Who would you say was the most pagan, biblically illiterate church in the New Testament? Chances are Corinth would be at the top of your list. Judging by the tone of and issues included in Paul’s two letters, we can safely say that the church had a bit of a pagan hangover mixed with gospel amnesia. But this did not stop him from dipping his pen in the inkwell of the Old Testament Scriptures to make his point.
When you consider that Paul only spent about 18 months with these people it is even more striking. He got a lot done. He reasoned with Jews and, along with Aquila and Priscilla, saw Gentile converts and a church planted (Acts 18; Rom. 16.3; 2 Tim. 4.19-20). This is a strong gospel encouragement, even amid a city that was so full of false worship (1 Cor. 8.5).
Think about how the Old Testament Scriptures are treated today in Evangelicalism. They are rarely touched and when they are they are often moralized rather than preached with any connection to Jesus. Ask the average church goer how the Old relates to the New Testament and you will get a surprising array of answers. Consider the sermons by pastors. How may preach the Old Testament? There are many scholars who are occupied with redaction criticism and cast serious doubts about the reliability of many Old Testament texts. Sadly, many preachers have become functional evangelical redactors by ignoring large portions of their Bibles or at least lacking the confidence or the understanding to show the robust significance of their connection to Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul had no such inhibitions.
When you read the Corinthian letters (and the rest of Paul’s activity) you find him quite at home in and with the Old Testament Scriptures. And, the expectation was that the Corinthians would be able to keep up.
One example is his reference to the Passover in chapter 5 (1 Cor. 5.6-8). He reminds the saints at Corinth that “Christ is our Passover” and that we must celebrate the festival in a particular way. His point has to do with the fact that as Christians we are to live in holiness in such a way that it reflects our new life in Christ rather than the sinful old ways of rebellion. But, he uses the feast of Passover to make this point. He doesn’t even give some type of historical, biblical, or theological on ramp to get them ready. He just drops it on their laps with pastoral precision. You cannot do this without having spent some time building the framework for people as to how all of the Scriptures point to Christ (Luke 24.25-27, 44-47).
Another example is in chapter 10. He does some instructing here by showing that it was Christ who tended, nourished, and guarded Israel in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10.1-4). The giving of bread and water are pointing to Jesus. Furthermore, the entire wilderness experience, particularly the rebellious idolatry is intended to function as an example, a warning to believers today to not crave evil (idolatry) like they did (1 Cor. 10.6). Again, there is an expectation from Paul of the Corinthians that they make the learn about their spiritual history even if it is not their ethnic history.
A third example would be the feast of first fruits. In Paul’s powerful defense of the certainty and necessity of the resurrection of Christ, he makes this statement in verse 20,
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20)
What is this about? When we read Leviticus 23 we understand that the feast of first fruits was to be celebrate the day after the Sabbath during the Passover. The people would bring the early harvest items (and some other offerings) to God to acknowledge his ownership over them and provision for them. It was to be an indication of what was to come also. As the first fruits indicated that there would be later fruits. Paul uses this to show he solidarity with the resurrection of Christ. Like the first fruits, Christ was the first to raise from the dead, his resurrection was a pattern for future resurrections, and his resurrection guaranteed many future resurrections. And he just drops this on them with pastoral finesse.
When I was reading through 1 Corinthians recently I found that I was a bit surprised by how freely and frequently Paul weaved into the Old Testament. I became burdened for our church family and evangelicalism more broadly to do the same. It is essential to understand the Old Testament and to help others understand the Old Testament in order to more fully understand and appreciate the person and work of Christ. Look at Paul’s 18 months and consider what he talked about and how he talked about it. This becomes encouraging and instructive. It is important.
It is common for people to make fun of those “sinful and foolish Corinthians” but is it possible that they knew their Old Testaments better than many evangelicals today? It stings a bit to think about it. The only way to deal with it is to study, delight in, and preach the whole Bible–not just the stuff we are familiar with.
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