Thoughts on 1:12-14
We all know the saying that if you throw enough mud at a person some is sure to stick. Paul was on the receiving end of mud-slinging -- some of which had clearly stuck to him as far as the Corinthians were concerned. "You can't trust that man, Paul," was possibly the kind of thing that was said behind his back, "He's boastful, arrogant..." and whatever other slurs his detractors thought would erode his position among these immature Christians.
It doesn't take more than a year or two in ordained ministry to realize that those in leadership are often the target of such whispering campaigns -- or worse. When it happens we wrestle inwardly to know what might be the right way of responding to such accusations, especially if they are gross exaggerations or untruths built around one tiny inconspicuous fact. Clearly this was an issue at the beginning of the church, too, and here is Paul beginning to try to clear his name in the eyes of the Corinthians.
Implicit within this text is the notion that Paul is deceitful and underhand. Perhaps he is accused of being insincere and two-faced. Having read and re-read this epistle a good number of times in the last few months, I am wondering if Paul is actually on the receiving end of some pretty heavy projection by his detractors. Given the character of those who are seeking to gain from the intrusion they are making into the Corinthian church, making a colorful splash as they do so, this would make a lot of sense.
But as we all know, it is extremely hard to gracefully and graciously extricate ourselves when we are on the receiving end of this stuff, and it can be both hurtful and painful to our inner being. Paul was clearly a sensitive man, and as he learned of the disruption in the church and of the attacks on himself he was crushed inside and sought to present himself in a true rather than a false light.
"We boast," he told the Corinthians, "Not in ourselves but in the forthright and open way in which we have behaved toward you from the very beginning" (Verse 12). He wants to make the point that words written and words spoken are consistent. What is interesting is the word that he uses in verse 12 that is usually translated simplicity, has an alternate reading and can be the word hagiotes which means holiness. While the better manuscripts are overwhelmingly for haplotes, these two possibilities together make the point that in a faithful life there should be no hidden motives, and that he, Paul, is being utterly straightforward. There are no hidden meanings in Paul's words. As they say often in my part of England, Paul was "calling a spade a spade."
There is a relationship, it would appear between being open and honest and holiness, or that alternate reading would not have crept in. It is the Father of Lies who conceals and perverts, and Paul is urging them to realize that this is not his modus operandi. William Barclay points out that "a man may use words to reveal his thoughts or he may equally use them to conceal his thoughts. There are few of us who can honestly say that we mean to the full every word that we say" (Daily Study Bible -- Letters to the Corinthians, page 195).
I suspect that Paul is not claiming to be utterly and totally consistent in every word and action, no man who was so certain of his own fallenness would make such an assertion. However, he is trying to get across the point that he does not deliberately act in a sneaky, underhand, deceitful manner. That, I think, is the message to us when we are under fire, too. Under God we need to be as open and straight with the facts and people as we possibly can be.
It doesn't take more than a year or two in ordained ministry to realize that those in leadership are often the target of such whispering campaigns -- or worse. When it happens we wrestle inwardly to know what might be the right way of responding to such accusations, especially if they are gross exaggerations or untruths built around one tiny inconspicuous fact. Clearly this was an issue at the beginning of the church, too, and here is Paul beginning to try to clear his name in the eyes of the Corinthians.
Implicit within this text is the notion that Paul is deceitful and underhand. Perhaps he is accused of being insincere and two-faced. Having read and re-read this epistle a good number of times in the last few months, I am wondering if Paul is actually on the receiving end of some pretty heavy projection by his detractors. Given the character of those who are seeking to gain from the intrusion they are making into the Corinthian church, making a colorful splash as they do so, this would make a lot of sense.
But as we all know, it is extremely hard to gracefully and graciously extricate ourselves when we are on the receiving end of this stuff, and it can be both hurtful and painful to our inner being. Paul was clearly a sensitive man, and as he learned of the disruption in the church and of the attacks on himself he was crushed inside and sought to present himself in a true rather than a false light.
"We boast," he told the Corinthians, "Not in ourselves but in the forthright and open way in which we have behaved toward you from the very beginning" (Verse 12). He wants to make the point that words written and words spoken are consistent. What is interesting is the word that he uses in verse 12 that is usually translated simplicity, has an alternate reading and can be the word hagiotes which means holiness. While the better manuscripts are overwhelmingly for haplotes, these two possibilities together make the point that in a faithful life there should be no hidden motives, and that he, Paul, is being utterly straightforward. There are no hidden meanings in Paul's words. As they say often in my part of England, Paul was "calling a spade a spade."
There is a relationship, it would appear between being open and honest and holiness, or that alternate reading would not have crept in. It is the Father of Lies who conceals and perverts, and Paul is urging them to realize that this is not his modus operandi. William Barclay points out that "a man may use words to reveal his thoughts or he may equally use them to conceal his thoughts. There are few of us who can honestly say that we mean to the full every word that we say" (Daily Study Bible -- Letters to the Corinthians, page 195).
I suspect that Paul is not claiming to be utterly and totally consistent in every word and action, no man who was so certain of his own fallenness would make such an assertion. However, he is trying to get across the point that he does not deliberately act in a sneaky, underhand, deceitful manner. That, I think, is the message to us when we are under fire, too. Under God we need to be as open and straight with the facts and people as we possibly can be.
posted by Richard Kew at 5:54 AM
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