PAUL AND THE RHETORIC OF REVERSAL: KERYGMATIC ...

Thiselton, drawing on Paulsen, offers another possibility, in which Paul is seen as quoting
a Corinthian slogan about the eschatological necessity of divisions. 111 This would
distance Paul from the problems of the apparent approval of divisions; but again, this is
not certain. However, on either reading, there is no contradiction with Paul’s dismay at
divisions in chapter 1. Thus, although there are questions about the interpretation of this
verse, it would seem that Schmithals and Yeo go too far in holding that this apparent
tension demands partition in the letter.
The Coming of Paul and Sending of Timothy in 4:14-21 and 16:8-11
There are two tensions here. Firstly, in the former section Paul implies that he will come
to Corinth soon, while in the latter section he makes it plain that he has no intention of
coming to Corinth until later. Secondly, in the former passage Paul says that he has “sent”
Timothy to Corinth, while in the latter passage he gives instructions on how Timothy
should be treated “if” he should come to Corinth.
These tensions are noted by Weiss, who is followed, amongst others, by Schenk and
Schmithals in attributing the passages to different preceding letter parts.
Schrage suggests that the former passage does not concern actual travel plans, but rather
expresses a willingness to deal personally with the problem of “puffed-upness” as hastily
as is required. 112 Similarly, Hall sees 4:19 as a threat rather than a promise. 113 It does
seem that Paul’s choice of words distances himself from definite immediacy, making his
coming contingent upon the Lord’s own will:
ἐλεύσομαι δὲ ταχέως πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ
Gordon Fee thus sees smooth congruity between the two sections:
111 Thiselton, First Epistle, 858ff. According to this reading, the strong in Corinth use the
slogan “dissensions are unavoidable”.
112 Schrage, Der erste Brief an die Korinther (1 Kor1,1-6,11), 69.
113 Hall, Unity, 45-46.
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