Session Three:“The Christ as seen by the Epistle Writers” – Dr. James Sweeney

Outline of Presentation <1>

• Part 1: PRELIMINARY BACKGROUND DETAILS• Part 2: SOME SAMPLES OF CHRISTOLOGY REFLECTED IN

THE NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS• Part 3: THE RELEVANCE OF NEW TESTAMENT

CHRISTOLOGY FOR CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANS• Part 4: THREE QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER THEOLOGICAL

AND PRACTICAL REFLECTION

Part One: PRELIMINARY BACKGROUND DETAILS <2> • Introduction• A Look at the Shape of New Testament

Theology: What Does It Look Like?• A Look at the Meaning of New

Testament Christology: What is It?• A Look at the Shape of New Testament

Christology: Five Summary Points

The Shape of New Testament Theology <3>

• David Wenham: New Testament theology is “all about the divine mission to the world.”

• The four “C”s of New Testament theology:

(1) Context (2) Center

(3) Community (4) Climax

The Meaning of New Testament Christology <4>

• The differing foci of scholarly approaches to NT Christology:• Some focus on Christ’s person• Others focus on Christ’s person &

work• Still others focus on Christ’s

person & significance

The Meaning of New Testament Christology <5>

• My preferred definition of Christology (because of the interrelated ways in which the NT authors speak of Christ):

• “The diverse ways in which the New Testament authors present the person and work of Christ and their redemptive significance for their readers (and themselves).”

Interrelation of Christ’s person, work & their redemptive significance <6>

• Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”• Person: “Christ,” “Son of God”• Work: “gave himself” (i.e. on the cross)• Redemptive significance: “Christ lives in

me,” “loved me,” “gave himself for me”

Interrelation of Christ’s person, work & their redemptive significance <7>• 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace

[gracious act, NAB] of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”• Person: “Lord Jesus Christ . . . was rich”• Work: “he became poor . . . through his

poverty” (Incarnation implied)• Redemptive significance: “for your

sakes,” “that you … might become rich”

A Look at the Shape of New Testament Christology <8>

• (1) It’s textually embodied in the NT writings

• (2) It’s historical in context• (3) It has a narrative framework (or

format)• (4) It’s theological in its content• (5) It’s diverse (variegated) in its

modes of presentation

The NT Writings in Overview <9>

• Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

• One Early Church ‘history’: The Acts of the Apostles (Luke-Acts is a 2 vol. work of one author) 

• Twenty-one Letters:• Thirteen Pauline letters (Pauline Corpus)• Eight Catholic (or General) letters• One Prophetic-Apocalypse: Revelation (a

prophecy in the form of a circular letter)

Four prominent streams of cooperate apostolic mission and their influence on the origin of the NT writings <10>

Pauline Mission(Paul)

Petrine mission(Peter)

Jacobean mission(James)

Johan-nine

mission(John)

-Paul’s letters-Luke & Acts-Hebrews

-1 & 2 Peter-Mark

-James-Matthew-Jude

-John-1, 2 & 3 John-Rev

The NT Letters in Overview <11a>

• Thirteen Pauline letters (organized according to length): • The Earlier Letters: Galatians, 1 & 2

Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, & Romans

• The Prison (or Captivity) Letters: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, & Ephesians

• The Pastoral Letters: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus

The NT Letters in Overview <11b>• Eight Catholic (or General) letters:

Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude

• 1 Prophetic-Apocalypse: Revelation• Note that Revelation is a prophecy

(1:3; 22:7, 10, 18–19) in the form of a circular letter (1:11; chs. 2–3), written in an apocalyptic style (1:1, 19)

Ben Witherington’s take on the framework of Paul’s narrative thought world <12>

• It exemplifies “four interrelated stories comprising one drama”:

• (1) the story of the world gone wrong• (2) the story of Israel in the world• (3) the story of Christ• (4) the story of Christians • “Christ’s story is the hinge . . .”

The Multifaceted Nature of the Christology Reflected through the Authors of the NT Letters <13a>

• 1. Christology in the form of a re-articulation of Israel’s ancient confession of monotheism (the Shema‘ )

• 2. Christology in the form of a (pre-Pauline) summary of the content of gospel proclamation (kērygma)

• 3. Christology reflected in early Christian confessional statements

The Multifaceted Nature of the Christology Reflected through the Authors of the NT Letters <13b>

• 4. Christology exemplified in examples of the content of early Christian worship

• 5. Christology in the form of early Christian anticipation of the Parousia (Second Coming)

• 6. Christology reflected in John the Seer’s vision of exalted worship in the heavenly court (Rev 5:2–10)

The Multifaceted Nature of the Christology Reflected through the Authors of the NT Letters <13c>

• 7. Christology exhibited in John the Seer’s vision of the victorious Christ (Christus victor) (Rev 19:11–16)

Is New Testament Christology Actually Important? <14>

J. J. Rousseau, 1712-1778

Rousseau’s Question to Ministers of the

Gospel:• “Why did your God

make these things happen so far off, if he would compel me to know about them?” (1762)

R. N. Longenecker, ed., Contours of Christology in the New Testament<15>• “. . . we have prepared this volume

with the hope that a more responsible treatment of Christology in the New Testament will prove to be of help to many earnest Christians who seek to think and live in a more Christian fashion, and thereby that it will have a positive impact on the church at large.” (p. vii; my underlining)