From Galatia To Rome
Reading Paul as Paul would be read
January 12, 2014
Important Principles
1. Use only Paul’s undisputed letters
2. Paul “called” rather than “converted’
3. Pam’s Rules on “How to read Paul”
Based on understanding of ancient Judaism
Paul does not condemn Jewish Law per se
Paul’s apocalyptic orientation: “The end is
near!”
Understanding Judaism
God offered to enter a covenantal relationship
with Abraham and with Abraham’s descendants
For a Jew, “Justification” is sustaining that right
relationship with God
The Law does NOT establish this relationship
Law describes the relationship
Law provides means to restore relationship
Analogy with Marriage
Marriage establishes a relationship between two
people
Can the marriage bond be broken? Yes
Do all failings break the bond? No
Couples develop rules for reconciliation
Neither rules nor actions establish the
relationship – marriage vows did
Important Principles
1. Use only Paul’s undisputed letters
2. Paul “called” rather than “converted’
3. Pam’s Rules on “How to read Paul”
Based on understanding of ancient Judaism
Paul does not condemn Jewish Law per se
Paul’s apocalyptic orientation: “The end is
near!”
Important Principles
1. Use only Paul’s undisputed letters
2. Paul “called” rather than “converted’
3. Pam’s Rules on “How to read Paul”
Based on understanding of ancient Judaism
Paul does not condemn Jewish Law per se
Paul’s apocalyptic orientation: “The end is
near!”
4. Maintain intellectual charity towards Paul
Why did Paul write to the Galatians?
• Christian competitors to Paul: “Teachers”
going for Paul’s disciples
• Teachers: to be saved, must be Jewish; men
must be circumcised like Abraham
• Jesus was Jewish; to be like Jesus, be
Jewish!
What upset Paul? Wrong Gospel!
• “On the contrary, when they saw that I had
been entrusted with the gospel for the
uncircumcised, just as Peter had been
entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised
. . . and when James and Cephas and John, . . .
recognized the grace that had been given to
me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right
hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should
go to the Gentiles and they to the
circumcised.” (Galatians 2:7-9 NRS)
Paul on Peter’s Gospel
• Never explains what this Gospel includes
• Never claims that this Gospel is wrong; tells
Galatians:
• “Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let
yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no
benefit to you. 3 Once again I testify to every man
who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged
to obey the entire law.” (5:2-3)
– Christ is not effective for Jews
– If you want to be a Jew must be a 100% Jew
– Right relationship (justification) still possible
Paul’s Gospel
• As Abraham was justified through “faith” . . .
– Abraham called and blessed with offspring
(Gen 12, 15) before his circumcision (Gen
17)
• . . . so you are justified by “faith.”
– Typically understood: the Galatians’ faith in
Jesus
– You justified by faith are descendants of
Abraham through Sarah and Isaac
– Jews descendants through Hagar and
Ishmael
So Paul, some questions for you,
big fellah:
• Just what do you mean by “faith”?
• Whose faith are we talking about here?
An Excursion into Greek
• Paul uses the root pist- pist- in noun
(“faith”) and verb (“to believe”) forms
• Greek/English lexicons: to believe, to trust, to
comply; fidelity, a pledge of good faith, etc.
– Is Paul talking about Abraham’s faithfulness in
following God’s directives (going to Canaan,
etc.)?
– Romans 3:3 talks of “the faith/fulness of God”
– Could Paul mean “the faith/fulness of Christ”
rather than “faith in Christ”?
A Further Excursion into Greek
• Cases in Greek
– English uses word order to convey the
structure of a sentence and the relationship
among words
– Greek uses endings on the words to describe
their relationship
– English example: “who,” “whose,” and “whom”
• Genitive case in Greek
– Typically denotes ownership, possession:
“whose”
– May denote other relationships
The Point:
Subjective and Objective Genitives
• Paul writes pistis Christou: “faith [something]
Christ
– Christou is in genitive case; how translate?
– Does phrase mean “faith /fulness of Christ” –
the genitive is the subject or owner of the
faith, a subjective genitive . . .
– or does it mean “faith in Christ,” Christ is the
object of the faith, an objective genitive?
• Who cares? Consider Galatians 2:16
Galatians 2:16 in NRSV
“. . . yet we know that a person is justified not by
the works of the law but through faith in Jesus
Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ
Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in
Christ, and not by doing the works of the law,
because no one will be justified by the works of
the law.”
Or does it say . . .
Alternative Galatians 2:16
“. . . yet we know that a person is justified not by
the works of the law but through the faith/fulness
of Jesus Christ. And we have come to trust in Christ
Jesus, so that we might be justified by the
faith/fulness of Christ, and not by doing the works
of the law, because no one will be justified by the
works of the law.”
What difference do the translations make today?
What impact does it have today?
• Is “belief in” Jesus a form of works’
righteousness?
• If Jesus did the work for justification, how
does it apply to “non-believers”?