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1 Corinthians Chapter 3

1 Corinthians Chapter 3

(Underlining marks a quotation/allusion. [Brackets] mark a textual variant.fnWhen two (or more) different copies of an original manuscript disagree on any given word or phrase — addition, omission, word order, etc. — the disagreement is called a "textual variant". ~99% of existing textual variants are either minor (like spelling), obviously not original (often appearing only in a few late manuscripts), or don't affect meaning (like "Jesus Christ" vs. "Christ Jesus"). The ~1% that remain do not affect any central doctrine of Christianity. The BOS Bible only marks significant textual variants that affect the meaning; smaller variants that do not affect meaning won't be marked for readability.  "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.fn"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love".  However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings — agapé centers on choice and behavior.  It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings.  (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".)  Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé".  Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing.  It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. An asterisk (*) indicates a verb in the Greek perfect tense.fnThe Greek perfect tense signifies a completed action in the past with a result and/or an ongoing state that extends into the present. For example, Hebrews 12:2 says in part: "He *sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"; the verb for "sat" is in the perfect tense, indicating that He sat down once (completed action in the past), and also that He remains seated until the present moment (ongoing state).)

Glossary

Note: this glossary is currently a work in progress; entries that do not expand will be added as time permits

Ages/of ages
“ages” and “of ages” are the Greek words “αἰών” (aión, noun form) and “αἰώνιος” (aiónios, adjective form) respectively.  The adjective form is typically translated “eternal”, as in “eternal life”. The noun form refers to a whole time period, (Keizer, “Life Time Entirety”) such as a person’s lifetime (an older Greek sense), an age/epoch (e.g., 2 Cor 4:4), or even time in its entirety, making its meaning similar to “forever” (e.g., John 14:16). The adjective form is similarly context-dependent, and the New Testament context often dictates a meaning similar to “forever” (but not always: e.g. 2 Tim 1:9).  Alternately or additionally, it can indicate the quality of a time period — indicating greatness/severity — like the English idiom “of ages” (e.g. “battle of the ages”). Thus, “of ages” was chosen for the adjective form so that both the time and quality senses remain visible.

Clean/unclean

Covenant

Faith

Flesh

Forgive/forgiveness

Grace
The Greek word is “χάρις” (charis), most often translated “grace”, “gift”, or “thanks”. It was a technical term in the 1st century, referring to the Patronage system in place. The Patron (from “pater” = “father”) would give gifts or do favors (both called a charis). A charis was always given/done freely to anyone who would be grateful for it, and this person then became a “client” of the patron. The clients were expected to reciprocate by telling everyone what the patron had done, and offering their services to the patron whenever the patron needed them. This reciprocal act was also called “charis”, and the ones who reciprocated were “being faithful” by giving thanks in this way. Both were done out of gratitude, not legal obligation. A client who wasn’t faithful and grateful probably wouldn’t receive any more charis from his patron, or any other patrons. The patron was responsible for taking care of all his clients, and making sure their needs were met. New Testament usage typically casts God the Father as a Heavenly Patron, to whom Christians should be grateful and faithful because of the gifts He has given us. (e.g. salvation, provision, protection, etc.)

Holy

Justification

Law (Torah)

Make purification

Pure/Impure

Purification offering
In the Old Testament, this is typically the Hebrew “חַטָּ֖את” (khat-tat); in the New Testament, it’s typically “περὶ ἁμαρτίας” (peri hamartias), which is what the Septuagint (an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek) used to translate the Hebrew. It’s traditionally translated “sin offering”, but that translation has less support in high-level scholarship. The Hebrew word can mean “sin”, but it can also mean “purification” (e.g. Numbers 8:7). This offering was used to purify uncleanness, whether or not a sin was committed. Thus, it was required even when no sin was committed, such as after childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8), for certain diseases (Leviticus 14), etc. High-level, peer-reviewed scholarship dedicated to the field (e.g. Milgrom, Levine, Gane, Sklar, Wright, Gorman, etc.) is largely united on the “purification offering” understanding. The BOS Bible has aligned itself with that high-level, peer-reviewed scholarship in its translation.

Ransom

Redemption

Repent/repentance

Righteous/righteousness

Salvation/save

Soul
“soul” is the Greek word “ψυχή/psuché” and Hebrew word “נֶפֶשׁ/nephesh”. The BOS Bible translates these words as “soul” for consistency, and so the full meaning of “soul” isn’t obscured by different translations in different places. They closely overlap in meaning and are typically translated “soul” or “life”. They refer to the animating force of a living thing, and thus can also refer to its life, or to the whole of any person or creature, including animals (e.g. fish in Revelation 8:9 and Genesis 1). They are frequently used as an emphatic reference to a person’s whole self, including longings, deep emotions, and inner life. (e.g. Ps 42:11) Note: while “soul” has significant overlap in meaning with “spirit”, the words have distinct meanings and usages throughout scripture. For example, lions tear apart a soul in Psalm 7:2, and a “dead soul” is mentioned in Leviticus 21:11; “spirit” has no analogous usages, and it returns to God at death (Ecc 12:7; Acts 7:59). The adjective forms of soul and spirit are contrasted in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15; see also: Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Sin

Click to Collapse the Glossary
Spirit and Flesh

(Parallel teachings: Hebrews 5:11-14)
(Thematic parallels: Isaiah 5:1-7)

  • 1 And brothers, I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual men, but as I would to men of flesh, as I would to infants in the Anointed.
  • 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you weren’t able to receive solid food yet, but you still aren’t able to even now,
  • 3 for you’re still fleshly. For where jealousy and quarreling [and pointless divisions] are among you, aren’t you fleshly?  And don’t you walk in accordance with man?
  • 4 For when someone says: “I’m indeed following Paul”, but another says: “I’m following Apollos”, aren’t you [fleshly] men?
  • 5 Therefore, who is Apollos?  And who is Paul?  Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord granted to each servant.
  • 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
  • 7 So neither the man planting nor the man watering is anything, but the One causing the growth is God.
  • 8 Now, the man planting and the man watering are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.fnquotation/allusion to Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12; Ezekiel 18:30 (also quoted/alluded to by Matt 16:27; Rom 2:6; Rev 22:12); numerous other echoes exist
  • 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field and God’s building.
The Anointed is the Foundation, and Testing by Fire

(Parallel teachings: Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-8)
(Thematic parallels: Malachi 3:2-3)

  • 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, I laid the foundation like a wise master craftsman,fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 3:3; Exodus 31:1–5; 35:30–35 (Bezalel) but another builds on it.  And each man must carefully examine how he builds on it.
  • 11 For no one is able to lay another foundation besides the one already laid, which is Jesus the Anointed.
  • 12 Now if anyone builds with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or strawfnquotation/allusion to 1 Chronicles 29:2 (cross reference with 1 Kings 5–7, the building materials for Solomon’s temple) on the foundation, then
  • 13 the work of each will become obvious.  For the day will make it clear because it’s revealed in fire, and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s is.
  • 14 If anyone’s work which he built will remain, he will receive his reward.
  • 15 If anyone’s work will burn up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet only likefn“like” is literally “so like”. In Greek, this final clause of the sentence is idiomatic of a narrow escape where everything except yourself is lost. For example: a house catching fire and the person escaping through the flames, but losing all his possessions except “the clothes on his back” (to use an English idiom). someone escaping through a fire.
  • 16 Don’t you *know that you are God’s temple, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?
  • 17 If someone ruinously corruptsfn“ruinously corrupts” is one word in Greek, typically translated “destroy” here.  It literally means to corrupt, rot, or spoil something so that it wastes away to ruin.  It’s typically associated with moral corruption/decay leading to ruin. the temple of God, God will ruinously corrupt him, for God’s temple is holy, which you are.
  • 18 Let no one utterly deceive himself: if someone among you thinks himself to be wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he might become wise.
  • 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it’s *written:
    • “He’s the One trapping the wise in their craftiness.”fnquotation/allusion to Job 5:13
  • 20 And again:
    • “the Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are futile.“fnquotation/allusion to Psalm 94:11
  • 21 So then, let no one boast in men, for all things are yours.
  • 22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas,fn“Cephas” is Aramaic for “a rock”, and is another name for the disciple Peter. or the world, or life, or death, or things *present, or things about to come; all are yours.
  • 23 But you belong to the Anointed, and the Anointed belongs to God.

 

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