The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus by Ben Witherington III

Author:Ben Witherington III
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2009-12-30T12:32:00+00:00

When a Roman manumitted his slave, [the slave] would (if the correct formalities had been observed) attain restricted citizenship status, extending even to the right to inherit his patron's estate. There is evidence that the feeling that a loyal domestic servant ought automatically to be granted freedom and civic rights after a number of years was so widespread that the "model" of slavery as a process of integration [into free society] may be useful here.... Roman jurists recognized a slave's right to use his peculium to buy himself free from his owner."

Paul has stated as a general principle that it is all right for persons to stay in the social status and situation they find themselves in when they come to Christ, for social status neither commends nor condemns a person before God. Yet in 1 Corinthians 7:21 he makes an exception to such a rule. He is saying, "If indeed you are to become free, by all means make use of it!" While social status or position is of no major importance and has no eternal significance in Christ (see Gal 3:28), Paul understands that some social conditions are far better than others, especially if one wishes to serve the Lord. Among those advantageous social conditions would be being free and being single, as a close study of 1 Corinthians 7 will show. However, Paul does not want his converts to evaluate themselves on the basis of society's values.

In fact, in Christ there is a complete transvaluation, or reversal of values. A Christian slave is already the Lord's freedman or freedwoman in regard to sin, yet the free or freed person in Christ is the Lord's servant and the servant of fellow believers. In Christ something like a Saturnalia happens." A close study of Paul's metaphorical use of the language of slavery shows that he can use it in a positive manner to refer to his own tasks and condition and that of other Christians as well. As Dale B. Martin has shown, to some extent this slavery language can even be used to describe a certain leadership style, servant leadership.40 One thus must distinguish between Paul's metaphorical use of slave language and what he says about the social institution itself.

According to 1 Corinthians 7:23, Paul opposes the trend for people, particularly Christians, to sell themselves into slavery to support their family or pay off debts. In Paul's view, there was no point to making such a change. One of the major themes of I Corinthians 7 is that one should not change one's social condition just because one has become a Christian. No social status of any kind hinders conversion or being a Christian, and therefore a change in status is not required when there is a spiritual change in one's life. Yet when it was possible to do both-change spiritually and socially-in a positive way, believers could and should avail themselves of the opportunity.

Paul does consider that slavery makes things more difficult for a Christian, and so he advises taking opportunities for freedom when they arise.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.