I)
I
~
I
II
II
I.
INTRODUCTION
TO
THE
LETTERSOFSA
IN
TPAUL
CHRONOLOG
YThroughtheActsoftheApostlesandthroughhisownlettersSaintPaulismorefamiliartousthananyotherfigureoftheNewTestament.Thesetwo
mutuallyindependentsourcesconfirmandcomplementeachotherinspiteof
certaindiscrepanciesofdetail.Wearealsoabletoconstructafairlyexact
chronologyofPaul'slifefromreferencestodatedeventssuchasGallio'sproconsulateinCorinth,Ac18:12,andtheyearFestussucceededFelix,
Ac24:27-25:I.Paul,bornatTarsusinCilicia,Ac9:II;21:39;22:3,about10A.D.of
aJew
ishfamilyofthetribeofBenjamin,Rm
II-I;
Ph3:5,wasaRomancitizen,Ac16:37f;
22:25-28;23:27.AsayoungmanhewaseducatedinJerusalembyGamalielwho
gavehimathoroughgroundinginreligiousdoctrineoftheschoolofthePharisees.Hebecameabitterpersecutor
of
theinfantChurch,Ac22:4f;26:9-12;
Ga1:13;Ph3:6,andplayedsome
part
inStephen'smartyrdom,Ac7:58;22:20;
26:10;
but
ontheroadtoDamascus,c.34A.D.,avisionoftherisenJesus
changedhiswholelife.TherisenLordopenedhismindtothetruthofthe
Christianfaithandrevealed
that
hehadchosenhimtobetheapostleofthe
pagans,Ac9:3-16p;GaI:12,15f;Ep3:2f.Fromthenon,Pauldedicatedhislife
toservingChristwhohadpersonallychosenhimashisfollower,Ph3:12.After
spendingsometimeinArabiahereturnedtoDamascus,GaI:17,andbeganhis
preachingthere,Ac9:20.In
about
39A.D.afterabriefvisittoJerusalem,GaI:18;
Ac9:26-29,PaulwenttoSyriaandCilicia,Ga1:21;Ac9:30,tillBarnabas
fetchedhimbacktoAntiochwheretheypreachedtogether,AcII:25fand
cf.9:27.DuringPaul'sfirstmissionaryjourney(45-49)toCyprus,Pamphilia,
PisidiaandLycaonia,Ac13-14,hestartedusinghisGreeknamePaulinstead
ofhisJewishnameSaul,Ac13:9,and,becausehepreachedbetter,startedto
becomemorefamousthanBarnabas,Ac14:12.In49A.D.,fourteenyears
afterhisconversion,Ga2:I,hewenttoJerusalemtotakepartintheapostles'
council,anditwaspartlythroughhisinfluencethatthecouncilagreedthat
theJewishLawwasnotbindingonChristianconvertsfrompaganism,Ac15;
Ga
2:3-6.Hismissionasapostletothepaganswasformallysanctioned,
Ga
2:7-9,andheset
out
oncemore.
The
datesofhissecond(50-52;
Ac15:36-18:22)andthirdmissionary
journey
s(53-58;Ac18:23-21:17)are
discussedlaterunderthelettershewroteatintervalsduringthose
journ
eys.In58,PaulwasarrestedinJerusalem,Ac21:27-23:22,andimprisonedat
CaesareaPalestinaeuntil60
A.D
.,Ac23:23-26:32.Intheautumn
of60
,Festusthe
procuratorsenthimtoRomeunderescort,Ac27:1-28:16,where,afterthe
statutorytwoyears(61-63),Ac28:30,Paul'scasewasdismissedforwantof
evidenceandhewassetfree.
It
ispossible
that
hewenttoSpain.ashehad
::;
o
0::.0::
.:8
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IN
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DUCTION
TO
SAINT
PA
UL
252253
INTRODUCTION
TOSA
IN
T
PAUL
::;;
o
0:
J
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I
I
I
1
hopedtodo,Rm15:24,28;
but
thepastoralletterssuggest
that
hetravelledagainintheeast.AsubsequentimprisonmentinRomeended,accordingtoa
veryancienttradition,inmartyrdom,probablyintheyear67.
THE
CHARACTEROFPAUL
Aswellasthischronology,itispossibletorecoverquiteadetailed
portra
itofPaulfromhislettersandfromActs.
Hewasapersonofgreatdedication,capableofpursuinganidealwitha
completedisregardforthecost.
For
him,theonlything
that
matteredwas
God,
andas
God's
servant,Paulrefusedanysortofcompromise.
It
waswithequallysingle-mindeddetermination
that
hehadpersecutedthoseheconsidered
God's
enemies,ITmI:13,cf.Ac24:5,14,andlaterpreachedChristastheone,universalsaviour.Thissaviourheservedpassionatelyandselflesslyfortherestofhislife.Heknewwhatworkhehadbeengiventodo,ICo9:16,and
heletnothingstophimdoingit:hardwork,exhaustion,suffering,poverty,
dangerofdeath,ICo4:9-13;2Co4:8f;6:4-10;11:23-27.
Far
fromlettingthesethingsweakenhislovefor
God
orChrist,Rm8:35-39,hewelcomed
them,sincetheyhelpedhimtogrowintotheimageofhissufferingandcrucified
Ma
ster,2Co4:lOf;Ph3:I
Of.
Theknowledge
that
hisvocationwasuniquegavehimanenormousambition,
but
itdidnotmakehimarrogant.Itwaswithholyhumility
that
Paulfeltapersonalprideinbeingresponsibleforsomanychurches,2CoII:28,cf.ColI:24,andclaimedtohavedonemore
missionaryworkthanothers,ICo15:10,cf.2CoII:5,andofferedhimself
asamodeltohisconverts,2Th3:7
+.
Heneverforgot
that
havingpersecutedthe
Chur
chofChrist,hewastheunworthiestofalltheapostles.Allthegreat
thingshesucceededindoingheattributedtoGod'sgraceworkingthrough
him,ICo15:10;2Co4:7;Ph4:13;Col1:29;Ep3:7.
Paulhadasensitivetemperament
that
showeditselfinhisattitudetothose
hehadconverted.HehadachildliketrustintheconvertsatPhilippi,PhI:7f;
4:10-20,adeepaffectionforthoseatEphesus,Ac20:17-38;hewasfurious
withthoseinGalatiawhowereonthevergeofapostasy,
Ga
1:6;3:1-3,anddeeplyupsetwhenhe
thoughtthat
theChristiansinCorinthhadbecomevainandunstable,2Co12:11-13:10.Whenhewasbeingironicalwithpeople
heconsidered.superficial,ICo4:8;2Co11:7;12:13,orwhenhewasoutspoken,
Ga3:1-3;4:11;ICo3:1-3;5:1-2;6:5;11:17-22;2Co11:3f,itwasonlyfor
theirowngood,2Co7:8-13,andaftertheseoutburstshesoonbecametender,
2Co
11:1-2;12:14f
,andfa
therly,I
C04:14f;2C06
:13,cf
.1Th2:II
;Phm10,evenmotherly,ITh2:7;
Ga
4:19,andanxioustorestoretheearlieraffection,
Ga4:12-20;2Co7:11-13.
Paul'sfiercestoutburstsofindignationweredirectedagainsteverybodywho
triedtoseducehisconverts,whethertheywereJews,whoopposedhimwher
everhewent,Ac13:45,50;14:2,19;17:5,13;18:6;19:9;21:27,orJudaising
ChristianswhowantedallfollowersofChristtofollowtheLaw,Ga1:7;
2:4;6:12f.Henevermincedhiswordswitheitherofthesegroups,ITh2:15f;
Ga
5:12;Ph3:2,and,howeverunprepossessing,hefelthimselftobeanirre
sistibleweaponwieldedbydivinepoweragainstambitious,arrogantand
unspiritualopponents,2Co10:1-12:12.God'sweaponwasPaul'sselfless
sincerity,Ac18:3
+.
It
hasbeensuggested
that
thepeopleagainstwhomhe
inveighswereinfacttheseniorapostlesinJerusalem,
but
thisisimpossible.
SomeoftheJudaeo-Christians,whoremainedfaithfultotheLaw,invoked
Peter,ICo
1:1
2,andJames,Ga2:12,inanattempttodiscreditPaul,butPaul
alwaysrespectedtheauthorityoftheseapostles,
Ga
1:18;2:2,thoughhe
claimedtobejustasmuchawitnesstoChristastheywere,GaI:11f;ICo9:I;
15:8-11.EvenwhenPaulhadhisdisagreementwithPeter,Ga2:11-14,his
attitudewasconciliatory,Ac21:18-26,andheorganisedacollectionforthe
poorChristiansofJerusalem,Ga2:10,sinceheconsideredthiswouldbethe
bestpossible
proof
that
hispaganconvertsweretrulyonewiththeChristians
ofthemotherchurch,2Co8:14;9:12-13;Rm15:26f.
PAUL
AS
PREA
C
HE
RWhatPaulproclaimedwasinallessentialstheapostolic'kerygma',Ac2
:22+,
i.e.
that
Christhadbeencrucifiedandhadrisenfromthedeadand
that
thishadbeenforetoldinthescriptures,ICo2:2;15:3-4;Ga3:1.
What
hecalls'his'GoodNews,Rm2:16;16:25,wasidenticalwiththefaithcommonly
held,Ga1:6-9;2:2;ColI:5-7,butemphasisedtheconversionofpagans,
Ga1:16;2:7-9,inlinewiththemissionarypolicyinitiatedatAntioch.Paul
acceptsandsometimesappealstotheapostolictradition,1CoII:23;15:3-7,
to
whichhewasdeeplyindebted.ThoughheprobablynevermetJesusduring
hisearthlylife,cf.2Co5:16+,Paulwasfamiliarwithhisteaching,ITh4:15;
ICo7:10f;Ac20:35,andconfidentlyclaimedtohaveseentherisenChrist,
notonlyontheDamascusroad,Ac9:17;22:14f;26:16;ICo9:1;15:8,
but
onseveraloccasionssubsequently,Ac22:17-21;26:16.Healsohadrevelations
andecstasies,2Co12:1-4,buteverythinghehadreceivedfromapostolic
traditionhecouldalsoattribute,andjustly,todirectcommunicationfromthe
Lord,Ga1:12;ICo11:23.ThesemysticalexperienceshavesometimesbeenattributedtoPaul'sexcitableandmorbidtemperament,yetthisishardlylikely.Thedisease
that
detainedhiminGalatia,Ga4:13-15,wasprobablyanattackofmalaria,andthe
'tho
rninmyside',2Co12:7,maywellbethepersistenthostilityofJews,hisbrothers
'accordingtotheflesh',Rm9:3.Pauldoesnotseemtohavehadaveryvivid
imagination
jud
gingbyhissparingandpedestrianuseofimagery:thesports
ground,ICo9:24-27;Ph3:12-14;2Tm4:7f,andthesea,Ep4:14.Twoimages,
farming,ICo3:6-8,andbuilding,ICo3:10-17;Rm15:20;Ep2:20-22,are
sobasicthatheoftenmixesthem,ICo3:9;Col2:7;Ep3:17,cf.Col2:19;
Ep4:16.Hisgeniuswasmuchmoreintellectualthanimaginative,hisenthusiasm
wasneverdivorcedfromtherigidlogicwithwhichheexplainshisteachingandadaptsittotheneedsofhisaudience.Itistothisintellectualneed
to
adapt
histeachingtotheoccasion
that
weowetheremarkabletheologicalanalysistowhichherepeatedlysubmitsthekerygma.Hislogic,whichisbased
ontherabbinicalmethodinwhichhehadbeentrained,mayseemstrangeto
somepeopletoday(e.g.
Ga
3:16;4
:21
-31).Hisgenius,however,wasneverrestrictedbythesescholasticconventions,sothathoweverunattractivesome
peoplemayfindthemethod,itdoesnotobscuretheprofundityofhisteaching.PaulwasaJewwithaGreekculturalbackgroundwhichhehadpossibly
beguntoacquirewhenaboyinTarsusandwhichwascertainlyreinforcedby
.repeatedcontactwiththeGraeco-Romanworld;thisinfluenceisobvious
,0:
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I
INTRODUCTION
TO
SA
IN
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PA
UL
254
notonlyinhislogicalmethodbutalsoinhislanguageandstyle.Hesometimes
quo
tesGreekwriters,ICo15:33;
Tt
I:12;Ac17:28,andwasfamiliarwith
pop
ularStoic-basedphilosophyfromwhichhe
borrows
concepts(e.g.
of
thesoulseparatedfromthebody
andbound
for
another
world,2Co5:6-8;the
cosmic
pleroma
inColandEp)andcliches(ICo8:6;RmII:36;Ep4:6).
From
the
CynicsandStoicsheborrowedtherapidquestion
and
answer
method
(thediatribe),Rm3:1-9,27-31,
and
therhetoricaldeviceofheaping
word
onword,2Co6:4-10.Even'hisuseoflong,packed
phras
esinwaveafterwave,
Ep1:3-14;ColI:9-20,hasaprecedentinhellenisticreligiousliterature.
The
Gr
eek
tha
twasasecond
mother
tonguetoPaul(cf,Ac21:40),
that
hewasabletouscsofamiliarlywithonlyoccasionalsemitisms,wasaculturedform
of
the
koine,
i.e.the
Greek
ofhisownday.Paulnever
atte
mptedAtticelegance,andhedeliberatelyavoidedrhetoricso
that
hisaudiencewouldbeconvinced
notbytheformbutbythecontent
of
hismessage
of
faithandbythesigns
theSpirithadpromisedtoprovidetoconfirmit,ITh1:5;ICo2:4f;2Co11:6;
Rm15:18.Thisisonereasonwhyhisgra
mmar
issometimeswrongandhis
sentencesunfinished,ICo9:15;anotherist
hat
hesometimes
thoug
ht
too
fastor
tooemo
tionally;athirdis
that
withrareexceptions,Phm19.he
nor
mallydictatedhisletters,Rm16:22,(a
common
practiceatthetime)andonlywrote
the
finalgreetingbyway
of
signature,2Th3:17;Ga6:
II;
ICo16:21;Col4:18.
Somepassagesinhisletterswereobviouslywrittenonlyafterlongandcareful
thought,e.g.ColI:15-20,butmostlyhisletterssuggests
pont
aneityandlack
of
revision,andthisiswhy
Paul's
sentencessounddynamic,andwhyheseems
topacksomuchintothem.Heis
not
easytoread,2P3:16;
profoundthou
ghtsexpressedbyanurgentwriterneverare;however,somepassageshavean
ext
raord
inaryreligiousandliterarypower.
Itis
impor
tanttoremember
tha
tPaul'sletterswere
not
meantastheologicaltreatises:theyaresimplyhisresponsetoaparticularsituationina
part
icularchurch.Theybeginaccordingtotheusualepistolaryconvention,RmI:I
+,
butcannotbeclassedeitherasprivateletters,orasliterary'epistles';theyare
Paulinedissertationsintendedforaspecificcircle
of
readersand,inageneral
way,forallthefaithful.Paul'slettersdonotgiveanysystematicandexhaustive
expositionofhisteaching,theyareallcommentariesoncertainpoints
of
sermonsthathe
prea
ched,andtheexistenceofthesesermonsmustalwaysberemembered
bythereader.Thisdoesnotdetractfromtheirvalue:thede
pthand
range
of
hislettersgiveusalltheessentialsofPaul'smessage.Nom
att
erwhatthereasonwasforwritingorwhothepeopleweretowhomhewaswriting,his
basicteachingremainedthe
same
:
that
Christdiedandrosefromthedead.
Theapostlewhowasallthingstoallmen,ICo9:19-22,adaptsthis,hisone
basicdoctrine,tothelistener;hedevelopsand
enr
ichesit.Paulhassometimes
beenaccusedofbeinganeclectic,inthesense
of
ado
ptingnotonlydifferentbut
contradictoryopinionsa
ccor
dingtothecircumstancesinwhichhef
oun
dhimself,ofbeinginterestedlessint
ruth
thaninpersuadingpeopletobelieve
inChrist.Hehasalsobeenaccusedofnothavinganopenmind,ofbeing
obsessedbythevisionthatconvertedhim,
and
of
neverhavingallowedhis
ideastodevelop.The
truth
betweenthesetwoextremesseemstobe
that
Paul'
stheology
doe
sremainhomogeneous
but
thatitdiddevelopundertheguidance
oftheSpirit,whoinspiredeverythinghedidasanapostle,
and
that
Paulineth
ought
reacheditshighestdevelopmentinthelettertotheChristiansat
255
INT
RODUCTI
ON
TOSA
INT
PA
UL
Ephesus.To
show
thisdevelopment
of
Paul's
thought,hislettershavetobe
readinthesameor
der
inwhichtheywerewritten;theorder,however,in
whichtheyareprintedhereisthe
tra
ditional
onethatarran
ges
them
inorderofdiminishinglength.
PAUL
'S
JOURNEYS
AND
LETTERS
1and2Thessalonians.50-51
A.D.
Thefirstletterstobewrittenweretothe
convert
sPaulhad
made
inThessalonikainthesu
mmer
of
50A.D.
during
hissecondmissionary
jo
urney,Ac17:1-10.Asaresult
of
thehostility
of
some
JewshewentontoBeroea,andfromthereto
Athens
and
Corinth
where,itseems,he'wroteITh
during
thewinterof50-51.Whenhewrotethisletter,his
compan
ionswereSilas
and
Timothy.
Timothy
hadpaidasecondvisittoThessalonika,
andbroug
htbackthegoodnews
of
theirfaithunderpersecution,hencetheaffectionatetoneof
the
ope
ning
chapter
s,1-3;thesearefollowedbyaseriesofpracticalrecom
mendations,4:1-12;5:12-28,i
nterr
uptedbyan
opportune
instructiononthedestinyofthe
deadand
onChrist's
parous
ia
,
4:
11-5:
II.2Thwas
pro
bablywrittenatCorinthafew
mont
hslater,
making
furtherpracticalrecommen
dations,I;2:13-3:
15,
andofferingfreshinstructiononthetimeofthe
paro
usia
andthesignsthatweretocomebeforeit,2:1-12.
TheliteraryresemblancebetweenIand2Thissoclose
that
somecriticsconsider2ThaforgerymadebyonewhohadabsorbedPaul'sideasand
style,butitishardtoexplainwhythisshouldhavebeendone;a
more
obviousexplanationisthatwhen,
abo
utayearlater,Paulhaddeepenedhisesc
hato
logicalthought,hewrotethissecondletter
but
repeatedvariousexpressionsfromthefirst.Thetwoare
not
co
ntradictorybut
complementary
and
theearliestauthoritiesbelieved
that
theywere
both
writtenbyPaul.Thesetwolettersareparticularlyimport
ant
becauseoftheireschatological
teaching,buttheyalsoi
ntrod
ucemanypointse
laborate
dinsubsequentletters.
Atthisearlierstage,Paul'sideaswerestructured
aro
undthequestionofhow
there
surr
ection
and
parousia
ofChristcanbringsalvationtohisfollowers
whetheraliveordead,ITh4:13-18.Pauldescribedthis
parousia
in
the
traditionaltermsofJewishandtheearliestChristianapocalypticliter
atur
e(i.e.the
'eschatologicaldiscourse'
of
theSynoptics,andparticularlyofMt).LikeJesus
himselfhesometimessoemphasised,ITh5:
I-II
,theunpredic
tab
leimminence
of
theComingand
the
necessityforvigilance,astogivetheimpression
thatheandhisreaderswouldlivetoseeit,ITh4:17;
but
in2Th2:
1-12
hetriedtoallaytheanxietynaturallyaroused
and
remindedhisreaderst
hat
thedaycould
not
come
tillcertainsignshadprecededit.Whatthese
signsweretobeisnotascleartousasitmusthavebeentothefirstreaders.
Paulseemstoconsiderthe
'Ad
vers
ary'
tobeanindividualpersonwhohadto
waittilltheendoftheagebeforehecould
appear
;somewritersconsider
thatbythe
phra
se't
hat
whichatpresentholdshimback',2Th2:6,Paulmeant
the
Roman
empire,
oth
ers
that
he
meant
thepreaching
of
thegospel;no
conclusionhasbeenreached.
1and2Corinthians.57A.D.
PaulwrotetheletterstoThessalonika
during
theeighteen
months
hespent
::E
o
a:
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