Paul : An Outline of His Theology

In this newly translated volume, Michael Wolter (University of Bonn, Germany) outlines the architecture of the Apostle’s theology. Wolter contends that it is indeed possible to discover Paul’s core theological commitments, despite the fact that the sources for Paul’s theology—his letters—are diverse, contextually dependent snapshots of the Apostle’s thinking at a particular moment in time. Wolter frames Paul’s enterprise as a theology of mission and conversion—a mission that accounts for the life and preaching of Paul and a conversion that highlights the experience of Christ shared by all believers. Pauline theology finds expression in the phrase “faith in Christ,” which refers to the complete reorientation and exclusive new identity of the Christian. Wolter places Paul’s theology into a narrative context, often referred to by Paul himself, that emphasizes the time before Paul’s conversion, Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ, and the complex events leading to the Antioch incident. Wolter then explores the theology of Paul’s Gospel and the response to this good news—faith—before detailing eleven interlocking and overlapping elements of Paul’s thought. Wolter’s outline successfully delineates a theology common to all of Paul’s letters, and does so without collapsing the texts into a timeless whole. By using the language of Paul himself, Wolter reveals the unity of Paul’s theology while simultaneously unpacking it via categories drawn from modern scholarship. Wolter’s Paul is as vibrant as it is careful—as compelling as it is relevant. Cover 1 half title, title page, cip data, dedication 2 Contents 8 Preface to the German Edition 12 Preface to the English Edition 14 Translator’s Preface 16 I Prologue 18 II From Tarsus to Damascus 26 §1: Biographical Matters 26 §2: The Pharisee and “Zealot” for the Law 32 §3: Conversion and Call 40 III The Period in Antioch 48 §4: The Antioch Congregation 49 §5: The Apostolic Council 55 §6: The Conflict in Antioch and Its Consequences 60 IV The Gospel 68 §7: Concept and Pauline Usage 69 §8: The Theology of the Gospel 72 V Faith 88 §9: “Through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) 88 §10: Faith as Ethos 98 §11: Faith as Assurance of Reality 101 VI The Salvific Reality of Jesus’ Death 112 §12: Jesus’ Salvific Death as a Reality of Faith 112 §13: Interpretive Categories and Interpretive Models 117 §14: Jesus’ Salvific Death as a Theological Argument 124 §15: The Theology of the Cross 130 VII Baptism 142 §16: Pre--Pauline Baptismal Practice and Its Interpretation 143 §17: The Pauline Theology of Baptism 148 VIII The Holy Spirit 164 §18: The Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God 165 §19: The Experience of the Spirit 168 §20: The Mode of Being of the Spirit 171 §21: The Theology of the Holy Spirit 176 IX Hope 194 §22: “Hope” and “Eschatology” 194 §23: “Already Now” and “Not Yet” 198 §24: Resurrection from the Dead and New Corporeality 218 §25: “Judgment” 227 §26: “So That God Will Be All in All” (1 Corinthians 15:28) 234 X “Christ Mysticism” and “Participation in Christ” 238 §27: Retrospective I 238 §28: “In Christ” 245 §29: “With Christ” 257 §30: Retrospective II 262 XI The Community of Believers 270 §31: The Worshipping Character of Pauline Congregations 272 §32: The Lord’s Supper as a Reality Symbol of the Christian Community 281 §33: Ecclesiological Metaphors 297 §34: Membership in Israel 311 §35: Retrospect and Prospect 315 XII Ethics 318 §36: Is There an Ethics in Paul? 318 §37: The Theological Embedding of Pauline Ethics 325 §38: Love 342 XIII Justification on the Basis of Faith 348 §39: Introduction 348 §40: The Pauline Doctrine of Justification as a Semantic Field and Its Emergence 351 §41: “Apart from Works of the Law” (Romans 3:28) 359 §42: “But through ‘Christ--Faith’ ” (Galatians 2:16): The Theological Disabling of the Law through F 366 §43: “For through the Law Comes the Recognition of Sin” (Romans 3:20) 374 §44: Freedom from the Law and the “Law of Christ” 379 §45: Basic Anthropological Assumptions 383 §46: “It Is God Who Justifies” (Romans 8:33) 390 §47: Retrospect and Prospect 409 XIV And What Becomes of Israel? 418 §48: Who or What Is Israel? 418 §49: “But Finally the Wrath Has Come upon Them” (1 Thessalonians 2:14--16) 420 §50: Identity through Alterity (Galatians 4:21--31) 423 §51: The Aporia of the Question of Israel (Romans 9--11) 430 §52: Summary 439 XV Epilogue 444 §53: Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ and His Jewish Heritage 444 §54: Paul and Jesus 456 Works Cited 462 Scripture Index 474 Index of Greek Terms 488 Subject Index 490 In this newly translated volume, Michael Wolter (University of Bonn, Germany) outlines the architecture of the Apostle's theology. Wolter contends that it is indeed possible to discover Paul's core theological commitments, despite the fact that the sources for Paul's theology--his letters--are diverse, contextually dependent snapshots of the Apostle's thinking at a particular moment in time. Wolter frames Paul's enterprise as a theology of mission and conversion--a mission that accounts for the life and preaching of Paul and a conversion that highlights the experience of Christ shared by all believers. Pauline theology finds expression in the phrase "faith in Christ," which refers to the complete reorientation and exclusive new identity of the Christian. Wolter places Paul's theology into a narrative context, often referred to by Paul himself, that emphasizes the time before Paul's conversion, Paul's encounter with the risen Christ, and the complex events leading to the Antioch incident. Wolter then explores the theology of Paul's Gospel and the response to this good news--faith--before detailing eleven interlocking and overlapping elements of Paul's thought. -- Amazon.com. Outlines the architecture of the Apostle's theology. Michael Wolter contends that it is possible to discover Paul's core theological commitments, despite the fact that the sources for Paul's theology - his letters - are diverse, contextually dependent snapshots of the Apostle's thinking at a particular moment in time.