Introduction to Pauline Theology

Concept of Biblical Theology

1. Theology: “The science of revealed religion” (Prat, 1.1)
2. Three Areas of Theology:
a. Historical Theology: historical development of dogma (“Positive Theology”)
b. Dogmatic/Systematic Theology: rational systematization of elements of
revelation (“Scholastic Theology”)
c. Biblical Theology: synthesis of results of exegesis; focuses on Sacred Scripture
3. Biblical Theology:
a. Subsection of Positive Theology
b. Not mere Exegesis: studies “particular texts”; method is mere analysis
c. Lays a “foundation” for scholastic theology
d. “The fruit of exegesis and the germ of scholastic theology” (Prat, 1.1)
e. Characteristic feature: its method is “synthesis”
f. Not identical with either scholastic theology or mere exegesis
g. Does not comprise “the whole of theology” (contra Protestantism)
h. Does not contradict itself or revealed dogma (contra Rationalism)
i. Not Autonomous: illuminated by Sacred Tradition and Magisterium
4. What does it mean to speak of “The Theology of Saint Paul”? (Prat, 2.12)

Key Themes in “Paulinism”

1. “Paulinism”: the teaching of St. Paul “in the organic sequence of its ideas” (Prat, 2.1)
2. Essential Points and Constituent Elements (Prat, 2.11)
a. God’s plan of redemption (“the mystery”)
b. The two Adams (Christological typology)
c. The antithesis of flesh and spirit
d. The role of the Law
e. The redeeming death of Christ
f. Justification by faith
g. The Resurrection of Christ
h. The Church as the mystical body of Christ
i. Baptism and the Eucharist
j. Eschatology: the last things

The Key to Pauline Theology

1. The Two Circles: the Old Creation and the New Creation
2. Standard Rabbinic Eschatology: the “Two Ages” or “Two Worlds”
a. “This Present Age/World” (Hb olam hazeh)
b. “The Age/World to Come” (Hb olam haba)
3. Pauline Eschatology of Redemption (cf. Schweitzer, Mysticism of Paul)
a. The Old Creation
b. The New Creation
c. The Resurrection of Christ and the Parousia
4. The Center of Pauline Theology: being “in Christ” (Gk en Christo)

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 The Conversion of St. Paul

Who Was Saul of Tarsus?

1. Family of Origin: a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5)
2. Language: Bilingual; born in Tarsus, a Roman Citizen (Acts 22:3, 22-29)
a. Greek: koine (or “common”) Greek; not that of the Greek schools
b. Hebrew: sometimes translates directly from Hebrew (cf. Acts 22:2)
2. Education: Jewish schools; principal object of study—the Bible (Prat 1.14, 16)
3. Teacher: Rabbi Gamaliel; “purity of Pharisaism died with him” (Prat 1.17; Acts 22:1)
4. Rabbinic Training: methods of Scripture Interpretation
5. Member of the Pharisees (Josephus, Antiquites 18.11-17)
a. Pharisees: Greek form of Hebrew perushim (“separated ones”)
b. Strict adherence to Ritual Purity (food laws)
c. High esteem for “Traditions of the Elders” (cf. Matt 15)
d. Belief in both Predestination and Free-Will
e. Immortality of the Soul and Resurrection of the Dead
f. Most popular of the Jewish “sects” (or “philosophies”)
g. Sit on Moses’ “seat” (Gk kathedra) (Matt 23:1-3)
6. A Persecutor of the Church: key autobiographical references
a. “My former life in Judaism” (Gal 1:11-17)
b. Paul’s Former “Confidence in the Flesh” (Phil 3:2-11)
c. “I am the foremost of sinners” (1 Tim 1:12-17)
d. Paul, “the least of the apostles” (1 Cor 15:8-11)

The Conversion of Saul

1. The Context: the great Jerusalem persecution (ca. 30s-40s A.D.)
a. The Martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 6-7)
b. Saul “laid waste to the church” in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-3)
2. Luke’s Account of Paul’s Conversion (Acts 9:1-31)
a. Paul’s authority: from the chief priest “to bind” (cf. Matt 16:19)
b. “Why do you persecute me?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
c. Paul: Jesus’ “chosen instrument”; Why him?
d. Revelation: “how much he must suffer for my name”
e. Paul in the Synagogues: “proving” Jesus was the Messiah
3. Paul’s Speech in Jerusalem (Acts 22:1-22)
a. Jew brought up “at the feet of Gamaliel”
b. Persecutor of “the Way”
c. From Blindness to Baptism
d. Why is Paul sent to the Gentiles?
4. Paul’s Speech before King Herod Agrippa (Acts 26:1-32)
a. The Fame of Saint Paul: “your great learning” (Acts 26:4, 24)
b. On trial for “the hope” of “the twelve tribes”: the Resurrection of the body

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 The Eschatology of St. Paul
St. Paul and the Parousia (1 Thess 4)
1. The Parousia (Gk “presence”) of Christ: “principal subject” of letters (Prat 1.72)
a. Mentioned four times in the letter (1 Thess 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23)
2. The Thessalonian’s Problem of “the Dead in Christ”
a. They have lost hope for Christians who have died
b. Promise of bodily “resurrection” (Gk anastasis)
3. Paul Clarifies Christian Eschatology:
a. Those who are “alive” at the end will not “precede” the dead
b. The dead in Christ rise first at the Parousia (bodily resurrection)
e. Christians who are alive will be transformed (bodily glorification)
d. Living and dead will be “caught up” (Lat rapiemur) in the clouds
4. Old Testament Background: Mount Sinai (Exod 19:16-20)

Mount Sinai The Second Coming

The Lord descends upon Mt Sinai Jesus descends from heaven
In a fiery cloud (the “glory cloud”) Caught up in the clouds
The sound of a trumpet The sound of the trumpet of God
The 12 Tribes go to meet God The Church gathered to meet God

5. Question: is Paul describing a secret Rapture (so Protestant Dispensationalism)?

6. Was St. Paul wrong about “the end of the world”? (Prat, 1.75-76)
a. Undeniable: some early Christians thought the world would end soon (2 Pet 3)
b. Apostolic Teaching: no one knows the hour (cf. Mark 13:32; PBC, Prat 1.83)

The Mystery of the Resurrection of the Dead (1 Cor 15)

1. The Historicity of the Resurrection (1 Cor 15:1-11)
2. The Necessity of the Resurrection (1 Cor 15:12-18)
a. Problem in Corinth: “no resurrection of the Dead” (Gentiles)
b. Bodily Resurrection: a Jewish belief (see Dan 12:1-2; Isa 26:16-19; Ezek 37)
c. Denial of Our Resurrection = Denial of Christ’s Resurrection (Prat, 1.133-34)
d. Problem: If Christ is not raised, “Christianity is only a lie” (Prat, 1.134)
3. The Resurrection of Christ, the New Adam (1 Cor 15:20-28)
a. Old Adam  Death (Spiritual and Physical; Gen 3; Wis 1)
b. New Adam  Life (Spiritual and Physical)
4. Consummation of the Kingdom of God:
a. Final Judgment: Destruction of Evil “Powers,” Sin, and Death (cf. Rev 20)
b. New Creation: God will be “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28; cf. 1 Cor 1; Isa 65-66)
5. The Resurrected Body: What will it be like? (1 Cor 15:35-58; Prat, 1.139)
Old Body Risen Body
Perishable Imperishable
Dishonorable / Weak Glorious / Powerful
“Terrestrial” (choikon) “Heavenly” (epouranion)
“Soulish” (psychikos) “Spiritual” (pneumatikos)
First Adam: of dust Last Adam: of heaven

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The Tribulation and the Antichrist (2 Thess 2)
1. Problems:
a. Thessalonians still suffering persecution (2 Thess 1:5)
b. Eschatology: some saying “the day of the Lord has come” (2 Thess 2:1-2)
2. Prerequisites for the Parousia:
a. The Great Tribulation: the “Rebellion” (Gk apostasia) comes first (Matt 24)
b. The Antichrist: the “man of lawlessnes” comes () (cf. 1 John 2:18)
c. The “Restrainer”: currently restraining the “mystery of lawlessness”
3. The Great Tribulation: a final period of unparalleled tribulation (cf. Dan 12:1-2)
4. The Antichrist: eschatological opponent of Messiah (cf. Isa 14; Ezek 28; Dan 11:36)
a. The “Man of lawlessness”: a man of evil
b. Self-deification: claims to be “God”; demands that he be worshiped
c. Deceiver: he will speak falsehood and work wonders
d. “Son of Perdition”: doomed to destruction (cf. Judas, John 17:12)
e. A Desecrator: he takes his seat in “the temple of God” (cf. 1 Mac 1:20-24, 54)
f. Who is the Antichrist? (See Prat 1.80-81)
5. Two Parousias: the Antichrist (2 Thess 2:9) and the Lord Jesus (cf. Isaiah 11)
6. Who is “the Restrainer”?
a. The Roman Emperor? c. The Church?
b. The Holy Spirit? d. St. Michael the Archangel? (Prat, 1.82)

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 St. Paul’s “Theology of the Body”
The Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6)
1. St. Paul’s Catalogue of Mortal Sins (cf. CCC 1852-64)
a. “Fornication” (Gk porneia) e. Theft (and “Robbers) (7th)
st
b. Idolatry (1 ) f. Greed (9th and 10th)
c. Adultery (6th) g. Revilers (Blasphemy) (2nd and 4th)
d. Homosexual Relations h. Drunkenness
(Gk malakoi and arsenokoitai)
2. Sexual Sin and the Temple of the Body (1 Cor 6:12-20)
a. Food  Stomach  Food
b. The Body is not  Porneia  Marriage? No, “The Lord”
c. The Lord  the Body  The Lord
3. No Marriage in the Resurrection (Matt 22:23-33)
a. Old Creation: marriage
b. New Creation: union with Christ (JPII, “virginal nuptial union”; cf. Rev 19)
4. Gravity of Sexual Sin (Prat 1.103)
a. Profanation: Body is a Temple of Holy Spirit
b. Sacrilege: Body is a “member” of Christ’s body
6. “You are not your own; you were bought with a price”

The Roles of Men and Women in the Church (1 Cor 11)

1. The Question of Veils (1 Cor 11:2-16)
a. Problem: Women praying without veils
b. Problem: men praying with heads covered
2. Theology of Masculinity and Femininity:
a. Man: the “image of God” (Transcendence/Origin/God’s relation to Man)
b. Woman: the “glory of Man” (Immanence/Goal/Man’s relation to God)
3. The Veiling of Women: “Because of the angels?” (1 Cor 11:10; ACCS p. 108)
a. Protection from Lusting Demons (Tertullian)
b. Respect for the Bishop (= “angel”) (Ambrosiaster)
c. Sign of Submission to Husband (Chrysostom)
d. Respect for Guardian Angels (Prat, 1.121)
4. The Agape Meal (“Love Feast”) (Prat, 1.122-23)
a. Communal Meal: “adjunct to and complement of” the Eucharist
b. Problem: led to abuses; drunkenness, factions (cf. 1 Cor 11:17-22)
c. Result: agape eventually separated from the Eucharist

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 Other Topics in Pauline Theology
Purgatory: Being “Saved through Fire” (1 Cor 3)
1. The Christian is a Temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19)
2. Paul’s Purgatorial Analogy:
a. Foundation: of the Temple (Jesus Christ)
b. Foundation Layer: Paul (apostles)
c. Gold, Silver, Precious Stones: good “works”
d. Wood, Hay, Stubble: bad “works”
e. “The Day”: of Judgment (cf. Heb 9:27; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23)
3. “Saved as through Fire”:
a. Cannot be Hell: people in Hell are not “saved”
b. Cannot be Heaven: people in Heave do not “suffer”
c. A Place of Purgation: tradition calls “purgatory”
4. The Catechism on Purgatory (CCC 1030-32)
5. Paul and “Assurance of Salvation”? (1 Cor 4:4; Prat, 1.97)

The Spiritual Gifts: Tongues and Prophecy (1 Cor 12-14)

1. What are the “Spiritual Gifts” (Gk charismata)? (Prat, 1.128-29)
a. Gratuitous: not necessary for salvation; not necessarily sanctifying
b. Supernatural: a special work of the Holy Spirit (not just natural gift)
c. Transitory: HS can give and withdraw at will (cf. theological virtues)
d. Ecclesial: ordered to good of the Church (1 Cor 12:1-11)
2. The Gift of “Tongues” (Gk glossolalia) (Prat, 1.129-130; 1 Cor 14:1-18)
a. Controversy: “Foreign language” or “Spiritual Language”?
b. Not intended for Preaching of the Gospel (cf. Acts 2:4)
c. Tongues: “supernatural ability to pray or praise God in a strange language”
3. The Gift of Prophecy: “inspired preachers,” building up congregation (Prat, 1.130-31)

The Folly of the Cross and the Wisdom of God

1. The Foolishness of the Cross (1 Cor 1:18-31)
a. Folly: to those who are perishing
b. The Power of God: to those being saved
c. The “Mystery of God’s apparent powerlessness” (CCC 272-273)
2. The Power of Preaching the Cross (1 Cor 2:1-5)
a. Wisdom of Men: “Plausible words of wisdom” (cf. Prat 1.91)
b. Power of God: “Jesus Christ crucified”
3. The Secret “Mystery” of God’s Wisdom (1 Cor 2:6-16)
a. “The Mystery”: participation in Christ (Prat, 1.92-93)
b. The New Exodus and the New Creation: Paul alludes to Isa 64:4; 65:17

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 St. Paul and the Mystery of Sin
The Fall of Adam and Original Sin (Rom 5)
1. The Teaching of St. Paul (Romans 5:12-17)
a. Origin of Sin: Adam brought “sin” (hamartia) into “world” (kosmos) (1.211)
b. Origin of Death: “Death” (thanatos) came into “the world” “through sin”
c. Universality of Sin: “death spread to all because all men sinned” (Prat
d. Kingdom of Death: Death “reigned” from Adam over all
e. The New Adam: Jesus Christ, brings “justification” and “life”
2. The Biblical Teaching of the Fall
a. The Fall of Adam: spiritual death leads to physical death (Gen 3:1-7)
b. God did not make death: Devil brought it into the world (Wis 1:12-15; 2:23-24)
c. Because of Eve, “we all die” (Sir 25:24)
3. Jewish Traditions about the Fall and Original Sin:
a. Adam’s “Evil heart”: the “disease” spread to his descendants (4 Ezra 3:20-22)
b. The Fall: affected the animals (Life of Adam and Eve, 24:1-4)
4. The Catechism on the Fall and Original Sin:
a. Original Sin: the reverse side of the Good News (CCC 389)
b. The Historicity of the Fall (CCC 390)
c. The Immediate Consequences of the Fall (CCC 400)
d. Original Sin and St. Paul (CCC 402)
e. Original Sin: a “death of the soul” (CCC 403)
f. Transmission of Original Sin: humanity in “a fallen state” (CCC 404)
g. Original Sin: not a personal fault, but a deprivation (CCC 405)
5. What is Sin?
a. Personification of Sin (Prat, 1.211)
b. “Sin”: perversion of will, alienating us from God (hamartia) (Prat, 1.212)
c. “Fault”: moral slip or faux pas (paraptoma)
d. “Transgression”: breaking of a positive law (parabasis)
6. Adam: “In Whom All Have Sinned?” (Rom 5:12) (Prat 1.216-217)

The Gentiles: Under the Power of Sin (Rom 1-2)

1. Gentile Knowledge of God (Rom 1:18-21)
a. The Gentiles Inexcusable: they knew God (Prat 1.200)
b. God’s existence: can be known with certainty through creation (CCC 36; Vat I)
c. Proper response: honor and worship God the Creator
2. Gentile Idolatry: (Rom 1:22-25)
a. Sin: darkens the intellect
b. Worship of creature rather than Creator (CCC 2113)
c. Punishment: God gives them over to their desires
3. Sexual Perversion (Rom 1:26-32)
a. Result: homosexual relations between men and women
b. Homosexuality (CCC 2357-59)
c. Punishment: God gives them over to their desires
4. Gentile world: a world gone mad because it did not acknowledge God (Rom 1:28-32)

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5. Gentiles will be Judged by their Works (Rom 2:1-16)
a. Do not judge with hypocrisy
b. Last Judgment: God will judge without partiality
c. Some Jews believed in total damnation of Gentiles
(Mek. Ex. 21:30: “For the heathen Gentiles there will be no redemption”)
d. Natural Law: Gentiles unknowingly keep “the law” (CCC 1954-60)
e. Ten Commandments: “privileged expression of the natural law” (CCC 2070)

The Jews: Also Under the Power of Sin (Rom 2-3)

1. Against Boasting because of the Law (Rom 2:17-24)
2. Circumcision undone by breaking the Law (Rom 2:25-29)
3. All Men are “under the power of sin” (Rom 3:9-19, cf. 3:23)
a. Not all without exception (every human being)
b. All without distinction (Jews and Gentiles alike)
c. Exceptions: Jesus, children under age of reason, Mary

The Flesh and the Spirit at War (Rom 7)

1. Which State is Paul Referring to in this chapter? (Prat, 1.228-29)
a. The Christian regenerated by Grace, but tempted?
b. The Jew tormented by the Law?
2. The Role of the Law (Prat, 1.230)
a. Law: a “light, but not in itself a force”
b. A Moral Barrier: a prohibition
3. The Abolition of the Law (Prat, 1.232)
4. Was St. Paul a “Dualist”? NO! (Prat, 1.233-34)
a. “The Flesh”: this fallen world (not intrinsically evil material)
b. “The Spirit”: the divine life of God (not intrinsically good immaterial)

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 St. Paul and the Mystery of the Cross
God’s Answer to Sin: The Cross of Christ (1 Cor 1-2)
1. The Gospel: “the word of the Cross” (1 Cor 1:18)
2. The Foolishness of the Cross (1 Cor 1:18-31)
a. Jews demand “signs” (Miracles)
b. Greeks seek “wisdom” (Philosophy)
c. But we preach Christ Crucified
3. The Crucifixion:
a. To Jews: a “stumbling block” (skandalon)
b. To Gentiles: “folly”
c. To Christians: the “power of God” and the “wisdom of God”
4. The Secret and Hidden Wisdom of God? (1 Cor 2:6-10)
a. Divine Wisdom: “not of this age”
a. The Rulers of This Age: crucified the Lord
b. The Mystery of the New Creation: “Eye has not seen...” (see Isaiah 64-65!)
5. The Catechism on the Mystery of the Cross
a. The Problem of Evil (CCC 309)
b. The Mystery of God’s “apparent powerlessness” (CCC 272)

Deliverance from Sin: Crucifixion With Christ (Gal 2, 6; Rom 6)

1. How Do We Receive the Power of the Cross?
2. Crucifixion With Christ
a. “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal 2)
b. “The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6)
3. The Sacrament of Crucifixion (Rom 6)
a. Baptism into Christ’s “death”: “burial” with Christ
b. Pledge of the Resurrection
d. Crucifixion of our “old man” (palaios) (or “old self”)
e. Sacramental Death: freedom from sin
4. Baptism: a “Mystical Death” (Prat, 1.223)
a. Real participation in the Crucifixion and Resurrection
b. Works ex opere operato

Entry into New Life (Rom 6)

1. How now shall we live?
2. Slavery to Sin (Rom 6:12)
a. Has come to an end
b. Sin has no “dominion” over you
3. Slaves of Grace (Rom 6:15-23)
a. Freedom from sin
b. Slaves of Righteousness
4. Two Masters: Who Pays Better?
a. Sin’s Wages: Death
b. God’s Wages: Eternal Life

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The Cross and the New Creation (Rom 8)
1. No Condemnation for those “In Christ”
2. Christ Condemned Sin “in the Flesh” (Rom 8:1-11)
a. Incarnation: Christ assumes “the likeness of sinful flesh”
b. Crucifixion: Christ condemns sin “in the flesh”
3. Two Realms:
a. “The Flesh” (This World)
b. “The Spirit” (The World to Come)
4. The Gift of the Spirit (Rom 8:9-11)
a. Dead Bodies: dead to sin
b. Living Spirits: a pledge of bodily resurrection
5. Two Spirits:
a. Spirit of Slavery
b. Spirit of Sonship: crying “Abba, Father!”
6. The Glory of the New Creation (Rom 8:18-27)
a. This Age: an Age of Suffering
b. The Age to Come: Creation itself will be set free
c. The Fall: Creation was subject to “decay” and “corruption” (pthoros)
d. All Creation awaits the bodily Resurrection of the Dead
7. The Catechism on the New Heaven and New Earth (CCC 1042-1048)
a. New Creation: important doctrinal development (compare Prat, 1.238-39)
b. Renewal of the Universe (CCC 1042)
c. The New Universe and the Heavenly Jerusalem (CCC 1043)
d. Meaning for Man (CCC 1045)
e. Meaning for the Cosmos (CCC 1046)
f. “The Visible Universe” Restored to Original State (CCC 1047; St. Irenaeus!)
g. Mystery of the New Creation (CCC 1048)

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 St. Paul and the Mystery of the Law
The Background: the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15)
1. The Circumcision Controversy (Acts 15:1-5)
a. Circumcision Party: unless a man is circumcised, he cannot be “saved”
b. Vs. Paul and Barnabas: circumcision not necessary for salvation
c. How do they solve the debate? An apostolic council
2. St. Peter’s Role in the Council (Acts 15:6-11)
a. Debate Ends when Peter Speaks (“all the assembly kept silence”)
b. Why? Peter has the “keys of the kingdom” (Matt 16)
c. Message: Salvation by “grace” through “faith”
d. Circumcision not necessary for salvation
3. St. James’ Role in the Council: local bishop of Jerusalem (see Prat 1.418-19)
a. No idolatry (cf. Lev 17:7)
b. Abstinence from strangled animals and from blood (cf. Lev 17:10-12)
c. No unchastity (Gk porneia) (cf. Lev 18:7-18)

“Faith” vs. “Works of the Law” (Gal 2; James 2)

1. The Opponents of Paul: “the circumcision party” (Gal 2:12)
2. Three Key Terms: (1) justification; (2) faith; and (3) works of the law
3. Justification: to “make righteous” (Gk dikaioun) (Prat 1.169)
a. Not by “works of the Law” but by “Faith”
b. Debate between Catholics and Protestants (Prat 1.170)
4. Faith: “belief” “trust” “fidelity” (Gk pistis)
a. Gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him
b. Free human response: submission of intellect and will
c. Not “Faith alone” (Martin Luther added the word “alone” in Rom 3!)
5. Works of the Law:
a. Not “good works” but
b. Circumcision: and the Mosaic Laws associated with it (contra Prat, 1.175)
c. “Faith” = belief and baptism
6. (Good) Works: are necessary for salvation (see James 2:14-24)
a. Good works do not earn the initial grace of salvation
b. No one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification (CCC 2010)
c. No contradiction between James and Paul (cf. Prat 1.180-181)

Example: the Saving Faith of Abraham (Rom 4; Gal 3)

1. Not justified by “works” (circumcision) (Rom 4:1-3, 9-12)
2. Justified by “faith” (trust in God)
3. Abraham: justified long before he was circumcised
a. Abraham justified by faith (Gen 15:16; 75 yrs old)
b. Abraham circumcised: 24 years later! (Gen 17:1-8; 99 yrs old)
4. Father of both Circumcised (Jews) and Uncircumcised (Gentiles) (Gen 17:5)

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 St. Paul and the Mystery of the Angels
The Angels in Pauline Theology
1. What is an Angel? A spiritual “messenger” (Gk angelos) (cf. CCC 328-30; Pius XII)
a. Spiritual, non-corporeal beings
b. Nature: “spirit”; Office, is “angel” (St. Augustine)
c. Servants and Messengers of God
d. Personal and Immortal: surpassing in perfection all visible creatures
2. Pauline Angelic Hierarchy (Eph 1:21; Col 1:16; 1 Cor 15:24; Rom 8:38; Prat 1:293)
a. Principalities/Rulers (Gk arche)
b. Authorities (Gk exousia)
c. Powers (Gk dunamis)
d. Dominions (Gk kuriotetos)
e. Names (Gk onoma)
3. Role of Holy Angels in the Divine Economy (Prat, 1.292)
a. Angels dwell in heaven or in light (Gal 1:8; 2 Cor 11:14)
b. Witnesses to earthly events (1 Cor 4:9)
c. Brought the Law of Moses (Gal 3:19; cf. Heb 2:2)
d. Present during Christian Liturgy (1 Cor 11:10)
e. Will accompany Christ at the Parousia (2 Thess 1:7)
f. Archangel will announce the Resurrection of the Dead (1 Thess 4:16)
4. Role of Fallen Angels:
a. Enemies of Christians Opponents of Christians (Eph 6:12)
b. Seek Our Damnation (Rom 8:38)
c. Will Ultimately Be Defeated (1 Cor 15:25)

The Angels and the Old Covenant

1. The Angels and the Old Creation
“The Demiurge and Creator of the world, God, through the medium of His Word, has
apportioned and ordained the angels to occupy the elements, the heavens, the world, and
whatever is in the world” (Athenagoras, Suppl. 10)

“All corporeal things are governed by the angels. And this is not only the teaching of the
Holy Doctors, but of all the philosophers” (St. Thomas Aquinas, ST 1, 110, 1).

2. The Angels and the Old Covenant Law

“The Lord came from Sinai; at his right hand the angels accompanied him.” (Deut 33:2
LXX)

“It is from God, through the angels, that we have learned the most beautiful of our
doctrines and the most holy sections of our laws.” (Josephus, Antiquities 15, 5, 3).

“These burning torches, these dazzling fires, these rumbling thunders, this terror which
accompanies the entire coming of the Lord [to Mt. Sinai]—all manifest the presence of
the angelic ministers, setting down the Law through the hand of a mediator” (St. Hilary,
Tract. Ps. 67; cf. Exod 14:19-20)

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3. Other New Testament Witnesses
a. The Law was “an ordinance of angels” (Acts 7:53)
b. The Law was “the message declared by angels” (Heb 2:2)

Paul on the Angels and the Law (Gal 3-4; Col 2)

1. The Origin of the Law (Gal 3-4)
a. A Result of Sin: “added because of transgressions”
b. Given through Mediators: “ordained by angels through a mediator”
c. The Law was a “custodian” (Gk paidogogos)
2. The Two Covenants:
a. Old Covenant : “slaves” of the Angels (Gal 4:3, 8-11)
b. New Covenant: ‘sons” of the Father (Gal 4:5-7)
c. For Freedom Christ has set you free; do not submit again (Gal 5:1)
3. The Two Jerusalems:
a. Old Jerusalem: “this present Jerusalem” (Hagar / Mount Sinai)
b. New Jerusalem: “Jerusalem above” (Sarah? / Heavenly Mount Zion)
4. The Old Covenant: the “Religion of Angels”? (Col 2)
a. “Elemental Spirits of the Universe” vs. “Christ”
b. Supremacy of Christ over the Angels
c. New Covenant: circumcision “made without hands”
d. The Crucifixion: the disarmament of “the principalities and powers”!
5. The Old and New Creation (Col 2:16-22)
a. Old Covenant Liturgy: a shadow of “what is to come” (New Creation)
b. New Covenant: the “substance/body” (Gk soma) belongs to Christ
c. “Religion (Gk threskeia) of angels”? (Origen in Danielou, Angels, p. 12)
6. Heaven and Earth (Col 3:1-3)
a. Heaven: set you minds on “the things above”
b. Earth: non on “things that are on earth”
c. Participation in Mystical Body: “your life is hid with Christ in God”

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 St. Paul and the Mystery of Israel’s Salvation
(Based on Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, Romans, p. 34-35)

Who Is “All Israel” (Rom 11:26)?

1. What does Paul mean: “All Israel will be saved”? (Rom 11:26; read context)
2. Different Opinions:
a. Spiritual Israel: the Church made of up of Jews and Gentiles
b. Ethnic Jews: from every generation or the last generation of history.
c. Faithful Ethnic Israel: faithful Israelites from all 12 tribes through the ages
3. Romans 9-11 dominated by Language of “Israel”
a. “Israel” (11 times)
b. “Israelite” (2 times)
c. Compare Romans 1-8: Paul only speaks of “Jews” (9 times)
d. Israel: 10 tribes of northern kingdom (1 Kgs 12)
e. Judah: 2 tribes of southern kingdom
f. Assyrian Exile: exile of 10 tribes of Israel (722 B.C.)
g. Babylonian Exile: exile of 2 tribes of Judah (587 B.C.)
f. “Jew”: used first for descendants of southern kingdom (Judah)
4. Paul uses passages promising salvation for all 12 Tribes of Israel
a. Isa 10:22-23 (Rom 9:27-28)
b. 1 Kgs 19:10 (Rom 11:4)
c. Isa 1:9 (Rom 9:29)
d. Joe 2:32 (Rom 10:13)
5. Old Testament Hope: Restoration of All Israel (all 12 Tribes)
a. Return of lost tribes from Assyrian (Isa 11:11-12)
b. Resurrection of all twelve tribes (Ezek 27:15-28)
c. Elijah and restoration of all Israel (Sir 36:11; 48:10)

How Is All Israel Saved?

1. Two Opinions:
a. The Two-Covenant View
b. The New Covenant View
2. The Two-Covenant View: developed in modern times
a. Israel Saved apart from Christ and acceptance of the gospel
b. Mosaic covenant continues in force alongside the New Covenant
c. Mosaic Covenant: saves the Jews
d. New Covenant: saves the Gentiles
3. The New Covenant View: held by majority of interpreters (cf. CCC 673-74; Rev 7)
a. Israel will be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ
b. Jesus brings salvation for Jew and Gentile alike (Rom 1:16)
c. Necessity of “faith” in Jesus Christ (Rom 10:9)
d. Paul evangelizes Gentiles to “save” his Israelite brothers (Rom 11:14)
e. Mosaic Covenant condemns, does not save (Rom 3:20; cf. Acts 13:38-39)
f. No “alternative” way to salvation (Rom 10:14-17; CCC 765; 839-40)
4. Climax of Paul’s Discussion (Rom 11:26-27)

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 St. Paul and the Mystery of Christ and the Church
The Captivity Epistles
1. “Captivity Epistles”: 4 Letters (Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon)
a. Common doctrinal traits (Supremacy of Christ; Mystery of the Church)
b. Unity of Time and Place
c. Similar External Setting
2. External Setting: Paul in Captivity in Rome (Prat 1.271)
a. Paul’s Captivity in Rome (Acts 28)
b. Foresees his liberty near at hand
c. Paul enjoys partial freedom (“relatively unhindered”)
d. Continues his Apostolic Work
e. Same Circle of Friends: Tychichus, Epaphras, Luke, Mark (Eph 4:21; Col 4:7)
3. Date: ca. 61-62 A.D., shortly before Paul’s Martyrdom
4. Relation of Colossians and Ephesians (Prat 1.280)
a. Analogue: Relation between Galatians and Romans
b. Shorter Polemical Letter (1st): Colossians and Galatians
c. Longer Theological Treatise (2nd): Ephesians and Romans
5. Doctrinal Issues (Prat 1.273-74)
a. Judaizers: recede to background; presupp. Rom and Gal (cf. Eph 2; Phil 3)
b. Christology: supremacy of Christ; relation to God, creation, angels
c. Ecclesiology: nature and constitution; mystical body of Christ

Pauline Christology: The Mystery of Christ (1 Cor 8; Col 1-2; Phil 2)

1. Paul and Jewish Monotheism (Wright, Saint Paul, 65)
2. Christ and the “One God”
a. Paul: One God—the Father; One Lord—Jesus Christ (1 Cor 8:6)
b. The Shema: the “Lord is one” (Deut 6:4-8)
2. The Pre-Existence of Christ (Col 1; cf. Prat 1.287)
a. Divine Sonship: “Image (Gk eikon) of the Invisible God” (Prat 1.288; Gen 5)
b. Pre-existence: “Firstborn (Gk prototokos) of all creation”
c. Creator of the Universe: “all things created by him” (Prat 1.289)
3. Christ’s Fullness of Divinity (Col 2)
a. Gnosticism: “fullness” (Gk pleroma) of divine emanations/aeons
b. Paul takes heretical term; gives it orthodox meaning (cf. John and logos) (295)
c. Incarnation: ‘fullness of divinity dwells in him bodily” (Col 2:9; 1:19)
4. The Mystery of the Incarnation (Phil 2)
a Divinity of Christ: Part of basic Christian doctrine (Prat 1.311)
b. Clearly and Beautifully Expressed by Paul (cf. Chrysostom in Prat 1.313)
c. “Form of God” = being God (Prat 1.314-15)
d. Christ’s “Equality with God”
e. New Adam: does not “grasp” at divinity (cf. Genesis 2)
f. Kenosis: “self-emptying” of the Divine Son (Prat 1.319, 322; vs. false views)
g. Divinity of Christ: “every knee should bow” (Phil 2:10; cf. Isa 45:23)
5. Was Paul a Jewish Monotheist or a Pagan Polytheist? (Wright, Saint Paul, 70)

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 Pauline Ecclesiology: the Mystery of the Church
1. What does Paul mean by “the Mystery”?
a. The Mystery of God’s plan of Salvation (Prat 1.308)
b. The union of heaven and earth in Christ (Eph 1:9-10)
c. The Mystery of Christ’s union with the Church (Eph 5:32)
2. The Heavenly Church (Eph 1:20-22)
3. The Universal Church: Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:11-22)
4. The Unity of the Church (Eph 4:1-16)
a. Mystery of Jesus’ Descent and Ascension (1 Pet 3:18-22; CCC 631-37; 659-66)
b. Organic Unity of the Faith: every “wind of doctrine”
5. Christ, the Church, and the Theology of Marriage (Eph 5:21-33; cf. Col 1:18-25)
a. Submission (Sub-missio): to place oneself under another’s mission
b. Christ: head of the Church; Husband: head of his wife
c. Marital Love: sacrificial image of Christ’s love for the Church
d. The Bridegroom Messiah (cf. Ezek 16; Isa 61; John 3; Mark 2, etc.)
e. Marriage: the “great mystery” (Lat sacramentum magnum; cf. CCC 774)

Pope Pius XI and Leo XII on Ephesians 5: “The Order of Love” in Marriage
26. Domestic society being confirmed, therefore, by this bond of love, there should flourish in it that
"order of love," as St. Augustine calls it. This order includes both the primacy of the husband with
regard to the wife and children, the ready subjection of the wife and her willing obedience, which the
Apostle commends in these words: "Let women be subject to their husbands as to the Lord, because the
husband is the head of the wife, and Christ is the head of the Church."[29] 27. This subjection, however,
does not deny or take away the liberty which fully belongs to the woman both in view of her dignity as a
human person, and in view of her most noble office as wife and mother and companion; nor does it bid
her obey her husband's every request if not in harmony with right reason or with the dignity due to wife;
nor, in fine, does it imply that the wife should be put on a level with those persons who in law are called
minors, to whom it is not customary to allow free exercise of their rights on account of their lack of
mature judgment, or of their ignorance of human affairs. But it forbids that exaggerated liberty which
cares not for the good of the family; it forbids that in this body which is the family, the heart be
separated from the head to the great detriment of the whole body and the proximate danger of ruin. For
if the man is the head, the woman is the heart, and as he occupies the chief place in ruling, so she may
and ought to claim for herself the chief place in love.

28. Again, this subjection of wife to husband in its degree and manner may vary according to the
different conditions of persons, place and time. In fact, if the husband neglect his duty, it falls to the wife
to take his place in directing the family. But the structure of the family and its fundamental law,
established and confirmed by God, must always and everywhere be maintained intact . 29. With great
wisdom Our predecessor Leo XIII, of happy memory, in the Encyclical on Christian marriage which We
have already mentioned, speaking of this order to be maintained between man and wife, teaches: "The
man is the ruler of the family, and the head of the woman; but because she is flesh of his flesh and bone
of his bone, let her be subject and obedient to the man, not as a servant but as a companion, so that
nothing be lacking of honor or of dignity in the obedience which she pays. Let divine charity be the
constant guide of their mutual relations, both in him who rules and in her who obeys, since each bears
the image, the one of Christ, the other of the Church."[30] (Pius XI, Casti Connubii)

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 Did St. Paul Write
The Pastoral Epistles?
The Pastoral Epistles
1. Three Letters:
a. 1 Timothy,
b. 2 Timothy
c. Titus
2. Not addressed to communities (cf. “Great epistles”; Captivity Epistles)
3. Addressed to individual pastors (young “bishops”)
4. Very Personal, Exhortatory, and Intimate

The Question of Authenticity

1. Church Fathers: unanimous attribution to Paul
2. Friedrich Schleiermacher: Liberal Protestant theology; first doubts (1807)
3. Modern Scholarship: divided on question of authenticity

Arguments Against Authenticity

1. Theology: “Gnostics,” were not around until after Paul’s death (2nd cent. AD)
2. Ecclesiology: church hierarchy is too developed (monarchical episcopate)
3. Style and Vocabulary: some words and phrases unique (Titus 2:13; 1 Tim 6:15)
4. Atmosphere and Vocabulary close to Luke-Acts (Brown, Intro., 666)

Arguments in Favor of Authenticity

1. Internal Evidence: Explicit attribution to Paul
2. External Evidence: unanimous testimony of Church Fathers (Prat 1.325)
3. Not Gnostics but Judaizers (1 Tim 1:3-7; Titus 1; 3:9-11; Prat 1.326, 339)
4. Church Hierarchy is not yet developed to monarchical episcopate (Prat 1.328)
5. Situation: reflects that of early Christian communities (Prat 1.329)
6. Question of Style: change of subject and situation (Prat 1.330)
7. Importance of Captivity Epistles: a bridge between letters (Prat 1.331)
8. Implausibility of Forgery (Prat 1.335; Brown, Intro., 667)
9. Inconsistency of Inauthentic dates: 80s-90s, 100-130AD, or 180-200AD

Date of Pastorals: ca. 64-66 A.D.

1. Sometime after Roman imprisonment (ca. 62 A.D.; end of Acts)
2. Paul is at the end of his life (2 Tim 4:6-8)

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 St. Paul’s Letters
to Priests
The Sacrament of Holy Orders
1. Titus and Timothy: two young bishops
2. Ordination and the Laying on of Hands
a. Candidates chosen by “prophetic utterance” (1 Tim 1:18-20)
b. Episcopal Ordination: through “laying on of hands” (1 Tim 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6)
c. Priestly Ordination: also by laying on of hands (1 Tim 5:22)
d. OT background: laying hands and consecration to death (Num 8; Exod 19)
3. Three Degrees of Holy Orders: Old Testament Background (St. Clement; St. Jerome)

Old Covenant New Covenant

1. High Priest (Aaron) 1. Bishop
2. Priests (Sons of Aaron) 2. Presbyter
3. Levites (Aaron’s Tribe) 3. Deacon

Requirements of a Bishop or Priest

1. Somewhat Fluid Terminology (cf. Titus 1:5-16)
a. “Bishop” (Gk episkopos)
b. “Elder/Priest” (Gk presbyteros)
2. Requirements of a Bishop or Priest (1 Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-16)
a. Man of Integrity: above Reproach
b. Monogamous: Not a Polygamist/Remarried: “husband of one wife”
c. Virtuous: temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable
d. Good Teacher
e. Spiritual Father and Leader: manages his household well
f. Mature: not a recent convert
g. Respectable to outsiders (cf. John Paul II)
h. Humble: not arrogant or quick-tempered
i. Temperate: not a drunkard or greedy for gain; master of himself; self-controlled
j. Holy: “consecrated” or “set apart” (Hb qadosh)
k. Orthodox: a teacher of “sound doctrine” (Gk didaskalia)

Requirements for a Deacon

1. Terminology: “Deacon” or “Servant” (Gk diakonos)
2. Requirements for a Deacon (1 Tim 3:8-13)
a. Serious
b. Straight-Talkers: not “double-tongued” (cf. Matt 5:37)
c. Temperate: not addicted to much wine; not greedy for gain
d. Orthodox and Orthoprax: hold “the mystery of faith”
e. Proven: let them be tested first
f. Monogamous: “husband of one wife”
g. Spiritual Fathers and Leaders: manage children and household well

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Does Paul Mention “Deaconnesses”?
1. Fluid Terminology of “Servant” or “Deacon” (Gk diakonos (Prat, 1.350)
2. “Wives of Deacons” or “Women Deacons”? (1 Tim 2: 11)
a. The Greek: “woman” or “wife” (Gk gune)—same word
b. Text does not use word “deacon/ess” (Gk diakonos; cf. Rom 16:1)
c. Context: deacon’s wives (Gk gune) (see next verse!)
3. Deaconesses in the Early Church? (cf. Apostolic Constitutions; Nicea)
a. Female “Servants” (Gk diakonoi) Give Aid to Church (Rom 16:1)
b. “Deaconesses” Found in Eastern Churches (Apostolic Constitutions)
c. However, these women not ordained to Holy Orders/Priesthood
d. Council of Nicea rejected Female Deacons as part of Holy Orders

The Laity: Men, Women, and Consecrated Virgins

1. The Liturgy: roles of Men and Women (1 Tim 2:8-15)
2. Relating to the Laity:
a. Spiritual fatherhood (1 Tim 5:1-2)
b. Teaching Morality (Titus 2:1-10)
c. Rich Lay People (1 Tim 6:17-19)
3. Consecrated Religious: the order of the “Widows” (1 Tim 5:3-16)
4. Relating to the World: submission to earthly rulers (Titus 2:9-10; 3:1-8)
5. Protection from False Teachers (2 Tim 3:1-9; 1 Tim 4:1-5)

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 Holy Orders in the Early Church

The Three Degrees of Holy Orders

For his own peculiar services are assigned to the high priest, and their own proper place is prescribed to
the priests, and their own special ministrations devolve on the Levites. The layman is bound by the laws
that pertain to laymen. (1 Clement 40; 95 A.D.; Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, p. 16)

In fact as if to tell us that the traditions handed down by the apostles were taken by them from the old
testament, bishops, presbyters and deacons occupy in the church the same positions as those which were
occupied by Aaron, his sons, and the Levites in the temple. (St. Jerome, Letter 146; ca. 380 A.D.; Nicene
and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd. Series, vol. 6, p. 289)

Evidence for Apostolic Succession

The apostles have preached the gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ [has done so] from
God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ. Both these appointments, then,
were made in an orderly way, according to the will of God. Having therefore received their orders, and
being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established in the word of God,
with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand.
And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first fruits [of their labours], having
first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe. Nor
was this any new thing, since indeed many ages before it was written concerning bishops and deacons.
For thus says the Scripture in a certain place, "I will appoint their bishops in righteousness, and their
deacons in faith." (1 Clement 42; Ante Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, p. 16)

The Apostles Knew there Would Be Strife Over Succession

Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be strife on account of the
office of the episcopate. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-
knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave
instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their
ministry. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, or afterwards by other eminent
men, with the consent of the whole church, and who have blamelessly served the flock of Christ, in a
humble, peaceable, and disinterested spirit, and have for a long time possessed the good opinion of all,
cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry. For our sin will not be small, if we eject from the
episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily fulfilled its duties. Blessed are those presbyters who,
having finished their course before now, have obtained a fruitful and perfect departure [from this world];
for they have no fear lest any one deprive them of the place now appointed them. But we see that you
have removed some men of excellent behaviour from the ministry, which they fulfilled blamelessly and
with honour. (1 Clement 44; Ante Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, p. 17)

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 “Deaconesses” in the Early Church:
Not Admitted to Holy Orders

“Deaconesses” and Female (Nude) Baptism in Cases of Necessity

For which reason, O bishop, do thou ordain thy fellow-workers, the labourers for life and for
righteousness, such deacons as are pleasing to God, such whom thou provest to be worthy among all the
people, and such as shall be ready for the necessities of their ministration. Ordain also a deaconess who
is faithful and holy, for the ministrations towards women. For sometimes he cannot send a deacon, who
is a man, to the women, on account of unbelievers. Thou shalt therefore send a woman, a deaconess, for
many necessities; and first in the baptism of women, the deacon shall anoint only the forehead with the
holy oil, and after him the deaconess shall anoint them: for there is no necessity that the women should
be seen by the men; but only in the laying on of hands the bishop shall anoint her head, as the priests and
kings were formerly anointed, not because those who are now baptized are ordained priests, but as
being Christians, or anointed, from Christ the Anointed, “a royal priesthood, and an holy nation, the
Church of God, the pillar and ground of the marriage chamber” (1 Pet 2:9; 1 Tim 3:15). (Apostolic
Constitutions, 3.15; Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7, p. 431)

Against Female Baptisms as a Rule

Now, as to women’s baptizing, we let you know that there is no small peril to those that undertake it.
Therefore we do not advise you to it; for it is dangerous, or rather wicked and impious. For if the “man
be the head of the woman,” and he be originally ordained for the priesthood, it is not just to abrogate
the order of the creation, and leave the principal to come to the extreme part of the body. For the woman
is the body of the man, taken from his side, and subject to him, from whom she was separated for the
procreation of children. For says He, “He shall rule over thee.” For the principal part of the woman is the
man, being her head. But if in the foregoing constitutions we have not permitted them to teach, how will
any one allow them, contrary to nature, to perform the office of a priest? For this is one of the ignorant
practices of Gentile atheism, to ordain women priests to the female deities, not one of the constitutions
of Christ. For if baptism were to be administered by women, certainly our Lord would have been
baptized by His own mother, and not by John; or when he sent us to baptize, He would have sent along
with us women for this purpose. But now He has nowhere, either by constitution or by writing, deliver to
us any such thing; as knowing the order of nature, and the decency of the action; as being the Creator of
nature, and the Legislator of the constitution. (Apostolic Constitutions 3.9; Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7,
p. 429)

Council of Nicea: Deaconesses Among the Laity (325 A.D.)

"Similarly, in regard to the deaconesses, as with all who are enrolled in the register, the same procedure
is to be observed. We have made mention of the deaconesses, who have been enrolled in this position,
although, not having been in any way ordained, they are certainly to be numbered among the laity"
(Canon 19 [A.D. 325]).

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 Did St. Paul Write
the Epistle to the Hebrews?
Question of Authenticity
1. Epistle to the Hebrews: only truly anonymous epistle in NT (Prat 1.355)
2. No introduction identifying the author or original recipients

Arguments against Pauline Authorship

1. Anomalous Anonymity: Paul’s letters not usually anonymous
2. Greek Language/Style: very different from other letters (Origen in Prat, 1.356)
3. Old Testament Citations: different from other Pauline letters (Prat, 1.356)
4. Latin Church Fathers: doubts about Pauline authorship in West (1st-3rd cents.)
(Only seem to know 13 letters, Tertullian, Muratorian Fragment; cf. Augustine)

Arguments for Pauline Authorship

1. Not Always Anonymous: earliest MS contain subscriptio (Hengel, Studies 170)
2. Greek Church Fathers: total unanimity on Pauline authorship (Prat 1.356-57)
(Clement, Origen, Athanasius, both Cyrils, John Chrysostom, etc.)
3. Church Councils: unanimity (Antioch, 264; Rome 382; Laodicea, 390) (Prat 1.357-8)
4. No Compelling Alternatives: Clement, Apollos, Silas, etc. (Prat 1.359)
4. Similarity in Content/Themes:
a. Superiority of Christ to Angels (Heb 1-2; cf. Gal 3-4; Col 1-2)
b. Milk, not Solid Food (Heb 5; cf. 1 Cor 1)
c. This Age/The Age to Come (Heb 6; cf. 1 Thess 1)
d. Faith of Abraham (Heb 6, 11; cf. Gal 3; Rom 3-4)
e. New Covenant of Jer 31 (Heb 8; cf. Rom 11)
f. Law: shadow of Age to Come (Heb 10; cf. Col 2)
g. Heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12-13; cf. Gal 4)
4. Who Wrote Hebrews?
a. Prat thinks Barnabas a likely candidate (1.360; cf. Acts 13:1-3)
b. Pontifical Biblical Commission: affirmed Pauline origin (1914, Bechard, 205)
c. Most Ancient Tradition: Paul wrote Hebrews, Luke translated it:

“To sum up briefly, he [Clement of Alexandria] has given in the Hypotyposes aridged accounts of all
canonical scripture, not omitting the disputed books... He says that the Epistle to the Hebrews is the
work of Paul, and that it was written to the Hebrews in the Hebrew language; but that Luke translated it
carefully and published it for the Greeks, and hence the same style of expression is found in this epistle
and in the Acts. But he says that the words, Paul the Apostle, were probably not prefixed, because, in
sending it to the Hebrews, who were prejudiced and suspicious against him, he wisely did not wish to
repel them at the very beginning by giving his name. Farther on he says, “But now, as the blessed
presbyter said, since the lord being the apostle of the Almighty, was sent to the Hebrews, Paul, as sent
to the Gentiles, on account of his modesty did not subscribe himself an apostle to the Hebrews, through
respect for the Lord, and because being a herald and apostle of the Gentiles he wrote to the Hebrews out
of his superabundance.” (Eusebius, Church History 6.14.1-4; NPNF, vol. 1, p. 260)
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 St. Paul and
The Mystery of the New Jerusalem
The Problem of the Hebrews
1. Audience: Jewish Christians (to the “Hebrews”; Title)
2. What Problems are facing the Hebrews?
a. Christology: superiority of Christ to Angels (Heb 1-2)
b. Apostasy: from Christianity to Judaism (Heb 6:1-8)
c. Temple: attraction to Sacrifices (Heb 8:1-6; 10:1-10)
d. Law: attraction to old Covenant (Heb 10:1)
e. Persecution: shaking the faith of believers (Heb 10:32-39)
f. Jerusalem: focused on earthly Jerusalem (Heb 11-13; cf. 11:10, 16)
3. Paul’s Solution:
a. Warnings against Apostasy (Heb 10:26-31)
b. Christ Superior to Angels (Heb 1-2)
b. New/True Promised Land (Heb 4)
c. New Temple (Heb 8-9)
d. New Jerusalem (Heb 12-13)
e. Old Covenant: is “becoming obsolete and passing away” (Heb 8:13)
f. Call to Faith in “Things Unseen” (Heb 11)

The Two Temples: Earthly and Heavenly (Hebrews 8-9)

1. Christ Our High Priest (Heb 7-8:2)
a. Melchizedekian Priest (Heb 7:1-25; cf. Psalm 110)
b. Heavenly High Priest: “seated at the right hand of the throne”
c. The True “Minister” or “Liturgist” (Gk leitourgos) (Heb 8:2)
2. The Earthly and Heavenly Tabernacles (Heb 8:2-13)
a. Heavenly Tabernacle: the “true tabernacle”
b. Earthly Temple: a “copy” and “shadow” of heavenly
c. Mosaic Tabernacle: made according to heavenly “pattern” (Exod 25:40)
d. A Better “Ministry”/“Liturgy” (Gk leitourgia) and “Covenant” (Jer 31:31-33)
3. The Two Temples and the Two Ages (Heb 9:1-14)
a. Earthly Temple: symbolic for “the present age” (Heb 9:8)
b. Heavenly Temple: the “good things” of the “age to come” (Heb 9:11)
4. The New Yom Kippur (Heb 9:11-10:25; cf. Leviticus 16)
a. Christ enters into the heavenly Holy of Holies
b. He Purifies the “heavenly Temple “not made with hands” (Heb 9:23-28)
c. Old Law: a “shadow” of “the good things to come” (Heb 10:1)
d. New Covenant: the “true form of these realities” (Heb 10:1)
5. The Ascension and the New Worship (Heb 10:11-26)

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The New Jerusalem (Hebrews 12-13)
1. The Faith of the Old Testament Saints: not in the earthly Jerusalem
a. “Faith”: conviction of things “not seen” (Heb 11:1)
b. Abraham: looked forward to the “city” built by God (Heb 11:10)
c. Old Testament Saints: “strangers and exiles on earth” (Heb 11:13)
d. Destination: a heavenly “homeland” (Gk politeia) and “city” (Gk polis)
2. Three Transcendent Realities (see Hahn and Mitch, Hebrews, p. 32, n. 11:13)
a. New Land
b. New Jerusalem
c. New Temple
3. Old Testament Saints: did not receive the Reality (Heb 11:39)
4. Paul’s Encouragement to the Hebrews:
a. Run with Perseverance (Heb 12:-12)
b. Do Not Fear Trials, Discipline, or Persecution (Heb 12:3-17)
c. For We Have not Come to Mount Sinai (Heb 12:18)
5. The Old and New Jerusalem (Heb 12:19-28)
a. Prophecies of the New Jerusalem (Isa 54; 65-66; Ezek 40-48; Hag 2)
b. Contrast with Mount Sinai: things seen (cf. Exodus 19)
c. Heavenly Jerusalem: the new Mountain, Mount Zion
d. The New Jerusalem = the Unshakeable “Kingdom” of God!
6. The Eucharist and the New Creation (Heb 13:7-16)
a. The new Altar (Heb 13:10)
b. Destination: “the city which is to come” (Heb 13:14)

The Rabbis on the New Jerusalem

Thus said Rabbi Johanan: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘I will not enter the
heavenly Jerusalem until I can enter the earthly Jerusalem’. Is there then a heavenly
Jerusalem?—Yes; for it is written, “Jerusalem, thou art builded as a city that is compact
together” (Ps 122:3) (b. Taanith 5a; ed. Epstein)

If he opens [a prayer of blessing] with “Have mercy on Jerusalem,” he concludes with

“Who buildest Jerusalem.” R. Nachman, however, said: “Even if one opens with “Have
mercy on Israel,” he concludes with “Who buildest Jerusalem,” because it says, “The
Lord doth build up Jerusalem, He gathereth together the dispersed of Israel [Ps 147:2],
as if to say: “When does God build Jerusalem?—When He gathereth the dispersed of
Israel.” (b. Berakoth 49a; ed. Epstein)

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