June 17: The Epistles Part 2 – “Here & Now”

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4: 1-6 TNIV

Last week we started our work with different types of Biblical texts, beginning with the epistles. We’re using the epistles as a starting point to get our minds around two key questions in interpreting Scripture:

• What did it mean to them? – then & there

Exegesis: Careful, systematic study of Scripture to discover the original, intended meaning. It is the attempt to hear the Word as the original recipients were to have heard it, to find out what was the original intent of the words of the Bible.

• What does it mean to us? – here & now

Hermeneutics: Normally covers the whole field of interpretation, including exegesis, but is also used in the narrower sense of seeking the contemporary relevance of ancient texts

We reviewed from last week some basic approaches to common sense exegesis of the epistles, and some important points about their form:

• Read for the big picture, read in one sitting, read in paragraphs – try to follow and frame the overall message
• Put some structure around the context and the content:
• Recipients – what does the text tell us about them?
• The writer’s tone, language, attitude toward recipients – how does he talk to them?
• Occasion – what prompted the letter?
• The letter’s natural divisions – what’s the structure of the writer’s message, the overall flow and thrust of the argument?

• Occasional nature of the epistles – They were called forth or “occasioned” by some special circumstance from either the reader’s side or the author’s side. Usually they were:

• Some kind of behavior that needed correcting
• Doctrinal error that needed setting straight
• Misunderstanding that needed further light

• Task theology - not first of all theological treatises, nor are they summaries of Paul’s or Peter’s theology. There is theology implied, but it is always theology being brought to bear on the task at hand.

As we review the “then & there” of I Corinthians, it’s particularly important to recognize the larger issues that span the specifics – the confusion and wrong attitudes about being spiritual and living as a spiritual community. Paul’s response is to frame his specific answers within the context of “Christ crucified.”

Now we turn our attention to the “here and now,” and our objective is to discuss some of the challenges and issues of applying the epistles, and some guidelines to help us.

We should start with recognizing that we all practice hermeneutics – we bring our enlightened common sense to the text and apply what we can to our situation. What does not seem to apply is left in the first century.

• Most of the matters in the Epistles fit pretty well into this common sense approach. In Paul’s letters to Timothy, we clearly see “when you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas” is not a command for us to pilgrimage, while “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” does apply to us.

• Our problems and differences lie in those texts that lie somewhere in between these examples, where some believe we should obey exactly what’s stated and others aren’t so sure. Our interpretation/application difficulties with these texts are many, but they are all related to inconsistency.

We bring our theological heritage, our church traditions, our cultural norms, our current circumstances to the texts - and this leads to all sorts of inconsistency, selectivity or “getting around” texts.

For example, in many churches women are forbidden to speak in worship on the basis of I Corinthians 14:34-35; yet in many of the same churches almost everything else in Chapter 14 is argued against as not belonging to the 21^st century. Why are verses 34-35 taken for all time, while verses 1-5, 26-33, 39-40, which give regulations for prophesying and speaking in tongues, are limited to only the first century church?

We could cite many more examples - - but what are some guidelines that will help us be more consistent in our interpretation/application of the epistles?

Start with a basic guideline: “a text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or his readers.” We cannot force a meaning into the text that would make no sense to the original audience, even if that meaning helps us rationalize our position on particular texts today.

• For an example of applying this guideline, go to I Corinthians and Paul’s imperatives about seeking spiritual gifts in chapter 14 (Verse 5: “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues but I would rather have you prophesy.”)

• What is a fairly common justification for disregarding these imperatives?

• A particular interpretation of I Corinthians 13:8-10, particularly verse 10. Some teach that completeness or “the perfect” has come in the form of the New Testament, and therefore the imperfect (prophecy and tongues) have ceased to function in the church.
• But this is one thing the text cannot mean because of the basic guideline. There is no way Paul could have meant this – the Corinthians did not know there was going to be a New Testament (“the perfect”), and the Holy Spirit would not have inspired Paul to write something to them that they would not understand

Second guideline: Whenever we share common particulars (similar specific life situations) with the first-century hearers, God’s Word to us is the same as his Word to them.

It’s this guideline that causes most of the theological texts and ethical imperatives in the Epistles to give us a sense of immediacy and connection with the first century, because so much of the human condition is “common particulars.”

• So “all have sinned” (Rom 3:23), “by grace (we) have been saved, through faith” (Eph 2:8), clothing ourselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col 3:12)

• Caution is to do the exegesis, the “there & then” well so that we have confidence that our situation and particulars are genuinely comparable.

Read I Corinthians 6:1-11 - What’s the situation? Two Christian brothers before a pagan judge out in the open marketplace in Corinth.

• Could argue that the point doesn’t change if the judge is a Christian or the trial in a courthouse, the wrong is for two brothers to go to law outside the church

• On the other hand, we could rightly ask whether this would still apply to a Christian suing a corporation in modern-day America – for in this case not all particulars are the same

So far, the basic guidelines are pretty straightforward, but we encounter challenges as we look to apply texts beyond their specific particulars – the problem of non-comparable particulars.

Read I Corinthians 8: 1-13

Now we rarely have the opportunity to partake in idol feasts at pagan temples, but how many of us have heard lessons or applications from this text? Our class immediately identified lessons and applications based on “the stumbling block principle” from this text.

With texts like these, we need to be sensitive to a couple of things:

• Understand the context and original meaning carefully. In most cases a clear principle will be articulated, which will usually transcend the historical particulars.

• However, the principle does not now become timeless to be applied at whim to any and every kind of situation. It must be applied to genuinely comparable situations.

In this case, Paul forbids participation in the temple meals on the basis of the stumbling block principle. But this does not refer to something that merely offends another believer. The stumbling block principle refers to something a believer feels can be done in good conscience and that, by his or her action or persuasion, they try to induce another believer to do, who cannot do in good conscience. Note the brother or sister is “destroyed” by emulating another’s action; he or she is not merely offended by it. So invoking this principle to speak against choices or practices that make us uncomfortable is taking it too far.

Cultural relativity

Perhaps our biggest challenges in applying the epistles to the “here & now” have to do with culture. Because the epistles are task theology, written for specific occasions, they are very much engaged with the first century culture. Part of the beauty and wonder of this part of Scripture is that the epistles have important meaning for us today not only for their universal “comparable particulars,” but also for the way they speak to the specifics of their contemporary culture.

Our problem is often sorting out which is which - distinguishing between items that are culturally relative and those that transcend their original setting and are thus normative for Christians of all times. We discussed some guidelines for sorting through cultural relativity:

Distinguish between the central core of the message of the Bible and what is dependent on or peripheral to it.

• Not to argue for a canon within the canon, but to safeguard the gospel from being turned into law through culture or religious custom – and to keep the gospel itself from changing to reflect every conceivable cultural expression.

Distinguish between what the New Testament itself sees as inherently moral and what is not.

• Paul’s sin lists never contain cultural items (Romans 1:29-30; 1Corinthians 5:11; 6:9-10; 2 Tim 3:2-4).

• On the other hand, foot washing, the holy kiss, eating marketplace idol food, woman having a head covering when praying or prophesying, Paul’s personal preference for celibacy, or a woman’s teaching in the church are not inherently moral matters. They become so only in their use or abuse in specific contexts, when such use or abuse involves disobedience or lack of love.

Make special note of items where the New Testament itself has a uniform and consistent witness and where it reflects differences.

• Uniform witness includes love as the Christian’s basic ethical response, a non-retaliation personal ethic, the wrongness of hatred, murder, stealing, drunkenness, sexual immorality of all kinds

• On the other hand, the New Testament does not appear to be uniform on such matters as:

Retention of one’s wealth - Luke 12:33; 18:22 vs. I Timothy 6:17-19

Political evaluation of Rome - Romans 13:1-5 and I Peter 2:13-14 vs. Revelation 13-18

Women’s ministries in the church
Romans 16:1-2 (Phoebe is a deaconess); 16:3 (Priscilla is Paul’s co-worker); 16:7 (Junia, feminine name, named among the apostles); I Cor 11:5 vs I Timothy 2:12, and I Corinthians 14:34-35

We have to acknowledge that the New Testament evidence is not uniform in these cases, and thus we need to think through them in light of cultural issues and differences.

Recognize the cultural differences between the first and twenty-first centuries, both great and small – and think through the larger Christian message in the cultural context of each.

• Keep in mind the overall cultural picture - not just the details of practice or custom, but the fact that the first century culture was “xenophobic, racist, classist, sexist/patriarchal, and bloodthirsty” in pervasive ways that are very different from today’s North America. These differences must be considered as we listen to the epistles.

• For example, a participatory democracy is a radically different thing from the government of which Paul speaks in Romans 13:1-7. It is expected in a participatory democracy that bad laws are to be changed and bad officials to be ousted.

• To determine the role of women in the 21^st century church, we should take into account that there were few educational opportunities for women in the 1^st century, whereas education and full participation is the norm in our society. This may affect our understanding of 1 Timothy 2:9-15.

Listening to Scripture on the roles of women in the church

Through our discussion, we reflected each of these guidelines on our tradition’s approach to the roles of women in worship participation and church leadership. Through an open discussion we acknowledged:

• That the larger message of the Gospel is a message of equality and inclusion and that all are gifted and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, regardless of gender.

• The culture of the first century valued and treated women very differently than our culture today. The typical expectation for a respectable woman in Paul’s day was to live a life as secluded from the public eye as her family could afford, under her father’s or husband’s authority, often illiterate, with no voice in any aspect of community life.

• The New Testament reveals a Christian community in which women were active in prophecy, prayer, mission activity, teaching, serving churches as “deacons” or “ministers,” correcting false theology, being imprisoned for their faith, serving as patrons for their congregations, rearing children in faith, guiding young women in developing their ministries, and being coworkers with their husbands.

• The restrictions on the public roles of women in some New Testament letters appear more as accommodations to the sensibilities of the times, specific counsel to address dynamics of individual congregations, or steps to prevent the spread of heresies – all for the sake of a greater good. That good was the need for all people to hear the Gospel in its full, unadulterated form.

• The restrictions that were placed on women in certain problematic situations only pulled them back to the normal standards of that society, and certainly not toward a limitation that was distinctively Christian.

And thus we recognize that the limitation many traditions place on the roles of women in the church – including our Restoration / Church of Christ tradition – reflect a failure to truly listen to Scripture. We have based practices on the accommodations once made to the values of ancient Roman society and have not heard and applied the larger message of equal gifts, equal participation, and equal value in the eyes of God.

The limitations we place on women today are not obedience to the eternal will of God. If we equate the will of God with the prejudices of ancient societies, if we fail to hear the call of the Gospel to break down all barriers, if we continue to silence the gifts of women in our assemblies, our ministries, and our leadership, we will ourselves be a barrier to the Gospel.

Strong stuff for a Sunday school class. Our discussions demonstrate the power of listening to Scripture as a community, recognizing that God is at work in the world and in us to shape our listening and living of Scripture.

Our closing reading:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13: 4-12 TNIV

A note on sources: Like all of our classes in this series, this outline and content draws heavily from Fee & Stuart’s How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Today’s content also draws from a study prepared by Carl Holladay entitled “The Role of Women in the New Testament,” and “A Community without Barriers: Women in the New Testament and the Church Today,” by Thomas Robinson.