PAUL AND THE RHETORIC OF REVERSAL: KERYGMATIC ...

that which is divine. A number of related concrete issues seem to cluster around this core
problem as it is framed in this section:
• Leadership: Allegiance to particular external figureheads (and possibly their
baptism); worldly, premature judgement of local church leaders
• Wise Speech: Esteem for secular models of wisdom and speech; esteem for
secular examples of power and rule
• Spiritual Status: A desire to be thought of as “spiritual” despite ironic “fleshly-
ness” and spiritual immaturity; pride related to what one “possesses”
After this point there is a conscious re-framing of the critical issue. In 4:6-7, Paul reveals
that he has “transformed” (μετεσχημάτισα) the issue in terms of himself and Apollos, in
order that the Corinthians might not become “puffed up” on behalf of one leader over
against another. This word means “transform” elsewhere in Paul (Phil. 3:21) and other
early literature. David R. Hall has commented extensively on this verse, following
Chrysostom and others in suggesting:
The meaning is that Paul has disguised his argument, so that what really applies
to other people has been applied to himself and Apollos. 146
Hall’s correct observation that the verb always carries the meaning “to alter the form or
appearance of something into something else” may be applied not just to the personalities
represented in the accusation, but also to the level of the accusation. That is, Paul has
“disguised” his argument as though he were simply dealing with himself and Apollos as
figureheads of a Corinthian dispute, whereas in fact his deeper accusation is that in their
proud neglect of certain leaders and preference for polished speakers the Corinthian
believers in general are “puffed up” 147 and oblivious of their need for dependence. This in
146 Hall, Unity, 5.
147 Laurence L. Welborn’s suggestion that this image carries obvious political overtones of
conceited oratory is making the imagery too specific. Certainly the idea of conceit is
clear, but to claim that the examples of aristocratic oratory that Welborn lists are the same
specification of “conceit” as that intended by Paul is rather speculative. The same verb is
used, for example, in Testament of Levi 14:7-8, in which the picture is of pride in priestly
position. The verb is used in Colossians 2:18 to picture pride in manifest spirituality.
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