1 Cor 4:6: "beyond what is written"

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porthos11

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In 1st Cor 4:6, St. Paul advises the Corinthians to “not go beyond what is written”. Now Protestants like to cite this as a “defense” of Sola Scriptura, but if this interpretation is attached, then it directly contradicts 2 Thess 2:15: “hold fast to the traditions we have handed on to you either by word of mouth or by letter.”

So what is the real context of 1 Cor 4:6? What is St. Paul talking about?
 
Dave Armstrong, in his wonderfull book “A Biblical Defenseof Catholicism” Covers this very well. Let me quote…
The clause emphasized above, which is used as a proof for *sola Scriptura, *is thought to be difficult in the Greek, so much so that one Protestant translator, James Moffatt, considered it beyond recovery and refused to translate it! Yet the meaning seems fairly clear when the whole context is taken into consideration (at the very least verses 3-6). This basic principle of biblical interpretation (context) is often neglected, even by good scholars, presumably due to presuppositional bias. For example, the great evangelical theologian G.K Berkouwer, who writes many insightful and edifying things about Scripture, falls prey to this tendency repeatedly, in using this *portion *of a verse to imply the notion of *sola Scriptura, *in his magnum opus on Scripture. One simply has to read the phrase following the “proof text” to see what it is to which St. Paul is referring. The whole passage is an *ethical exhortation *to avoid pride, arrogance and favoritism, and as such, has nothing to do with the idea of the Bible and the written word as some sort of all-encompassing standard of authority over against the Church. St. Paul’s teaching elsewhere … precludes such an interpretation anyway. One of the foundational tenets of Protestant hermeneutics is to interpret less clear, obscure portions of Scripture by means of more clear, related passages. St. Paul is telling the Corinthians to observe the broad ethical precepts of the Old Testament (some translators render the above clause as keep within the rules), as indicated by his habitual phrase, *it is written, *which is always used to precede Old Testament citations throughout his letters. Assuming that he is referring to the Old Testament (the most straightforward interpretation), this would prove too much, for he would not be including the entire New Testament, whose Canon was not even finally determined until 397 A.D. To summarize, then, 1 Corinthians 4:6 (that is, one part of the verse) fails as a proof text for *sola Scriptura *for at least three reasons: 1) The context is clearly one of *ethics. *We cannot transgress (go beyond) the precepts of Scripture concerning relationships. This doesn’t forbid the discussion of ethics *outside *of Scripture (which itself cannot possibly treat every conceivable ethical dispute and dilemma); 2) The phrase does not even *necessarily *have to refer to *Scripture, *although this appears to be the majority opinion of scholars (with which I agree); 3) If *what is written *refers to Scripture, it certainly points to the Old Testament alone (obviously not the Protestant “rule of faith”). Thus, this verse proves too much and too little simultaneously.
 
The footnote in the NAB says the following: “…It probably means that the Corinthians should avoid the false wisdom of vain speculation, contenting themselves with Pauls’s proclamation of the cross, which is the fulfillment of God’s promises in the Old Testament (what is written).” Maybe someone with a Navarre bible can shed some light on this passage as well.

Personally, if this verse is being used for backing the claim of Sola Scriptura then I would wonder what that does to letters/books written after the first letter to the Corinthians since they were not written at the time.
 
In 1 Corinthians 4:6, Paul is quoting a proverb and applying it to himself and Apollos:
Paul refers to a pedagogical conception which his hearers would recognize from their early education. They would recall their earliest experiences when, as children, they learned to write, and a person who could not write would know the image from the pedagogy of the time. The reference is to the instruction given to children learning to write letters of the alphabet. A teacher would carefully write the letter, word or sentence, and the pupil would then meticulously copy the teacher’s model or would trace over the lines lightly drawn by the teacher. A teacher might direct a pupil’s fingers tracing over the light outline of the letters already drawn. Pupils would go through this by rote copying many times before being able to draw the letters for themselves. Throughout the process the pupil had to be careful not to go above the line or go below the line with others. One was neither to fall short of the model given nor go beyond it . . . Using such imagery, immediately recognizable to the Corinthians, Paul is telling the Corinthians to follow Apollos and himself as models: “Copy us, imitate us, being careful, just as you were as children learning to write letters, not to write above or below the lines.”
{Ronald Tyler, “First Corinthians 4:6 and Hellenistic Pedagogy”, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly (ed. Aelred Cody, Vol. 60, No 1, January 1998, The Catholic University of America, Washington DC.}
Hope that helps.
 
Eric Svendsen says:

“The passage to which you refer says: “Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what is written.’” In context the phrase “what is written” probably refers to whatever instructions Paul has given them in this letter. You friend is wrong in his assertion that there is “no context of Scripture,” since obviously even if Paul limits his words to the current letter, the current letter is itself Scripture. On the other hand, I personally would not use this passage to defend sola scriptura—there are better passages for that, including 2 Tim 3:16-17.”
 
Hi Porthos,

How about first - I Cor 5:9 says, “ I wrote to you in an epistle, not to keep company with fornicators.” Paul’s earlier letter, which there is no record of, was just as binding as I Corinthians was. Also, Col 4:16 says, “ And when this epistle shall have been read with you, cause that it be read in the church of the Laodiceans.” This epistle not in Bible. It is extrabiblical.

1 Cor 4:6 says, “…that one be not puffed up against the other for another, above that which is written.” Paul is writing about the “Book of Life”, NOT scripture. (Look at verses 4 & 5)

May God bless,

James224
 
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DominvsVobiscvm:
In 1 Corinthians 4:6, Paul is quoting a proverb and applying it to himself and Apollos.
This in itself is self-defeating for sola scriptura, since we have Paul here quoting an extra-scriptural source as teaching!! That’s impossible if all necessary teaching is supposed to be someplace in scripture.

Yikes! :eek:
 
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