The Gifts of God and the Authentication of a Christian: An Exegetical Study of 1 Corinthians 8-11:1

Through an exegetical examination of 1 Corinthians 8-11:1 a central hypothesis is developed that seeks to facilitate a coherent understanding of these chapters and clarify their place in the epistle as a whole. It is suggested that in the Corinthian church the gifts of the Spirit and most notably the gift of knowledge had come to be regarded by the so-called strong as authenticators of their secure status in the covenant community. Paul argued that spiritual gifts could not and should not function in this way. Rather for the apostle it is love for God and for the community that alone can function in this way. Gardner offers a coherent reading of these three chapters of 1 Corinthians and views them as a connected and integrated argument. His work therefore adds further weight to the growing consensus that the chapters should not be divided up and assigned to different letters . . . . His hypothesis moreover offers interesting explanations for some of the more puzzling phrases in the text. --Dr. David Horrell Professor of New Testament Studies Exeter University Review in Journal of Theological Studies. Gardners exegesis of these chapters . . . is admirably thorough and clear. . . . His central hypothesis is that in the Corinthian church the gift of the Spirit called gnosis was regarded by the strong as an authenticator of their secure status in the covenant community . . . . To its credit Gardners view makes sense of the whole argument of chapters 8-10 is not overly speculative (the position of the strong is only a minor distortion of Pauls own teaching) and draws out the congruency of what Paul says here with what is said elsewhere in the letter. --Dr. Brian Rosner Principal Ridley College Melbourne Review in The Expository Times. Rev. Dr. Paul Gardner is currently the Senior Minister at ChristChurch Atlanta. He lectures internationally mainly on New Testament subjects and on homiletics. He is the author of several books including commentaries on Ephesians 1 2 Peter Jude and Revelation. Before moving to the United States from England he served as Archdeacon of Exeter. Previously he was Lecturer in New Testament and Academic Dean at Oak Hill College in north London (an Anglican Seminary). He is married to Sharon and has three grown children.