1 / 18

Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and the Deutero-Pauline Epistles

Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and the Deutero-Pauline Epistles. Intergenerational Seminary New Testament Session #3. Christological Hymn of Philippians 2. Christology Bottom-up, or Top-down? How do we view Christ?. Romans. Background. Longest letter in the New Testament

yehuda
Download Presentation

Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and the Deutero-Pauline Epistles

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, andthe Deutero-Pauline Epistles Intergenerational Seminary New Testament Session #3

  2. Christological Hymn of Philippians 2 • Christology • Bottom-up, or • Top-down? • How do we view Christ?

  3. Romans

  4. Background • Longest letter in the New Testament • More reflective than any other Pauline letter • Also most liturgical (language of Jewish worship: 3:25, 12:1, 15:16) • Paul’s last letter • More reasoned than Galatians • Compare Romans 3:1-2 and Galatians 5:2 • Spurred debates that led to the split in Western Christianity • First textbook of Protestant systematic theology (Melanchthon’s Loci communes, 1521) organized according to the structure of Romans

  5. Context • Written in the winter of 57/58 from Corinth • On the eve of Paul’s trip to Jerusalem • Apprehensive: 15:30-31 • Tension with James (Acts 21:17-25) • Romans not as bold re: Judaism as was Galatians • Planning a major move toward the • Written to the church in Rome (a city Paul had yet to visit) • Had to speak more gingerly than to the churches which he founded, such as at Corinth

  6. Outline • 1:1-15 – Address and greeting • 1:16 – 11:36: Doctrinal section • Part I (1:16 – 4:25): Uprightness of God revealed through the gospel • Part II (5:1-8:39): God’s salvation & justification by faith • Part III (9:1-11:36): God’s promises to Israel • 12:1 – 15:13: Hortatory section • Part I (12:1 – 13:14): Advice for Christian living • Part II (14:1 – 15:13): The strong owe love to the weak • 15:14-33: Paul’s travel plans and blessing • 16: Recommendations for Phoebe and greetings to Romans, concluding doxology

  7. Paul and the Law • Positive • He upholds it (3:31) • The Law is holy (7:20) and fulfilled (8:4) • He insists on the commandments (13:8-10) • Negative • No one is justified by it (3:20) • The Law brings wrath (4:15) • The law increases sin (5:20) • Solution: Paul upholds the ethical commands, but not the cultic ones

  8. The law and grace • Natural law (1:18-24) • Everyone is guilty/responsible • The law is available to all (2:12-16) • “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (3:23) • Faith is the key • Uses Abraham as an example • Bottom line • Even Gentiles are held to the Law • Even Jews are justified by faith

  9. The Righteousness of God • dikaiosunh qeou • Divine virtue: the righteous God who punishes sinners • Haunted Martin Luther • Active attribute of God: the God who justifies • Source/origin: righteousness as a gift from God (Philippians 3:9)

  10. Justification • Justification through Christ takes the place of justification through the Law • Christ died for sinners (5:8) • Christ was “raised for our justification” (4:25) • Not a new theme, but one that Paul expanded • Justification by grace through faith (3:24-25) • Forensic (declared upright) or causative (made upright)?

  11. The Deutero-Pauline Epistles • Colossians • 2 Thessalonians • Ephesians • Pastoral Epistles • 1 and 2 Timothy • Titus

  12. Chronology of Paul’s letters 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians Philippians Philemon 1 & 2 Corinthians Romans Ephesians Mark Matthew/Luke-Acts John 50 60 70 80 90 100 1 & 2 Timothy Titus Galatians Colossians

  13. Colossians • How do we know Paul didn’t write it? • Colossians says believers share Christ’s resurrection (2:12-13; 3:1), but Paul says that believers died with Christ but have not been raised • Colossians says that Christ is the head of the church, His body (contra Romans 12:4-5) • Colossians says that in Christ there is “forgiveness of sins,” whereas Paul speaks of “freedom from sin” • Colossians (and Ephesians) are full of long, complex sentences

  14. Important elements in Colossians • Likely written from Ephesus ~80 CE • Christ hymn of 1:15 – 20 • Similarities to John’s prologue • Personification of Wisdom • Proverbs 3:19, 8:22 • Wisdom 7:26 • First of 5 household codes (3:18 – 4:1) • Others are Ephesians 5:21 – 6:9; Titus 2:1 – 10; 1 Timothy 2:8 – 15 & 5:1 – 2 & 6:1 – 2; and 1 Peter 2:13 – 3:7

  15. 2 Thessalonians • Likely written late in the 1st century • Whereas 1 Thessalonians spoke of the Second Coming as imminent (4:13 – 5:11), 2 Thessalonians says it’s not (2:1 – 2) and many things need to happen first (2:1 - 12)

  16. Ephesians • Called the “crown of Paulinism” (Dodd) • Likely written in the 90s • Emphasis on the church universal • 2:11 – 22, relationship to Romans • Baptismal covenant: 4:4 – 6 • Household code (5:21 – 6:9) • Longer than the one in Colossians • Begins with a call to “be subject to one another” (5:21) • Obligation of husbands to love is more detailed than obligation of wives to be subject

  17. To Read for Next Week • James • Luther’s “epistle of straw”

More Related