The
enigmatic line “beyond what is written” (4:6) likely refers to the Scripture
passages in the complement A unit, 3:3-23, within the α‘ ring set (3:3-4:21). The passages from Job 51:13 and LXX Ps
93:11 in 1 Cor 3:20-21 support Paul’s paradoxical exhortation to become foolish
in the new age so that the audience understand their communal identity and
unity with true spiritual knowledge rather than causing divisions with their
human conventional wisdom. These Scripture passages warn that those who try to
be wise by human standards will be “caught up in their own craftiness,” and that
they cannot outwit God or undo his re-ordering of the world with new spiritual
wisdom by dividing his church over worthless concerns. Such people will be
dealt with by God himself (3:19). (Timothy Milinovich, Beyond What is Written:
The Performative Structure of 1 Corinthians [Eugene, Oreg.: Pickwick
Publications, 2013], 71)
The
opinion that “what is written” refers to the several citations of Scripture
that Paul has given in the letter to this point is well-founded, and I would be
inclined to agree with it. However, within the present context, it appears to
me that the performative structure dictates for the audience to understand the
particular Scripture references in the most immediate parallel unit (A, 3:4-23)
as the proper point or referent. There is no question that the numerous
Scripture citations with “what is written” are useful, and many concern the
same issue of wisdom/foolishness as found in 1:29-31. However, the performative
structure appears to hold 3:20-21 as a primary referent for “that which is written”
for the Corinthians to beware in 4:6. (Ibid., 71 n. 27)
