THE LORD’S SUPPER FORMULA – HYPER HYMŌN — “FOR YOU” (1 COR 11:24) – AS A FORMULA OF UNITY IN 1 CORINTHIANS: SOME MISSIONARY LESSONS
Keywords:
Unity, Church, Heresy/schism, Tradition, Lord’s supper, Communion, Assembly, Covenant
Abstract
Pauline scholarship accepts hyper tōn hamartiōn hēmōn —“for our sins” (1 Cor 15:3) and its variants as a formula that explains Jesus’ death for human salvation. The origin of the said formula and its usage as a hermeneutic principle for unity in I Corinthians has been neglected. This article argues that 1) the Lord’s Supper tradition was at the origin of the formula hyper hymōn —“for you”, 2) that the doctrinal unity of 1 Corinthians is premised on the Lord’s Supper formula hyper hymōn—“for you” (1 Cor 11:24), and 3) the unity of the Corinthian Church/Christianity is based on the proper understanding of the death of Chri
