Paul As Benefactor

Stephan Joubert offers a new theoretical angle of incidence to Paul's collection by distinguishing between the basic interpretative framework within which the collection was conceptualized, and the various theological reflections on this project.

This book provides a close look at how Paul uses the Greco-Roman royal benefaction system in Romans 5:1-11 as well as 5:12--8:39 to accomplish his theological purpose of portraying Jesus Christ as the supreme royal benefactor so that the Roman believers might faithfully respond to his reign now even as they anticipate glorification. This study makes at least three significant contributions. First, at the lexical level, it provides a reading that accounts for the benefaction motifs that permeate Romans 5:1-11 and Romans 5:12--8:39. Second, it looks at the relationship between χάρις as used in Romans 5:2 and the Messiah's sacrifice as described in Romans 5:6-10 even as it asserts that Paul portrays Christ as a royal benefactor in ways that surprise the Greco-Roman notion of brokerage and the expectation that a beneficiary would be willing to die for the sake of his benefactor. Third, the study demonstrates that the Messiah's supreme benefaction demands appropriate reciprocity or fitting response.

The apostle Paul, one of the most prominent figures in the early Jesus movement, had a lot to say about money. His letters deal with real people as they lived their Christian lives in the Greco-Roman world. He finds it necessary to address “those who are rich in this present world” (1 Tim 6:17). But he also has to address those do not want to work, for whatever reason, and are “idle and disruptive” (2 Thess 3:6). Moreover, whereas most churches today have a certain socio-economic homogeneity, some of Paul’s churches had a combination of upper class wealthy people and lower class slaves worshiping side-by-side, and it inevitably created friction (esp. 1 Cor 11:17–34). During the past twenty years a significant amount of research has been done on class-consciousness in the Greco-Roman world and on the significance of Paul’s fund-raising venture “for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem”—“the collection”—for his ministry. Relying on the surprising results of current Pauline scholarship and a careful exegesis of a variety of New Testament texts, this book offers a thorough investigation of the apostle Paul’s sayings and dealings with money.

A multi-faceted commentary that breathes fresh insight into Paul's letter In Second Corinthians, Paul responds to reports of the Corinthian congregation questioning his competency as a divinely sent messenger. Through apologetic demegoria and the use of graphic imagery related to triumphal processions, siege warfare, and emissary travels and negotiation, Paul defends his constancy, persona, and speaking abilities as he extends the offer of clemency and reconciliation to his auditors. Oropeza combines rhetorical pictures (rhetography) with interpretative layers (literary features, intertextuality, socio-cultural, ideological, and sacred textures) to arrive at the rhetorical impact of Paul's message for ancient Mediterranean discourse. Features: A visual, sensory, and imaginative interpretation of the scripture A comprehensive commentary An avant-garde approach to biblical interpretation

The monetary fund that the apostle Paul organized among his Gentile congregations for the Jewish-Christian community in Jerusalem was clearly an important endeavor to Paul; discussion of it occupies several prominent passages in his letters. In this book David Downs carefully investigates that offering from historical, sociocultural, and theological standpoints. Downs first pieces together a chronological account of Paul's fund-raising efforts on behalf of the Jerusalem church, based primarily on information from the Pauline epistles. He then examines the sociocultural context of the collection, including gift-giving practices in the ancient Mediterranean world relating to benefaction and care for the poor. Finally, Downs explores how Paul framed this contribution rhetorically as a religious offering consecrated to God. (Publisher).

This book provides a close look at how Paul uses the Greco-Roman royal benefaction system in Romans 5:1–11 as well as 5:12—8:39 to accomplish his theological purpose of portraying Jesus Christ as the supreme royal benefactor so that the Roman believers might faithfully respond to his reign now even as they anticipate glorification. This study makes at least three significant contributions. First, at the lexical level, it provides a reading that accounts for the benefaction motifs that permeate Romans 5:1–11 and Romans 5:12—8:39. Second, it looks at the relationship between χάρις as used in Romans 5:2 and the Messiah’s sacrifice as described in Romans 5:6–10 even as it asserts that Paul portrays Christ as a royal benefactor in ways that surprise the Greco-Roman notion of brokerage and the expectation that a beneficiary would be willing to die for the sake of his benefactor. Third, the study demonstrates that the Messiah’s supreme benefaction demands appropriate reciprocity or fitting response.

The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series (18 volumes) provides students, pastors, and laypeople with up-to-date, accessible evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. Presenting the message for each passage, as well as an overview of other issues relevant to the text, each volume equips pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge so they can better understand and apply God’s Word. This volume includes the entire NLT text of 1st and 2nd Corinthians. Ideal for the NLT reader who wants to do more in-depth study. William R. Baker, Ph.D., University of Aberdeen, is professor of New Testament at Cincinnati Bible Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the general editor of Stone-Campbell Journal and the author and editor of several books and articles, including Evangelicalism and the Stone-Campbell Movement and Sticks and Stones: The Biblical Ethics of Talk. He has also written a commentary on 2 Corinthians for the College Press NIV Commentary Series. Ralph P. Martin, Ph.D., University of London, is in his fifth decade as a teacher, scholar, and mentor. He is Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Fuller Theological Seminary, at the Graduate School of Theology of Azusa Pacific University, and at Logos Evangelical Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author of numerous studies and commentaries on the New Testament, including Worship in the Early Church, the Philippians in The Tyndale New Testament Commentary series, and James in the Word Biblical Commentary, for which he also serves as New Testament editor. He also co-edited the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters and the Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments. Ordained to the Baptist ministry in 1949, Dr. Martin has pastored churches in Dunstable, Southport, and Gloucester, England. Carl N. Toney, Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago, is adjunct assistant professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He edited and contributed to the revised edition of 2 Corinthians in the Word Biblical Commentary series and is the author of Paul's Inclusive Ethic: Resolving Community Conflicts and Promoting Mission in Romans 14-15. A licensed minister in the American Baptist Convention, Dr. Toney is also a member of the Society of Biblical Literature.

In the context of growing inequality in the twenty-first century, That There May Be Equality seeks to give new audibility to Paul’s appeal to the principle of “equality” in the collection for the poor. L.L. Welborn traces the history of the concept of “equality” in Greek history in order to convey the potency of the idea which Paul invokes. He analyzes the structural inequality of the Roman economy, particularly that of Roman Corinth, and traces the emergence of Paul’s concern about inequality in the ekklēsia of Christ believers at Corinth. Welborn then analyzes Paul’s invocation of the principle of “equality” in his appeal for partnership in the collection for the poor in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, bringing Paul’s appeal to “equality” into the present-day crisis of global inequality.