ir'
!i.
!i
ri
1:t Center of Paul's Theolory
I
Iy both the kerygma and the way of life Paul exempli-
ñed and enacted in his pastoral dealings with awk-
ward people (at Corinth) md ugly situations (at Phi-
lippi).
4. The Theme ofReconciliation.
It is the overall theme of reconciliation (see Peace,
Reconciliaúon), we propose, that meets most of-if
not all-these tests (see Martin). This is not to say that
the word-group katallass- is prominent in Paul's wril
ings; manifesdy it is not. Nor is it claimed that "rec-
onciliatron" is used wiü üe same nuance in those
places where it does occur; obviously it does nol But
the contention stands, namely, that reconciliation pro-
vides a suitable umbrella unde¡ which the main fea-
tures of Paul's kerygma md its practical outworking
i there is more emphasis on what may be called cosmic
may be set (see Lemcio 1988, 3-17; 1990, 3-11, for a
i. bold assertion of what these features or "categories"
were, summed up as "God [who] sent or raisedJesus.
A response towards God brings benefits"). Moreover,
justice is done to some of the main motifs in Pauline
missionary rheology.
The tem reconc.iliation has a pre-history in the tra-
dition Paul gladly took over, as in 2 Corinrhians 5:18-
2l and Colossians l:15-20. However, he was not con-
tent to leave the tem open fo misunderstanding; md
there is form-critical, linguistic and traditton-histonca.l
evidence to show how he has changed the word's
meaning by subde editorial adaptarions to the sur-
rounding context. In panicular, he has disinfected the
tem of its grosticizing taint by anchoring reconcilia-
tion in the historical events ofJesus'passion and tying
in the effect ofreconciliation to moral transformation
in human lives.
The counterarglments in Paul are always on the
level of personal relationships, of which the forgive-
ness of sins is the great reality shared alike by apostle
and people. To that experience he appeals under a
variety of images-new creation,* justification,* re-
demption,* sonship Adoption, Sonship), the grft of
(sae
.ll
the Spirit (see Holy Spirit) and the promise of resunec-
tl
Lion.*
ir Against those enthusiastic followers who believed
l:
úat üeir baptism brought the completion of salva-
tion+ here and now, and against the intruding teach-
I
ers who discounted morality as inelevant once üe
t! spirit had been saved, Paul entered the plea of the
,; "eschatological proviso," üe "noryeC' of reconcilia-
tion which, unlike jusuficaúon, is strll going on and
;tl needs to be renewed continually. Hence rhe call to
Christians at Connth, "Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor
5:20), lest they receive God's grace to no purpose
irl (2 Cor 6:l) and fail to see his proffered forgiveness
l
94
i,
I
(2 Cor 2:5-11; 6:11-13). Reconciliation is thus admira-
bly suited to express and safeguard the existential ele-
ment in Paul's moral theology. God has achieved a
final reconciliation ofthe world but men and women
need to learn to live with moral sensitivity and vig-
ilance until the end comes.
The blend of God's deed and Paul's role as a rec-
onciling agent at Corinü and in the note to Philernon
illustrates how the transition fiom historical factuality
to ethical obligation may be made. The middle term
is Paul's "ministry ofreconciliation" (2 Cor 5:18)-the
one clearjob description Paul has left on record. What
God did expressed his great love,* wiü Christ s cross
at the center (Rom 5:1-11). As Paul gratefirlly rejoiced
in that love as a fact of experience, conveyed by üe
Spirit, he saw his mission as modeling what God had
done in recalling the Cori¡thians to their true alle-
giance and in urging Philemon* to consider the social
implications of the new life on which he had em-
barked. The skeleton of an adequate ethical theory is
here seen in embryo-even if it took Christians eight-
een centuries to work out the force and releyance of
this admoniúon.
f,quail¡ the same may be said about the teaching
in Ephesians 2:11-22. Here reconciliation takes on a
horizontal ürection. The inveterate hostility benveen
Jews and non-Jews (see Gentiles) is overcome in the
cross ofJesus who has reconciled both $oups in one
body (sea Body of Christ). The "one new person" in
place of two suggests üe vision of a "üird race," a
new species of humankin4 who in becoming part of
the divine family form a microcosm ofthat new socie-
ty which is a token in God's design to place all of
conscious life under the headship* of the cosmic
Christ (Eph 1:10).
5. Concluion
These far-ranging and distinctive ideas-covering
cosmic, personal, societal and ethnic areas of ou¡ hu-
man story-are nevenheless part of a panern, whose
picture fills the tapestry. The various strands are close-
ly textured and inrricately woven together. Yer rhey are
nor aimlessly pur inro a frame. There is an emerging
design and a coherent picntre. And üe most adequate
and meaningful title for the result is, we submit, "rec-
onciliation."
S¿¿ ¿/so CHrurolocy; CRoss, THEoLoGy oF THr;Jusrr"
IICATION; PAUL AND HIS INTERTR¡TERS; PEACT,, RXCON.
CILLA.TION; RIGHTEOUSNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD,
BIBuoceApHy. J. C. Beker, "Contrngenry and Coher-
ence in the Letters of Paul," USQR 33 (1978) 141-50;
idem, Paul tlu Apostb (Philadelphia: Fonress, 1980);
idem, Tlu Triwnph oJ hd.: tlu Essnu of Paul's Thought
Fortress, 1990); L. Cerfaux, Chríst in tlu
ol St. Paul (New York: Herder & Herder,
TIwoLog
1959); H. Conzelma\n, Ln Oatliru 0f tlu Tluologl oJtlu
Nu Tntamtnt (London: SCM, 1969); N. A Daht,
,,Form-Critical Observat.ions on Early Christia¡
Preaching," inJmu in tlu Monory of tlu Church
(Min-
neapolis: Augsburg, 1976) 30-36; T. Deidun, "Some
Recent Anempts at Explaining Paul's Theology," Way
26 (1986) 230-42; J. D. G. Dunn, IIniE and DiuersiE
Neu Testamiltt (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1977);
ñnn and fudtmpion (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971); C. J.
Hickling, "Centre and Periphery in Paul's Thought "
in Stud.i.a Biblica IIL Papm on Paul and Othn NT Au'
ii¿¡s, ed. E. A. Livingstone (Sheffield: Academic Press,
3'17; 38 (1990) 3J1; R P. Marún, Rmonciliatinn:
Stu$ of Paul\ Tluologl (re,r. ed.; Crand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1990); J. Plevnik, "The Center of Pault
Theology," CBQ 5l (1989) 460-78; J. Reumann, Vanetl
and Unil,¡ in Nat T¿staml Thong'il (Oxford: Univer-
sity Préss, 1991); X. P. Sanders, Paul and. Pal¿stininn
Judaism (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977).
R P. Martin
CEPI{AS. Su Pr¡r"
CIIAINS. S¿ Pn:soN, PRISoNER
CHARISMATA. S¿¿ GrmsorrHt SprRIr.
CHILDREN OF ABRAIIAM. S¿¿ A¡r¡¡,qu.
CHILDREN OF GOD, S¿¿A¡omroN,SoNsHlP.
CHRIST
Paul's extraordinarily frequent use ofthe term Cl¿ruros
calls for explanation. Paul often used üe term as a
vinual second name for Jesus, or as a way o[ distin-
guishing this particular Jesus from olhers. Various
texts also show that Paul was well aware of the larger
sigrificance of the tem Christos/Maliah. It is also no-
table that there are certain ways Paul refrained from
using the term C¿rirlos; for instance, we neve¡ find
phrase 'Jesus the Christ" Careful snrdy of the Jewish
and Greek background does not explain üe frequen-
cy and manner in which Paul used the term Cñá¿os.
His usage is besr explained by the fact that Paul re-
ceived a tradition associating the term Cl¿ril¿ with the
core of the early Christian message: the death and
Christ
resunection* ofJesus (cf I Cor 15:34). This received
tradition,* coupled mth üe singular experience Paul
had of Christ on the Damrucus Road (see Conversion
and Call), go far in explaining the distinctive ideas the
aposde associated with Jesus being the Christ. There
is, however, no clear explanation or rationale for the
particular pemutations and combinations that we
find in Paul's letters where he juxtaposes Christ with
$ various other names and titles. Ciru¿or most often
seems lo appear where Christ's death, resurrection
and retum are under discussion. The m Chrkto fom*
la in many ways best encapsulates Paul's view of the
A condition and position of Christians-they are "in
Christ." The use of the tem Chrutos in the disputed
Pauline letters differs litde fiom what we hnd in those
Ietters generally regarded as authentic, except that
chnstology.
l.Jewish Background
2. Greek Usage
3. Origin of the Christran Cirutos Usage
4. Pauline Usage
5. The En Cárir,ó Fomula
6. Chrístos in the Contested Pauline Letters
l.Jewish Background.
The Greek verbal adjective cárarios (which came to be
used as a noun) and its Hebrew analo1 müiah are
tems which were used in earlyJudaism and Christi
anity to refer to an anointed person set apart for a
special task and, in particular, to a royal and/or mes-
sianic figure. In the political realm the tem was used
of Davidic kings (Ps 18:50; 89:20; 132:10-17). In this
regard 2 Samuel 7:8-16 is especially crucial as it ex-
presses the hope that God* would provide the ideal
Davidic ruler. It should be noted, however, that none
of the later OT prophetic books use the term m¿]i¿¿
for the future royal one like unto David (cf., e.g., Zech
9:9-10; 12:7-13:1). Indeed, in Isaiah 45:1 the term
refers to Cyms, and in Habakkuk 3:13 it appears to
refer to a presently reigrring king. Furthermore, in
earlyJewish literature the term is found infrequendy
(cf Pss. SoL 18:5; 4QPBless 3; CD 12:2L24;14:19;
19:10-11; i Enoch 48:10;52:4) and does not seem to
have been "an essential designation for any future re-
deemer" (DeJonge 1966, 147).
üe There were various forms of messianic expectation
in earlyJudaism, but it does not appear that the terms
Eanslated into English as "Messiah" were used with
any frequency, and üey probably were not technical
terms for a future redeemer figure. The messianic
hope of earlyJudaism could incorporate the idea of
one or more messianic figures, as in the royal and
95
 Christ
priestly anointed figures atQumran (e.g., IQS 9:10-11;
CD 12:22-23), or none at all when it was believed rhat
Yahweh himself would fina.lly rescue his people (e.g.,
lQM 1r-12).
2. Greek Usage.
It is surprising that the tem Chmtos is used so fre-
quendy by Paul (270 out of a total of 531 uses in the
NT) and that it seems to be used as a name forJesus
rather than as a title or descriptive tem. This is espe-
cially remarkable since in the main Paul was miting
to Gentilesx who may or may not have been familiar
with the Jewish background for this tem. In seculr
Greek usage the term ¿irisros simply means an oint-
menl or cosmetic, but appuendy it never refened to
the one anointed (cf f,uripides Hzff. 516; Moule, 32).
A fragment from a manuscript mitten by Diodorus
Siculus (lb;38-39, 4) shorrly before the time ofJesus
uses the tem neochri¡tos to refer to a building "newly
plastered." Thus the prolific Pauline use of the tem
Ciátos, almost as a name forJesus, requires an erpla-
nation. This is especially so since there was a perfectly
good Greek word available for speaking of an anoint-
ed person, ilámmmos (from the verb abiphn,
"anoint"). Ard in fact Aqüla used this tem to render
the Hebrew u¿ii1¿l¿ in his Greek ranslation of the OT.
The suggestion that the term Chritos as a surname
forJesus arose in Gentile Christianity, where its orig-
inal royal or messianic Jewish connorailons were no
longer understood, fails to explain why Paul, aJew, is
the chief employer of this term among NT miters
(Hengel). Paul's understanding ofthe meaning ofrhe
temr is clear from 2 Corinthians l:21 whe¡e we find
the play on words "God establishes us in Christ (ai
Cárulon) and has anointed us (rárisai)." Yer, strikingly,
Paul rarely speaks of tlw Chri¡t, but rarher Inoru L',/¿m-
los (Jesus Christ) or sometimes Cáátos llsom (Christ
Jesus) or even ho Klnos lisou Cirulos (the LordJesus
Christ). This usage strongly suggesrs rhar before Pau]
mote his letters the tem Chrutos was used widely in
early Christranity as paft of the name ofJesus. Were
this not the case, we would expect Paul somewhere to
explain to his audience(s) what t¡e tem meanl We
must consider briefly the evidence that points to a pre-
Pauline use of the tem Cárulos forJesus.
3. The Origin ofthe Christian (?rirtos Usage.
In one ofPaul's earliest letters, 1 Thessalonians, prob-
ably written in the 50s if not earlier, a variety of uses
of Christls appear. For example, Paul speals of the
"LordJesus Christ" (1 Thess 1:1; cf. I Thess 5:23,28),
"Christ" (1 Thess 2:6), "in ChristJesus" (1 Thess 2:14)
and, what was to become one of Paul's favorite
96
phrases, "in Christ" (1 Thes 4:16). Ihis suggests that
in the early and even earlier, the tem Cárutor had
50s,
already become a virtual name forJesus and would be
recognized as such by Paul's audience in Macedonia"
A similar vari€ty of usage and assumptions can be
observed in I
Corinthians. There, for instance, we
find not only the phrase "ChristJesus" (1 Cor 1:1-4)
but also "Christ" (l Cor 1:6) as well as "our LordJesus
Christ" and 'Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor 1:2, 7-10).
There is no obvious significance to üis variation; all
these tems and phrases refer to the same person in
his relationship to his people. Detailed sudies abour
Paul's use of the lerm C¿rut have made clear that Paul
uses the term in a variety of ways and combinations
wi¡h orher names and tides, and only rarely is it pos-
sible to explain these pemutations. It would appear
that rhere is no tleological rationale for Paul some-
times using the phrase "ChnstJesus" rather than 'Je-
sus Christ," or sometimes prefemng the phrase "the
LordJesus Christ" as opposed to "Christ."
It can be shown that Paul uses the tem Chrütas and
its varianrs especially in contexts where he is drawing
upon pre-Pauline tradition or is reflecting on the
eschatoiogical significance of Christ's death, resunec-
tion and parousia (see Eschatology). These epochal
events are the primary reason Paul is willing to call
Jesus Chrutos (cf Hengel, l4&48). A summary of Paul's
üeology ofChrist can be found in 2 Corinthians 5:14-
21. Christ is the one who died-once for all-and was
raised so that those whom he has redeemed might live
for him. These events bear witness to the self-sacrifi-
cial love tha¡ Christ expressed for his people and
which they in turn are to emulate. Christ then is the
great reconciler of humans to Cod (2 Cor 5:19; sz
Reconciliatron) and of humans to each orher (Gal
3:28). k is the climactic salvific events at the close of
Jesus' iife that especially cause Paul to call Jesus the
Cl¿ru¿. The significance of üese events for dehning
the Christ is also made clear by Paul's vinual silence
regardingJesus' miracles. Futhemore, though Paul
does draw on the tradition ofJesus'sayings in I Co-
rinthians 7 and elsewhere, he does not cite such say-
ings as of the essence of his gospel* or kerygma (sre
Preaching, Kerygna), nor as the hean of rhe early
Christian confession of faith about Christ.
It is important to note that when Paul rehearses the
paradosü, rhe sacred 'lradition" of early Christians
which he and others handed on, he indicates that it
included the confession that"Chrutos died for our
sins" (l Cor l5:3), This extraordinary formula, having
no known precedént in earlyJudaism, is regarded as
the hea¡t of Christian faith by Paul, who had learned
ofit from those who were "in Christ" before him. This
rneans that in the period benueen AD. 30 and üe
ooint at which Pau[ received üis radition (surely
p.ior to tti. missionary joumeys) üe crm Chrisúos ms
¡ot only being used by Christians as a term having
exclusive reference to Jesus, but already it was being
closely linked toJesus' death as the means of eschat-
ological salvation.
Ir is possible, as Dahl concluded (1974), that this
development can be traced back to the fact üatJesus
crucified as a messianic pretend€r. There is room
$,as
doubt about this, however, since the tide on the
cross may well have read BasibÁ, tr[el0L and R¿r raüer
Íhan Clüistos, Müiah and Cárürzr. it is perhaps more
probable that the early md even pre-Pauline use of
the word Cárfutos, vimrally as a name forJesus, is ex-
plained by the fact thatJesus during his ministry in
some way identified himself as God's final agent
(Müah) and also spoke of his death in terms some-
thing like we find in Mark 10:45 (cf. Witherington,
251-56). Perhaps also üe early Hellenisticlfewish
knew that üe average Greek speaker might
easily take the word Cárufoq like the more familiar
term Cárasúos (cf. Suetonilus Claud,ius 25, where evident-
ly Chrktus is read as Chratu) to be a name, distin-
guishing thisJesus from orhers by that name. Further-
more, it is possible that the double name Jesru Christ
in part became common because early Christians
wished to suggest the royal dignity of üeir savior and
üus gave him a double name like oüer notable fig-
ures of the er4 such as Caesar Augustus.
4. Pauline Usage.
Paul, wherever he may have first herd ofJesus being
called Cñru¿os as a ürtual second name, did not lose
sighr of the fact that Chnstos was originally likely to
have been a title. This is shown by several pieces of
evidence. First, Paul neverjuxtaposes -Klrioswith Chtu-
alone, for this would amount to awkwardly combin-
tos
ing m"o titles (Grundmann, 542-43). The one possible
exception to this rule is found in Colossians 3:24
where we find lo ,{1rió Christó doubua¿ ("you sene./are
slaves to the Lord Christ"), but there ,{1nó may well
carry its secular meaning of "master," not divine Lord
(ct Col 3:2t-23). Second, Paul never adds a genitive to
the tem Cirutos (as may be obsewed in earlyJudaism,
e.9., "the Anointed ofthe Lord"). In fact, he does not
use the tem in any sort ofpossessive expression, such
as "God's Christ" (but cf I Cor 3:23). Neither is Cáru'
/os ever used as a simple predicate in the Pauline let-
ters, Nor is the expression 'Jesus the Christ" ever
found (Dahl,37). In facl Paui never feels it necessary
lo state the fomula 'Jesus á the Christ," no¡ does he
argue for the idea. On the other hand, he among
Grrist
others utilized whal is commonly regarded as the ear-
liest of Christian confessions 'Jesus is Lord" (Rom
10:9; see Creeds). This evidence strongly suggests that
the messiahship ofJesus was not under debate in the
Pauline communi¡ies, and üat Paul himself took it as
a presupposition for all oüer confessions. In his ler
ters he did not, for exmple, try to demonstrate by
prooftexts the messiahship ofJesus.J. D. G. Dunn puts
it this way:
[Paul] makes no altempt to prove üatJesus really
is "the Christ" despite his suffering and death.
"Christ" is no longer a title whose fitness in its
application to Jesus has to be demonstrated, The
belief in Jesus as úe Christ has become so fimly
established in his mind and message that he slm-
ply takes it for granted, and "Christ" functions sim-
ply as a way of speaking ofJesus, as a proper name
forJesus (so even in I Cor. 15.3), (Dunn, 43)
One of the most important ways Paul uses the term
C¡h¿sfos is in a daring phrase meant to characterize his
preaching: Christos ¿staurómos ("Christ crucified,"
I Cor l:23). The phrase must have had some shock
value forJewish listeners since there is no conclusive
evidence that earlyJews expected a crucified Messiah.
Crucifixion+ was a punishment resened for the worst
criminals and revolutionaries. Jews, on the basis of a
certain reading of Deuteronomy 2l:23 (cl Gal 3:13),
seem to have understood crucifixion to be a sign that
the crucified person was cursed by Cod. There is no
conclusive evidence that Isaiah 53 was ever applied to
the I{essiah beforeJesus'day (the significance ofthe
eüdence from Q. 1so 53 is debatable).
Careful scrutiny of Paul's usage of the tem Cñru¿
suggests that in the main Paul's meaning was nol de-
rived from earlyJewish ideas about God's anointed,
but rather from traditions about the conclusion ofje-
sus'life and its sequel, coupled with Paul's own Da-
mascus Road experience. These events forced Paul to
rethink what it meant for someone to be the Davidic
Messiah (Kim). The fact that Paul and other early
Christians used the term Chrutos to refer to someone
who had died on the cross and had risen fiom the
dead, indicates the extent to which the meaning ofrhe
term was transformed. Cárufos brought redemption to
his people by dfng, rising and being exalted (r¿¿ f,x-
altation) to authority* and power* at the nght hand
ofGod over all the principalit.ies (sr Principalities and
Powers). He did not bring redemption by throwing off
the yoke of Roman rule during his earthly ministry. In
short, Paul has something rather different in mind
f¡om what is found in such texts as Ps¿ln¡ oJ Solomon
1?-18 where Messiah ls seen as a conquering hero
throwing off the yoke of a lbreign rule.
o1
 Christ
Yet it would not be qüte mre to say as Gmndmann
does that "the understanding ofthe Messiah loses its
national, political, and religious significance and the
significance ofthe Messiü in human history is attest-
ed and expounded. This is üe distinctive theological
achievement of Paul" (Grundmann, 555). In Romans
15:8 Paul very clearly recounts the fact that Christ be-
came a servant to the circumcision,* and he holds out
üe hope of üe salvation* of manyJews at the escha-
ton (Rom I l:25-26). Christ is only now a savior to the
Gentiles through his ministers and aposdes* like Paul
(cf. Rom l5:1G18), but in Paul's mind this does not
nullif, the significance of Christ's prior mission and
seflice to Jews. Indeed, Paul wishes to insist to his
largely Gentile audience üat salvation is f¡om and for
üeJew first and also the Gentile (Rom 1:16; s¿¿ Israel).
Paul was well aware ofearlyJewish ideas about Mes-
siah being aJew born under the [aw* (cf. Gal 4:4) and
of Davidic ancestry (cf, Rom 1:3), and he is happy to
affim these things ofJesus. There are also various
places where Paul refened to the fully human char-
acter ofthis Ciristos (Rom 5:17-19; Phil 2:7; Rom 8:3).
He was also aware that earlyJews by and large did not
think of Messiah as some sort of superhuman ligure,
but rather as an exemplary human being especially
anointed with God's Spirit (Grundmann, 526; but cf.
the parables of I Enoch which suggest a more-than-
human figure, and possibly the Son ofman of Dan 7).
Yet here too Paul appears to have gone far beyond the
majority of his Jewish contemporaries in his under-
standing of the Davidic Messiah, for the most natur¿l
way to read the grammatically difficult phrase in Ro
mans 9:5 is as follows: "comes the Christ who is over
I all God blessed forever" (Metzger). This suggests that
Paul saw the Christ as not only assuming diüne func-
tions in heaven but in some sense properly being
called God.* This comports with Philippians 2:11,
whereJesus Ciristos is called by the diüne name used
in the LXX, llnos ("Lord"+), as well as wiü Colossians
1:19 .("for in him all üe fullness* [plnuna] was
It should be noted that in Romans
pleased to dwell").
9:5 Paul very clearly speals of "the Christ," which
once more indicates his understanding of the larger
significance of the term.
Paul's use of Cl¿rüfos in üe salutations ofhis letten*
also points to an exalted view ofJesus. Thus, for in-
stance, in Philippians 1:2 grace and peace are said to
come not only from God üe Fathe¡ but also from üe
LordJesus Christ. As Moule puts it, "The position here
occupied by Jesus in relation to God, as well as in
many other opening fomulae of the New Testament
leners, is noüing short of astounding-especially
when one considers that üey are written by mono
98
üeisticJews with reference to a figure ofrecendy past
history" (Moule, 150). In these instances Jesus Christ
is seen as one who dispenses what only God can truly
give-shalom (re Peace, Reconcüation).
Romans I : 1 6 provides a possible clue indicating why
Paul so persistently used the term Cárü¿os and occa-
sionally gave hins that it was originally a tide, r¿ther
than using a term such as §óá ("Saüor"+) to refer to
Jesus. Though Paul wm üe aposde to üe Gentiles, he
wished to continue to amrm to his audience, and per-
haps on occasion even stress, üat salvadon is from the
Jews and for theJews before it is for oüers. One way
ofdoingthis was to continue tojuxtapose üe t$,o terms
Iaou Chrutos. Paul, as a Jew, wished it never to be
forgotten thatJesus, who is saüor of the world, is such
only as üe Jewish Messiah-üe Cárüfos. Thus it may
be that Paul's use of üe term Cáru¿os as a virtual name
forJesus, as well as the manner in which he refrained
from using tlle term, was notjust a matter of habir On
üe other hand, it was an attempt by Paul to remind an
increasingly Gentile church of the Jewish origin and
character of üe Savior and his salvation.
The term Christos, tf studied in the context of its
varied uses in the Pauline corpus, reveals how the
apost]e drew on, amplified, transformed and tran-
scended some early.lewish ideas about üe Messiah.
For Paul the content of üe term Cl¿¡isros was mainly
derived from the Ch¡ist event and his experience of
that event This led to three elements in his preaching
about Christ that were without k¡own precedent in
earlyJudaism: (1) Messiah is cailed God; (2) Messiah
is said to have been crucified, and his death is seen
as redemptive; (3) Messiah is expected to come to
earth again. Non-Christian Jews did not speak of a
crucified Messiah much less of a Second Coming of
Messiah. Nor do we have any evidence that earlyJews
were willing to call üe Messiah "God," or one in
whom the fullness of deity dwells.
5. The Er C]¡rit&i Formula.
It was probably due to careful ¡eflection on some of
the three elements listed above that Paul came to use
the phrase m Christé ("in Christ") as he did (sa In
Christ). En Chrístó was unquestionably one of Paul's
favorite phrases, appearing 164 times in üe chief
Pauline letters and anoüer halfdozen in the form m
Chrístó lisou ("in ChristJesus") in the Pastorals. This
total is especially remarkable in üew of the fact that
oüer NT writers hardly ever used the phrase ftut cf.,
e.g, I Pet 3:16; 5:10, 14). Paul never used the term
Clristinnos ("Christian"), rather m Chri:tó seems to be
his substirute for this adjective (cf I Cor 3:l). At other
points the phrase ez C[rilló seems to have a more
pregnant sense indicating üe environment or atrnos-
phere in which Christians live, that is, they are "in
Christ" A Deissmann in his pioneering study D¿e
Natratumtliclu Fonn¿l "in CbisuJm" (1892) argued
üat this formula had boü a local and mystical mean-
ing in which Christ, as a sort ofuniversal Spirit, was the
very atrnosphere in which believers üved.
A good example of this usage is found in 2 Corin-
thians 5:17: "If anyone is in Christ, üat person (or
"there") is a new creation" (cf Phil 3:&9; sae Creation
and New Creation). In factwhole congregations could
be said to be "in Christ" in üe same way they were
said to be "in God" (cf. Gal l:22 and Phil 1:l üth
I Thess i:l). There are a variety of other passages
which seem to have a locative sense (1 Thess 4:16; Gal
2:17; 1 Cor 1:2; 15:18). A. Schweitzer in Tlu Mysritisn
of Paul thc A\ostl¿ (1931), rejecting much of Deiss-
mann's reasoning, argued that the solidarity that Paul
envisioned Christians haüng with Christ and wiü
each other is a corporate one of a quasi-physical na-
üre which occurs through the material rite of water
baptism* and not ürough some subjective experience
brought about ürough faith.* This surely goes
beyond üe evidence and conúadicts such texts as Ga-
latians 2:16 and Romans 5:2- Schweiuer's üew seems
to have been more indebted to his own understanding
ofearlyJewish eschatology than to Paul.
Paul does speak of Christ being in the believer (Gal
2:20; Rom 8:10), but this is not nearly so characteristic
of the aposde as the phrase m Claistó. It does not
seem possible eiüer to argue that Paul is simply using
the language of üansfer from one dominion to an-
other or to eliminate completely the locative sense of
en Chrütó in various instances. Nor can these texts
simply be explained as another way of saying one
belongi to Christ or that üings are accomplished for
üe believer through Christ. Rather, for Paul boü log-
ically and theologically üe concept ofbeíngm Clnísti
is cenüal. One cannot do something for or with Christ
unless one is first m C/¿rütó. One cannot approach the
Faüer through the Son (sra Son of God) unless one
is at, Chri¡tó. If one is ¿¿ Cl¿ru¿ó then one is in his
body-the ehhllsia (see Church). The effects of being in
Christ a¡e varied: human spiritual transfomation by
means of death to sin,* possession of the Spirit (see
Holy Spirit), being made a new creation or creature,
having one's inner person and mind renewed, being
given both hope+ and assurance of a bodily resurrec-
üon* like unto Christ's, and being united spiritually
wiü a great host of other believers in a liüng entity
Paul likens to a body.*
The christological implications of this use of ¿n
Cá¡ü¿ó have been ably summed up by C. F. D. Moule:
Christ
"ifit is really true that Paul thought of himself and
other Christians as 'included' or'located in Chrisg
. . . it indicates a more üan indiüdualistic concep-
tion of the person of Christ . . . a plurality of per-
sons can find themselves'in Christ', as limbs are
in the body." (Moule,62, 65)
This means üat Paul conceives of the exalted Christ
as a diüne being in whom Christians everywhere can
dwell. Put another way, Paul's üews on both incorpo-
ration into Christ and is result, being in Christ, sug-
gest a view of Christ as a divine being "in" whom all
believers can dwell and at the same time a diüne
being who can be "in" all believers, through the pres-
ence of the Spirir
6. 67¡ri*os in the Contested Pauline ktters.
In Colossians* and Ephesians* we find a further de-
velopment of Paul's christology focusing on what is
called "üe mystery* of Christ" This mystery is üat
God in Christ has provided salvation and reconcilia-
tion for all peoples, Jews and Gentiles, and even for
the whole cosmos (sze World, Cosmolog¡). The cosmic
scope of Christ's role becomes panicularly evident in
these two letten. It is thus not surprising that ther
letters place more emphasis on üe ongoing role ofthe
exalted Christ than do most of Paul's earlier letters,
though reference to Christ s death and resurrection is
not absenl In these two letters Christ is seen not only
as a personal saüor for indiüduals but also as a cosmic
ruler. In Christ is found the storehouse of God's wis-
dom* and knowledge* (Col 2:2-10), alüough üe mys
tery is not esoteric since it has to do wiü Christ's public
work on the cross and in boü letters üe mystery is
carefully related to the community offaith. According
to Ephesians l:22 Christ rules over the cosmos for the
church, and in Ephesians 5:32 the mystery has to do
wiü the relationship of Christ to his church. Funher-
more, the relationship berween Chúst's headship over
both the cosmos and the church becomes eüdent in
the Christ hymn of Colossians 1:15-20, where the rwo
are mentioned in the same breati.
Among the "faithful safngl' that characterize the
Pastoral Episdes (sae Pastoral Letters), only two add
an¡hing new to üe concept of Christ revealed in
Paul's earlier letters. In 1 Timothy 6:13 Christ's witness
is made before Pilate, thus tracing moments of chris-
tological significance back to an event prior to Christ's
death. Earlier, in 1 Timothy l:15 we read that Christ
"came into the world" for the specific purpose of sav-
ing sinners. This theme presses the momens ofchris-
tologicaj signihcance even further back into üe story
'ofChrist,
at least to üe inception ofJesus' human life,
and possibly alludes to Chrisr's preexistence (see Chris-
99
?
i

Christolos¡
Christolory

CHRIST HYMN, Cu¡¡srorocv; HYMNS, HIMN available (but see Hengel 1991). gospel* through human beings, nor was it human in
tology). The latter idea is expressed elsewhere in Paul, S¿¿

{GMil\.rs, SoNGS, SPRITUAL SoNcs; PHIuPPLANS, hTTER 1.2. Hellaim. Another method of feneting out the origin nor üe result of some human instmction he
most clearly in the Christ hymns* of Philippians 2:& FR
origins of Paul\ christological thinking has been the received. To the conkary, Paul claims to have ¡eceived
1l and Colossians 1:1120. In I Timoüy 2:5 the sress TO THE: WORSHIP.
religinrugeschtehtlidu ("history-of-religions") approach. his gospel by revelation direcdy from God.+ Ir must be
is on üe humanity ofJesus as the mediator between
CHRISTOLOGICAL MONOTHEISM. s¿¿ Perhaps the paramount and most influential example s[essed that in this pusage Paul is primarily defend-
God and humanity. Finally, it should be noted that the
CHRrsrolocf GoD; Sou or Coo. of this approach is W. Bousset's classic work K)¡irs ing üe source and substance of his gospel, not his
Pastorals reflect a cenain predilection for the phrase
Clnütos (1913). Thereüe christology of Paul and the conversion to Christ, and this goes a long way toward
"ChristJesus" or occasionally "Christ Jesus" com-
CHRISTOLOGY early church is compared with ideas ftom the Greco explaining the differences that have been noted be-
bined with "our Lo¡d."
Pauline christology has frequendy been discussed un- Roman world, particularly üose found in its various §veen this nanative and the Acts accounts, panicular-
The study of Paul's use of üe tem Cl¿rislos provides
der the headings of the prominent tides Paul em- forms ofpagan religious üought. For example, it was Iy those ofActs 9 and 22. Let us assume, for üe sake
a window on the character of Paul's christological
ployed-Christ,* Lord,* Son of God,* Savior*-and assumed that Paul appropriated the tide lyíos of argumeng that Acts does provide us with some re-
thought, but it must be supplemented with detailed
prominent analogies such as Adam* and Wisdom.* ("Lord"*) from pagan usage and so reflected the Hel- liable data on the matter of Paul's call/conversion.
study of other important christological ideas such
I
as
Important as this christological nomenclature may be, lenizing influence on early Christian üought. Ar un- Both in Paul's letters, and certainly in the third Acts
Lord,* last Adam* and Son of God.*
however, it does not engage üe fuIl pic¡rre ofPauline derlying premise of this approach, however, assumes account ofhis conversion,zcall (Acts 26), it is clear rhat
.§¿¿ ¿Ir¿ A¡mt AND Clrusr; CunsroLocv; IN CHPI§I;
christology. In an attempt to enlarge on üe perspec- a mdical distinction between Hellenism* and Pales- Paul did not see his commission, mission md essen-
IoRD; SAvIo& SoN orc,oD.
tive gained through an account of üe individual tinianJudaism, an assumption that has been severely tialmessage as deriving from a human source. We
BIBuocR PHY. O. Cullmann, Tlu Ch¡istalog oÍ tlw Nru
facets of Paul's christology, this article will focus on disredited by üe work of M. Hengel and oüers read of no Christian instruction delivered to Saul
Testanrnt (rev. ed.; Philadelphia: West¡ninster, 1963);
the origins of Paul's christology, its narrative frame- (Hengel 1974; sea Hellenism). Research has shown, prior to his Damascus Road experience and as Acts
N. A. Dahl, "The Messiahship ofJesus in Paul," in Tfu
worl<, is dual focus on the divinity and humanity of for example, that documents such as Sirach and üe 26 makes clear, Ananias wa§ not üe ultimate source
Crucifud lvlessiah md Othn Essay (Minneapolis: Augs-
in C¡nt¿rt Christ, the significance of Paul's christology for the Maccabean corpus attest to the influence of Helle. of Paul's commission and mission.* All three elements
burg, 1974) 37-47; M. De Jonge, Chri"stolog)
(Philadelphia: Westrninster, 1988); idem, "The Earliest early church and its disünctive contribution in com- nism on Palestinian Jewish thinking about God and are traced to his encounter with üe exalted Lord. This
parison and contrast with other canonical christolo- other religious matters well before the Christian era" point is equally clear in Acts 9:15 and, to a lesser but
Christian use of ¡¡paroq, Some Suggestions," M§ 32
gr.t But apart from these more general considerations, significant degree, in Acs 22:14.
(1986) 32143; idem, "The Use of üe Word 'Anointed
The Origins of Paul's Christology there is evidence that the tide Á)rios arose from a¡ 1.3.1. "Th¿ Goslel of Cbist." T\e real issue for Paul
in the Time ofJesus," Nou? 8 (1966) 13248; J. D. G. 1.

Dunn, t/ndf arut Damitl intlu Nru Tata¡wnt: An In-
quiry hto ltu Charmtsr oJ Fnrlix Chti§ianiry (Philadel-
phia: Westminster, 1977); W. Grundmann,'Xploróq,"
TDN? IX,540-62; M. Hengel, " 'Christos' in Paul," in
Betuem Jews and Paul (Philzdelphia: Forress, 1983)
65-?7; J. Jeremias, "Artikelloses Christos," 2 4ry 57
(1966) 21115; idem, "Nochmals: Artikelloses Christos
in lK 15.3," ZNi{ 60 (1969) 215-17; S E. Johnson,
"Christ " IDB 2.567-68; S. Kim, Tlu Origin oJPaul's C,os
pel (Crand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982); W. Ikamer, Cárü-
ns lgios ütttssohn (AThANT 44; Zurich: Zwingli'
1963); S. V. McCasland, "ChristJesus,"/BI 65 (1946)
377-83; l. H. Manhall, Tlu Origiru ol Nm Tutammt
Clrislolog (Domers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1990
t19761); B. M. Meuger, "The Punctuation of Romans
9.5," in Chríst and Spirit in tlu Nm T¿stnnmt: Studies in
Honour of C. F. D. Moul¿, ed. B Lindars and S.
Smalley (Cambridge: University Pres, 1973) 95-112;
The Narrative Framework ofPaul's Christology
2.
3. The Divinity and Humanity ofJesus Christ in
Pault Christology
The Impact and Influence of Paul's Christology
4.
The Distinctiveness and Commonality of Paul's
5.
Christology
t. The Origins of Paul's Christology'
There are various possible staning points for discuss-
ing the sources or origins of Pault christology.
fudniffi. One approach is to attempt to extrap-
1.1.
olate from the NT documents and extr¿canonical
sources Paul the Pharisee's (sarJew, Paul üe) beliefs
about the coming Messiah. How much of a debt did
Paul's christology owe to his pre-Christian messianic
beliefs? This enterprise, however, involves a remen-
S. dous amount of conjecture not only about messianic
faith in pre-e.l. 70 Pharisaism, but also about Paul's
early chapter in üe emergence ofthe church and was
not a product of the later Hellenization of Christian-
ity. The fuamaic cry Mmona th¿,"Ou¡ l¡rd come" (l
Cor 16:22; see Liturgical Elemens), which surely goes
back to fuamaic-speaking Palestinian or bilingual
Antiochean Jewish Christians, shows üat prior to the
writing of Paul's extant leners, Jesus was being in-
voked and beckoned as a diüne Lord who would re.
tum to his people. Had early Christians believedJesus
was simply a deceased PalestinianJewish teacher, this
sort of add¡ess would never have arisen (cf. Moule,
l,ongenecker). And its presenation in fuamaic, trans-
litemted iñto Greek, aftests to its revered place in early
Christian devotion to Christ (sa Worship).
1.3. Paul\ Cmrfun/Call and Euly Chstian Tradi-
,im. For reasons such as we havejust given, modem
research into the origins of Paul's christology has
found a more promising approach in examining early
in Galatians* is not to establish that he is an auüendc
Christian, or üat he received a missionary commis
sion or even to identifr the source ofthe Pauline Gos-
pel; the issue is üe content of his gospel. In Calatians
1:7 Paul identifies his gospel with "the gospel of
Christ," a gospel which his opponents in Galatia were
seeking to penerl This phrase "the gospel of Christ"
could be understood as "the gospel that comes fiom
Christ" or "the gospel ofwhich Christ is the content"
The difference is significant, and a clue to Paul's
meaning is found within the immediate context when
Paul says that "God - . . was pleased to reveal his Son
to me" (Gal 1:lLl6). Paul appeals to a revelation, the
content of which was the "Son of God." This is likely
the meaning of "gospel of Christ" in Galatians 1:7 as
well. If üis is so, then it is germane to this argument
that in the accounts ofActs 9 and 22 Ananias does not
teach Saul aáoztJesus Christ. Rather, in Acts t he tells

unique appropriation of his heritage (for the com- christological confessions (saa Creed) embedded in him to arise, receive his sight and be baptized, while
C. F. D. Moule, Tlu Origin of Christolog (Cambridge:
plexity of the evidence representing the 'Judaisms" of Paul's letters and in exploring Paul's own statements in Acts 22 Ananias expounds the meaning of Paul's
University Press, 1977); F. Neugebauer, "Das Pauli-
Paul's day, see Neusner et al.). Unfortunately, apart about his call,/conversion (sza Conversion and Call). commission. In any event, in light of the word of the
nische 'in Christo,' " ,\t§ 4 (1957-58) 12438; J. Neus
from a few references here and there, Paul says litde From this evidence conclusions may be drawn about Lord that comes to Ananias in Acts 9:15-16, we are
ner, W. S. Green, E. Frerichs,./zdaisms andTlui¡ M¿s-
about his pre-Christian beliefs about Messiah. The how üat experience and his encounter with early probably to understand Ananias as spefing a pro-
siatu at tlu Tm of üu üristian Era (Cambridge:
most one can assume, judging fiom a text such as Christian confessions may have shaped his christol- phetic word to Paul, not offering mere human instruc-
University Press, 1987); K H. Rengstorf, "Xptoroq,"
Romans 9:5, is that he must have believed in a coming ogy. tion or counsel.
MDNTI2.33$43; C. C. Toney, '¡prmóc,," in Quantu-
human and Davidic Messiü. While Paul's debt toJew' Galatians l:11-23 provides üe clearest and proba- Funhermore, whatever Paul may have meant by
tarumque (Krsopp Lake Festschrift) ed. R. P. Casey et
ish messianism, and panicularly Pharisaic messian' bly the earliest statement {iom Paul about his own "the gospel of Christ," he was well aware that subse-
al. (London: Christopher, 1931\ 317-24; B. Withering-
o//m(Minneapolis: Fortress, ism, was surely greater than this, the eüdence for dis' conversion and its immediate consequences. Here quent to his conversion he had received traditions
ton, Tlu Chri¡tolng)
Paul is adamant in stating that he did not receive his aboutJesus and his teachings from other Christians,
1990). B, Witherington III covering the degree or characte¡ of this debt is not
\.
101
100