The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition

24 Pages·2008·0.17 MB·English

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.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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