Robertson
and Plummer, as well as Conzelmann, draw a parallel between Paul’s reference to
gods in 1 Cor. 8:5 and Gal. 4:8. In Gal. 4:8, Paul reminds the Galatians that
they were enslaved to ‘beings that by nature are not gods’ (τοις φυσει μη ουσι θεοις). Paul does not call these beings ‘non-existent’, but
merely diminishes their religious significance when compared with that of God
(see v.9). Similarly, in 2 Cor. 4:4, Paul refers to ‘the gods of this world’ (ο θεος του αιωνος τουτου) who ‘has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,’ that
is, Paul writes about the consequences of the factual work of this ‘gods’ and
this implies his real existence. Reference to superhuman beings other than ‘one
God’ are found in a number of texts in 1 Corinthians: Paul mentions demons (1
Cor. 10:20-21), idols (which apparently are the material representations of
demons; see 12:2 and elsewhere), ‘the rulers of this age’ (2:6,8), and ‘every
ruler and every authority and power’ (15:24). The latter two groups should be
also understood as supra-human beings. According to these texts, Paul not only
affirms the existence of such beings, but even uses it in order to strengthen
his argument.
It
is sometimes argued that Paul’s words και γαρ ειπερ
at the beginning of 1 Cor. 8:5 indicate his rejection of the real existence of λεγομενοι θεοι.
However, not everyone fully supports this interpretation of ειπερ. (See Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon, §1575.13,
who notes that ειπερ
is used of ‘a thing which is assumed to be, but whether rightly or wrongly is
left in doubt’) It is worth noting that Pual uses the same particle when he
affirms the oneness of God (and therefore His real existence) in Orm. 3:30a: ειπερ εις ο θεος.
There are some other markers in the text of 1 Cor 8:5 which allow us to assume
that Pual considers λεγομενοι θεοι in 1 Cor. 8:5 as truly existing beings. For instance,
Pual is quite concrete in his reference to the dwelling place of these beings: ειτε εν ουρανω ειτε επι γης. One can ask whether
it would be necessary for Paul to make this specification if his intention was
merely to claim the improbability of the existence of these beings. Scholars
also draw attention to Paul’s use of ωσπερ
in the middle of the verse which links the subsequent text with the preceding
one, for ωσπερ εισιν θεοι πολλοι can be rendered as ‘just as indeed there are many
gods’. (So BDAG [pp. 1106-07]. Cf. the translation in the NRSV: ‘as in fact
there are many gods and many lords’.) In other words, even if Paul’s expression
in the first half of the verse regarding λεγομενοι θεοι can be understood as a hypothetical assumption, the
second half with the concrete reference to ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ seem to be an
affirmative statement. J.F.M. Smit proposes to make GK as implying that the
supposition agrees with the fact’ and ‘to relate it first of all to ωσπερ, which introduces the statement that the supposition
is indeed a fact’. (See Smit, ‘1 Cor 8.1-6’, 585)
One
should not overlook the rhetorical significance of
αλλ’ ημιν in v.6, which sets ‘one God’ and ‘one Lord’ in a
contrast to many gods and many lords. Pual seems to distinguish not what is
‘real’ from what is ‘unreal’ but the two co-existing realities. If he considers
other ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ as non-existent, it would not be necessary for him to
use ημιν:
he could just proclaim that in fact there are one God the Father and one Lord
Jesus Christ. Moreover, the very presence of v.5 would make no sense if Paul in
his reply to the Corinthians’ statement in v.4 just wants to stress the reality
of only one Go (and only one Lord).
Taking into account these considerations, there seems
to be no reason to question Paul’s confidence with regard to the real existence
of other celestial beings. (Andrey A. Romanov, One God as One God and One
Lord: The Lordship of Jesus Christ as a Hermeneutical Key to Paul’s Christology
in 1 Corinthians (with a special focus on 1 Cor. 8:4-6) [Early Christian
Studies 20; Macquarie Centre, Australia: 2021], 600-3)
