The Hellenistic Background of the New Testament

Question 1: Cosmic Dualism 

Cosmic dualism is a concept that is used to describe the current battle between the good and the evil in the universe. The concept refers to the good as Ahura Mazda, while the evil are referred to as the Angra Mainyu. It also shows that in as much as there is a battle between the good and the evil, there lacks a ground that shows that Angra Mainyu is a God’s equal opposite. On the contrary, the evil is the destructive force that works in opposition to the creative energy of God. Anthropological dualism on the other hand talks about the Plato’s ideology of existence of the evil and the good soul. In Gnosticism, dualism is seen as the creation myth that defines how the world is created by the inferior god, while the true God is radical and different from the material world as this is considered the home of enlightened people. Since stoics describe social entities as bodies, Paul reflects the stoic idea as he presents the idea of equality between marriage partners. This is evident in 1 Cor 7:32-35, which gives the stoic debates in the anxiety in marriage.

Describe the historical setting for Paul’s writing 1 Corinthians . 

Corinth was a coastal trading town, with a mishmash of cultures and traditions. It was part of the vast Roman Empire and this vast number of people coming in introduced foreign gods and immorality as is common with cities. It was both a political and commercial capital of Achaia. It was naturally a hotbed of new ideas, religious diversity, moral depravity, including having temple prostitutes of Aphrodite. The Greek word Korinthiazoma meant to practice fornication. The evil prevailing culture had permeated the young church that Paul had helped to begin. 

This letter to the Church at Corinth was written by Paul in Ephesus around AD 54-55. He had visited the town earlier and had also gotten many reports of some member’s misbehavior. He also had a litany of questions on numerous topics such as division, sexual immorality, Christian liberty, order of worship, lawsuits and marriage.Paul is writing to encourage the believers to live godly lives in the midst of a perverse nation. 

Where in 1 Corinthians does Paul speak of an earlier letter he wrote to the Corinthians? 

Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 5:9 about an earlier letter he had written to the church at Corinth. In that portion of scripture he asks them not to keep company with brethren that were still practicing fornicating. This initial letter is now lost and untraceable. It did not have the intended impact to the church and instead Paul was misunderstood by the Corinthians. Some thought that they were to be separate and not associate with even the people in the world who were sinners. This made Paul to clarify and by so doing, making the previous letter irrelevant. 

Describe the essentials of Paul’s view of God’s wisdom and power as these traits appear 

God’s wisdom and power is demonstrated in the world when we die to self and embrace the cross. If we try to reveal God through human wisdom and ability then we deny God the power of revealing himself through the cross. We can’t and don’t need to help God The Spirit reveals to us who God is and enables us to understand God’s wisdom and power when we acknowledge the finished work on the cross. Paul says the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3) are not spiritual but babes because they were carnal believers, unable to understand spiritual maturity, full of strife, envy and divisions. 

How does Paul ascribe a cosmic role to Jesus in 1 Corinthians? How is Jesus related to creation? 

Paul ascribes deity status to Jesus and reveals him as the wisdom and power of God. Jesus is the first born of all creation, the archetype and the ideal form possible. Through Christ we get sanctification and understanding the power and wisdom of God. 1 (Corinthians 1:2) Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: “But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles), Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:24 

What is Paul’s position in 1 Corinthians in regard eating food offered to idols? Is this practice permitted or not? 

Paul postulates that food offered to idols can be eaten by believers if they understand that there is only one God and the idols are not to be worshipped or feared. However since we have weak brothers whose conscience may be defiled, Paul encourages believers not to take the meat for the sake of the weak brother not getting offended. He also urges the weak brother not to condemn the one with strong faith if they take the meat. I Corinthians 8 4-12 

How does the instruction regarding eating food to the idols suggest a division in the church into two groups? How are these groups characterized? 

The instruction implies a contention was ongoing in the church between two factions. One group was legalistic or moral puritans who were sticklers to the law and other liberals, who believed that under grace, they were free to eat anything with thanks giving. This division of law believers and grace believers still divides the church in the middle and continues to be a bone of contention 

What does Paul say about the practice of “the Lord’s Supper” at Corinth? 

In 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Paul reproves the Corinthian church that does not practice the Lords supper with reverence. The people are divided and competing with each other. There is no love or consideration for the poor brethren. Every one eats what they brought without sharing making others go home hungry and others drunk and over feed. The Corinthian church takes the Lord supper without self examination and also not remembering the Lord. They come to just feed the body and make merry. This is wrong and against what the gospel of Christ is all about. Paul recommends that they eat in their homes before coming to church so as to avoid others being offended and strife growing in church. The other issue is that they need to take the Lord supper with discernment, reverence and understanding. Because of not doing so many are sick and others have died. 

How does Paul’s image of the “body of Christ” 

In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Paul gives an imagery of the body of Christ as composed of different parts having varying functions but all necessary for the sustenance of the entire body. By comparing it to our natural body, we are able to identify with the message more intimately. The body has many diverse tissues and organs all working for the wellbeing of the entire body. We don’t hate or discriminate any part yet we find ourselves discriminating and despising members of the body of Christ. Paul may have gotten this idea of a group of people as one body from the Lord’s Supper as we all eat the body and drink His blood we get his life. 

Question10: Paul on resurrection of the dead 

Paul illustrates the resurrection of the dead in terms of spiritual resurrection and the bodily one. He describes Jesus Christ as the first fruits of resurrection, where he points out that this doctrine is highly dependent on the Christian faith. He pinpoints that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central truth of the faith of Christians. He deals with the topic in his letter to the Corinthians. For instance, in (1 Cor 15: 1-4), corrects the misunderstandings that existed on the bodily and spiritual resurrection, where he shows that those who die in Christ will resurrect and share an eternal life. Paul contrasts the earthly bodies with the splendor of the heavenly bodies, where he attests that the body that will be sown will be perishable, sown in dishonor. He also notes that the spiritually resurrected bodies are imperishable for they shall be raised to glory and power. It is only out of disobedience that the human body became mortal. Resurrection is therefore important for Paul as it gives life to the mortal body as evidenced in his letter to the Romans (Romans 8:11).

Question 11: at the end of Resurrection 

Christ has a position at the end of the world or the final resurrection. Jesus acted as an example to prove that our souls will rise again after death. He acts as the definition of the factual resurrection of the soul, where his sitting at the right hand of God represents how the situation will look like for the believers who will resurrect after death. The final relationship of Jesus to God is that of fulfillment of the prophetic words, where this relationship is vital for man as if shows how God will fulfill his promises with mankind. 

Question 12: Verses added 

The verses that were added in 1 Corinthians include the gynecological passages such as Cor 14: 34-35. The verses talk about the role of women in the church, where they are based on the contextual and historical reconstructions. The evidence that exists for seeing that thes verses were added includes the fact that they are not original and they must have crept onto the text in the course of transmission. For instance, during the Pericope adulterae , the texts of John 7:53 was found in the texts of the first letters of Paul to the Corinthians. 

Question 13: Letters that seem to be Included 

Paul wrote two more letters to the Corinthians and a letter to the church at Laodicea. These letters appear to be there since they explain the association between the Lord and freedom. He also uses the two letters to provide a key reference to reconciliation, which is part of the sacraments that were commissioned by God. 

Question 14: Historical Circumstances 

The historical circumstances that made Paul to write the letters was that God was reconciling the world through Jesus Christ. He gives the account of the generosity of the Macedonians and how Titus helped in the recollection of the church in Jerusalem. Paul was in Macedonia when he wrote the letters. In 2Cor 5:18, Paul gives the primary reference to reconciliation through Christ. 

Question 15: New Covenant 

Paul uses Corinthians 2 and 3 to mention about the New Covenant. He pinpoints that Christians are the beginning of the new covenant through the death of Christ. In these letters, Paul shows this authenticity as an apostle of Christ is based upon the new covenant and not the letters that were engraved in stone, which is the nature of the new covenant. The heart has a role to play in the new covenant in the sense that the law is inscribed in the spirit of believers and not on the stone. 

Question 16: Life after Death 

Paul uses the letters to the Corinthians to explain the fact that the lives of those who die in Christ go beyond the grave. Moreover, he shows that those who will die in Christ will rise again to share an eternal life with their savior. In 2Corinthians 5:1-10 Paul uses different ways to explain life after death .he uses metaphors of tents, a building, and clothing and at home with God .it evident that Paul accepts there is life after death and that he will be given a building in heaven from God. There would be life with God before the last resurrection. A bliss life is assured to God’s believers. Platonic ideologies contradict the ideologies of Paul’s teachings, where it is evident that Plato considers man as mortal. For instance he describes man as an upright, featherless biped with broad flat nails. 

Question 17: New Creation 

Paul uses 2 Cor 5:17 to describe the meaning of the new creation. He considers a new creation as one who is in Christ and he who considers the past as gone. He considers believers as those who have died in Christ and cannot live for themselves. Such people’s lives do not belong to the world, where they are spiritual, where their death is that of the old sin nature that was taken away by crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The washing away of the sins is a symptom of reconciliation. God has a primary role of using his only begotten son to die on the cross as a show of reconciliation of the sinful nature of humankind. 

Question 18: Humility and Lowliness 

Paul uses 2 Corinthians to describe humility or lowliness of the earthly Christ or as part of our sinful condition. He says that if we should fear pride, then God is opposed to proud by giving grace to those who are humbled. He explains that grace goes before destruction, while a haughty spirit goes before stumbling. He warns that the original sin of Satan was that his heart could be lifted up even though he failed in seeking to raise himself up. Consequently, he considers lack of humility and lowliness as the root for each sin that the earthly people commit. 

Question 19: The paradox of weakness and power 

Paul uses 2 Corinthians to describe the paradox of weakness and power in his ministry. In 2 Cor 10: 1-12, Paul talks about the weightiest problem he had when dealing with the troubled church. He mentions the way in which an individual within the Corinth Church openly resisted his apostolic authority in as much as he received tacit support from the Christians in the church. He writes a letter through many tears as evidenced in (2 Cor 1: 23-2:11), where he calls upon the members of the church to confront the offender. 

Part 3: Galatians 

Question 20: Outline of Galatians 

The Galatians outline is described in terms of the regions which Paul visited. The regions are described as the northern, the southern and the Phrygian Galatia regions. For instance, in Acts 16:6, there are political as opposed to the ethnic or geographical terms that are used to refer to the province of Galatia and Phrygia. Paul also uses the Roman provincial titles to refer to the regional structure of Galatians. He writes about the major parts, including Macedonia church, Asia and Achachia. He also talks about Judea, Syria and Cilicia and omits the names that were not Roman such as Pisidia even though they are parts of the regions occupied by Galatians. 

Question 21: Paul’s general feelings towards Galatians 

The writings of Paul to the Galatians have evoked controversies spanning from the details of exegesis to the flights of the theology that was systematic. Paul wrote the epistles with the knowledge that the Christian churches were disturbed by the faction of Judaism, where they were obliged to observe traditions such as circumcision. Since most of the churches did not believe in his apostolic messages, Paul was infuriated as he defended the credentials he had as an apostle of Jesus Christ. 

Question 22: Sharing the life of Christ 

Paul describes his sharing in the life of Christ when he reaffirms the former teachings that the Mosaic Law was obsolete and mentions about the regressive steps in trying to return to the Jewish practices. The incident where he shares the life of Christ is evident during his conversion on his way to Damascus. He pinpoints that in Christ; believers have a new freedom and do not have a license to sin. This sharing with Christ is linked to the Paul’s concept of faith in the sense that just as he changed from the life of persecution of believers. By faith, Paul means that it is a Christian theological doctrine distinguishing the Lutheran and reformed sections of the Protestant Christianity. 

Question 23: Paul’s Teachings about the law in Galatians 

There are several controversies that are evident in Paul’s teachings about the law. Some passages have been used to refer to the end of the Ten Commandments, while others have been confused on the interpretation of the fourth commandment that talks about the Sabbath. In Galatians 3:13, Paul shows that Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law but not the Ten Commandments. He tells Galatians to abide by what is written in the Law of Moses, which means that he insists that Galatians should follow the teachings of the Ten Commandments. Paul uses the concept of the baby and son to illustrate that Christ has not come to destroy the Law of Moses, but to make it better. Just like a baby grows into a son, the Law of Moses is at the verge of growth. 

Question 24: Mission of Sending Jesus 

The mission of sending of Jesus by God was to deliver the world from sin. The first condition under which Jesus was sent was that he would be born of the Virgin Mary, while he would die on the cross and resurrect on the third day to save the world from sin. The results of humanity include sharing eternal life with Christ and forgiveness for sin. These conditions and results are linked to the composition of Paul in the sense that Paul was to prepare for the way of the coming Christ. 

Question 25: Role of Love Regarding the Law 

Love is important in terms of the interpretation of the law as it helps Christians to understand the ways in which they can share the body of Christ. By referring to the body as the flesh, Paul means that the body is mortal and perishable, while the spirit is imperishable. By flesh, Paul means that the mortal body of believers will die but resurrect on the final Day of Judgment. 

Question 26: Correlation between the law of love and the law of Christ 

Paul gave the command of loving God and one’s neighbor as he argued that salvation is given through grace and the love for the law. For instance, in Galatians 3.19, Paul shows that God gave Galatians the law to save them from the transgressions they were suffering and to fulfill the promise of love for mankind. This implies that the law can guide Christians towards practices of love. 

Question 27: Letters to the Romans 

Paul was in the Greek city of Corinth when he wrote the letter to The Romans. It was a church that he had not visited and so he did not address a specific problem in the church that caused him to write. He instead gave a lengthy explanation and teaching of the faith we have in Christ.   Paul says he is eager to preach the gospel to the Roman church (1:15), which suggests that Paul hasn’t been there before and is planning to go.  In Romans chapter 15, Paul reveals  his itinerary. He intends to go to Jerusalem and then Rome on his way to Spain to collect contributions for the church in Jerusalem. Pheobe was an aquitance of Paul and one who was to deliver the letter to the church at Rome. She was a deacon and notable figure in the early church. The church in Rome could have been meeting at her house. 

Question 28: Outline of the Romans 

The hate of Kings and the shift from the kingdom to the republic led the shift of power to include magistrates and bureaucrats in the Roman Empire. The governance system also changed to an empire with the totalitarian regime. The major parts of the Roman Empire included Damascus and Jerusalem, while Rome was the capital. The major topics that are discussed are forgiveness for sin and repentance. Paul concentrates on sin when he is converted on his way to Damascus, where he saw the importance of repentance. Paul makes a connection with the Old Testament by quoting books such as Isaiah 25 and psalms 19. Consequently, Paul groups his exhortations to Christianity living in his letter to Timothy, while he shows Timothy how to minister within the Christian church and how he can respond to the false teachers. 

Question 29: Sin and Death 

In Romans 6:2, Paul relates sin and death by saying that “By no means, we are those who have died sin; how can we live in it any longer.” He considers those who live in sin as already dead as they can no longer live in it. The gentiles should understand that Jesus washed away our sins by dying on the cross. He considers the Jewish practices as being sinful and describes them as those who are already living in the sin they died in. He connects sin and death as being correlated as described in Romans 6:2. 

Question 30: Relationship between Faith and Grace 

Paul defines faith as a commitment to forsake sin and work in pursuit of righteousness. In Romans 1-4, Paul shows that men are saved by faith. He also uses the first four chapters to show Christians that man is justified and can obtain salvation and eternal life if they stick with their faith. Grace on the other hand shows that it is through Christ that we can receive grace and apostleship and they in turn become gentiles to obedience that is obtained from the faith for the name’s sake of Christ. This implies that faith leads to acquisition of His grace. 

Question 31: How People will be saved 

Paul shows that people will be saved when he shows Christians that God is for us. For instance, in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us” where he means that being faithful to the ways of Christ is the channel of seeking salvation. He also shows that we are all saved because Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for our sins as elucidated in Romans 6:23. In this case, true believers are kept holly once they are saved. 

Question 32: Baptism, Death and Absolution from sin 

Baptism is a sign of purification and a form of admission to the Christian church. In baptism, Christians are considered to be born again. It is related to the absolution from sin, which is represented by the death of Christ on the cross. Paul relates the purification to death in Romans 6:2, where he says that death in sin is the opposite of baptism and absolution from sins as those who die in sin can no longer live.