an ever-so-brief pauline theology

In trying to “dig out” a Pauline theology, one is faced with a certain difficulty: Paul is not a theologian! He wrote no doctrinal treatises or theological statements. He did not write out a “plan of salvation” or give a discourse on the Trinity. Rather, he was a theologizer. His title was not that of a theologian—evoking images of a gray-haired man with a pointy,, ashen beard, wearing Civil War uniforms and studying dusty books in a stuffy office—but, rather, his identity was that of a missionary. He was a community-builder, one who took the gospel message of the once-crucified and now-risen Messiah into Asia Minor and beyond, and he helped establish communities of Messiah-followers. His letters are written to these communities or to individuals within the communities, and they address certain issues the people are dealing with (i.e., great immorality amongst Christians in Corinth, Jewish Christians perverting the gospel message in Galatia, a young preacher-man named Timothy being intimidated by those superiors surrounding him, etc.). None of Paul’s letters explicitly deal with theology, and even Romans—viewed by many as one of Paul’s greatest theological works—only contains theology that addresses the issue at hand: the absence of an Apostle in Rome and divisions between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. In order to deduce a Pauline theology, we must explore these texts with their rhetorical situations at the front of our minds. This is a difficult task, but wields tremendous results. As our exploration deepens, we begin to see a Pauline theology of multiple, interwoven themes: Christian identity, Christian unity, sin, salvation, and Christian ethics.

Christianity is not about living by a new set of moral teachings. Christianity is not about illuminating Jesus as a great moral example. Christianity is not about a new, updated, revised “route” to heaven. Christianity is not about a new perspective on God; people are not in need of more information on God, but, rather, they are in need of salvation, in need of rescue and renewal, in need of new life, for they [we!] are dying. Christianity is about new life in God. In experiencing this new life in God, we come to enjoy a new identity. Our identity is that of children of God (Rom 8.21), friends of God (Col 1.20-22, Rom 5.10), “in Christ” (Rom 8.1) and “in the Spirit” (Rom 5.5) Through faith, God bestows a new identity upon us. We are carried out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light (Col 1.13). Our identity means that we are 100% holy and blameless before God, and our adherence to a way of living that reflects this holy status does not make us any more or any less holy. In Christ, our identity has changed, and it is not dependent upon how we live but rather upon our coming to faith in the Messiah. In coming to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit has indwelt us, and this indwelling presence of the Spirit is that which gives us the caliber of our new identity. Christians have a new identity in Christ—from the moment we turn against God, we are God’s enemies, but through the cross, we have been reconciled to God, and we are His friends (2 Cor 5.18).

As individuals, our identity has been changed in Christ. This has huge implications on a communal and corporate level. We who are “in Christ” and “in the Spirit” are unified together as Christ’s body, the church (Col 1.24). Unity is of primary importance to Christ (John 17.23), and it is of primary importance to Paul. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul admonishes the Christians in Philippi to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. This worthy conduct is standing unified (Phil 1.27). As Christians identified by the Spirit living within us, we are to be unified as an organism in which the Spirit of God dwells. This makes sense: just as Americans are to stand united by their citizenship, so Christians are to stand united in their citizenship, their citizenship being that of children of God, friends of God, “in Christ” and “in the Spirit,” who enjoy an inheritance in the consummation of God’s unfolding story. In Philippians 1.27ff, Paul emphasizes the importance of Christians standing unified in spirit, mind, and body. It is obvious that unity is a centralized point in Paul’s theology; it is not a decentralized point as many Christians believe. Unity in the church should not be viewed as an act of ethics but as the “living-out” of our status and identity in God’s eyes. Unity reflects what is already the case: Christians are the people of God, brothers and sisters in Christ. Unity is not tangential to Christianity; rather, it is a focal point and a key aspect of the Christian faith. Even though there are many denominations and differing opinions on certain theological ideas, all Christians are to have unity in their purpose and identity in God. We need to work together for—rather than compete for—the kingdom. Unity ought not despise the various expressions of Christianity, but, rather, it should embrace them. For Christians, who have undergone a status-change in Christ, unity is essential.

One of the greatest hindrances to unity is sin. Our selfishness, greed, and indifference cause rifts, divisions, and fights within the faith. Denominations have emerged out of spiritual “nuclear wars.” A Pauline theology takes into account Paul’s theology on sin. In Rom 1.18-32, Paul identifies two types of sin: “sin in the likeness of Adam” (sin that is breaking God’s law) and “sin that brings death” (our sinful nature/wicked disposition in the heart). Paul does not bring sin down to a superficial level of do’s and don’ts. In Rom 2.16, Paul infers that at the Great Judgment, God will judge the external behaviors in accordance with the disposition of one’s hearts. The acts one has in his or her life—be they good or bad—are manifestations and a “living-out” of the disposition of the heart. The way one lives illumines the disposition in the heart, but yet it does not govern it. Paul’s approach to sin—with the emphasis on the heart—is much more rigorous and difficult than simply approaching sin as behaviors: we can train and discipline our behaviors fairly easily, but training and disciplining our inner selves is quite difficult. The heart of the Pauline theology on sin is the idea that the greatest sin is a wicked disposition towards God (a rebelling against God). In this sense, none of us can escape the clutches of sin no matter how well we discipline our lives. In our hearts, we are selfish, greedy, and indifferent towards God and others. We are, in a sense, instinctively opposed to God. This is the great sin, and one’s sinful behaviors are simply the fruit of this great sin. In Rom 2.3-10 Paul infers, in line with this theology of sin, that an evil man is not deemed evil by his actions but by his heart. An evil heart manifests evil deeds, and a good heart manifests good deeds.

Just as sin is a matter of the heart, so salvation is a matter of the heart. An incorrect reading of Rom 2.6 seems to imply that behaviors are the focus of Christianity, but when read in context, this verse simply states that deeds receive their value or currency as “good” or “bad” based upon why the person is doing the act [the disposition in the heart]. Repentance, which goes hand-in-hand with faith, is a heart-based issue. Repentance, in the strictest sense, is a change in mind (i.e. heart) that is an internal response to God. Behavior/ethics follows repentance, and good behavior is because of ethics, and good behavior finds its value in repentance. Thus those with a stubborn heart cannot come to repentance (i.e. salvation) (Rom 2.4-5).In Paul’s eyes, salvation is found in faith and faith alone (Eph 2.8), though a good biblical scholar will understand that repentance is an integral part of faith.

Ethics, one of the greatest issues in the Christian faith, is simply a “living-out” of our new identity in Christ, a reflection of our holy status before God. One who has been reconciled to God and whom is indwelt with the Holy Spirit is to pursue Christian ethics (Gal 5), and if one claims to be a Christian but does not reflect Christ at all, there is room for doubt to be raised over his or her identity. Our spiritual identity—children of God, friends of God, “in Christ,” “in the Spirit,” new creations, etc.—intersects our social identity—our identity in the eyes of the people around us. Our spiritual identity is the way God sees us and is our primary identity. Colossians 1.13-14, 21-23 explores our spiritual identity in Christ (we are members of God’s kingdom, redeemed by Christ’s blood, holy and blameless, reconciled to God). Our sin does not determine who we are; rather, our identity is determined by the presence of the Spirit living within us. Ethics ought to be viewed as the way one’s spiritual status is reflected in one’s social identity (thus a Westerner’s ethics may be radically different from a Chinese peasant woman’s ethics). In this light, ethics is not a list of do’s and don’ts stored in a vault in heaven; ethics is much more organic than that (though, it must be stated, certain ways of reflecting our spiritual identity are universal—i.e. no rape, no murder, no theft, being honest, caring, and a pursuer of justice). God’s commandments to us are all about reflecting our identity in Him. To the Jews, the Torah’s commandments existed to reflect their identity as God’s chosen covenant people. The whole “loving God and loving others” commandment that Paul speaks about (Gal 5.14) is a reflection of a Christian’s “in Christ” identity. Christian ethics is about reflecting one’s identity in Christ and the Spirit dwelling within them.

All of these themes—Christian identity, unity, sin, salvation, and ethics—are woven together in an intricate and complex web of theology, too difficult to describe in detail in one essay. In brief, Christians have a new identity (“in Christ”) that is determined by the Spirit living within them; the common denominators among Christians—being “in Christ” and indwelt by the Spirit of God—demands unity; all Christians deal with the inward sin of rebellion against God, and we must daily subordinate our own desires and interests for the desires and interests of the Spirit (this is ethics). This fresh understanding of Christian identity, salvation, sin, ethics, and unity has great influence on corporate Christian community.

Christians as a community must acknowledge that they are identified not by how well they live or by how well they resist temptation, but, rather, that their identity is defined by the presence of God’s Spirit living within them. Because of this identity that is not determined by one’s theological beliefs, Christians of every denomination need to rally together as one organic creature in order to advance God’s kingdom. Christians need to understand the role ethics plays in their lives, and they must ask every day, “Are my actions today reflective of my status in God or reflective of my sinful, crucified, defeated nature? Are my actions today in accordance with my own desires and interests, or are they in accordance with the desires and interests of the Spirit?” These are questions we must ask when it comes to ethics. Once again, I must emphasize unity, for both Christ and Paul emphasize it constantly: We must stand united. A house divided against itself will fall, but a house that is united will stand even the most perilous storms.