Exploring the New Testament. Volume two, A guide to the Letters & Revelation PDF
Preview Exploring the New Testament. Volume two, A guide to the Letters & Revelation
EXPLORING THE NEW TESTAMENT V o l u m e 2 T h e L e t t e r s a n d Re v e l a t i o n Howard Marshall has spent most of his career teaching in the University of Aberdeen, where he is now Emeritus Professor of New Testament. He is a former President of the British New Testament Society and a former Chair of the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical Research. He has written a book on New Testament theology (New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel. Leicester: IVP, 2004), and commentaries on the Greek text of the Gospel of Luke and the Pastoral Epistles as well as on the English text of Acts, 1–2 Thessalonians and 1–3 John. He has a preaching ministry in the North of Scotland Mission Circuit of the Methodist Church and elsewhere. He has four married children. Stephen Travis is a teacher and writer, formerly Vice-Principal and Lecturer in New Testament at St John’s College, Nottingham. He has also enjoyed short spells of teaching (and learning!) in India, Australia and Sri Lanka. He has written at both a scholarly and a popular level on a variety of biblical themes, particularly the Christian hope. A Methodist layman, he has served the church on a number of theological commissions. He is married to Pat, and they have a grown-up daughter. Ian Paul is Dean of Studies at St John’s College, Nottingham, where he teaches New Testament, biblical interpretation and preaching, with a special interest in the Book of Revelation. He is also Chair of the Revelation seminar group at the British New Testament Conference, and is a founding member of the Grove biblical series editorial group. Prior to joining the college, he was for 10 years in parish ministry in Poole, Dorset. His PhD was on how biblical metaphors work, with particular reference to Revelation chapters 12 and 13. He is married to Maggie, who is a GP, and they have three children and one foster daughter. New Testament Second edition Exploring the New Testament A Guide to the Letters & Revelation Volume i. howard marshall, Two stephen travis & ian paul InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com E-mail: [email protected] Copyright © Howard Marshall, Stephen Travis and Ian Paul 2002, 2011 Published in the United States of America by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, with permission from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, England. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press. InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at <www.intervarsity.org>. Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved. While all stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved. Design: Cindy Kiple Images: The Last Supper, Macip, Vicente Juan (Juan de Juanes) / Prado, Madrid, Spain / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art Library. ISBN 978-0-8308-6940-4 (digital) ISBN 978-0-8308-2540-0 (print) C o n t e n t s THE LETTERS AND REVELATION List of illustrations x Other New Testament letters 28 How to use this book xi Further reading 29 A. SETTING THE SCENE 3 Paul, his letters and his life 31 1 The world of first-century Christians 3 Where can we learn about Paul? 31 How do we know what we know? 3 Material from outside the New Testament 32 The emergence of Roman power 4 The Acts of the Apostles 32 A century of civil conflict 4 The letters of Paul 34 Augustus’ successors 6 Difficulties in the Pauline letters 34 The Julio-Claudian dynasty 6 Were the letters all written by Paul? 34 The Flavian dynasty 6 Do we have the letters in their original form? 36 Government of the empire 8 Is Paul a reliable informant about himself? 36 The provinces 8 Early days 36 Client kingdoms 9 Paul’s call and conversion 38 Cities and colonies 9 Paul as a missionary 39 The power of propaganda 9 Paul the captive 41 The army 10 Problems of chronology 42 The legions 10 Auxiliaries 10 Essay topics 44 The praetorian guard 10 Further reading 44 Roman society 10 Citizenship 10 4 The letter to the Galatians 47 Classes 11 What led to the writing of the letter? 47 Women 12 The structure of the letter 49 Patrons and clients 12 Paul’s argument in the letter 50 Language and culture 13 Entertainment 13 ‘New Perspective’ readings of Paul 52 Religion and philosophy 14 Was the letter effective? 53 Traditional religion 14 To whom was the letter sent? 55 Healing cults 15 When was the letter written? 57 Mystery religions 15 Consequences for the date of the letter 60 Fate, astrology and magic 16 For today’s Galatians 60 The imperial cult 16 Essay topics 61 Cynics, Stoics and Epicureans 17 Further reading 61 Romans, Jews and Christians 18 Essay topics 20 5 The letters to the Thessalonians 63 Further reading 20 Paul and Thessalonica 63 The contents of 1 Thessalonians 65 B. PAUL AND HIS LETTERS The contents of 2 Thessalonians 69 2 Letters in the New Testament 23 Problems in 2 Thessalonians 72 Ancient letter-writing 23 The format of letters 24 For today’s Thessalonians 74 The format of Paul’s letters 25 Essay topics 74 Letters of recommendation or introduction 28 Further reading 74 v 6 The ‘first’ letter to the Corinthians 77 The results of justification (Rom. 5:1–11) 118 Paul’s mission 77 Christ contrasted with Adam (Rom. 5:12–21) 119 The ‘previous’ letter 78 No longer under sin and under the law Getting behind the second (first) letter 79 (Rom. 6:1–23) 120 Continuing immorality 80 The law is good – but impotent (Rom. 7:1–25) 121 Party squabbles in the congregation 80 New life by the Spirit (Rom. 8:1–39) 122 The rich and the poor 81 The problem of Jewish unbelief in the gospel ‘Strong’ and ‘weak’ believers 82 (Rom. 9—11) 123 Spiritual superiority and inferiority 83 Practical implications of the new life Questions about the resurrection 84 (Rom. 12—13) 126 Surveying 1 Corinthians 84 Jews and Gentiles living together in the same Party spirit 85 congregation (Rom. 14:1—15:13) 126 Immorality and litigation 86 Paul’s mission – to Rome and beyond Sexual and marital issues 87 (Rom. 15:14–33) 127 Food offered to idols 88 Closing greetings (Rom. 16:1–27) 127 Congregational meetings 90 Scribes do strange things 128 Spiritual gifts 91 Again – the purpose of the letter 130 The resurrection 92 In conclusion 92 The composition of Romans 130 For today’s Corinthians 93 The problems of Romans 16 132 Two versions of one letter 132 Essay topics 93 Two separate letters 133 Further reading 94 For today’s Romans 134 7 The ‘second’ letter to the Corinthians 95 Essay topics 134 An overview of the problems 95 Further reading 135 The events leading up to 2 Corinthians 1—7 96 9 The letter to the Philippians 137 Identifying the tearful letter 97 Paul and the congregation at Philippi 137 Survey of 2 Corinthians 1—7 99 Paul’s situation 138 Thanksgiving(Berakah) 99 The rift with the congregation 100 The situation and needs of the church 141 The nature of apostleship 101 Attacks on the church 141 Tensions within the church 141 Resuming the story 102 A rival version of the gospel 141 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 103 The structure of the letter 142 More fragmentary letters? 104 Philippians as a letter 143 The problem of 2 Corinthians 10—13 104 Philippians as an example of rhetoric 143 The occasion of 2 Corinthians 10—13 107 The development of the message 145 For today’s Corinthians 108 Philippians – one letter or several Essay topics 108 fragments? 147 Further reading 109 For today’s Philippians 148 Essay topics 149 8 The letter to the Romans 111 Further reading 149 The purpose of the letter 111 The nature of the argument in the letter 114 10 The letter to Philemon 151 An overview of the letter 115 Paul, Philemon and Onesimus 151 The opening (and the closing) The structure of the letter 155 (Rom. 1:1–15; 15:14—16:27) 115 The outcome 155 The text is announced! (Rom. 1:16–17) 116 Universal sin and guilt (Rom. 1:18—3:20) 116 For a twenty-first-century Philemon 156 The main proposition (Rom. 3:21–31) 117 Essay topics 156 Abraham as an example of faith (Rom. 4:1–25) 118 Further reading 157 vi 11 The letter to the Colossians 159 Evaluating the evidence 197 The planting of the congregation 159 Not by Paul? 197 Written or dictated by Paul? 198 Why was the letter written? 159 A middle way? 198 The ‘philosophy’ 160 For today’s congregational leaders 199 The structure of the letter 162 Essay topics 199 Paul’s teaching in the letter 162 Further reading 199 Paul’s circumstances 166 Other possible places of origin 166 14 Paul – the missionary theologian 201 Did Paul write Colossians? 167 Paul as an apostle 201 Arguments against Pauline authorship 167 Humanity and its need 202 Arguments in favour of Pauline authorship 168 Creation 202 For today’s Colossians 168 Human nature 202 Essay topics 169 Sin 203 Further reading 169 Getting right with God 204 Justification by works 204 12 The letter to the Ephesians 171 Covenantal nomism 204 The marks of belonging 204 To whom was the letter sent? 172 Paul’s radical alternative 205 What is the letter? 173 The language of salvation 205 The unity of the church 174 Sacrifice 205 ‘Power’ language 174 Justification 205 The structure of the letter 175 Redemption 206 A quick survey of the letter 175 Reconciliation 206 Who wrote the letter? 177 Salvation 206 Arguments against Pauline authorship 177 Faith 206 Arguments for Pauline authorship 179 The new life of believers 207 Weighing the probabilities 179 God as Father 207 For today’s Ephesians 180 ‘In Christ’ 208 Essay topics 181 The work of the Spirit 210 Further reading 181 Theological implications for Paul’s understanding of God 211 13 The letters to Timothy and Titus 183 The community of believers 212 Letters that are somehow different 183 Ministry and the functions of the church 213 The problem of non-Pauline authorship 184 What principles shape Christian behaviour? 215 To whom were the letters written? 185 Five general principles 215 The new way of life 216 When were the letters written? 186 Some specific areas of concern 217 What are the letters about? 187 Relations between men and women 217 The structure of the letter to Titus 187 Slavery 217 An overview of Titus 187 The state 217 The structure of 1 Timothy 188 Money and possessions 217 An overview of 1 Timothy 189 The future for the world and believers 217 The structure of 2 Timothy 191 The missionary obligation 219 An overview of 2 Timothy 191 Essay topics 219 What is the situation reflected in the letters? 193 Further reading 219 Opposition and heresy 193 The development of church order 194 15 New Testament letters – interpretation Christian living and pastoral care 195 and authorship 221 Language and style 196 Understanding what we read in The theology and the way it is expressed 196 New Testament letters 221 vii Two related activities 223 To whom was the letter addressed? Why, Speeches in the form of letters? 227 and when? 266 Jewish Christians in Palestine? 266 Entering into the situation 228 Jewish Christians in the Dispersion? 267 Getting the message 230 James and the teaching of Jesus 267 Critical methods in the study of the James and Paul 268 New Testament 232 Historical criticism 232 Themes in James 270 Form criticism 232 God 270 Source criticism 232 Jesus 270 Redaction criticism 232 Living with integrity 270 Textual criticism 232 The law 271 Canonical criticism 233 The testing of faith 271 Literary criticism 233 Poverty and wealth 272 Socio-rhetorical criticism 233 Some issues for today 273 Reception history and Essay topics 273 reader-response criticism 233 Further reading 274 Ideology criticism 233 The question of pseudonymity 234 18 The first letter of Peter 277 The traditional view 235 Outline of the letter 277 Alternative suggestions 236 The situation of the recipients 278 Further reactions 237 What was the nature of their suffering? 280 Essay topics 238 The letter’s message to the churches 281 Further reading 238 Christian existence in a hostile environment 282 C. LETTERS BY OTHER CHURCH LEADERS The grace of God in Christ 282 16 The letter to the Hebrews 243 The household of God 282 Clues about the recipients 243 God’s people 282 What kind of a document? 244 Facing suffering 284 Christian responsibilities 284 The structure and argument of Hebrews 245 Who wrote 1 Peter? 285 Theological themes of Hebrews 250 Assessing the arguments 287 The high priest and his sacrifice 250 Other perspectives on Jesus 251 Some issues for today 288 Salvation and the Christian hope 251 Essay topics 289 Discipleship 252 Further reading 290 Special issues 252 The author’s thought-world 252 19 The second letter of Peter and the Is Hebrews anti-Jewish? 254 letter of Jude 291 Where were the readers located? 254 What do these letters have in common? 291 Who wrote the letter? 256 The letter of Jude – its purpose 293 Some issues for today 257 The false teachers 293 Jude’s strategy for advising his readers 294 Essay topics 259 Who wrote this letter? 295 Further reading 260 2 Peter – genre and outline 296 2 Peter – the problem of authorship 298 17 The letter of James 261 The false teachers in 2 Peter 300 The character of the letter of James 261 James as exhortation or ‘parenesis’ 262 The purpose and theology of 2 Peter 301 James as wisdom 262 The hope of Christ’s coming 301 James as a letter 263 Some issues for today 302 The structure of the letter 263 Essay topics 303 Who wrote the letter? 264 Further reading 304 viii 20 The letters of John 305 Theological perspectives 331 God 331 1 John – background and authorship 305 Jesus 331 Is the author of 1 John the same as the The Spirit 332 author of the Fourth Gospel? 306 The followers of the Lamb 332 The location of the author and his readers 307 Mythological context and The circumstances addressed in 1 John 308 emperor worship 333 The nature of the false teaching 308 John’s response to the false teaching 310 Use of the Old Testament 335 Some examples 336 The purpose and shape of 1 John 311 Structure and composition 337 Some issues for today 313 2 and 3 John – their relation to 1 John 313 Numbers and their meaning 338 Phrase repetition and word The context and content of 2 John 314 frequencies 338 Hospitality to missionaries 314 Numerology 339 The context and content of 3 John 315 Words and their numbers 340 3 John – evidence of an emerging pattern The decoding of 666 (Rev. 13:18) 341 of church leadership? 316 Interpretative issues 342 Essay topics 318 Traditional approaches 342 Further reading 318 Image, symbol and metaphor 342 Some issues for today 344 D. APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE Essay topics 344 21 The Revelation to John 323 Language and genre 324 Further reading 345 Historical context and dating 326 Glossary 347 Dating 326 Authorship 328 Index 351 Context 328 ix
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