17. - 1 Corinthians 1:7-8
"There is no gift you lack, while you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you till the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." [RSV]
This passage is representative of many in the epistles which speak of the anticipated coming of Christ (the Parousia)..We keep wanting these writers to clarify, to acknowledge, that Jesus had already come before, that he had begun when on earth the work he would complete at the Parousia; that people had formerly witnessed their deliverance in the event of his death and resurrection; that he had been "revealed" to the sight of all in his incarnated life as Jesus of Nazareth. But never an echo of such ideas do we hear in the background of these passages.
1. Silences in passage/challenge to a historical Jesus:
Jesus came once to earth, and is expected to come again for a second time, a "return".
2. Relevancy within context:
The context is an introduction which quickly leads into a discussion about the wisdom of God and foolishness of men. Paul talks in 2:23 of how the cross is a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, and how the rulers who crucified Christ didn't understand God's wisdom in 2:7. The revelation of Christ upon his coming then may have a deeper significance beyond that of a visual appearance. The context supports the idea that the "revelation" of Jesus in the "day of the Lord" involves a new awareness that was not previously present. 2:10 says "God has revealed to us through the spirit". It is true that the language doesn't reference or imply his having come previously.
3. Related information in other early writings:
The clearest reference I can find in Paul's "authentic" letters to Christ having "appeared" or "come" to earth the first time is in Gal 4:4 "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, "
1 Tim1:15 references Christ's first appearance: "15It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.", though the authenticity to Paul is disputed by many.
This author references both a past and further appearance without referencing the first when mentioning the second, though the first sounds like an appearance on earth:
2 Tim 1:11 "10but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,"
2 Tim 4:1"1I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:"
1 John also references a past and a future appearance without giving reference to the first when mentioning the second:
1 John 3:5 "5You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin."
1 John 3:8 "8the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil."
1 John 3:2 "2Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."
The strongest linguistic evidence is found in the synoptics. Even in the synoptics when Jesus (who is on earth) is quoted with reference to his return, there is no mention of a "second coming" or "return" or "coming again": In Mark, for example we have 13:26 "And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory" and 13:36 "should he come suddenly". Jesus isn't quoted as saying "they will see the Son of man coming again--this time in clouds with great power and glory."
The fact that we have references within the gospels themselves and other epistles which are considered to be to a second appearance on earth yet use language that does't reveal a first appearance is strong enough evidence for me that the "silence" in Paul's work should not be unexpected.
We do have one example in an early writing to the return of Jesus, in Hebrews:
Heb 9:26b "26Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. "
Heb 9:28 "28so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him."
Paul also appears to echo a few of Jesus' words about his second coming: The "desolating sacrilege" of Mark 13:14 is similar to Paul's "son of perdition" in 2 Thess 2:3, and the need for watchfulness for "of that day or that hour no one know" (Mark 13:32) is echoed in Paul's words in 1 Thess 5:2 "the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."
4. Conclusion
The passage given is relevant but may be using the word "revealed" more in the sense of a "first awareness" for those that don't believe, which would explain the omission of any sense of coming again. Or, the difference in the type of coming (for final judgment) may justify emphasizing the "return" uniquely. Whatever the reason, this argument has little validity when we see that the gospel passages that discuss a clearly implied second coming refer to it in the same way that Paul did. It seems clear that the author of Hebrews, who previously referred to Jesus' "days of his flesh" believed Jesus' coming would be a return to earth.
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