January 01, 2010
New Year's Resolution
Webster’s defines resolution as, ‘the act or process of resolving’. I think the Apostle Paul has given us a great resolution for 2010. “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor 2:2 NIV) This gives a whole new meaning to the catchphrase, 'I know nothing…'
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Gail;
-----The Greek term “krino” behind your NIV’s interesting translation “resolved” has broad meaning and is used ninety-eight times in the New Testament. It is mostly translated “to judge” and is behind the ideas of not taking one another to court, not judging one another, the saints judging the angels (I Cor 6:3), as well as Paul’s determination to stay in Nicopolis for the winter (Titus 3:12), a man’s determination not to marry his betrothed (I Cor 7:37), and one man’s esteem of one day over another (Rom 14:5). The NIV’s selection of “resolved” in the verse you quoted captures the fundamental idea of the Greek term in a way that ties nicely to the New Year’s resolution. “Resolve” is derived from the Latin “solvere” meaning to loosen or release. Therefore the common thread running through its variety of meanings is similar to that running through the variety of meanings for “krino”. It breaks the complex into simple pieces for study, decision, and reasoned commitment. So in the New Year’s resolution and Paul’s resolution to know only Christ crucified while amongst the Corinthians is a focus for a purpose rather than a jettisoning of the whole from a piece.
-----You present an excellent topic, because I often sense the brotherhood receives I Cor 2:2 as meaning a jettisoning of the wealth of knowledge about the Lord so only the fact of Him and His crucifixion remains valid understanding. This is not at all Paul’s message. The Corinthians were deeply divided by following the ideas of different persons. It was not enough that they had available many viewpoints from the thinking of various men. But they also felt they had to go the extra step of determining some to be valid and others to be invalid, which necessitated judgment of each other’s knowledge. This ran against the grain of Paul’s attitudes. For he carefully reasoned out the validity of each person’s individual understanding for the Romans at chapter fourteen of his letter to them. Each one esteemed different days, he reasoned, some determined to eat only vegetables, while others ate meat as well. He assured the Romans that it was proper for each person to be concluded in his own thinking about different things, and they were not to bother one another over their differences. If there was difficulty between ideas, “The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God...” (Rom 14:22), he wrote. And this is all he was doing amongst the Corinthians - keeping his faith between himself and God, because they had such a tendency to judge one another’s knowledge.
-----So as a person may resolve this or that for the New Year and carry on with all the other activities necessary to his life through the year as well, Paul resolves to know only Jesus Christ and Him crucified amongst the Corinthians, and to know within himself everything else he had learned of the Lord as well. It was a breaking down of his knowledge of Christ to focus on only Him and His crucifixion in a situation where all other knowledge was being wrongly impugned and judged. So, in this situation, what makes for fellowship could come to the for and make fellowship while everything else important for other situations could be reserved for them. Although he knew only Christ amongst the Corinthians, he still held to everything he knew. He simply did not insist upon it (I Cor 13:5), but rather kept it between himself and God.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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