peripateó: Canonical echoes of Paul's walking "in" but not "according to" the flesh

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gryan
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Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 4:11 am

peripateó: Canonical echoes of Paul's walking "in" but not "according to" the flesh

Post by gryan »

Re: peripateó: to walk. Paul made an easily overlooked distinction between walking "in" and walking "according to" the flesh.

For Paul, walking "in the flesh" and walking "in the Spirit" are not mutually exclusive. But Paul says he does not walk "according to the flesh", which I interpret to mean according to those traditional Jewish practices Paul calls "works of the law".

IMHO, Paul's disapproval of walking "according to the flesh" in the sense of doing "works of the law" has some discernable canonical echoes.

1 Corinthians 10:13
For though we walk in the flesh,
Ἐν σαρκὶ γὰρ περιπατοῦντες
we do not war according to the flesh,
οὐ κατὰ σάρκα στρατευόμεθα,

2 Cor. 4:2 (New American Standard Bible)
but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame,
ἀλλὰ ἀπειπάμεθα τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς αἰσχύνης,
not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God,
μὴ περιπατοῦντες ἐν πανουργίᾳ (panourgía, from pás, "every" and ergon, "deed") μηδὲ δολοῦντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ,
but by the manifestation of truth
ἀλλὰ τῇ φανερώσει τῆς ἀληθείας
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
συνιστάνοντες ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς πᾶσαν συνείδησιν ἀνθρώπων ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.

Cf. Gal 5:16
But I say, walk in the Spirit, and you will not carry out fleshly desires.
Λέγω δέ, Πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε.

Hebrews 13:9 seems to interact with Paul's ideas, but the meaning is not clear to me.
Be not led away with various and strange doctrines.
διδαχαῖς ποικίλαις καὶ ξέναις μὴ παραφέρεσθε·
For it is best that the heart be established with grace,
καλὸν γὰρ χάριτι βεβαιοῦσθαιτὴν καρδίαν
(βεβαιόω, Verb, properly, to walk where it is solid;
from βέβαιος, Adjective properly, solid (sure) enough to walk on)
not with food of any kind;
οὐ βρώμασιν
(βρῶμα, Noun, food of any kind; word origin, βιβρώσκω, Verb, to eat),
which have not profited those that walk in them.
ἐν οἷς οὐκ ὠφελήθησαν οἱ περιπατοῦντες.

Mark 7:5 is an obvious echo of Paul's idea of "walking" not according to the flesh as I interpret it.
And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him,
καὶ ἐπερωτῶσιν αὐτὸν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι
“Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders,
καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς Διὰ τί οὐ περιπατοῦσιν οἱ μαθηταί σου κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων,
but with unwashed hands
ἀλλὰ κοιναῖς (koinós – properly, common, stripped of specialness) χερσὶν
eat the bread?”
ἐσθίουσιν τὸν ἄρτον;

Luke 11:43f
…Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.
Woe to you!
οὐαὶ ὑμῖν,
For you are as unmarked graves,
ὅτι ἐστὲ ὡς τὰ μνημεῖα τὰ ἄδηλα,
which men, the ones walking above
(i.e. "in the flesh"--above the grave--but not "according to the flesh"--in the grave?),
καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ περιπατοῦντες ἐπάνω
have not discerned.”
οὐκ οἴδασιν.
One of the experts in the law told Him,
“Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”…
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