12 - Paul Flashcards
name 3
- paul family and roman name, used in gentile contexts
- saul is a jewish name, used mainly when interacting with fellow jews
- not saul->paul, letters signed as paul bc letters sent to gentiles
upbringing
in tarsus, a notable city in a gentile region, known for its learning, culture, strategic role in the region
jewish heritage
paul never stopped owning it
encounter with Jesus
- present at stephen’s martyrdom
- encounter with risen and exalted Jesus persuaded him that early church was right
righteousness and justification 2
- righteous: God’s faithfulness to the covt, shown thru Jesus giving himself
- this made it possible for everyone to be justified: declared not guilty and to be the true people of God
paul’s description of his encounter with Jesus 4
- “God revealed His son in me”
- event of divine revelation, God revealing Himslef in and as Jesus
- “in me” - Paul now reconfigured such that God constitutes his entire life
- transformation includes a commission as an apostle to proclaim Jesus among the Gentiles
gospel modern misconceptions 2
- among non-Christians: doing good, helping others, golden rule
- among Christians: gospel truth (all believing same thing), gospel meetings, getting saved
gospel in septuagint 2
- term euangelizomai
- anouncing the good news of the end of Israel’s exile
gospel in roman world
- eugelizomai in roman context: emperor’s birth, enthronement, victory
israel vs roman views of the gospel
- israel: announcement of high priest/sanhedrin, israel-focussed rule of God over all the earth
- rome: emperor-led Roman rule over the then known world
Paul’s gospel 4
- focusses on Jesus as crucified, risen, and exalted Lord
- enables rescue, renewal, and reconciliation of the world
- a Christ-centred, Spirit-empowered community
- participation in God’s unfolding purpose for the world
paul’s ministry 4
- possibly began immediatly when he went to arabia
- early on visited jerusalem apostles, who endorsed his mission to the gentiles
- hard to reconstruct timeline of his ministry, especially close to the end
- eusebius, 4thc christian historian, says he was martyred in rome under nero
new perspective on Paul
characterization of jewish faith as nothing more than legalism ignores the rich teaching of the ot, ab the grace and mercy of God, rather obedience from God sprungs from His grace
sin
evil force that controls human beings, causing them to commit sinS
sinS
a pattern of life that goes against human identity as God intended it
the law
the torah and by extension the ot as a whole
the work of the law
what the torah intends/requires
the workS of the law
jewish practices that demonstrate that a person belongs to the people of Israel
Son of God 3
- initially a messianic title
- taken over from Israel called sons/children of God and er king called Son of God
- applied to Jesus as the one through whom God does for Israel what they could not do for themsleves
Lord 2
- in Ot, primary way of identifiying God (YHWH)
- in nt, identification of God which necessarily includes Jesus
atonement 2
- on the cross, Jesus becomes the hitasterion (mercy seat), the palce where God met with Israel in the Temple
- He deals with sin (expiates it) and God’s anger against sin (he propitiates it)
salvation
God rescuing humanity from its condition in sin through Jesus; deliverance on the cross
justification 3
- declaration of salvation
- God’s verdict that ome is not guilty and a member of the covt people of God
- future declaration ultimatey made on judgement day, but daclaration can be made even now
In Christ
those who identify and destiny is bund up with Jesus
faith 2
- belief in the God who rasied Jesus from the dead
- also faith that we live out
letters structure 4
- opening (sender, addressee, greeting)
- thanksgiving, wish for health
- body (formal opening followed by the business which gave rise to the letter)
- closing (greetings, wishes for others, final greeting, wish, or prayer, a date)
additional features of a Christian letter 2
exhortation, doxology
notable features of Paul’s letters 5
- use of amanuensis/secretary, acts as a scribe
- use of coworkers as messangers to deliver letters
- apostolic authority of sender makes the letter an offical pronouncement
- associates of sender often included in opening
- paul adds a postscript and signature in his own hand
key features of paul’s apostolic and pastoral letters 7
ocassional, theological, christological, spiritual, corporate, conventional, practical
occasional
often written in response to a certain set of circumstances
theological
their relationship with God is always most fundamental factor in play
christological
Jesus is the constant reference pt in all Paul has to say
spiritual
always concerned that they become/are Spirit-empowered community of faith
corporate
written to a group of believers involved in a particular church or group of churches
covenental
written encourages and enables covt faithfulness
practical
addresses various issues, often gives specific advice, exhorts moral nehaviour
letters tell 3 stories
- characters, setting, plot; surface level storyline and unfolding events
- part of an ongoing network of relationships that refelct an unfolding narrative of Paul’s rship with communities
- references to wider unfolding biblical narrative hidden just beneath the surface
Paul’s perspective on rhetoric 4
- some accused pauk of being unimpressive both in presence and in speech
- paul views self-condemnation and boasting both at odds with the gospel
- yet even in condemning his detractors, Paul himself shows much rhetorical skill
- Paul used rhetoric to serve, not repalce, the truth of the gospel
