I CORINTHIANS: INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY STRUCTURE

This post is abstracted from a longer paper found in my unpublished book The Structure of Scripture. I will send the unedited analysis to anyone requesting it. You may contact me at: elmerphd21@hotmail.com.

Literary Assessment

Unlike the more systematic epistle to the Romans, Paul’s first Corinthian letter is, in Fee’s words, “an occasional, ad hoc response to the situation.” Since the bulk of this correspondence consists of answers to inquiries and reports from Corinth, it seems perfectly reasonable to agree with Grosheide’s assessment: “The contents of the epistle are determined by the communications Paul received and by the questions proposed to him.” This possibility must be factored into any discussion of overall composition.

The second item to consider is the apparently haphazard manner in which even individual subjects are discussed. Some representative comments given below will suffice to illustrate the effect Paul has had upon students of this letter:

“Critical scholarship...has highlighted the disjointed literary quality of its composition. It is fully clear that I Corinthians does not offer an artistically constructed theological tractate.”

“ Paul’s thought in this letter seems to come in fits and starts.”

“ Paul’s mercurial mind often outran the literary orderliness of which he was capable.”

Much of above negative assessments can be attributed to a lack of understanding the literary technique utilized by Paul throughout this letter: the ABA form.

Even if it were not for the definite switches in subject that occur throughout I Corinthians, many of the section limits could be delineated rather easily due to the marker phrase “Now concerning,” which signals the beginning of each response by Paul to a new inquiry by the Corinthian church. In addition, I Corinthians 11:2-34 and ch. 15, which appear to deal with separate subjects not directly prompted by a letter from that church, both start and end with addresses to the “brethren.”

The literary organization of the book diagrammed in Fig. 1 utilizes most of the commonly accepted divisions. Sections IIIA, IIIB, IIIB', and IIIA' are all composed of ABA sub-units.

Figure 1: The Structure of I Corinthians

I. Opening Greetings (1:1-3)

II. General Admonitions (1:4-6:20)

A. The spiritual man (1:4-3:15)

B. Immorality and judgmental attitude condemned (3:16-6:20)

III. Responses to Corinthian Questions (7:1-16:12)

A. Marriage (7:1-40)

                                            B. Pagan Worship (8:1-11:1)

                                                    C. Church Practices (11:2-34)

                                            B'. Use of Spiritual Gifts (chs. 12-14)

                                                    C'. The Resurrection (ch. 15)

                                    A'. Contributions and Visits (16:1-12)

II'. General Admonitions (16:13-18)

B. Stand fast in the faith; Do all in love (16:13-14)

A. Respect spiritual leaders (16:15-18)

I'. Final Greetings (16:19-24)

If Fig. 1 fairly represents the intended structure of I Corinthians, it can be seen that the center of the epistle falls between the end of ch. 11 and the start of ch. 12. There are several pieces of evidence supporting this observation:

a. This letter was partly prompted by reports of internal divisions in the Corinthian church, a situation discussed first in 1:10-12 and last appearing in 11:18-19, nearly bracketing the first half of the epistle. An even clearer verbal inclusio for the first half is the appearance of the phrase “the church of God” at 1:2 and 11:22.

b. Similarly, the word anathema appears at the start (12:3) and finish (16:22) of the second half of the composition, both times in a context of one’s attitude toward the Lord. Another inclusio for the last half of the book is seen in the references to the Second Coming in 11:26 and 16:22.

Sections I (1:1-3) and I' (16:19-24)

Besides the similar nature of these brief bookend sections as greetings, they share common vocabulary: “in Christ Jesus,” “grace,” “saint/holy,” “church.” The first example should somewhat modify Orr and Walthier’s general pronouncement that “no special significance attaches to the order or inclusion of words in the titles” for Jesus in the epistle.

Section II (1:4-6:20)

The overall unity of this large section in terms of common ideas and shared vocabulary is unquestioned although it appears to consist of two sub-units. For one thing, the seven occurrences of the related phrases “this age/world” in I Corinthians all appear here. The major question is where the subdivisions should be located. Figures 1 and 2 attempt to give the answer.

Figure 2: The Structure of Section IIA

1. The spiritual man (1:4-9)

2. Quarreling and factions (1:10-16)

3. Paul’s preaching was not eloquent (1:17)

4. Wisdom and folly (1:18-31)

3'. Paul’s preaching was not eloquent (2:1-5)

1'. The spiritual man (2:6-16)

2'. Quarreling and factions (3:1-15)

With such a division, exactly 21 (7x3) of the 26 appearances of “wise/wisdom” in Section II are now incorporated into the first sub-unit A. This division of verses also yields exactly seven usages of “word” in IIA as well as an inclusio at 1:4 and 3:10 with the phrase “grace of God given you/me.” Several of the sub-units in IIA begin with the telltale marker word “brethren.”

There are especially strong parallels between units 2 and 2', including the key word “strife” and the following phrases:

“Each one of you says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos.'” (1:12)

“One says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ and another, ‘I belong to Apollos.'” (3:4)

“Is Christ divided: Was Paul crucified for you?” (1:13)

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul?” (3:5a)

In each section Paul explains his limited role in the process of building God’s church (see 1:14-17; 3:5b-9).

In both units 3 and 3', there is the same general connection between “wisdom” and “words” (1:17; 2:4) and a reference to Paul’s lack of persuasive speech. Beale and Gladd note that Paul almost always uses the title Christ or Jesus Christ when mentioning the cross, as in 1:17 and 2:2.

Figure 3: The Structure of Section IIB

1. The body as God’s temple (3:16-23)

2. The Corinthians judge the Apostles (4:1-21)

3. Judging immorality in the church (5:1-5)

4. Corinthians’ boasting (5:6-8)

3'. Judging immorality in the church (5:9-13)

2'. The Corinthians go to pagan judges (6:1-8)

1'. The body as God’s temple (6:9-20)

The most powerful argument for starting IIB with 3:16 is that such a division results in all eight examples of the key phrase “do you not know?” in Section II being placed in this sub-unit, where some of the instances serve as an inclusio for the whole (at 3:16 and 6:19) as well as for the last unit 1' (at 6:9 and 6:19).

Many commentators have stressed the fact that the figure of speech used in units 1 and 1' actually refers to two different situations. In the first instance, the body is a metaphor for the church while in the second passage it refers to individual Christians. However, this difference does not negate the parallel relationship proposed in Fig. 3. Instead, it may be viewed as another example of an ABA structure in which the last “A” section is a more specific example of the general situation spelled out in the opening unit. Grosheide, who treats these two passages as unrelated, nevertheless remarks that both conclude with the statement “You are Christ’s” which “imposes obligations and demands subjection to the law of God. Believers may not live as they choose, for of themselves they are nothing.” He also notes that the sections labeled 1 and 1' are two examples of Paul ending a warning or argument with a positive conclusion. A more specific parallel uniting these sections is found in the warnings that open each of these units:

“Let no one deceive himself.” (3:18a)

            "Do not be deceived.” (6:9b)

Sections II (1:4-6:20) and II' (16:13-18)

These widely separated literary units are similar in that they consist of a series of general admonitions. The two subsections of each are paired in a mirror image fashion (see Fig. 1) so that II'A (“I urge you to be subject to such men and to every fellow worker and laborer.”–16:16) summarizes the lengthy argument regarding church divisions and crisis of leadership found in Section IIA, where the similar phrase occurs: “I urge you to put yourself at the service of such people and of everyone who works and toils with them.” References to the “household of Stephanas” appear in both these units (1:16; 16:15), and it has been suggested that the specific members of the Corinthian church listed in 1:11 and 16:17 were the main sources for Paul's information regarding the church's growing divisiveness. In a similar manner, the dual command in II'B to be firm in the faith and do all in love addresses both the immorality and legal squabbles that are the main themes of IIB.

The remaining section divisions and parallel relationships pictured in Fig. 1 can be similarly defended.

Overall Theme

Any survey of the literature will show that a number of proposed major theme(s) to this epistle have been proposed. It is instructive to test several of these in relation to the proposed structure.

Fee holds that the Corinthians’ conception of their own spiritual wisdom and knowledge is being addressed by Paul throughout the epistle. He bases this idea loosely on structural grounds: the presence of “if anyone thinks that he/she is...” in each of the three largest sections of the book. However, these sections, in the scheme of Fig. I, have no special structural prominence. Orr and Walthier treat the whole first major section (1:10-4:21) as setting forth all the principles Paul will use in the rest of the epistle in dealing with the Corinthians’ problems and questions. The themes and ideas in the first part of the book are certainly important, but structural analysis does not seem to give them any premier position. The same is true of Mitchell's contention that Paul's appeal to church unity in 1:10 expresses the central theme of the epistle.

Orr and Walthier state that the discussion on the resurrection in ch. 15 is the climax to the book. There is certainly support for this contention in the structure developed above. The large center section III of the epistle moves toward two parallel conclusions in sections C and C', the latter corresponding to ch. 15. It would be hard to argue from this basis alone, however, that this chapter is more important to Paul than Section C with its pronouncements concerning the Lord’s Supper.

Fee also observes that the use of the phrase “in Christ Jesus” at the start (1:1-2) and end (16:24) of the letter reminds the Corinthians of the basis of their common life. It highlights the tension between what they are and what they need to become. These passages occur in sections I and I', units beginning and ending a chiasm with no clear-cut center and therefore they are of prime emphasis from a literary point of view.

In addition to the framework sections of the epistle and the two “C” units in Section III, the other logical places to expect major points of emphasis in I Corinthians are in the various center units of the ABA arrangements throughout the letter. It is here that one finds the essay contrasting the wisdom of God with the world’s wisdom, Paul’s desire to “become all things to all people,” and the great Love Chapter. In these passages especially, the letter transcends the temporal concerns prompting the original composition and speaks to us strongly today.