σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου

1 Cor 7:31(b)

Quite literally “σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου” transliterates to “schema tou cosmou toutou”. Even if you don’t know Greek, I’m sure two words will jump out at you, at least they will after I remove the declintions: “schema” and “cosmos”. Now before you you try and run ahead of me with your newfound Greek wisdom, let me clarify — schema is indeed where we get our english word scheme from, but in this context it refers to the more basic schema. Anyone who’s worked with databases will immediately associate the word schema with the underlying data model/design of a database. That’s actually a better analogy. Schema here is best translated as “form” or “structure”. Thus, the form of this (toutou) cosmos. I’m not going to do all the work for you here. Cosmos has a context in English; I’m aware of that. I’m equally aware of what it meant to the Greeks and Romans. I’m not going to lay out an apologetic for the universal appeal of the cosmos. You can dig into that on your own. Neither shall I limit the scope of our English interpretation. I’ll just let the word lie and bear its own consequences. Enjoy.

To say that Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth is pointed may be a bit of an understatement. No, it is an understatement. It’s only now, as I’ve undertaken reading this book in the original language, that I can feel the levity with which Paul writes. There’s a certain weariness about his words. And yet, he seems to overcome his disappointment, sadness, and even exhaustion with several amazing flourishes. There is not a single word that he has written that is wasted. That’s not to say there are any wasted words in scripture. Even the Apostle John’s gospel and letters are filled to overflowing with divine purpose and prose. John is more… plain though. Written like a child who has discovered a new instrument and goes about the fundamentals. That’s not to take anything away from John’s theology mind you. Just that I don’t get the same evocations from John that I do from Paul. With Paul I don’t just read the words, I feel the passion.

And so Paul writes his first letter to the Corinthian church. In it he addresses sin directly, clarifies simple and complex theological quandaries, and answers several questions. As an aside, I really hope that one day we can recover a copy of the letter the church originally wrote to Paul. Chapter 7 (by our reckoning) of this letter is a direct response to the issues the Corinthians themselves raised (v1: “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote…”). I’m not interested in summarizing the entire contents of this chapter though. I certainly recommend you read and study on your own. However, as Paul approaches the end of this particular section, I relish the way he slowly drifts from the specific to the general. The tactics to the strategy. The ethic to the philosophic. Specific(ish) rules around marriage, divorce, and sex give way to the believer’s existential dilemma in a world that is “passing away”. This word is fascinating. Paul places it first in the phrase. It feels to me like this sentence was an afterthought; Paul knew where he was on this mending mental path, but felt so possessed as to give us mere mortals a bit of clarity. Literally, this is how I translate the sentence:

“Passing away for the schema of the cosmos this”

Obviously that doesn’t make sense, but that is certainly the word order Paul uses. Keep in mind that word order means nothing in Koine (or older) Greek. The writer would often place the word they wanted emphasized at the beginning of the phrase. This word — παράγει (paragei) is rich in context to a Greek reader. It would have been, to them, an ancient word easily tied back to Attic Greek (5th BCE), and even further when you break down its components. It’s a compound word — para (a prepositional prefix indicating close proximity) + ago (a true ancient verb that can indicate any number of “leading” terms from driving to taking, to leading, etc… the word agro is derived from this — where the English agriculture comes from). That’s as deep as I’ll go on the etymology of parago/paragei. I am NOT a Greek scholar, and all my thoughts around the Greek language should be understood in that context. I do believe an in depth review of this word would be interesting. Regardless, it was important to Paul. “Passing away”. The “ago” piece of this words certainly conveys action. Say what you will, the world (cosmos) is moving. Paul does not concern himself with the pilot, direction, quality, or speed of the cosmos’ movement. He merely mentions that it is passing us by. The mental image that I can’t seem to shake is that of watching life pass me by. As a spectator I witness all my interactions. All my joy and pain. Every heart I’ve broken, and every time the favor has been returned. Every devout promise made. Then broken. Every longing slowly eroded by time. And yet there I am reaching and pleading for someone, anyone, to notice me. I try and grab the cosmos, but there are no hand holds. It all just slips away until it’s gone. No memory of me persisted. No lasting monuments to my foils. Just gone.

As empty as that imagine may seem, I think that perhaps that is how Paul intended it to be read. You see, he continues by clarifying what is exactly passing away: “the schema”, that is “the form/appearance/bearing” of “this world”. Form is typically how the word is translated. But I think we have to be careful here. For the Greek and Roman readers, the word “form” would have different implications. They would have heard the words of Plato uttering rational philosophies of the line. In truth, the word schema had nothing to do with the traditional Greek philosophical concept of form. That word would have been morphe, which indicates a thing’s true nature (not the appearance, etc…). So I don’t know, maybe form isn’t the best translation to use if we want to read this as the Corinthians did, or as Paul intended (again, not a Greek scholar so please look elsewhere for a solid peer reviewed study on this).

So what is Paul saying? In the preceding verses he encourages us “mourn as if there were no mourning”, “rejoice as if there were no rejoicing”, “acquire possessions as if you could not keep them”, and finally, “to use/suffer the world NOT as if abusing (throughly consume) it”. I cannot overstate the emphasis of this word καταχρώμενοι (kata + chromenoi). Another compound word with the preposition kata (down, under). The idea is thoroughly used up or consumed. In an abusive sense. Man, that got deep quick! My heart aches over these words. I can see Paul rattling off his wishes and guidelines around marriage and the mundane (to him at least) nature of these unions. Not that marriage was not important, just that it seems to Paul to be a minor concern. “Yes, yes, if you must get married then do so. It’s better to be bound in that union than to to fall victim to temptation and lust.”. But in his head I can just as clearly hear the words “Do you not realize that our savior is coming soon? Why are you all so concerned with the trivial stuff of this world and not looking forward to that glorious day?!”. To be clear: I am 100% reading between the lines and Paul NEVER said those words (at least not like that). But it’s not hard to imagine he felt this way. Most modern scholars accept the fact that Paul did indeed believe that Jesus would return during his lifetime. And so we (or maybe I alone) see Paul traverse this ontological path. “Those who have wives be as they had none, …those who mourn be as if there were no mourning,… etc…” Until finally “those who deal with/use/suffer this world be as one not abusive to it”. I’ll admit, that last phrase is pretty difficult to translate. Most translations say something along the lines of “those who deal with the world as though they do not/had no deal/dealings with the world”. In my (again, non-expert) opinion that’s the “meh, close enough” translation. Not that it’s NOT close enough. It’s a valid translation, but in my estimation misses the climax that Paul was working towards with the phrase “the schema of this world is passing away”. OK, I’ve rambled on quite long enough, and still have yet to properly describe what I THINK Paul is saying here. At least, the manner in which I read it. And I can’t properly do that without painting the entire package — the emotion, exasperation, desperation, hope, and love that Paul shows. So here it is, my feeble attempt to translate 1 Cor 7:30–31.

That I could, by some divine gesture of the hand,

point to you and upon your breast remove all pretense of this flesh.

All longing and desire, all lust and disgust,

anything that of the flesh persists.

But I cannot, and so to the world you shall return.

Despite Christ’s release you will continue to tempt fate.

The sweet fragrance of fruit and drink, and passion’s pyre will warm you.

So yes, by all means marry. Marry and produce. Be fruitful, multiply if you must!

There is no wrong in this so long as Christ’s model of submission and service is observed.

But I warn you, there is no joy to come of this. To be tethered is to be vulnerable.

The time of this world’s stage is short. And it shall not depart peacefully!

I have tried to spare you as much suffering as I could, but marry you shall.

So brethren, if you must, marry. And be as if you were not tethered by love and affectation to another.

If you insist, mourn. And prepare to strike down the note of selfish sadness.

If gladdened unto joy, then rejoice. But hold not tightly to the subject of your heart’s worldly delight.

If you want little for material goods, then be as one who has nothing. For that is your future.

If you suffer this world willingly, then do so as one so forced by their condition and not out of wanton disregard for righteousness.

Indeed, the world and all that is in it will continue to pass you by. You will stand and watch as all these courtships, ills, glories, treasures, and tolerances leave you.

And then, when alone and in despair for that which was lost, may you look upon your nakedness and see the robe of redemption bound by the sash of salvation that our Savior has wrapped around you.

And then, we shall join together as citizens. Home for all eternity.

Or at least… something like that.