New Testament Theology

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New Testament Theology

• Understanding Pauls Theology

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Principles for Understanding

• 1. Doing theology carefully
• 2. Honoring Paul as a real person in a real
• historical setting
• 3. Pauls unity of thought and diversity of
• application
• 4. Consider the whole teaching of Paul before
• applying the parts

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Principles for Understanding

• 5. Subversion of culture the Spirit of God
• works over time.
• 6. What would Jesus do? Is our application
• faithful to Jesus?
• 7. A responsive obedience, walking in step
• with the Spirit.

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1. Doing Theology Carefully

• Remembering the two horizons

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1. Doing Theology Carefully

• Remembering the two horizons. This Means
• Bringing our questions, issues and concerns to
  God and seeking guidance from his Word
• Searching out the impact of Gods Word on 1st
  Century people
• Searching out the message for us today

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2 Real historical differences

• These differences include
• Land, position and status
• Culture of complete domination
• Gentiles, Masters, Men (Household codes)
• Social relationships, education, public life
• Women, conception and childbirth
• Sexual responsibility

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2 Real historical differences

• Saying of Socrates
• There are three blessings for which I am
  grateful to Fortune first that I was born a
  human being and not one of the brutes next that
  I was born a man and not a woman thirdly, a
  Greek and not a Barbarian Diogenes Laertius 1.33
  (Loeb Classical Library)

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2 Real historical differences

• Jewish Prayer
• Blessed are you, O God, that I am not a brute
  creature, nor a Gentile, nor a woman Talmudic
  tractate Menahoth 43b (Epstein trans)

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3 Unity and diversity

• Paul wrote practical letters in response to real
  questions and pastoral issues in churches
• He gave different instructions to churches
  located in different areas
• Paul had no need to systematize his own thinking
  in fact some say that the idea of doing so
  would not have appealed to him.

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3 Unity and diversity Examples

• E.g. widows and remarriage cf 1 Cor 740 and 1
  Tim 514
• 1 Corinthians 739-40   A wife is bound as long
  as her husband lives but if her husband is dead,
  she is free to be married to whom she wishes,
  only in the Lord.  40     But in my opinion she
  is happier if she remains as she is and I think
  that I also have the Spirit of God.
• 1 Timothy 514  Therefore, I want younger widows
  to get married, bear children, keep house, and
  give the enemy no occasion for reproach

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3 The underlying unity of Pauls teaching

• Galatians 328   There is neither Jew nor Greek,
  there is neither slave nor free man, there is
  neither male nor female for you are all one in
  Christ Jesus.

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3 The underlying unity of Pauls thought

• The new creation is not just about being saved
  but about the formation of a new community with
  transformed relationships cf 1 Cor 12.
• Paul is not saying that these categories cease to
  exist cf 1 Cor
• What has been removed by the gospel is the
  significance of certain (not all) distinctions
  and the values ethnic-racial (Jew/Gentile),
  socio-economic (slave/free), and sexual-gender
  (female/male) that were based on them.

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4 Consider the whole teaching before applying the
parts

• The clear overall teaching of scripture should
  always govern interpretation of unclear passages.
• Major doctrines with significant practices need
  to be built on the whole teaching of scripture
• Remember for example, Acts 238 repent and be
  baptized . . .

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5 The subversion of culture

• Appreciating the outworking of principles in the
  church over time under the direction of the
  Spirit.
• Eg Slavery, race based status
• The danger of idealizing the NT church and
  ignoring the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit as
  teacher in our present situation is great, but
  not as great as ignoring the text.

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6 Jesus Centered Theology

• Jesus is the centre of Scripture and his approach
  and teaching must be the centre of our reflection
  It was for Paul
• Jesus and women in practice
• The possibility of being Biblical but profoundly
  un-Christian

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7 Listening Obedience

• The challenge of responsive, listening obedience
• God continues to speak to us through scripture
• Seeking, prayer, study, action and reflection
• Three principles
• freedom, equality, love.