Title: Spiritual Tension
spiritual tension
Characteristics of the Corinthian Church
Letters are usually sent when there is a specific business, not from time to time. Paul also wrote a letter after hearing about some problems with the Corinthian church through various channels. The city of Corinth was very unique, and the Corinthian church within it was also unique. For example, in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul points out two facts that are difficult for us to understand today. One is that men should not wear anything on their heads when praying or preaching the Word, and women should wear them. This is why women now wear masses on their heads in Roman Catholic Masses. The other is to share a good meal at sacrament meeting, or not to get drunk. These teachings cannot be understood without understanding the unique situation of the Corinthian church.
The text we read today is one of them. The joint translation is subtitled “Warning Against Idolatry.” The story of idolatry has already been described in detail in Chapter 8. The idolatry issue in chapter 8 is primarily concerned with market meat. At that time, meat was usually offered at the temple. A debate arose within the Corinthian church as to whether Christians could buy and eat such meat. Paul's answer is: Since idols do not exist in the first place, it has nothing to do with eating even if they were offered to the temple. It emphasizes freedom. But Paul said that he would never eat meat if those with weak consciences were put to the test because of these things. Christians are free from idols, but they will reserve that freedom for the sake of their brothers and sisters.
Paul now talks about idolatry again in chapter 10. Chapter 8 addresses only the specific problem (cow) meat, but Chapter 10 addresses a much broader problem. Its content is a bit complicated, like a theological dissertation, because it explains the events of the Old Testament and the situation of the Corinthian church. First of all, it would be good to briefly summarize the Old Testament story he gave as an example.
Red Sea and wilderness
As verse 1 points out, the Israelites all crossed the Red Sea safely under the guidance of Moses. In verse 2 Paul describes this event as a kind of baptism. Crossing the Red Sea, where people are forced to drown, is equivalent to baptism, meaning that we die with Jesus on the cross and live with his resurrection. Although it seems like a typological interpretation, his interpretation is correct because both of them came to life from death. Israel could not only cross the Red Sea, but also eat manna and quail in the wilderness, and drink water from rocks. All of these were the grace of God.
But the problem is that God was displeased with the Israelites (verse 5). made them all die. “They were scattered here and there” (5b). The reason is explained in verses 5-10. According to Paul, they did evil. So I had no choice but to die. The evil is idolatry (v. 7). Paul quoted Exodus 32:6 directly. “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up and danced,” he said. Idolatry soon led to fornication, which resulted in the death of 23,000 people. Some people were bitten by snakes to death while testing God. Some complained and were destroyed by the angel of death (v. 10). Paul gave these examples one by one, calling them a warning against doing evil.
It is difficult to think that Paul's explanation was meant to scare the Corinthians. I'm not trying to make them feel guilty or embarrassed. Paul wanted to emphasize that this is a lesson for Christians who are facing the “end of the world” (11b) today. The end referred to here should not be viewed as merely a temporal end, but rather as an end as a Kairos preempted by the Jesus event. If the kingdom of God began through Jesus, it is the end of the spiritual dimension. In other words, it is important to recognize that Christians are now living in a new time. So Paul is teaching the Corinthians to cross the Red Sea, but eventually die in the wilderness, and then do not worship idols and do evil like the ancestors of Israel in the Old Testament, that is, do not slow down their spiritual tension.
Salvation Sect
After listing the terrible events of the Old Testament that Corinthians do not want to hear much about, but are well aware of, Paul wants to talk about in verses 12 and 13. Look at verse 12. “He who thinks he is standing on his feet must be careful not to fall.” Who thinks they are standing on their own feet? You may think that you are a spiritually proud person, but we must understand this statement with the specific situation of the church in Corinth in mind. New Testament scholar C.K. According to Barrett, they are a kind of Gnostic. Barrett's explanation is correct given the fact that Gnosticism was at that time a widespread force in Greece, and given the fact that falsehood was a very powerful teaching within early Christianity.
The Gnostics' argument was clear. Because they participate in baptism and the Lord's Supper, they thought that any evil or sin would not affect their spiritual salvation. You might think of them as weird people, but they're not at all. They are very normal people. No, by faith alone, they were much closer than others. Think about it. Because they were baptized and partakers of the Lord's Supper, they thought that they were completely saved regardless of their work in this world because they were very good believers. And I thought I had transcended all the moral problems of the world. He was convinced that he was saved, regardless of whether he went to the idol and ate together or followed the decadent ethic of that time. In this respect, they can be said to be almost fanatical people.
The Salvation Sect is not only those who have blatantly fallen out of that direction, but there are many in our Orthodox Church. Many Christians are living under the formula “Jesus Heaven, Hell of Unbelief”. We are saved because we come into the church, and others think we are going to hell. It is natural, and it should be, to believe in Jesus and live with the assurance of salvation. But when this belief is extreme, it destroys the Christian faith in two ways: One is that Christians reject people outside the church. It is common sense and religious wrong to treat people outside the church as those who will go to hell.
The other day, I met a relative who was working as a doctor nearby. He said this. There is a doctor's meeting in Pohang, and it is said that there is a strange war of nerves between a Christian doctor and a non-Christian doctor. In particular, Christian doctors treat non-Christian doctors like worms. I can't remember the exact expression, but it was such a nuance.
Another distortion that will be caused by the formula “Jesus Salvation, Hell of Unbelief” can be irresponsible for today's life itself. If you've already been saved, what's the use of life? This is the division between faith and life. It is difficult to find a unity of faith and life in them. Even when the ecosystem God created is collapsing, we do not take it very seriously. People who are made in God's image are marginalized and oppressed, but they say they do not know. But the strange thing is that when it comes to their interests, they forfeit their face and fight to the extreme. If we are people of faith who only long for the kingdom of heaven, shouldn't we have to bear the losses in the world? In the past few months, there have been several prayer meetings and haircuts for the revision of the private school law at Yeongnak Church in Seoul. In my opinion, those things are political. It is necessary to argue for and against each other, but it is not a matter to be fought in the spirit of martyrdom. Isn't this what happens because you think, "I'm standing on my own feet"?
in the midst of trials
Paul advises them to “be careful not to fall.” The Gnostics of the Corinthian church would not have thought of such a fall. He thought that it had nothing to do with how he lived because he only needed to be saved. In this kind of faith, spiritual tension is bound to be damaged.
Christians should not get lost in this passage. The idea is that the idea of believing unconditionally is so strong that it blunts judgment about what is right and what is wrong. We cannot judge what is for the kingdom and righteousness of God, and what is in line with the demands of the world. The object of our faith is more important than our hearts. Believing unconditionally is what happens to fanatics and cults. As we are guided by the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, we must be careful not to fall. In other words, you must not miss the spiritual tension.
It is not easy to live with such spiritual tension. Think about it. Think of the many problems you have to deal with in your daily life in the light of God's will. When real estate speculation is on the rise, this can be the focus of your mind. Why don't we have the desire to live as abundantly as everyone else? Not one or two. In many ways, we face trials and tribulations. Looking at the repeated use of the word “trial” in verse 13, it seems that there were many such things in the church in Corinth.