addressed in 1 Corinthians 5.9-13	p. 101
'Those on the Inside' and 'Those on the Outside'	p. 102
Groups of Believers in the Brotherhood at Corinth	p. 103
Paul's Greeting (1 Corinthians 1.1-3)	p. 103
Called to Be Holy Ones	p. 104
The Baptized Group, including the Leaders	p. 104
Paul's Thanksgiving (1 Corinthians 1.4-9)	p. 104
Being in Christ	p. 104
God Responsible for the Status of Being in Christ	p. 106
Being in Christ and 'Christian'	p. 109
Behavior of the Leaders	p. 110
The Group with Differences over Baptism and Wisdom	p. 111
Baptism	p. 112
Wisdom	p. 112
Paul's Relationship with his Converts	p. 114
Conclusion with Respect to Baptism and Wisdom	p. 115
The Group with the Immoral Man	p. 116
Punishment of the Sex Offender	p. 116
Paul's Concern for the Morality of All	p. 117
Analogy from the Jewish Passover	p. 118
Instructions for the Leaders Personally	p. 119
Paul and the Community at Qumran	p. 120
Brothers Going to Law against Brothers	p. 121
The Group for Whom Anything Goes	p. 122
From the Moral Standpoint	p. 123
From the Theological Standpoint	p. 124
Summary and Conclusion	p. 125
1 and 2 Corinthians: Morality Comes to an Immoral City (1 Corinthians 7-11)	p. 127
Instructions for the Unbaptized Group	p. 127
'Concerning the Things about Which You Wrote'	p. 128
Family Matters	p. 128
Marriage and Sex	p. 129
Why not to Marry	p. 130
Divorce	p. 130
Children from Mixed Marriages	p. 132
Ethnic Distinctions	p. 133
Eating Meats Offered to Idols and Idolatry	p. 134
Respect for Another's Conscience	p. 134
Paul as a Jew and Jewish Law	p. 135
Entole and Entolai	p. 137
Romans 7.8-13; 13.8-10	p. 137
1 Corinthians 7.19; 14.37	p. 138
Dikaioma and Dikaiomata	p. 138
Romans 1.28-32	p. 139
Romans 2.25-29	p. 139
Romans 5.16-21	p. 141
Romans 8.1-4	p. 142
Observations and Summary	p. 143
Paul's Language	p. 145
1 Corinthians 9.21, Again	p. 146
Warning against Idolatry and Other Evils	p. 147
A Moral Lesson from the Israelites in the Desert	p. 147
Idolatry and the Lord's Supper	p. 149
Another Group for Whom Anything Goes	p. 150
Converts at Worship	p. 151
Converts and the Lord's Supper	p. 152
Social Distinctions at the Supper	p. 153
Behavior at the Supper	p. 153
The Supper as a Remembrance of Jesus	p. 154
The Supper as a New Covenant	p. 154
Condemnation for Improper Behavior	p. 155
1 and 2 Corinthians: Morality Comes to an Immoral City (1 Corinthians 12-16)	p. 158
Review	p. 158
Instructions for Baptized Converts	p. 159
'Concerning Spiritual Gifts'	p. 159
Converts' Worship Different from Paganism	p. 160
Spirit Effective for Individuals and for the Assembly	p. 161
Love, a Way of Extraordinary Quality	p. 162
Speaking in Tongues and Prophesying	p. 162
Moral and Spiritual Upbuilding	p. 162
Neophytes or Amateurs (Idiotes)	p. 163
Prophecy Preferred over Tongues	p. 165
Paul and the Sect at Qumran	p. 166
Visitors at Worship	p. 166
Emphasis on God	p. 167
The Stone of Stumbling (Romans 9.32-33)	p. 168
Belief that Jesus is Lord	p. 170
Peace and Order in the Assembly at Corinth	p. 174
A Possible Interpolation	p. 176
The Resurrection of the Dead	p. 177
Effectiveness of Christ's Death and Resurrection	p. 178
Instructions for the Whole Brotherhood or Assembly	p. 179
Be Alert and Steadfast	p. 180
1 and 2 Corinthians: Morality Comes to an Immoral City (2 Corinthians 10-13)	p. 182
The Corinthian Correspondence	p. 182
Group of Believers according to 2 Corinthians 10-13	p. 183
Baptized Converts, Especially the Leaders	p. 183
Three Passages Provide the Clue	p. 183
Leaders to Test Themselves	p. 185
Paul Defends Himself against his Adversaries	p. 187
Living 'according to the Flesh'	p. 187
Charges against Paul as a Person	p. 189
Paul's Qualifications as an Apostle	p. 190
Excursus: Obedience and Authority	p. 193
1 and 2 Corinthians: Morality Comes to an Immoral City (2 Corinthians 1-9)	p. 198
Groups of Believers according to 2 Corinthians 1-9	p. 198
Key Passages	p. 198
Instructions for the Leaders	p. 200
Paul's Thanksgiving	p. 200
Why Paul Did not Visit Corinth	p. 201
Instructions for 'All of You'	p. 201
Paul and the Brotherhood at Corinth	p. 202
The Renewed Covenant Community	p. 203
The Transformation of the Body	p. 205
Baptized Converts as New Creations	p. 207
God Responsible for the New Beings	p. 208
The Righteousness of God	p. 208
The Collection for the Poor Holy Ones in Jerusalem	p. 210
Giving and Sharing as Service	p. 210
Galatians: The Morality of Faithfulness, the Spirit, and Jewish Law	p. 212
The Problem in the Churches of Galatia	p. 212
For Jews in General	p. 213
For Paul Himself	p. 213
For Gentiles	p. 213
For Paul and Other Jewish Converts	p. 214
Paul's Response to the Judaizing Problem	p. 215
Works of the Law	p. 216
Paul's Own Religious Experience	p. 218
Galatians 2.20-21	p. 218
Crucified with Christ	p. 219
Living in Christ	p. 219
'Save' and 'Salvation' in Paul	p. 220
Salvation in Paul Compared with John	p. 222
Salvation in Paul Compared with Ephesians and Colossians	p. 223
Repentance and Forgiveness according to Paul	p. 226
Review and Preview	p. 229
Galatians: The Morality of Faithfulness, the Spirit, and Jewish Law, Continued	p. 232
Groups of Believers in Galatia	p. 232
Instructions for the Unbaptized Group	p. 233
Paul's Salutation (Galatians 1.1-5)	p. 233
'Another Gospel' (Galatians 1.6-10)	p. 234
Instructions for the Baptized Group	p. 235
The Basis of Paul's Apostleship	p. 235
Paul Defends his Position	p. 236
Abraham's Example of Faithfulness	p. 238
Righteousness through Faithfulness toward God	p. 238
Abraham's True Posterity	p. 240
Instructions for the Unbaptized Converts	p. 242
Circumcision, the Law, and Freedom in Christ	p. 242
Living by the Spirit and Freedom	p. 244
Final Reminder to Baptized Converts	p. 247
Philippians: Moral Life is Complete	p. 250
The Unity and Tone of the Letter	p. 250
The Brotherhood at Philippi	p. 251
Paul's Satisfaction with the Converts	p. 251
Paul's Idea of Sacrifice, the Scriptures, and Qumran	p. 253
Groups of Believers at Philippi	p. 253
The Larger Group, Those not Leaders	p. 254
Salutation of the Letter (Philippians 1.1-2)	p. 254
Paul's Prayer for All the Holy Ones (Philippians 1.3-11)	p. 255
Paul's Imprisonment and its Effects	p. 257
The Pauline Moral Ideal	p. 258
Instruction Especially for the Leaders	p. 260
Autobiographical: Paul's Religious Experience	p. 260
Being Imitators of Paul	p. 263
Final Exhortations	p. 264
Conclusion	p. 265
What Paul Does not Say	p. 265
Paul and the Scriptures	p. 265
Endnotes	p. 267
Bibliography	p. 283
Index of References	p. 313
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