How Paul Writes

When writing the books of the Bible, the Holy Spirit uses various holy men of God with differing characters. Although every single word is inspired, you can still see something of the writers’ personality. The writers themselves use different stylistic devices in their texts to make the message understandable. This article deals with a form of presentation that occurs several times in 1 Corinthians. Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, presents simple examples. He uses them to explain universally valid principles.

The Principle of Love, Which Must Always Be the Foundation

“If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good” (1 Corinthians 13:1–3).

These verses present three extraordinary, extreme qualities or activities. In reality, nobody combines them all:

• I could speak all human languages, and even those of angels.
• I would understand all mysteries and have faith that moves mountains.
• I would give up all my possessions and even my body for others.

This explains the principle that neither speech, nor inner possession, nor any action is valuable to God if love is not the motive.

The Principle of Separation from Evil

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1).

In the assembly in Corinth, there was a man who lived in exceptionally evil ways. Not only religious Jews condemned such a relationship. Even godless pagans did so. It involved a man and his father’s wife. What would happen if this man kept living among the believers? Paul explains this using the example of leaven. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough” (1 Corinthians 5:6). The immoral conduct of one individual would gradually lower every moral standard. It would lead to a general acceptance of evil. That would contrast with the holiness of Christ, which should shape them. Therefore, the perpetrator is to be excluded from the fellowship of believers.

So that no one applies this separation only to Corinth’s situation, Paul lists further evil behaviors. These require exclusion as well. They include greed, idolatry, drunkenness, robbery, and reviling. He ends this topic with the sentence: “Remove the wicked person from among yourselves” (1 Corinthians 5:13). This instruction prevents excess in the opposite direction. Not everyone who has once acted greedily must be put out. Neither must someone who once drank too much alcohol. For exclusion, the person must be identified as a “wicked person.”

By naming this especially blatant form of sexual immorality, God’s Word presents the principle. A complete separation is needed from people who confess Christianity. They live among the brothers of the local assembly. Yet they are characterized by evil behavior.

Principles About Fellowship at the Lord’s Table

“You cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21). Everyone who belongs to the Lord Jesus will agree on this. There can hardly be a greater discrepancy in fellowship. It is being at the Lord’s table, and then at the table of demons. There must be complete separation from evil.

When the Holy Spirit had Paul write this down, he knew something. Many believers in later centuries would never encounter a demon’s table. That is true for most of us in Europe as well. Yet he uses this easy-to-understand illustration. He uses it to give basic instructions about fellowship at the Lord’s table.

In the section 1 Corinthians 10:14–22, the writer assumes something about the readers. They know the sacrificial regulations of the peace offering in Leviticus 7. Applied to us, it becomes very clear. Participation in the breaking of bread links us with the Lord and with one another. That is because we are one body.

This is not about individual purity, as in 1 Corinthians 11:28. It is about the connections we have. Eating together brings fellowship with the system or order of worship. Outward fellowship expresses inward connection. It is as morally impossible to be involved with an idol sacrifice. It is just as impossible to have fellowship at the Lord’s table with someone. This person clings to systems with unbiblical rules.

Paul, therefore, takes the easy example of eating idol sacrifices and the table of demons. He uses it to show that fellowship at the Lord’s table is fundamentally impossible. It is impossible with believers who practice a kind of fellowship. That fellowship contradicts God’s Word.

Principles When Speaking for the Edification of the Assembly

In 1 Corinthians 14, much is explained about speaking in tongues. This was a current problem in the assembly in Corinth. It needed clarification. Yet the letter is not addressed only to that one assembly. It is addressed to “all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That includes us today. God, the Holy Spirit, also knew something. Speaking in tongues would be a miraculous effect of Christianity’s early period. It would then cease. The essential teaching of this chapter is not the special case of foreign languages. It is a fundamental explanation about believers gathering. “All things are to be done for edification” (1 Corinthians 14:26). Using the example of speaking in tongues, instructions are given. They show how this goal is achieved. It is the edification of the assembly.

• The speech must be understandable (1 Corinthians 14:9). The mass of listeners must understand both language and content. They must grasp it audibly and in meaning.
• Everything must be comprehensible to the mind (1 Corinthians 14:14–19).
• There is no confusion; it happens in peace (1 Corinthians 14:26–33).
• The women take their God-given place and are silent (1 Corinthians 14:34–36).

This chapter uses the example of speaking in tongues to illustrate a point. Every utterance in the meetings should be for the edification of the assembly.

These pointers do not claim to be an exposition of the chapters mentioned. They are meant to draw attention to the special writing style. They should encourage readers as well. Readers should read the topics presented in their context. They should consider practical application in our life of faith.