Scot McKnight and Joseph B. Modica, eds. The Apostle Paul and the Christian Life: Ethical and Missional Implications of the New Perspective (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), xiv + 209 Pps., $22.99.
Scot McKnight is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He has authored or edited more than fifty books. Joseph B. Modica is university chaplain and associate professor of biblical studies at Eastern University. McKnight and Modica are also coeditors of Jesus Is Lord, Caesar Is Not: Evaluating Empire in New Testament Studies (IVP, 2012). While the new perspective on Paul (NPP) has been criticized by several scholars as not being practical, the contributions to this volume beg to differ. Herein, well known scholars explicate the implications of the NPP for the Christian life and church. Corporately, they offer a response to the question, How does the apostle Paul understand the Christian life? In the Introduction, McKnight and Modica note that Krister Stendahl and E.P. Sanders were both influences on the NPP. James D.G. Dunn, whom the editors lovingly refer to as “Jimmy,” also made seminal contributions to the NPP.
Dunn, in his chapter, notes that two words stand out in Paul’s writings about the Christian life in Galatians—pistis, faith, and pneuma, spirit. In fact, pistis occurs in this letter in a higher proportion than almost any other letter in the NT, and pneuma appears more intensively in Galatians than almost anywhere else in Paul. That the Christian life is one of faith, that is, faith in Christ through the Spirit, is the primary message of Galatians. Lynn H. Cohick contributes chapter 2, and therein notes that the NPP contends that the Jews did not did not keep the Law as a pretense for salvation, but rather that following the Law demonstrated God’s election of them as his chosen people. With the NPP, Cohick stresses that we have come to understand that Christ’s work creates a new people, a new humanity of singular fellowship. Bruce W. Longenecker contributes chapter 3, and therein explores “faith works,” Paul’s theological reasoning regarding Torah observance, and Paul’s view of the moral ethos of Christian community. He notes that what Paul was ultimately fighting for when he spoke negatively about the works of the Torah was the cruciform self-giving that overthrows self-interestedness. Patrick Mitchel, in his chapter (4), writes as both a theology lecturer in pneumatology and Christology, as well as an elder within a developing church plant. In this chapter, he reviews the various concerns underlying the debate about the NPP, and thereafter explores Paul’s theological framework and inspiring vision for the Christian life as on that is “in the Spirit.” He contends that the NPP’s significance is that it has reminded us of how Paul’s gospel is a rich, integrated, and hopeful narrative structured around what God has done in Christ and the Spirit.
In chapter 5, Timothy G. Gombis argues that the focus of Paul’s reflection on the Christian life is the church, the newly created people of God made up of individuals in community by the power of the Spirit. McKnight contributes chapter 6, wherein he avers that the “old” perspective on Paul, the NPP, and the “post-new” perspective on Paul all yield a framework for understanding the Christian life, as different though they may be. He aims to radically reframe how we see our lives in this world. Tara Beth Leach discusses Wesleyan-holiness theology and church life in chapter 7. She notes that the Wesleyan-holiness emphasis on being set apart and being marked by self-denial can be illuminated by the NPP in a way that confirms its emphasis on holiness, while also pushing it to expand its emphasis into the fellowship of the church itself. N.T. Wright closes the volume with chapter 8, wherein he focuses on Paul’s missional hermeneutics. He notes that we may confidently say that Paul’s mission was hermeneutical and his hermeneutics were missional.
All in all, the strength of this volume in particular, and the NPP in general, is its emphasis on ecclesiology – life in the church (McKnight and Gombis); pneumatology – life in the Spirit (Mitchel); missiology – life in mission (Wright); Christology – life in Christ (Dunn); soteriology – life that is saved (Cohick); ethicality – life that is moral (Longenecker); and sanctification – life that is holy (Leach). It is to be read by graduate students of theology, and missionally minded individuals alike.
Bradford McCall
Holy Apostles College and Seminary