Week # 28 Study Page

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Acts 21-28
1st Corinthians (1-16)

About the Book(s)

Acts

Date of Authorship: Acts is written very shortly after the Gospel of Luke in the mid-to-late 60's AD.

Author: Luke is the author of Acts. Luke was a companion of Paul on his second and third missionary Journey, and he was also present for Paul's arrest, trial, and trip to Rome which we'll be reading this week.

Purpose: Like the Gospel of Luke, this volume is also addressed to "Theophilus." The primary purpose of Acts is to give account to the spread of the Church from Jerusalem to the very ends of the earth as made clear by Jesus' words to his disciples which serve as a thesis for the book of Acts in Acts:1:8: "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

1st Corinthians

Date of Authorship: 1st Corinthians was written while Paul was on his third missionary journey, specifically during his 3-year stay in the city of Ephesus (see map above). It was written early in the year of 55 AD. We are able to arrive at this date using Paul's own words in 1st Corinthians 16:8, and because of we have extra-Biblical sources to date the Gallio's Proconsulship of Achaia (Acts 18:12) very accurately giving us an anchor by which to date the travels of Paul in Acts with a high degree of certainty.

Author: Paul is the author of 1st Corinthians, as he makes clear in 1:1. The listed co-author of this book is named "Sosthenes," who we know little about. It is hard to know whether this Sostehnes is the same one mentioned in Acts 18:17, who was a synagogue leader behind the unsuccessful prosecution of Paul during his first visit to Corinth. If they are indeed the same person, it is a powerful testimony to the transformational power of the Gospel

Purpose: We'll discuss the occasion for the book of 1st Corinthians in greater detail below. Paul had ministered in Corinth for 18 months in the year of 51 AD. Now, nearly 4 years latter, he writes to them because they had not grasped how the theology of the cross not only constitutes the basis of our salvation, but also and inevitably teaches us how to live and serve - and such teaching is in radical contradistinction to a world dominated by self-promotion, social climbing, and pleasure-seeking.

As You Read Notes

Acts 24-26: Paul's trial

Paul is arrested in Jerusalem and essentially rescued from the Jews by the Roman judicial system. In Act 23:31-33, Paul is transported, in secret and under-guard, to Caesarea. Caesarea was the preeminent roman city in Palestine, even though it is located in Israel, this city had a thoroughly Roman culture. Paul is imprisoned there for two years, and is repeatedly brought to trial by various Roman officials.

Felix - Is the first official that Paul appears before, he is the Roman procurator of Judea. Felix leaves Paul in prison as a sort of middle-ground, as the Jews wanted him handed over to be executed. Under Felix, Paul remains imprisoned for nearly two years. Felix's wife is Drusilla (she is actually the second of three wives - and she famously died in Pompeii, in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius )

Tertullus - is a Jewish lawyer in the service of the high priest Ananaias who comes to levy charges against Paul during his trial before Felix in Caesarea

Festus - Succeeds Felix as the Roman procurator of Judea, Upon taking the position, Festus travels to Jerusalem and hears the charges against Paul presented by the Jewish authorities. He then returns to Caesarea and hears Paul's defense. It is before Festus that Paul appeals to Caesar (his right as a Roman citizen), prompting his change of venue to the city of Rome.

Agrippa - is a Herod, the Idumean ruler given authority as a type of governor in Judea, and especially Jerusalem by the romans. This Agrippa in Acts 25 is actually Herod Agrippa II* the Son of Herod Agrippa I who is a key character in Acts 12 - where his death is recorded. Agrippa comes to pay respects to Festus (Agrippa's Roman superior) with Bernice, who is both Agrippa's sister, and Agrippa's lover. Festus trots out Paul before Agrippa before sending Paul on his way to Rome.

Acts 27: Paul's journey to Rome

Paul had an incredibly trying journey to Rome. He was being transported under Roman guard with other prisoners. After getting a larger ship in Myra and ignoring Paul's advise to winter in Crete, the ship that Paul was on was knocked off course and ran aground on a Island (Malta) which they did not recognize. We often think of this story when Paul is recounting a list of trials that he has endured for the sake of the Gospel in 2nd Corinthians 11:25 when he says that "three times i was shipwrecked" but 2nd Corinthians was written before* Paul was imprisoned, making this at-least the fourth time that Paul was shipwrecked on his missionary journeys.

Recently, an American investigator, Bob Cornuke believes that he has found the anchors dropped by Paul's ship on their approach to Malta, and there is a fun video that you can watch about his discoveries at this link:

http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2010/february/searching-for-pauls-shipwreck-on-malta

Acts 28:31: Paul's fate in Rome

Luke's account of Paul's ministry ends with a tenor of success. Regardless of how he got there, Paul was in Rome freely proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. it is a fitting end to Luke's account of the early Church which intentionally traces its expansion from Jerusalem to "the very ends of the earth." Once the Gospel arrives in Rome, it will have effectively reached the entire world; 'all roads lead to Rome.' so what happened to Paul?

Paul arrived in Rome as a prisoner in 60 AD. While some (a minority) think that Paul was executed at the end of his two-year imprisonment mentioned in Acts 28:30, there are good early church accounts which associate Paul's death with Nero's persecution of Christians in 64-65 AD. Furthermore, there are a number of good reasons to date the writing of all three of Paul's pastoral epistles (1st & 2nd Timothy, Titus, & Philemon) to a period of time after Paul's first Imprisonment in Rome. Almost certainly then, Paul was released from this first Roman imprisonment for a period of further ministry, only to be re-imprisoned (2nd Timothy) and executed during the persecution of Nero two or three years later.

Occasion of 1st Corinthians

Paul had spent 18 months ministering in Corinth and founding the Church there during his second missionary journey, before turning back to return to Jerusalem and then Antioch. he wrote this letter four years later, while ministering just across the Aegean Sea, in Ephesus. In the intervening years, others had come to build on the foundation that Paul had laid in Corinth; among them were Apollos (who we learn about in Acts 18) and Peter. Paul learns of some issues in the Corinthian Church that had to be addressed in a letter. Paul learns of these issues from a letter from Chloe's household (1st Corinthians 1:11) and likely also personally from Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus (1st Corinthians 16:17) who had come to him in Ephesus to deliver a gift from the Corinthian Church - likely a contribution to the money that Paul was raising for the brothers in the Jerusalem Church.

This artifact is believed to be the lintel of a doorway and the inscription reads (Synagogue of the Hebrews).  It was discovered in the roman city of Corinth and dates to the first-century AD.  It is likely that Paul walked under this very… — This artifact is believed to be the lintel of a doorway and the inscription reads (Synagogue of the Hebrews). It was discovered in the roman city of Corinth and dates to the first-century AD. It is likely that Paul walked under this very rock to teach in the Corinthian Synagogue in Acts 18. for more on this artifact, you can click here:
http://holylandphotos.org/browse.asp?s=1,4,11,28,74,95&img=GSPLCO02

Corinth was an Ancient and Wealthy city in Greece, but it had been sacked and utterly destroyed in the Roman conquest of 146 BC. After this catastrophe, the city lied in ruins for over a century. Caesar founded the city afresh, and from 29 BC on it served as the capitol of Achaia. The new city was populated by people from various parts of the empire. Many of them were freedmen from Rome whose status was only a cut above slaves (According to Carson and Moo in An Introduction to the New Testament, p.420). The fact that most of the residents of Corinth belong to this lowly social class is why Paul is able to say:

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. (1st Corinthians 1:26)

The city also had a significant Jewish population as evidenced by the account of Acts 18, and the artifact above belonging to a Jewish synagoge in Corinth from the time of Paul.

1st Corinthians 4: Piety Corrected

Pride, status, and boasting are a huge issue for the Corinthian Church (see also 2nd Corinthians 10-13), and Paul spends much of his epistle addressing it. some in the Corinthian Church were going beyond the commands of scripture and the New Covenant in the area of piety so that they could consider themselves as having a greater devotion to God than those who do not. This practice centered around following one particular evangelist over another (between Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter)) Paul confronts this practice by telling them:

Do not go beyond what is written (1st Corinthians 4:6).

Paul follows this instruction by an example of true piety in 4:11-13. The measure of your Christian faith is not a matter of what sect you belong to or even which arbitrary/minor rules you follow (also see 1 cor 8:8), but a matter of how hard you work and how much you suffer for the Gospel. When I read of 1st Corinthians, i think of the American Church's experience, both past and present with the issue of piety, and I'm concerned that we possess many of the Corinthian impulses that Paul is trying to correct. Imagine an American Christianity that is defined not by what we don't do and the rules that we follow, but by the hope that we proclaim and our self-sacrificial acts of humble service. I'm suspicious that American Christianity is often too fixated on being the best* Christian (by obeying the most rules - many of them with non-existent or extrapolated Biblical support) , causing us to neglect the truly meaningful purpose of our lives in the Gospel - service and proclamation. Sure - there is a certain way to live according to the Bible, things we can and can not do, but the fixation of God's word is on the life beyond compliance to these requirements, to the greater mission of announcing and establishing the inaugurated Kingdom of God through the resurrected Christ. Not a life of guilt, but a life of purpose and of love.

1st Corinthians 11:5: Head Covering for Women

Take a look at this passage from 1st Corinthians 11:5-6

"every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head."

Paul is - in this section of the Epistle - writing to establish order and right-conduct in the Corinthian worship service. He addresses speaking in tongues, the serving of the Lord's Supper, and also head-coverings. Head-coverings in 1st century roman culture were the mark of a married woman in public (Lowery, David K. “1 Corinthians.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985). Paul here argues that the liberty taken by some Corinthian women in their worship service who were removing their head covering was bringing shame to the Corinthian Church - the same kind of shame that a woman with a shaved head would have in that culture (11:6). later in this section we see Paul giving attention to the impression that a visitor would get from the Corinthian worship service (1st Corinthians 14:23-25). I believe that the same dynamic is at play here. As Robert Utley points out: "A woman flaunting herself in this manner would have publicly shamed her husband and given the wrong impression about the church." (Robert James Utley, Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians, vol. Volume 6, Study Guide Commentary Series (Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International, 2002), 129.) . Paul's message is that the Christian gospel brings order and propriety, not disorder and impropriety - a very similar message to the one in his letter to Titus. Because this tradition of public head covering is no longer a symbol of order or propriety in our society, we do not practice this culturally-specific instruction.

Week 28 Study Page - Acts 21-28, 1st Corinthians (1-16)

Week # 28 Study Page

Acts 21-28
1st Corinthians (1-16)

Suggested Daily Reading Breakdown:

About the Book(s)