Teacher of the Nations by Devin L. White

Author:Devin L. White
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 2017-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

1 Corinthians 3:10 –17 strongly resembles 3:5–9. In this passage Paul again splices together a common educational metaphor with a warning regarding impending judgment. Here the teachers are architects or skilled tradesmen who build up their students like buildings.781 Unlike 3:5–9, 3:10 –17 reflects a general principle which applies to all teachers, not merely Paul and Apollos. This passages falls into two larger sections. In 3:10 –12, Paul contrasts good and bad building practices, while in 3:13–17 he reflects on the rewards and punishments to which good and bad builders will be subject.

In v. 10, Paul makes good on the transition from the agricultural metaphor to the architectural metaphor that he began in v. 9b. The Corinthians are a temple, God’s residence (θεοῦ οἰκοδομή).782 This temple did not spring into existence of its own accord. Rather, just as an educated person requires fundamental education in the alphabet before ornamental encyclical studies,783 Paul presents himself as the ludi magister who laid the Corinthians’ foundation: Christ.784 Pediments and capitals may draw the audience’s eye, but without the foundation set down by the architect, the building will ultimately fall. Paul’s job as the master builder was to lay the all-important foundation (ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον ἔθηκα) (3:10). Note that Paul does not claim that his responsibility is to both lay the foundation and complete the construction of the edifice as a whole. To do so would reinforce the logic of the Corinthians’ factionalism, since members of a Paul party could claim that Apollos, Peter, or some unnamed teacher may have their own competing visions for the Corinthian temple. To forestall such reasoning, Paul readily admits that another person is currently engaged in building upon the foundation which he and he alone laid (ἄλλος δὲ ἐποικοδομεῖ) (3:10).785 Just as the farmers rely for their payment upon the field’s owner, so the temple’s builders work because they hope for payment. “Each builder must choose with care how to build” on the foundation (ἕκαστος δὲ βλεπέτω πῶς ἐποικοδομεῖ). Paul is intriguingly vague about the identities of these other builders (ἄλλος and ἕκαστος). While Apollos is certainly implied,786 Paul’s word choice indicates that this principle applies to all would-be Christian teachers at Corinth.787 Since Paul has argued that he could have provided a higher level of teaching under the proper circumstances (e.g., 2:6–9, 3:1–4), this expectation of judgment applies even to him.

Paul appears confident that the foundation he laid, the precept of the cross, is the right one (3:11), but he admits that any teacher must take care to provide the proper instruction, using building materials suited to the foundation. Thus anybody (τις) attempting to build further should use costly materials worthy of a temple of God, not cheaper materials which will not stand the test. Gold, silver, and precious stones, unlike wood, hay, and straw, can withstand the fire which will come on the apocalyptic day of judgment (3:12–13).788 The question teachers must ask of themselves is whether their work will survive the trying fire. If so, they will receive a reward (μισθὸν λήμψεται; cf.

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