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How Does Paul Use Chiasmus to Teach about Jesus’s Atonement? #688 · Scripture Central

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  To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto
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  himself, not imputing their trespasses unto him, and hath
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  committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
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  Hey listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central, and today's
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  podcast addresses the question, How does Paul use chiasmus to
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  teach about Jesus's atonement? Throughout Paul's ministry, he
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  wrote many epistles to different churches, clarifying doctrine,
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  answering concerns, and offering support as needed.
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  Most of his epistles in the New Testament follow fairly standard
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  literary forms of Paul's time, which has LED one New Testament
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  scholar to note that Paul's letters are generally among the
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  clearest of the New Testament writings to outline.
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  However, Paul's second letter to the Corinthians is much more
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  difficult to outline, and many scholars point to its
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  unparalleled lack of apparent structure and unity, especially
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  in the beginning of the letter. Because of this, many scholars
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  believe that Second Corinthians is actually a combination of two
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  or more letters that were put together by a later scribe or
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  editor some time after Paul had written them.
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  However, as one evangelical scholar named Craig Blomberg has
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  noted, many of these apparent discrepancies in the letter can
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  be resolved when the 1st 7 chapters are read as a large
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  chiasm focused on the atonement of Jesus Christ.
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  Biblical scholars have long recognized the use of chiasmus
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  in the ancient world, especially among ancient Israelites.
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  Paul, having been taught in the Jewish law and having been
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  raised as a Jew, would have likewise been familiar with this
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  literary practice. Indeed, as John W Welch has
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  observed, Paul used chiasmus to various extents throughout some
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  of his other epistles, such as Galatians and 1st Corinthians.
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  As such, it should be no surprise that Paul could use
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  chiasmus in a profoundly complex and meaningful ways.
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  The chiasm that Blomberg proposes includes 6 points,
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  followed by verbal and theological parallels in the
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  opposite order that altogether nicely encapsulate Paul's
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  overall message of Jesus and his atonement.
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  The structure is outlined as follows.
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  A. The Corinthians can boast in
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  Paul, B. Grief and comfort over a painful
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  letter C looking for Titus in Macedonia D Contrast between
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  belief and unbelief E triumphing despite hardships F Christ's
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  ministry of reconciliation E triumphing despite hardships D
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  Contrast between belief and unbelief.
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  C Finding Titus in Macedonia. B Grief and comfort over a
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  painful letter. A Paul can boast in the
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  Corinthians. The first and last point on this
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  chiasm expresses Paul's assurance to the Corinthian
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  Saints that they can boast in the Lord based on Paul's works,
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  and he in turn can boast in the Lord.
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  For the Corinthian Saints faith. Paul states that we, Paul and
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  his companions, are your rejoicing, even as ye also are
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  ours in the day of the Lord Jesus, and that I rejoice,
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  therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.
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  This mutual rejoicing was centered on God, who had brought
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  Paul and the Corinthians closer together in the faith.
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  Second, Paul refers the Saints to an earlier letter he had
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  written that had apparently caused both the Saints and Paul
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  much sorrow. This letter chastised A
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  prominent member of the Corinthian community, and Paul
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  encourages the Corinthians to forgive him and comfort him,
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  lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with over much
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  sorrow. Similarly, I beseech you that ye
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  would confirm your love toward him.
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  Similarly, although Paul had been sorrowful, that he needed
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  to chastise the Corinthian community.
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  Now I rejoice not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed
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  to repentance. For ye were made sorry after a
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  godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
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  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation.
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  Forgiveness and repentance, Paul teaches, are essential aspects
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  of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Third, Paul briefly mentions how
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  Paul came to Troas to find Titus, but had no success
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  leading Paul to Macedonia. Once Paul had arrived, he met
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  Titus, who told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your
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  fervent mind toward me, so that I rejoiced the more.
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  Although the story is broken up into two parts, it gives greater
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  context into the hope Paul initially felt and the rejoicing
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  he felt in the Corinthians. At the end of the Chiasm 4th,
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  Paul offers a series of contrasts between belief and
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  unbelief. These contrasts are ultimately
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  for the Saints to be transformed into God's image and holiness.
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  Paul declares God hath made us able ministers of the New
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  Testament, not of the letter but of the Spirit, and hath shined
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  in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of
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  God in the face of Jesus Christ. This light transforms the Saints
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  and helps them combat the God of this world who seeks to blind
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  others to the light of Christ. And ultimately, just as God
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  shined his light in the Saints, Paul declares that the Saints
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  have become the temple of the living God.
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  As God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I
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  will be their God, and they shall be my people.
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  Because of this, the Saints are told to cleanse ourselves from
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  all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
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  the fear of God. Fifth, Paul declares that
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  although the Saints may face hardships throughout their
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  lives, they could rest assured knowing that they will be
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  persecuted but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed.
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  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for
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  us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
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  And as the Saints relied on God, they could overcome these
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  challenges by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by
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  kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love, unfeigned, by the word of
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  truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on
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  the right hand and on the left. Finally, the climax and turning
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  point of the chiasmus appears in Second Corinthians chapter 5,
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  verses 11 through 21. As the central theme of Paul's
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  message to the Corinthians, he focuses on the atonement of
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  Jesus Christ. Specifically, Paul teaches that
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  all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by
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  Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
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  reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ
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  reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their
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  trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of
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  reconciliation. As Blomberg has noted, no more
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  appropriate Center for this chiasm could be found.
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  Indeed, the most significant part of any chiasm is the
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  central theme, and Paul makes it clear that nothing he has said
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  before or after this could be possible without Jesus's atoning
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  sacrifice, allowing the Saints to become new creatures.
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  The atonement was ultimately central to Paul's concerns, as
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  it alone allowed the Saints to boast in the goodness of God,
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  repent, act in belief, and be transformed through Christ's
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  love. The chiasm found in Second
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  Corinthians chapters one through 7 is much like other large
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  chiasms found in the scriptures that focus on Jesus Christ's
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  Atonement. The central message of the
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  gospel is, of course, that Jesus Christ atone for our sins and
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  allows us to become new creatures through His grace and
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  mercy. The chiastic form focuses,
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  perhaps better than any other literary device upon an
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  important central turning point. Paul, being well trained in the
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  language and literature of his day, was no stranger to the
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  chiastic style of composition and its emphatic high point.
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  Some of his audience would probably have been aware of this
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  style of composition and could have consciously appreciated the
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  emphasis it placed on the central turning point.
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  At the same time, those who had not been so trained could
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  naturally have sensed the logic of building up to the climactic
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  high point and then retracing the steps back to the starting
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  point. Similar to Paul's focus on the
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  atonement in these chapters, Alma's report of his personal
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  conversion is told in a lengthy and complex chiasm that focuses
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  entirely on his being forgiven of sins and redeemed through the
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  Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through comparisons of his life
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  before and after his conversion, the effects of the Atonement are
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  made clear in no uncertain terms.
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  Similarly, through Paul's lengthy discourse on righteous
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  and unrighteous living, overcoming trials through
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  Christ, and proper boasting in his love, Paul makes clear that
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  the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the very turning point upon
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  which all things of God are focused, and thus is the
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  keystone upon which all blessings of the gospel are
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  formed. Thank you for listening to this
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  presentation from Scripture Central.
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  For more information, please visit scripturecentral.org.