PAUL AND THE RHETORIC OF REVERSAL: KERYGMATIC ...

It would seem that in the Pauline literature, fundamental ethical godlessness or wickedness
may be encapsulated with the attitude of grasping self-assertion (often in terms of passionate
desire) 48 and with the personal bodily practices characterised as idolatrous greed and
impurity/sexual immorality.
Correspondingly, it has repeatedly been seen that Paul’s exhortations regarding corporate
bodily life are generally dealt with second in ethical sections, and involve mutual love as the
primary virtue, usually occurring either first or as a climactic encompassing finale. This
occurs both in virtue lists and in extended hortatory sections.
The centrality of love (especially ἀγάπη) in Paul’s writings has been well established,
and is documented in virtually every major work on Pauline theology and ethics. To
summarize briefly, ἀγάπη, for Paul, is the greatest of the Christian “virtues”, the most
important ethical trait of the Christian life…. Paul’s whole understanding of ethical
righteousness now seems to be dominated by the concept of love. 49
This theme appears generally to be expressed as a self-denying commitment to make peace
with, edify, or submit to others within the community, in a spirit of unity. A large proportion
of instances of “love” terminology in the letters attributed to Paul occur in the passages that
have been examined above; that is, occurring distinct (and often subsequent) to sections
dealing with the restraint of bodily immorality and greed. 50 In Romans, for example, love
terminology is used for exhortation only beginning at 12:9. In 1 Corinthians, such usage
occurs only in chapters 8–16. In Ephesians, it occurs only from 3:17, in the passages
48 G.D. Collier argues that a greedy desire to go beyond the boundaries is the root of all
covetous sins and the content of the Decalogue: G.D. Collier, “‘That We Might Not Crave
Evil’: The Structure and Argument of 1 Corinthians 10.1-13,” JSNT 17/55 (1995): 55-75.
49 Roger Mohrlang, Matthew and Paul: A Comparison of Ethical Perspectives (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1984), 101.
50 The noun ἀγάπη and its cognate verb occur as an exhortation in Romans 12:9; 13:9-10;
14:15; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 13; 14:1; 16:14; 2 Corinthians 2:8; 8:8, 24; 13:11; Galatians 5:6, 13-
14, 22; Ephesians 3:17; 4:2, 15-16; 5:1, 25-33; Philippians 1:9; 2:2; Colossians 2:2; 3:12-14,
19; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10; 5:8, 13; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2:15; 4:12; 6:11; 2 Timothy 1:7; 2:22;
Titus 2:2; Philemon 9.
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