The “Command of the Lord” in 1 Cor 14,37 51 4. The Announcement of Judgement in 1 Cor 14,38 If in 1 Cor 14,37 Paul refers to Jesus’ love commandment, which takes Lev 19,18 to be the essence of all the commandments concerning human relationships in the Torah, then the announcement of judgement in 1 Cor 14,38 is easily understandable: the consequence of a violation of Jesus’ central commandment must indeed be severe judgement. This is in line with those passages that deny a share in God’s kingdom to those who remain in behaviour that is contrary to love (1 Cor 6,9-10; Gal 5,19-21; Eph 5,5) (48). If in 1 Cor 14,37 Paul alluded to some tradition other than this centre of Jesus’ ethics, it would be hard to explain such an extraordinarily sharp warning in the next verse. * ** In our analysis of 1 Corinthians 12–14 we have seen that in 14,37-38 Paul picks up the main argument of these three chapters, namely that spiritual gifts rightly used are an expression of mutual love and a means of mutual upbuilding in the church. We have examined several possible backgrounds for the “command of the Lord” in 14,37 and can now conclude that most likely the phrase under question refers not only to Jesus’ teaching about love and mutual service in a general way, but more specifically to the commandment to love one’s neighbour (Lev 19,18) as cited and interpreted by Jesus (Matt 22,39-40 par.). Paul, like John (John 13,34; 15,12, cf. 15,17), seems to know a tradition that calls the love commandment a or even the command of Jesus. This interpretation of “command of the Lord” in 1 Cor 14,37 is further supported by the harsh announcement of judgement in 14,38 which is only understandable if something very central was at stake, namely love as the centre of Christian ethics. In addition, as David Wenham has pointed out, Paul’s argument in 1 Cor 13,1-3 and 14,37-38 closely parallels Matt 7,21-23. It is therefore probable that he knew a similar tradition linking an abuse of spiritual gifts, which is contrary to love, with the loss of salvation. Faculty of Theology, University of Zürich Christian STETTLER Kirchgasse 9, 8001 Zürich (Switzerland) SUMMARY In 1 Cor 14,37 Paul mentions a “command of the Lord”. The language Paul uses indicates that he is not referring to his own apostolic authority but to a saying of Jesus. The context in 1 Corinthians 12–14 makes clear that the principle he has in mind is mutual love. Therefore he must be referring to the summary of the law given by Jesus in the love commandment which Paul primarily interprets in the sense of mutual love among Christians. Like John 13,34 he calls this commandment a command of Jesus. Moreover, Paul knows a tradition similar to Matt 7,21-23. (48) On the connection of these passages with the love commandment, see STETTLER, “Paul”, 198-200.