Paul's Divine Christology

by Chris Tilling

Did Paul teach that Jesus was divine and should be worshiped as such? How should this be viewed in relation to Jewish and Jewish-Christian monotheism? The debate over these and related questions has been raging in academic circles -- but it also has profound implications for church practice.In this book Chris Tilling offers a fresh contribution to the long-running debate on whether or not Paul's Christology is divine. Refocusing the debate on the exegetical data and reengaging more broadly with the sweep of themes in Paul's letters, Tilling's innovative contribution is one that cannot be ignored."

Genres: New Testament, Biblical Studies, Christianity, Theology

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, Tilling did a fantastic job of wading through the scholarly discourse on a well contested subject--whether and how Christ might have been thought Divine by the earliest Christians. Truly, his breadth of engagement with a broad swath of scholarship, and his charity to others even in disagreement, award him 3 Stars automatically. More importantly, his argument throughout is thoroughly convincing, if redundant at points, which awards him the final 2 Stars. This is not to say that Tilling was infallible, and I believe three areas could make Tillings argument stronger: 1) an understanding of how relations were conceived in the 1st Century Mediterranean {Tilling defaults to a broad, contemporary definition of relation, that does not sufficiently comprehend the particularities of tenor relations in the ancient world}; 2) a more thorough study of Paul's contemporaries [e.g. Philo, Josephus, Luke, etc.] and whether this pattern of God-relation really could have been recognized in the first Century {for that matter--what does Tilling mean by pattern? I get the sense he means ubiquitous presentations of the same info, but I cannot be certain}; and 3) a more systematic comparison of the Christ- and God- relations in Paul [and his contemporaries]. I will probably forever be attempting to understand the Afterword, which engages Systematics, something that has always baffled me. But, it doesn't detract from the very convincing argument of the main portion of the book.

[Timothy Bertolet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book exploring Paul's Christology. It interacts with current scholarship. Tilling points out some of the weaknesses in recent treatments by Gordon Fee and Richard Bauckham, to put to a few. He also responds critics that Paul had a "divine Christology." His unique contribution to the field his to show how Paul adapts the God-Israel relationship of the OT (and found in Second Temple Judaism) into a Christ-church relationship, putting Christ on the "God-side" of the relationship. He also has a very helpful treatment of the Son of Man in Enoch, responding to arguments that it was a deified/worshipped human.

It's a very good book and should be read by those interested in Pauline studies, Christology, and NT theology in general.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-argued case for a Pauline divine Christology. Anyone who wishes to deny that Paul thought of the Lord Jesus Christ as divine will need to confront the arguments in this book.