Christ in the Letters of Paul: In Place of a Christology

376 Pages·2006·17.41 MB·English

by  Hendrikus Boers

Hendrikus Boers
Christ in the Letters of Paul
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
und die Kunde der älteren Kirche
Herausgegeben von
James D. G. Dunn · Carl R. Holladay
Hermann Lichtenberger · Jens Schröter
Gregory E. Sterling · Michael Wolter
Band 140
W
DE
G
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
Hendrikus Boers
Christ in the Letters of Paul
In Place of a Christology
w
DE
G_
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI
to ensure permanence and durability.
ISBN-13: 978-3-11-018992-6
ISBN-10: 3-11-018992-5
ISSN 0171-6441
Library of Congress Catahging-in-Publication Data
Boers, Hendrikus.
Christ in the Letters of Paul : in place of a Christology / Hendrikus
Boers.
p. cm. — (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die ncutcstamentliche Wissen-
schaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche ; Bd. 140)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 3-11-018992-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Jesus Christ — History of doctrines — Early church, ca. 30 — 600.
2. Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul — Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
II. Series.
BT198.B615 2006
232.092-dc22
2006016014
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek
Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografic; detailed
bibliographic data is available in the Internet at < http://dnb.ddb.de >.
© Copyright 2006 by Walter de Gruytcr GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin
\I rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permis-
sion in writing from the publisher.
Printed in Germany
Cover design: Christopher Schneider, Berlin
For Ernst Käsemann
July 12, 1906 - February 17, 1998

Preface
This study is a reading of Paul in an attempt to learn from his writings what
Christ meant for him. For that reason I quote him repeatedly to focus on his
own formulations of his thoughts to prevent the development of abstractions
of his meanings based on prior readings, also those that develop in the course
of the investigation. Methodologically, this procedure is important for the in-
vestigation. It ensures that the Pauline text always remains in focus, not an
abstraction from memory. Thus, the repeated readings were not always
identical in meaning, leading frequently to different, sometimes corrected,
understandings of the texts.
The investigation proceeded on two levels. At the basic level it is a read-
ing of those texts which express the meaning of Christ for Paul, without atten-
tion to the secondary literature, as described in the previous paragraph. This
constitutes the main text. At a second level, represented by the footnotes and
excurses, I take into account the texts exegetically, to make sure that there are
not meanings I missed, and to control possible misreadings. Here too my in-
terest is not primarily in abstractions or abstracts of the scholarly discussion,
but to present the accumulation of scholarly insights on the texts. Only rarely
do I find it necessary to engage in the general issues involved in their inter-
pretation. I hope they make good reading for the Pauline scholar. My interest
at this second level is not limited to what these texts reveal about the meaning
of Christ for Paul, but extend to all aspects of the texts as background to the
readings that form the substance of the investigation at the primary level.
They can be read in that way; I tried to make sure that one could move fluent-
ly from the primary investigation in the main text to this exegetical level in
the footnotes and excurses.
I dedicate this investigation to Ernst Käsemann, who, along with Herbert
Braun, was a decisive influence on my thinking throughout my entire aca-
demic career. My relationship with him continued to the end of his life, as my
initial methodological reflections in this investigation will show.
A few expressions of appreciation are in order. I started this investiga-
tion at the Philipps-Universität in Marburg, and remember with appreciation
the hospitality I received there, especially from the colleagues in New Testa-
ment, Dieter Liihrmann, Wolfgang Harnisch and Gerd Schunack. Part One
was read by Wolfgang Harnisch of the Philipps-Universität in Marburg and
Steve Kraftchick of Emory University in Atlanta. Both provided important
Vlll Preface
information about details, and Steve especially made some insightful and
sensitive observations about the content, including that the original title was
misleading about the purpose of the investigation, which lead to many hours
of reflection to find one that more accurately expressed that purpose. Carl
Holladay encouraged and supported my submission of the manuscript to
Walter de Gruyter for possible publication. At the press I found understand-
ing support from the editor of the Beihefte. Given the history of our family
names — Bur- (North-West German) = Boer (Dutch) —, I would like to
think of him, not as Carsten Burfeind, but as what he has been to me, Carsten
Burfreund. To all of them my sincere appreciation.
Table of Contents
Preface vii
Introduction: In search of a method 1
Part One
The meaning of Christ for Paul personally 8
1. Christ's appearance to Paul 8
Excursus: Issues in the Interpretation of Gal 2:19-20 26
Assessment 31
2. The meaning of Christ's death, resurrection and parousia 32
Excursus: The Interpretation of Rom 7:24-25 36
a. Four categories in the interpretation of the passage 36
(i) Existential tension in Paul 36
(ii) Paul retrospectively under the Law 39
(iii) A Jew under the Law 42
(iv) Gentiles who are not believers 43
b. Restructuring of the text of Rom 7:23-8:2 46
Assessment 49
3. Three expressions of the meaning of Christ for Paul 58
a. 2 Corinthians 13:3-5 58
b. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 61
c. 2 Corinthians 4:7-14 64
Summary 67
Conclusion 69
4. Paul's call: Proclamation of the gospel 70
Excursus: The Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 9:16-18 74
a. Two ways of reading verses 17-18a 74
b. Rewards? 75
c. The problem of works of supererogation 76
Summary of Part One 99
X Table of Contents
Part Two
The meaning of Christ for the believer 107
1. Paul's earlier preaching as foundation of his reasoning 107
a. 1 Cor 2:2 108
Excursus: The Meaning of Christ in 1 Cor 1:4-4:21 112
Themes in 1 Corinthians 1-4 117
(i) Paul's relationship with his readers 135
(ii) The factions 140
(iii) Paul's apostleship 143
(iv) Wisdom 146
(v) Christ crucified 149
Conclusion 154
b. 1 Cor 15:1-7, 12-19 155
c. Gal 3:1-5 162
Conclusion 171
2. The Meaning of Christ's Death, Resurrection and Parousia 172
a. Distinguishing between what Paul says and what he means 174
(i) 1 Thess 5:1-11 174
Excursus: Issues in the Interpretation of 1 Thess 5:1-11 175
a. The structure of the passage 175
β. Verse 1 in the form of a rhetorical praeteritio 176
γ. Apocalypticism 178
δ. The addressees, gnosticism and the concept of time 178
ε. Relationship to a baptimal formula, or other traditions ... 179
ζ. Theology and Christo logy 182
η. Faith, hope and love 183
Θ. The paraenesis of verse 11 184
(ii) Rom 14:1-13 190
b. A model of possible levels of meaning 193
Excursus: Christ's death ύπέρ ήμών 196
Summary 198
c. The meaning of Christ's Death, Resurrection and Parousia 199
(i) Dying with Christ and living in him 199
(ii) Christ's death and resurrection as liberation from sin 201
(iii) Other benefits from Christ's death, resurrection and par 202