IV.

Theology

Every attempt to summarize Paul's thought encounters obstacles, especially the fact that each of the letters was written to a specific church, and Paul felt it necessary to slant his teachings so as to address that church's unique problems and to correct its particular errors. Even the letter to the Romans—the most systematic of Paul's epistles—fails to provide a complete exposition of Paul's theology. Certain themes and perspectives, however, are repeated with sufficient frequency to be considered the core of his thought.

A.

Apocalyptic

Paul consistently assumes the basic temporal scheme of Jewish apocalyptic speculation, which posited two ages, the Old Age, under the dominance of Satan and his hosts, and the New Age, which God will inaugurate at some point in the future through his superior power (see Apocalyptic Writings). Paul believed that God's sending of his Son, Jesus Christ, had already inaugurated the New Age; yet that event had not wholly obliterated the Old Age with its powers of sin and death. On the contrary, he believed that the two ages were locked in combat, as could be seen, for example, from the fact that the power of death had not yet been broken.

The ultimate outcome of the apocalyptic struggle, however, Paul considered certain, because God struck the decisive blow for freedom (paradoxical as it might seem) in the cross—the point at which, to all appearances, the powers of the Old Age had won a tremendous victory. He attributed the crucifixion to “the rulers of this age,” an expression by which he referred both to the political authorities involved and to the demonic powers at work in and through them (see 1 Corinthians 2:8). These rulers had scarcely triumphed, however, for in crucifying the “Lord of Glory,” they sealed their own doom (see 1 Corinthians 2:6).

Thus, according to Paul, the cross, when it is perceived truly, reveals God's strange power, a power made perfect in weakness. God affirmed this power by raising Jesus from the dead, by sending the Holy Spirit, and by thus establishing the church as the foundation of his New Age. The church was consequently placed in the midst of the eschatological struggle, with the assurance that God would soon send the risen Lord to bring that struggle to a victorious conclusion (see Eschatology).

B.

View of Christ

Paul quoted the formulations of earlier Christians that focused on a sacrificial view of Christ's death (see, for instance, 1 Corinthians 15:3), but the essence of his view of Christ lies in the assertion that God has made Christ the victor over the power of sin. Rejecting the prevailing Jewish-Christian emphasis on repentance and forgiveness of sins, Paul did not call upon his hearers to repent of particular sins, but rather announced God's victory over all sin in the cross of Christ.

C.

The Law

The consequences of these doctrines for Paul's understanding of the Law are complex. He affirmed the Law to be holy, just, and good, but after he turned to Christianity, he no longer believed it powerful enough to vanquish sin and death (see Romans 8:3). Hence, one cannot depend on it. Indeed, whoever tries to depend on it will find that, in the hands of sin, the Law can itself become an enslaving power (see Galatians 3:23-25).

D.

View of Human Beings

Scarcely any part of Paul's thought has been more widely misunderstood than that which involves the terms flesh and spirit. These are not to be understood as simply the constituent parts of a human being; for Paul they were conflicting spheres of power, because the realm of the flesh (the human realm) is susceptible to the power of sin. The solution to evil, therefore, does not lie in a code of ethics that people can be exhorted to obey, but rather in God's gift of the Holy Spirit, who triumphs in the life of the new community by bearing the fruit of love, joy, and peace.

E.

Election

As mentioned previously, Paul spoke not of having decided to convert to Christianity from Judaism, but of having been “called” by God. Because he said essentially the same thing of all Christians, it can be seen that for him Christianity begins not in something people decide to do, but rather in something God has already done by revealing his Son and by sending his Spirit. God has called people and is continuing to call people into the Christian community on the basis of his own freely given grace. The radical nature of God's power is affirmed in Paul's insistence that in the death of Christ God has rectified the ungodly (see Romans 4:5). Human beings are not called upon to do good works in order that God may rectify them. On the contrary, it is God who has acted first. It follows that Paul understands even faith to be God's gift rather than a discrete and consciously intended act of the human being (see Galatians 5:22). Like life itself, faith is something God calls into existence (see Romans 4:17). Thus, everything is seen by Paul to depend not on the will or exertion of the individual, but on the mercy of God (see Romans 9:16).