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New Studies in Biblical Theology #13
Thanksgiving: An Investigation of a Pauline Theme (Volume 13)
"Be thankful" (Colossians 3:15) is a recurring exhortation in the letters of the apostle Paul. No other New Testament writer gives such a sustained emphasis on thanksgiving―and yet, major modern studies of Paul fail to wrestle with it. David Pao aims to rehabilitate this theme in this comprehensive and accessible study, a New Studies in Biblical Theology volume. He shows how, for Paul, thanksgiving is grounded in the covenantal traditions of salvation history. To offer thanks to God is to live a life of worship and to anticipate the future acts of God, all in submission to the lordship of Christ. Ingratitude to God is idolatry. Thanksgiving functions as a link between theology, including eschatology, and ethics. Here Pao provides clear insights into the passion of an apostle who never fails to insist on the significance of both the gospel message and the response this message demands. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.
212 pages, Paperback
Published October 31, 2002
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About the author
D.A. Carson
339 books742 followersDonald A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received the Bachelor of Science in chemistry from McGill University, the Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He has written or edited about sixty books. He is a founding member and currently president of The Gospel Coalition. Carson and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two adult children.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 14, 2013
This is an excellent exploration of the theme of Thanksgiving in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Biblical thankfulness is revealed to be a key to Christ-centredness.
February 12, 2021
I decided to challenge myself with some more academically focussed books. Thanksgiving by David Pao is part of the New Studies in Biblical Theology Series which seeks to address key issues in biblical theology. The authors draw on scholarly literature but aim to write without excessive jargon. While I enjoyed the material in Thanksgiving, it wasn’t a light or quick read. I would have liked some practical illustrations of what it looks like to live a life of thanksgiving, nevertheless, Pao does an excellent job of explaining thanksgiving from the Apostle Paul’s perspective.
To some extent Pao expected his readers to have some knowledge of current research into biblical topics and how theologians understand Paul’s theology, which I didn’t, however, this didn’t distract from the content.
I appreciated Pao’s understanding that being thankful isn’t so much about saying thank you to those who do us a service or remembering past blessings, but rather an attitude which is God-centred and acknowledges God as Lord of all. Thanksgiving moves us away from focussing on ourselves and leads us into obedience to God’s will. It’s an expression of faith and a response to the immeasurable grace of God. Thanksgiving is often connected to remembering God’s faithfulness.
Pao also touches on the thought that as New Testament believers who are no longer required to offer animal sacrifices, we’re still expected to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. Paul expected the recipients of his letters, to be full of thanks because their lives had been transformed by the Gospel. When this happens it leads to more thankfulness because many will see the goodness of God in the lives of believers and respond with gratitude.
Overall a helpful read.
To some extent Pao expected his readers to have some knowledge of current research into biblical topics and how theologians understand Paul’s theology, which I didn’t, however, this didn’t distract from the content.
I appreciated Pao’s understanding that being thankful isn’t so much about saying thank you to those who do us a service or remembering past blessings, but rather an attitude which is God-centred and acknowledges God as Lord of all. Thanksgiving moves us away from focussing on ourselves and leads us into obedience to God’s will. It’s an expression of faith and a response to the immeasurable grace of God. Thanksgiving is often connected to remembering God’s faithfulness.
Pao also touches on the thought that as New Testament believers who are no longer required to offer animal sacrifices, we’re still expected to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. Paul expected the recipients of his letters, to be full of thanks because their lives had been transformed by the Gospel. When this happens it leads to more thankfulness because many will see the goodness of God in the lives of believers and respond with gratitude.
Overall a helpful read.
July 26, 2022
Have you noticed how often the Apostle Paul refers to thanksgiving in his epistles? How does this frequent theme reflect on his theology? How is Paul's thought influenced by the Old Testament, Jewish tradition, and Greco-Roman culture?
This is the 4th book I've read in the New Studies in Biblical Theology, and thus far it's my favorite. There are 57 books in this series, written by different authors.
The other three I've read usually take a chronological look at Scripture developing the book's theme, and in the final chapter the author offers practical applications. This book takes a different approach. It breaks the theme into the past, the present, and the future, and in each section looks at the foundation in the Old Testament before examining the subject in Paul's writing.
The author assumes that the Scripture gives the application. Instead of closing the book with how to carry the ideas out, he has a chapter on the positive, upbuilding topic of ingratitude, and has an appendix comparing Paul's theology to the Greco-Roman patronage model.
I did find this book uplifting, and my hunch is that this will be the first book of the series I'll reread.
This is the 4th book I've read in the New Studies in Biblical Theology, and thus far it's my favorite. There are 57 books in this series, written by different authors.
The other three I've read usually take a chronological look at Scripture developing the book's theme, and in the final chapter the author offers practical applications. This book takes a different approach. It breaks the theme into the past, the present, and the future, and in each section looks at the foundation in the Old Testament before examining the subject in Paul's writing.
The author assumes that the Scripture gives the application. Instead of closing the book with how to carry the ideas out, he has a chapter on the positive, upbuilding topic of ingratitude, and has an appendix comparing Paul's theology to the Greco-Roman patronage model.
I did find this book uplifting, and my hunch is that this will be the first book of the series I'll reread.
November 18, 2021
This installation of the New Studies in Biblical Theology series is a close study of the theme of thanksgiving in Paul's writing. Thanksgiving to Paul was central to the Christian life. "The Pauline call to thanksgiving centres on the submission of one's will in the presence of the Lord of all. . . In short, to offer thanks to God is to live a life of worship." As Pao explains it, thanksgiving ties together the two strands of theology and ethics--our understanding of who God is, as Lord of all and giver of all, and our ethical obligations to acknowledge and worship him. The book was a bit repetitive at times but still was good overall.
The danger for us is that we miss the central significance of thankfulness, and the serious sin of ingratitude, because we sentimentalize the concept. We need to guard against such a shallow view. "When thanksgiving is grounded in salvation history, the call to give thanks is no longer understood primarily in psychological terms. In an age when spirituality is defined primarily through the lens of subjective sentimentalism, and, even more fundamentally, of postmodern epistemology, the Pauline call to thanksgiving as an act of remembering God through his mighty acts provides a much needed correction in our understanding of the development of our lives in the Spirit. As a covenant people, we are to look to God as the source of all power and goodness, and we need to 'practise' acts of remembering as we move our attention away form our 'self' as the criterion of truth to what God did for us through his beloved Son."
The appendix is a nice addition as well, covering the topic the Greco-Roman patron-client network and how gratitude was viewed in that social framework. "Ingratitude does not simply reflect on the personal moral life of an individual, it is understood to affect the fundamental existence of society." He quotes Josephus: "ingratitude is something to be avoided in itself because there is nothing that so effectually disrupts and destroys the harmony of the human race as this vice. . . Homicides, tyrants, thieves, adulterers, robbers, sacrilegious men, and traitors there always will be; but worse than all these is the crime of ingratitude, unless it be that all these spring from ingratitude, without which hardly any sin has grown to great size." This may be a bit hyperbolic but it may also come closer to the severity assigned to ingratitude in Psalm 106, Psalm 78, 1 Cor 10, and other passages.
The danger for us is that we miss the central significance of thankfulness, and the serious sin of ingratitude, because we sentimentalize the concept. We need to guard against such a shallow view. "When thanksgiving is grounded in salvation history, the call to give thanks is no longer understood primarily in psychological terms. In an age when spirituality is defined primarily through the lens of subjective sentimentalism, and, even more fundamentally, of postmodern epistemology, the Pauline call to thanksgiving as an act of remembering God through his mighty acts provides a much needed correction in our understanding of the development of our lives in the Spirit. As a covenant people, we are to look to God as the source of all power and goodness, and we need to 'practise' acts of remembering as we move our attention away form our 'self' as the criterion of truth to what God did for us through his beloved Son."
The appendix is a nice addition as well, covering the topic the Greco-Roman patron-client network and how gratitude was viewed in that social framework. "Ingratitude does not simply reflect on the personal moral life of an individual, it is understood to affect the fundamental existence of society." He quotes Josephus: "ingratitude is something to be avoided in itself because there is nothing that so effectually disrupts and destroys the harmony of the human race as this vice. . . Homicides, tyrants, thieves, adulterers, robbers, sacrilegious men, and traitors there always will be; but worse than all these is the crime of ingratitude, unless it be that all these spring from ingratitude, without which hardly any sin has grown to great size." This may be a bit hyperbolic but it may also come closer to the severity assigned to ingratitude in Psalm 106, Psalm 78, 1 Cor 10, and other passages.
December 12, 2024
"Thanksgiving in Paul is an act of worship. It is not focused primarily on the benefits received or the blessed condition of a person; instead, God is the center of thanksgiving." - David Pao
Probably the first entry in the NSBT series I have to say I was slightly disappointed with. Overall, a decent introduction to the theme of "thanksgiving," although the title is a little misleading. Pao pretty much opens every chapter with a discussion of OT passages before moving to Paul. I was continually left wanting more exposition on Paul's usage and the variety of terms he uses. Related to this, I think the structure of the book could have been better. Pao essentially moves from thanksgiving in the past, to the present, then the future. I never felt like I got a decent handle on Paul's understanding of thanksgiving. Certainly some helpful information here. It could also just be that I wasn't a fan of Pao's writing style and it was slightly difficult to follow at times.
Probably the first entry in the NSBT series I have to say I was slightly disappointed with. Overall, a decent introduction to the theme of "thanksgiving," although the title is a little misleading. Pao pretty much opens every chapter with a discussion of OT passages before moving to Paul. I was continually left wanting more exposition on Paul's usage and the variety of terms he uses. Related to this, I think the structure of the book could have been better. Pao essentially moves from thanksgiving in the past, to the present, then the future. I never felt like I got a decent handle on Paul's understanding of thanksgiving. Certainly some helpful information here. It could also just be that I wasn't a fan of Pao's writing style and it was slightly difficult to follow at times.
May 7, 2022
Great book. It drips with scripture and a deep knowledge of the breadth of both Old and New Testament material. I would recommend it to anyone who is studying Paul and his theology. It's not for the faint of heart in assimilating Pao's argument.
March 1, 2022
3.5 stars
July 22, 2014
Helpful and worthwhile. A fairly quick read, although a bit dry and academicy. Calvinistic emphases are evident in the focus on covenant and the sovereignty of God. But the overall strength and value of the study is found in the author's thorough survey and discussion of thanksgiving in the Pauline Epistles, especially against the OT background. Interestingly, Luther is quoted several times from his lectures on Romans. And I was pleased to see at least some attention and consideration given to the place of thanksgiving in the Institution Narratives of the Lord's Supper; not enough, but at least it wasn't overlooked. One will hardly come to grips with the place and importance of thanksgiving in the Christian faith and life without reference to the Eucharist!
March 22, 2014
This is for the academic-minded and I found it to be well-researched and true to the Scripture. I gave it three stars because I didn't take to the writing style as well as I did with some of the others in this commentary set (e.g., Slave and Possessed - both of which are highly recommended). I also found the author to repeat much of the same message throughout the book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews