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The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition

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The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition Stephen Finlan A Michael Glazier Book LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press Cover design by David Manahan, OSB. Mosaic illustration of Saint Paul from the dome of the Capella Arcivescovile, Ravenna, Italy. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 2008 by The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any retrieval system, without the written permission of the Liturgical Press, College- ville, MN 56321. Printed in the United States of America. 12345678 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Finlan, Stephen. The apostle Paul and the pauline tradition / Stephen Finlan. p. cm. “A Michael Glazier book.” Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 978-0-8146-5271-8 (pbk.) 1. Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title. BS2650.52.F56 2008 227 '.06—dc22 2008005852 Contents Abbreviations vii Introduction: The Pauline Letters xi The Tradition behind the Tradition xi Covering the Letters xiii 1. The Social and Literary Settings of the Letters 1 Jewish Messianic Hope 1 Hellenistic Universalizing 5 Rhetoric and Paul’s Letters 9 2. An Outline of the Life of Paul 11 Distinguishing the Acts of the Apostles from the Letters of Paul 11 The Damascus Road Experience 13 Paul’s Preaching Career 15 The Apostolic Council 17 3. First and Second Thessalonians 20 FIRST THESSALONIANS 20 Reciprocity, Patronage, and Perseverance: 1:1–4:1 20 Acquiring a Vessel: 4:2-8 22 The Second Coming and Believer Resurrection: 4:13–5:10 23 Faith, Love, and Hope: Ethical Advice: 5:8-28 25 Paul’s Use of Hellenistic Philosophy and Religion 26 SECOND THESSALONIANS 28 iii iv The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition 4. First Corinthians 31 Where Is the Wise One? Chapters 1–4 32 Sexual Boundaries; Images of Sacrifice and Redemption: Chapters 5–6 36 More Sex, Food, and Sensitivity: Chapters 7–9 40 The Typology and Ethics of Communion: Chapters 10–11 45 Love and Cooperation: Chapters 12–14 50 The Resurrection of Christ and of Believers: Chapter 15 53 A Necessary Charity—the Collection: Chapter 16 57 5. Second Corinthians 58 Sacrificial Suffering: Chapters 1–2 58 The Letter and the Spirit; Reflecting the Image of God: Chapters 3–4 61 The New Creation; Becoming Righteousness: Chapter 5 64 Apostolic Defense and Authority; Patronage: Chapters 6–7 68 The Collection for the Saints: Chapters 8–9 70 What Is to Be Praised? The Self-Defense of Chapters 10–13 71 6. Galatians 76 Apostleship from God, Not Humans: Chapters 1–2 77 Removing the Curse, Extending the Promise: 3:1-18 82 The Age of Faith: 3:19-29 88 No Longer Slaves: Chapter 4 90 The Fruits of the Spirit; Crucifying the Flesh: Chapter 5 92 The Law of Christ: Chapter 6 94 7. Romans 97 The Righteousness of God; the Sinfulness of Humanity: Chapters 1–2 97 The New Mercy Seat; Supersessionism: Chapter 3 102 The Faith of Abraham; Penal Substitution: Chapter 4 108 The Overflow of the Obedience of Christ: Chapter 5 109 Contents v The Pistis Christou Debate 111 Slaying the Body of Sin: Chapter 6 114 Dead to the Law: Chapter 7 116 Spirit, Flesh, and Adoption: Chapter 8 119 Saving Israel: Chapters 9–11 125 Transformation, Ethics, and Practicality: Chapter 12–13 130 The Strong, the Weak, and the Prominent: Chapters 14–16 132 8. Philippians and Philemon 136 PHILIPPIANS 136 Knowledge of God: Chapter 1 136 The Christ Hymn: Chapter 2 138 Resisting Judaizers, Appreciating Gifts: Chapters 3–4 140 PHILEMON 143 The Subtlety of Paul’s Advice 143 The Issue of Slavery 146 The Issue of Making Moral Judgments about Ancient Texts 148 Covenant Ethics 149 9. Colossians and Ephesians 151 COLOSSIANS 151 Questions of Authorship and Literary Relationships: Chapter 1 151 Knowledge of God and Transformation: 2:1–3:17 154 The Household Code: 3:18–4:18 158 EPHESIANS 159 The Fullness in the Church: Chapter 1 and Elsewhere 160 The Gentiles Drawn Near: 2:1–3:9 161 Making Known the Mystery: 3:10–4:32 162 The Household Codes: Chapter 5–6 163 10. The Pastoral Epistles 166 FIRST TIMOTHY 166 vi The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition Authority Issues: Chapters 1–2 166 Church Offices: Chapter 3 168 Defaming the Enemies: Chapter 4 170 Fighting for Pauline Authority 171 Orderly Roles and Ethical Conduct: Chapters 5–6 174 SECOND TIMOTHY 176 Guarding the Sound Words: Chapters 1–2 176 Fighting for the Tradition: Chapters 3–4 177 TITUS 179 Sound Doctrine to Silence Idle Talk: Chapter 1 179 Avoid Controversy and Argument: Chapters 2–3 180 11. Hebrews and Other Letters 182 Sacrificial Salvation in Hebrews 182 Pauline Elements in First Peter 186 Pauline Elements in First John 187 The Pauline Tradition outside the New Testament 188 First Clement 188 Ignatius of Antioch 190 Marcion and His Opponents 193 Irenaeus and Other Interpreters 195 Paul in the Twenty-first Century 197 The Faith Experience 198 Bibliography 200 Index of Modern Authors 208 Index of Ancient Texts 211 Abbreviations 1 En. First Enoch, a non-canonical Jewish work AB Anchor Bible Abr. Philo of Alexandria’s “On Abraham” AcBib Academia Biblica (a dissertation series of Society of Biblical Literature and Brill) ACCS Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture Ari. Eth. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics BCE Before the Common Era BAGD Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 1979 BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament CE Common Era (= AD) CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly Det. Philo of Alexandria, “The Worse Attacks the Better” DSS Dead Sea Scrolls Ep. Mor. Seneca, Epistulae Morales EQ Evangelical Quarterly ESEC Emory Studies in Early Christianity HTR Harvard Theological Review Ign. Eph. Ignatius of Antioch, letter to the Ephesians vii viii The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition Ign. Magn. Ignatius of Antioch, letter to the Magnesians Ign. Phld. Ignatius of Antioch, letter to the Philadelphians Ign. Poly. Ignatius of Antioch, letter to Polycarp Ign. Rom. Ignatius of Antioch, letter to the Romans Ign. Smyrn. Ignatius of Antioch, letter to the Smyrneans Ign. Trall. Ignatius of Antioch, letter to the Trallians JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Jos. Philo of Alexandria, “On Joseph” Jos. Ant. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Supplement Series Jub. Jubilees, a non-canonical Jewish work KJV King James Version (= Authorized Version) LCL Loeb Classical Library LSJ H. G. Liddell and Robert Scott, rev. H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, 1940 LXX Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) Met. Ovid, Metamorphosis Mig. Philo of Alexandria, “On the Migration of Abraham” Mos. Philo of Alexandria, “Life of Moses” NAB New American Bible NASB New American Standard Bible NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary NIV New International Version NJB New Jerusalem Bible NovTSup Novum Testamentum Supplements Abbreviations ix NRSV New Revised Standard Version NT New Testament NTS New Testament Studies Opif. Philo of Alexandria, “On the Creation” OT Old Testament Plant. Philo of Alexandria, “On Noah’s Work as a Planter” PTMS Princeton Theological Monograph Series RSV Revised Standard Version SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series SBLSBS Society of Biblical Literature Sources for Biblical Study SBLSP Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers Sib. Or. Sibylline Oracles SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series Som. Philo of Alexandria, “On Dreams” SP Sacra Pagina (series) Spec. Leg. Philo of Alexandria, “The Special Laws” T. Levi Testament of Levi, one of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs T. Naph. Testament of Naphtali, one of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs T. Reub. Testament of Reuben, one of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs TDNT Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament TNIV Today’s New International Version TNTC Tyndale New Testament Commentaries WBC Word Bible Commentary WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament Introduction The Pauline Letters Paul the apostle is the church’s most influential theologian, yet most Christians have only a hazy concept of his actual teachings. He was controversial in his day, was opposed by some Christian leaders, and was even treated with disrespect by some within the congregations he founded, yet his teaching proved persuasive, shaping the church’s stance on many issues. His letters, designed to instruct particular churches, eventually became teaching instruments for the whole church, and his theology is the starting point for all later systematic theologies. The importance of the Pauline letter tradition in Christian theology is exceeded only by that of the gospels, yet many people read and inter- pret the gospels through the lens of the Pauline tradition. Certain con- cepts derived from the letters (“Jesus died for my sins”) have become dominant in popular theology, even among people who know very little about Paul’s teaching as a whole. The church’s image of Paul is largely derived from the Acts of the Apostles, where the wonder-working Paul is a main character. There are many doubts, however, about the historical accuracy of Acts.
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