32 Questions
Tom Wright suggests that Romans is the easiest epistle to start with when reading Paul
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One of the Corinthian epistles is considered a Masters' level epistle, according to Wright.
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Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans to a community he knew and loved deeply
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Tom Wright recommends starting with One Thessalonians to understand Paul's writings
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Philippians is an epistle that Tom Wright considers hard to understand
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Tom Wright thinks that Romans is the most accessible epistle for beginners
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Ephesians is one of Tom Wright's favorite epistles
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Tom Wright suggests that the context of the epistle is irrelevant to understanding Paul's writings
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Paul's conversion occurred on the road to Jerusalem.
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A bright light and a voice from heaven are characteristic of a theophany.
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Paul was persecuting God before his conversion.
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The Hebrew resonance of the word 'Lord' is related to the significance of the emperor in the period.
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Paul's new vocation was to critcise the Jewish law.
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Paul's understanding of his vocation was that Christ was no longer relevant to his life.
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The Jewish law remained at the centre of Paul's life after his conversion.
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Paul's frustration with the Corinthian community stems from their inability to comprehend the significance of his teachings.
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The new creation has fully replaced the old creation in the world.
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The language of 'groaning' in Romans 8 refers to the longing for the fulfillment of God's promises.
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According to Paul, the Sadducees believed in life after death.
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The Corinthians were living as though the old creation had absolute power over them.
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The exodus from Egypt is an example of the old creation replacing the new.
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The resurrection of Jesus is seen as the end of the old creation.
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Paul believed that with Jesus's resurrection, the end times had broken into the present moment.
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The Corinthians were open to Paul's vision of the world to come.
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The new creation is fully realized in the world.
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Paul's writing in 2 Corinthians is characterized by his frustration with the Corinthian community.
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In Paul's theology, the old creation and the new creation exist separately with no overlap.
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Paul believed that the world to come would be a completely new beginning, with no connection to the old creation.
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The idea of the overlap of the old and new creations is unique to Paul's theology.
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For Paul, Christians live only in the new creation, and not in the old creation.
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Paul believed that the old creation would continue indefinitely alongside the new creation.
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Paul saw no challenge in living between the old and new creations.
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Study Notes
Understanding Paul's Writings
- When reading Paul's epistles, it's essential to start with the easier ones like Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, or 1 Thessalonians, rather than Romans, which is considered more complex.
- Romans is like a Master's level epistle, and it's not recommended to start with it, as it has big theology and complex ideas that can be hard to engage with.
Paul's Conversion on the Damascus Road
- Paul's conversion on the Damascus Road was a dramatic event that changed his life and understanding of God.
- On his way to Damascus, Paul was doing what he thought God wanted him to do, maintaining the purity of the Jewish faith.
- A bright light flashed, and a voice from heaven spoke to Paul, saying "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
- Paul's response, "Who are you, Lord?", showed his confusion, as he thought he was defending God, not persecuting Him.
- The word "Lord" has different resonances, including the Hebrew resonance, which is significant in this context.
The Significance of Christ
- Paul's encounter on the Damascus Road made him understand that he needed to defend Christ, not persecute Christians.
- This realization changed his life, gave him a new vocation, and a new sense of self-definition.
- Christ is at the center of Paul's theology, and this understanding has a knock-on effect on everything else he says.
The End Times and the New Creation
- Paul believes that the end times have broken into the present moment with Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
- Jesus' resurrection is a marker that the resurrection has already happened, and the future is now happening in people's lives.
- The old creation and the new creation overlap, and Christians live in a world informed by both.
- This theme is important in 2 Corinthians, particularly in 2 Corinthians 5, where it says "if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation."
Balancing the Old and New Creations
- Christians live in a world where the old and new creations exist simultaneously.
- They have to balance the recognition of the now (the new creation) with the not yet (the old creation).
- This balancing act is part of the Christian existence, where they experience glimmers of the world as it might be, alongside the reality of how the world is now.
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