Paul and Pseudepigraphy (Pauline Studies, Book 8)

a deutero-pauline mystery? 177

original term is clearly “church of god” (ἐκκλησία τοῦ θεοῦ), as in all the

early occurrences (1 Cor 1:2; 10:32; 15:9; 2 Cor 1:1; gal 1:13; cf. 1 Cor 11:16, 22;

1 thess 2:14), but in Phil 3:6 Paul mentions that he had persecuted “the

church.” at this later stage in Paul’s writing career, no qualifier was appar-

ently necessary. “Church” was now almost a technical term, referring to

the people of god.

the term “church” could have very general connotations also in the

undisputed letters. it could evoke the idea of a church assembly in general,

as well as the people of god. to be sure, the use of the term in Colossians

marks another step in its development, but it is the natural conclusion of

a development that was already well under way.

Christ as the Head

another striking evidence of further development is found in the way the

church is described as a body. this metaphor is well-known from rom

12:5 and 1 Cor 12:12–13, 27. the point in those contexts is fundamentally

egalitarian: all the body parts are equally important (rom 12:4–8; 1 Cor

12:14–27). the head is not above the foot (1 Cor 12:21). in Colossians, how-

ever, Christ is identified as the head of the body (Col 1:18; 2:19). Many

scholars conclude that Paul himself would not have used the same termi-

nology with such a very different meaning. however, the undisputed let-

ters can also refer to Christ as the head. according to 1 Cor 11:3, “Christ is

the head of every man.” this relationship corresponds in turn to those of

the husband as the head of his wife and of god as the head of Christ (1 Cor

11:3). a similar point is made in eph 5:23: “the husband is the head of the

wife,” but the analogy is not that Christ is the head of the man. instead,

Christ is now “the head of the church.” in 1 Corinthians 11, the point is

that the behavior of men and women reflects positively or negatively on

their respective heads. if a man “prays or prophesies with something on

his head [he] disgraces his head” (1 Cor 11:4). a woman, on the other hand,

disgraces her head if she “prays or prophesies with her head unveiled”

(1 Cor 11:5).

there is a lot of discussion about the background for Paul’s comments

in these verses. a very plausible explanation has been provided by david

gill. he points out that archaeological evidence from the first century

shows the emperor, priests, and magistrates drawing their toga over their

head when praying or presenting sacrifices. this practice was limited to

those of high status, those who took a leading role in the cult. Perhaps the

Corinthian Christians copied this practice, as a status marker. if so, Paul’s