Slave of Christ or willing servant?
1 Cor 9:16-18 is often interpreted as Paul presenting himself as a 'slave of Christ'. Because slaves sometimes functioned as 'stewards' in the Greco-Roman world, some have concluded that Paul was drawing upon this imagery as a way to identify himself as Christ's slave stewar...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
NTWSA
2003
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| In: |
Neotestamentica
Year: 2003, Volume: 37, Issue: 2, Pages: 179-198 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | 1 Cor 9:16-18 is often interpreted as Paul presenting himself as a 'slave of Christ'. Because slaves sometimes functioned as 'stewards' in the Greco-Roman world, some have concluded that Paul was drawing upon this imagery as a way to identify himself as Christ's slave steward. This paper proposes that Paul does not identify himself as Christ's slave anywhere in 1 Corinthians. The social climate of posturing in Corinth among those who claimed to be 'free' would have prevented Paul from declaring himself to them as a 'slave of Christ'. In response to this situation, Paul intentionally chose the terminology he used in 4:1 and 9:17 so that he would not be perceived by his readers as the 'slave of Christ', but rather as the 'freewill servant of Christ'. Through a change in terminology, Paul was able to circumvent these problems and challenge those who were 'free' to become 'slaves of Christ'. |
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| ISSN: | 2518-4628 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Neotestamentica
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.10520/EJC83145 |