A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. William Campbell is minister of St Andrew’s congregation in Moncton, New Brunswick.
A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians. (BST – The Bible Speaks Today Series), David Prior. Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 1985, 285 pp.
David Prior’s work on 1 Corinthians is one of a series of popular commentaries characterized by a balance on sensitive issues and readable style. Recognizing that whatever modern Christians do to enhance the quality of congregational life that will inevitably lead to renewal and growth, David Prior offers a fresh and sometimes gripping exposition of 1 Corinthians.
Included in this commentary is an excellent resource for introductory and background material to understand the book and its message in its own setting. The demands of this commentary and its uses for the careful exegete is somewhat restricted for the preacher, who wishes to live through the total experience from exegesis to proclamation. This is so, because one is forced to grapple with the impact of his subjective interpretation of several passages that are not clearly or obviously controlled by either the immediate context .or the framework of Biblical and Systematic Theology. The word studies are very helpful but word studies themselves must not control the thinking of and interpretation of the passage. An example of this weakness would be the discussion on 1 Corinthians 7 entitled, “Marriage and Singleness – two gifts from God.” There is too much assumed authority re divorce, remarriage and singleness outside of the control of the great principles established from the whole of biblical teaching, concerning what constitutes a legitimate divorce.
Principles extracted from the text showing the effects of the truth upon the life and conscience, would be helpful. Used in conjunction with Hodge, Calvin, Godet, etc. this commentary can however, be a valuable tool for the careful homiletician in embellishing and applying the text.
Implicit in Prior’s treatment of this letter is the undergirding conviction that he is dealing with the words of the Spirit and a study of this commentary begs the question: “If God is speaking to his church, what is he saying?”
A number of expanded treatments of particular subjects are included in the reference material which are both historical/textual and contemporary references. For instance, the reader is encouraged to refer to standard reference commentaries as well as popular books relevant to the various themes, for example, James Mitchener’s The Source, dealing with Jews who wanted to be Greeks, as an extended comment of 1 Corinthians 7:24.
Although this is not a commentary in which we find detailed exegesis of each phrase, clause and verse, Prior does draw lessons and applications of the text which has a ring of contemporaneity for Christians perplexed over pastoral problems pertaining to congregational life.
This commentary is one the layperson may be expected to use. Although not a scholarly one (and not intended to be), at numerous points there are manifest the insights of an accomplished exegete and many conclusions on difficult points are supported by sensitive discrimination, i.e., 1 Corinthians 15:29-34 on the question of a “baptism service on behalf of the dead”, or chapters 12 and 14, which have had such prominence in the “charismatic movement”.
This readable study of 1 Corinthians will be helpful for Christians to trace Paul’s thought as he wrote to the church at Corinth, whose members were participating in the same serious sins as Presbyterians do in 1986! Prior examines the ten special concerns of Paul in this regard and helps us compare the Corinthian Church with the Canadian Church.