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Bernard Thesis MONOTHEISTIC DISCOURSE AND DEIFICATION OF JESUS IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY AS EXEMPLIFIED IN 2 CORINTHIANS 3:16–4:6 by DAVID KANE BERNARD submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY in the subject of NEW TESTAMENT at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: DR G VAN DEN HEEVER DECEMBER 2014 SUMMARY One of the central issues of early Christianity was the identity of Jesus Christ. Paul and other early Christians discussed this question within the framework of traditional Jewish monotheism and used the language of deity to describe Christ. This thesis explores how and why they integrated the two concepts of monotheism and the deity of Jesus. As a window into this process, it particularly examines Paul’s discourse in 2 Cor 3:16–4:6, employing grammatical-historical exegesis with insights from rhetorical criticism and Oneness Pentecostal Christology. We consider three fundamental questions: (1) What does the exalted language concerning Christ in this text represent? (2) How did Paul reconcile the deification of Jesus with his monotheistic heritage? (3) Why did Paul deify Jesus? What interests were served, and what were the practical consequences? The conclusion is that early Christians, prior to and including Paul, worshiped Jesus within a Jewish monotheistic context and not as a result of Hellenization. They viewed Jesus as the revelation of the one God, not as a second deity or a different personage. Although they reinterpreted their core beliefs in light of Jesus, they did not see their worship of Jesus as violating their core beliefs. The evidence from Paul’s Corinthian correspondence does not require an explicit binitarian or trinitarian model, but it reveals that many early Christians viewed God as both transcendent and immanent and worshiped Jesus as the God of Israel manifested in human identity. We identify four significant socio-rhetorical factors in the monotheistic deification of Jesus: (1) In a context of rapid social change it enabled Christians to combine Hebrew monotheism with Greek longing for universals, thereby claiming both traditional heritage and Christocentric distinctiveness. (2) It gave them a unique social identity and cohesiveness. (3) It affirmed their soteriological experiences, beliefs, and outreach. (4) It positioned the movement to attract all people, moving the new faith beyond Jewish ethnicity and traditional boundary markers so that it became a universal monotheism with a missiological focus. The socio-rhetorically constructed identity of Jesus Christ defined the identity of the early Christians. The result was a distinctively Christian faith. Page 2 © University of South Africa 2015 KEY TERMS 2 Corinthians; Christology; Deification; Glory of God; Image of God; Immanence of God; Monotheism; Oneness Pentecostalism, Rhetorical criticism; Transcendence of God, Trinitarianism Page 3 © University of South Africa 2015 CONTENTS 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................6 Christian Origins ......................................................................................................7 Paul’s Discourse in Rhetorical Perspective .............................................................8 Monotheistic Discourse and Deification Language ...............................................12 Early Christian Discourse about Jesus ...................................................................14 The Question of How: Describing Christological Monotheism ............................22 The Question of Why: Causation and Motive .......................................................27 Significance of 2 Corinthians 3:16–4:6 .................................................................31 Summary: Questions, Approach, and Goals ..........................................................33 Quotation of 2 Corinthians 3:16–4:6 .....................................................................36 2. Theory and Method .............................................................................................38 History-of-Religions Approach (Religionsgeschichte) ..........................................38 Historical-Critical/Grammatical Exegesis .............................................................40 Philosophical and Theological Hermeneutics ........................................................42 Rhetorical Criticism ...............................................................................................45 The Hermeneutical Context of Oneness Pentecostal Christology .........................48 Summary ................................................................................................................60 3. Monotheism in Paul’s Rhetorical World ...........................................................63 Pagan Monotheism.................................................................................................63 Monotheism in Second Temple Judaism ...............................................................65 The Possibility of Two Divine Beings in Second Temple Judaism.......................75 Jewish Christian Scriptures ....................................................................................81 Developments in the Second Century and Beyond................................................83 Conclusions ............................................................................................................95 4. Deification Language in Paul’s Rhetorical World ............................................97 Christ, Xristo/v .....................................................................................................97 Yahweh, YHWH ....................................................................................................98 Lord, ku/riov ..........................................................................................................99 Jesus, 0Ihsou=v ......................................................................................................101 Spirit, pneu=ma ......................................................................................................103 Page 4 © University of South Africa 2015 Image of God, ei0kw&n tou= qeou= ............................................................................106 Glory of God, do/ca tou= qeou= ..............................................................................112 Hellenistic Influence ............................................................................................117 Conclusions ..........................................................................................................118 5. Deification Language in Paul’s Corinthian Correspondence ........................123 Rhetorical Situation of 1 and 2 Corinthians .........................................................123 Overview of 1 and 2 Corinthians .........................................................................130 Significant Language in 1 Corinthians ................................................................131 Significant Language in 2 Corinthians ................................................................150 Conclusions ..........................................................................................................162 6. Exegesis of 2 Corinthians 3:16–4:6 ...................................................................170 Immediate Literary Background ..........................................................................170 Second Corinthians 3:16 ......................................................................................176 Second Corinthians 3:17 ......................................................................................179 Second Corinthians 3:18 ......................................................................................189 Second Corinthians 4:1-4 .....................................................................................196 Second Corinthians 4:5-6 .....................................................................................199 Summary ..............................................................................................................204 7. Exploring the Textures ......................................................................................208 The Question of What: Significance of the Deification Language ......................208 The Question of How: Redescribing Early Christian Discourse about Jesus ......209 The Question of Why: Causation and Motive .....................................................224 Ideological Texture: Hebrew Monotheism and Greek Universals ......................227 Social Texture: Group Integrity, Soteriology, and Missiology............................230 Testing the Hypothesis: Baptism in the Name of Jesus .......................................239 Conclusions ..........................................................................................................247 Bibliography .............................................................................................................252 Page 5 © University of South Africa 2015 1 INTRODUCTION One of the central issues of early Christianity—probably the central issue—was the identity of Jesus Christ.1 Paul and other early Christians discussed this question within the framework of traditional Jewish monotheism, and they used the language of deity to describe Christ. We will explore how and why they integrated the two concepts of monotheism and deification of Jesus. As a window
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