Session	Topic	Readings
1	Introduction to the course Religion in the Roman world	-Introduction, pp. -Web resource
2	Overview of Paul’s mission and letters	-Web resource
3	Overview of Pauline interpretation	-Chapter I, pp.
4	Toward a threefold theology of Paul	-Chapter II, pp.
5	A Threefold theology of Paul	-Chapter III, pp.
6	Dikaiosyne Theou I	-Chapter IV, pp.
7	Diakosyne Theou II	-Chapter IV, pp.
8	Pistis Christou I	-Chapter V, pp.
9	Pistis Christou II	-Chapter V, pp.
10	Soma Christou I	-Chapter VI, pp.
11	Soma Christou II	-Chapter VI, pp.
12	Group project on Paul’s theology: In view of Paul’s ministry contexts and texts (Thessalonica, Corinth, Galatia, Rome), explore and construct Paul’s theology with a focus on threefold aspect of God, Christ, and the believer.	-Chapter VII *Students can work together in each group and make post board presentation in the last class.
13	Conclusion: Paul’s theology and ethics	-Chapter VIII

 

Study/Discussion Questions

Introduction

1. What is the author’s motivation to write this book and what is the primary goal that he tries to achieve?

2. Do you think this particular way of reading Paul’s letters and understanding his theology makes sense? Explain why or why not.

3. Compare the threefold theology of Paul with the other traditional reading of Paul. What are some benefits of this threefold approach? Or, what are some weaknesses?

4. Why is it important to distinguish between the subjective genitive readings and the objective genitive readings? Example: “the righteousness of God,” “the faith of Christ,” and “the body of Christ.”

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Chapter 1: Overview of Pauline Interpretation

1. Five readings of Pauline scholarship are explained in this book: forensic salvation, social-scientific or sociological approach, New Perspective on Paul, apocalyptic theology, and ideological, political reading. Explain differences among these readings. What are some pros and cons of each reading?

2. What is the common weakness of these five readings?

3. Can the threefold theology of Paul solve the common weaknesses? If yes, in what way? If not, why not.

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Chapter II: Toward a Threefold Theology of Paul

1. Who is Paul to you? Put him in historical, cultural, religious contexts: Jewish tradition, Hellenism, Diaspora community, and first-century Jesus movement. Discuss his major contexts that he had to deal with.

2. What made him change his former way of life (persecuting Christian gatherings) so that he could become a follower of Jesus (an apostle, slave of Christ to Gentiles)? What kind of revelation did he seem to receive? What happened to him? What is wrong with him if he had to change his mind regarding his past? How has Paul’s view of God, Judaism, the messiah, or the law changed after his call?

3. Briefly explain about the law of God and the law of sin. How can sin be dead? Can Christ’s death defeat sin’s power? Or, can it be undone by human participation in Christ’s death?

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Chapter III: A Threefold Theology of Paul: God’s Righteousness, Christ’s Faith, and the Believer’s Body of Christ

1. Paul’s primary theological position is theocentric (God-centered). Do you agree to this? Read Rom 1:1-2. What is the gospel of God which concerns his Son?

2. Do Galatians, 1-2 Corinthians, and Romans contain the threefold theology of Paul? Explain how each letter addresses the threefold theological concerns raised in each community. Briefly explain each letter’s situation and the need of the threefold theology to address the problems in each community.

3. Without human participation, there will be no solution to the problems in Paul’s communities. Evaluate this position from the perspective of a threefold theology of Paul.

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Chapter IV: God’s Righteousness (Dikaiosyne Theou)

1. Explain both the subjective and objective genitive cases of “the righteousness of God.” Which one do you think Paul meant to convey in Rom 3:21-26? Relate to Paul's ministry contexts in Rome and elsewhere.

2. What is God’s righteousness (a subjective genitive) for Paul as he communicates with his audiences? Include Paul’s various contexts (Judaism and Greco-Roman world) and inter-texts (Jewish scripture and tradition).

3. Is God’s righteousness interchangeable with God’s gospel (Rom 1:2)? Explain.

4. Evaluate this following position: “For Paul, the believers have to put faith in God (not in Christ)” (for example, 1 Thess 1:8).

5. Likewise, the church is God’s, not the Christ’s (“the church of God” in 1 Cor 1:2; 10:32; 11:22; 15:9; 2 Cor 1:1; Gal 1:13). Why is this distinction important to Paul or to a threefold theology?

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Chapter V: Christ’s Faith (Pistis Christou)

1. Explain both the subjective and objective genitive cases of “the faith of Christ.” Which one do you think Paul meant to convey in Rom 3:21-26 and Gal 2:16-17?

2. Paul uses the Greek genitive case “the faith of Christ” in his seven letters. In fact, he could have used the Greek preposition “en” (in) before “Christ” if he had meant to convey the believer’s faith in Christ. Do you agree to this idea?

3. How is Christ’s faith different from Abraham’s or the believers’? What are the contents of Christ’s faithfulness shown in the world?

4. Is Christ’s faithfulness embodying God’s righteousness? In what way?

5. Why does Paul emphasize that he would proclaim only Christ crucified (1 Cor 2:2)?

6. Interpret Rom 3:22. There are three parties mentioned in one verse. Is this the good case for a threefold theology of Paul? (That is, can we understand like this: “God’s righteousness through Christ’s faith for all who have Christ’s faith”?). Similarly, can we interpret Gal 2:16 like this: “we can live righteously by Christ’s faith” because Christ showed what God wants (love and justice)?

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Chapter VI: The Believer’s Body of Christ (Soma Christou)

1. According to Paul, why did humans fail to live up to God’s law? (For example, read Rom 1-3).

2. Does the language of “cutting of a covenant,” cutting of the foreskin (circumcision), or animal sacrifices have to do with human commitment to God? Eventually, does that language have to do with submitting their hearts to God’s law?

3. What is the meaning of “the body of Christ” in 1 Cor 12:27 and Rom 7:4? Can we say that this is a subjective or an attributive genitive? Discuss and explain.

4. Where can we see Paul’s emphasis of the believer’s participation in Christ or Christ’s death?
List all of them from Paul’s texts. For example: dying with Christ; baptism into his death, “believing into Christ” in Gal 2:17 [Greek preposition "eis" (into) used here, not "en" (in)].

5. Similarly, can we interpret “you are the body of Christ” as one's association with Christ crucified? Read also 1 Cor 6:12-20. Can we find here Paul’s emphasis of Christian holism and dynamism in the sense that the holistic participation with Christ is the key to interpreting this text? See also Rom 7:4 “dying to the law through the body of Christ.” What does this mean and what Christians have to do in relation to the body of Christ?

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Chapter VII: “Imitators” (Mimetai) in 1 Cor 4:16 and 11:1: A New Reading of Threefold Embodiment

1. What different models of imitation can we identify in ancient contexts and literature?

2. What do you think Paul’s view of imitation is?

3. Why does Paul emphasize to imitate Christ (1 Cor 4:16; 11:1)? How is imitation of Christ related with God’s righteousness?

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Chapter VIII: Reading Paul Today: Convergence of Theology and Ethics

1. Summarize your learnings so far: in terms of new information about Paul, new form of critical thinking, and new ministry insights for today.

2. What relation is there between Paul's theology and ethics?

3. What is the essence of Paul's theology? What can we do if we truly understand Paul's gospel?