To what do “outside the law” and “under the law” refer?

Explanation:

In 1 Corinthians 9:20 Paul writes that he became like those ὑπὸ νόμον (under the law) in order to gain them for Christ. It would have been obvious to his audience that those under the law are the Jews who have received the Mosaic law. When we reach 1 Corinthians 9:21 he writes that he also became like the τοῖς ἀνόμοις (those outside the law). If the ones under the law are the Jews, then the τοῖς ἀνόμοις are the non-Jews, or the Gentiles. A look at the Greek highlights Paul’s wordplay. The term for law in Greek is νόμος. By adding alpha to the beginning of νόμος we get ἄνομος. The literal translation of ἄνομος is lawless but here Paul uses it to refer to the non-Jews, who are the Gentiles.⁴ While Paul cannot resist the play on words to indicate that he is willing to become like both the Jews and the Gentiles, he does not want the Gentiles to misunderstand his position.⁵ In order to avoid any confusion Paul notes that he is not outside the law of God; that is, he is not saying that he is lawless and can live any way he likes. Instead, he is saying that he lives according to the customs of the Gentiles while remaining true to God by obeying the law of Christ.⁶

Counterargument:

This argument depends on the notion that Paul characterizes the Jews in 1 Corinthians 9:20 as Jews and those under the law, and the Gentiles in 1 Corinthians 9:21 as lawless and weak. It is strange for Paul to reference the Jews as both Jews and those under the law in 1 Corinthians 9:20 as though they are two different parties. It is more likely that Paul has four parties in mind.⁷ These include the Jews, those under the law which might include Gentiles who have become Jewish, the lawless, as in those who have no particular law, and the weak.⁸ Seen in this light, it is not clear that by living like those outside the law, Paul is living like the Gentiles. Rather, he must mean that he is living like those who have no particular law.

Response to counterargument:

There are many occasions when Paul says that the difference between a Jew and a Gentile is that the Jews were given the Mosaic law. For example, in Galatians Paul explains that the law was given to the Israelites as a sort of guardian until the coming of Christ, so that both the Jews and the Gentiles would be justified by faith (Galatians 3:19–22). And in Romans 2, Paul explains that those who are under the law, that is, the Jews, will be judged by the law. While those outside the law, that is, the Gentiles, will be judged outside the law (Romans 2:9–15). It is no surprise then that Paul would categorize the social world into two groups in 1 Corinthians 9:20–21, including the Jews who are under the law and the Gentiles who do not have the law.⁹

Further, it is possible that the reason Paul distinguishes between Jews and Jews who are under the law is that some Jews only participated in cultural aspects of Judaism, including circumcision and special observances, while others also held to the stricter legal requirements of Jewish law.¹⁰

Explanation:

Our primary aim is to determine if, when Paul says that he became like those who are not under the law, he means to say that he adapted to the Gentile culture in order to share the gospel. Every culture has its own character and charm. Some aspects of a culture are harmless expressions of a community, while other aspects might be godless. For example, in Indian culture, when you have guests over to your home for a meal, the hosts will stand and watch their guests eat until they are finished. Only once the guests are finished eating will the hosts sit and eat. This is a harmless cultural norm. Harmful cultural norms might include sexual ethics that go against the teachings of Scripture. Our contention is that Paul deliberately participates in harmless cultural norms in order to win people for Christ.

Evidence that Paul would freely participate in harmless cultural norms for the sake of the gospel comes by way of his broader theology. For example, in Galatians 3:28–29, Paul writes that there is no Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female because all who have been baptized into Christ are one in Christ Jesus. He says something very similar in this letter to the Corinthians. In ch. 1 Corinthians 12:1–31 he describes the church as one body. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 he writes that Jews, Greeks, slaves, and free have all been baptized into one body and made to drink of one Spirit. Paul understood that humans divide the world into various classes and groups based on social and cultural differences, but he wants the Corinthians to understand that our true identity is in Christ, under whom we are all equal.

Counterargument:

While it is true that Paul elevates our identity in Christ above all social and cultural categories, this does not mean that when Paul mentions those outside the law in 1 Corinthians 9:21, he refers specifically to the Gentiles. Rather, all we can conclude from Galatians 3:28–29 and 1 Corinthians 12:13 is that there are no categories in Christ. This leaves open the identity of who Paul refers to when he says that he became like those outside the law. In fact, a quick word study shows that the term ἄνομος is used six times in the New Testament, and in every case, it seems to refer to those who are sinful. For example, 2 Peter 2:9 discusses how Lot was tormented by the lawless deeds of the people of Sodom. And 1 Timothy 1:9 says that the law is meant for the lawless, that is, the unholy and profane who strike their parents and murder. And 2 Thessalonians 2:8 characterizes the lawless one as the one whom Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth. In almost every instance, the term ἄνομος refers to sinful people, not Gentiles.

Response to counterargument:

While it might be that some meanings of the term ἄνομος refer to sinners who are lawless, the fact is that the term carries a variety of meanings.¹¹ We are not introducing a new meaning by suggesting that Paul uses the term to refer to the Gentiles rather, of the various meanings on offer, we are choosing the one that seems to fit best with the context. Since Paul often distinguishes between Jews and Gentiles, and there was a mixture of Jew and Gentile Christians in Corinth, it seems best to think that Paul uses the term ἄνομος to refer to non-Jews, or, Gentiles.

Possible weakness:

The only weakness of this view is that it requires some knowledge that Paul uses ἄνομος as a technical term to refer to the Gentiles. We have to assume that the church in Corinthian was somewhat familiar with the notion that Paul would characterize the Jews as those under the law, and the Gentiles as ἄνομος. To the untrained ear, the term ἄνομος might sound pejorative, because it literally means lawless. Still, terms can be used in various ways and in this case, Paul does not seem to use it pejoratively but uses it to characterize the non-Jews, or, the Gentiles.

Explanation:

Before his conversion, Paul saw his identity in upholding the Mosaic law (Philippians 3:6), but after his conversion it became bound up in his obedience to Christ (Philippians 3:7–11). In other words, according to Paul’s broader theology, when he says that he became like the Gentiles he does not mean that he accommodated to their customs or explained the gospel to them in a manner that they would understand. Rather, what he says is that he used to live zealously for the Jewish traditions, thinking that he could be justified before God through the law. Now, since he no longer puts his identity on the Jewish traditions or Mosaic law, he lives similarly to the Gentiles.

Counterargument:

After noting that he has become like the Jews, those under the law, those outside the law, and the weak, Paul summarizes this section by noting that he has become all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:22). He then concludes this section with a purpose clause: in order that by any means some might be saved. In other words, the reason that Paul becomes all things to all people is so that some might be saved. This clarifies the notion that Paul became like the ἄνομος (lawless) in the sense that he followed the Gentile customs, without participating in sin, for the purpose of winning them for Christ. In other words, Paul is not saying that when he became a Christian, he became like a Gentile in the sense that he no longer had allegiance to the Jewish traditions. Rather, he is saying that he is not afraid to adapt to various cultural conditions in order to win people for Christ.

Possible weakness:

It is admirable that this view tries to understand Paul within his broader theology. The problem is that it overlooks the immediate context. When we interpret a passage, our interpretation should first be controlled by the immediate context. From there we are free to look outside the context to inform its meaning, but what we find outside the immediate context cannot run counter to the meaning suggested by the immediate context. While it is the case that, broadly speaking, Paul became like a Gentile in the sense that Paul gave up his zeal for the Jewish traditions, we have to look to the direct context to decide if 1 Corinthians 9:22 carries this theme. When we do, we find that the fact that Paul gave up his zeal for Jewish traditions is not relevant given the context. Rather the immediate context states that the reason Paul became like those under the law was to win them for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:22). While it might be that Paul let go of the traditions of the Jewish fathers when he became a Christian, and in that sense, he had something in common with the Gentiles, this notion is not Paul’s meaning in (1 Corinthians 9:21) because such a meaning does not align with (1 Corinthians 9:22).