NT3—Study Paper 2007 Brendan Moar

Paul and His God

1. God is the 'Big Idea' of Paul's Theology

• qeoj is used over 500 times in the Pauline corpus.

Paul's teaching on and his teaching's dependence on God go much deeper than the
explicit references to God.
• Leon Morris said that everything in Paul is about and with reference to God.
• J.D.G. Dunn thinks that God is the presupposition of Paul's theology.

God is one of the unspoken assumptions that allow Paul to say what he says. God is in
and behind everything Paul teaches.

We need to look at what Paul's God looks like. There are three key points we need to
note:
He is the One Glorious God.
He is the Creator, Father and King.
He is the God who saves.

2. Paul's Monotheism: One Glorious God

There is one God: Paul is strictly Monotheistic. [1 Corinthians 8:4-6; Eph 4:4-6]
God is Glorious: Paul has a strong theology of Glory. He has around ½ of the NT
occurrences of glory in his corpus. Examples of his use of glory:
Rom 11:33-36 Proclaims the praiseworthiness of God
Rom 3:25 Human condition: we fall short of God's glory
Rom 5:2 Christian hope is the hope of God's glory
2 Cor 4:6; Phil 2:11 Preaching Christ brings glory to God

3. Paul's God is Creator, Father and King

3.1. God as Creator

God is the Creator [Acts 17]
There is distance between creator and the creation [Rom 1:25]
God's and his character are reflected in the creation [Rom 1]
Creation is all planned and executed by God [Eph esp. 1:3-23; 3:9-11]
Creation in, through and for Christ [Col 1:16]
God has continued activity in creation [Acts 17]

3.2. God as Father

In the OT, God is the Father of the nation of Israel. I.e., Father is used corporately.
[Ps2; Hos 11]
A characteristic address for God in the NT, especially for Jesus. Individuals call God
Father through Jesus.

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NT3—Study Paper 2007 Brendan Moar

Paul variously sees God as the Father of Jesus, Christians and all creation.
God predestines us as sons/daughters in accordance with his plan, which he delights
in working out [Eph 3, 4, 5].
We know the Father through the Son [John 1:18; John 14:6-14].

3.3. God as King and Judge

In the OT the King rules over the subjects. He has authority and responsibility.
Part of the King's responsibility is 'judging'.
As creator, God is the ruler and judge of all creation.

This notion of God as ruler and judge is integral to Pauline Theology: Sin brings
God's judgment against all humankind. [Rom 1:18-32; Eph 2:1-3]

Paul's God: The God Who Saves

Ephesians 1 and 2 clearly present God as a saving God. They present him as the only
source of salvation for humankind. Paul's interest focuses on God's love for all his
people, ultimately expressed in his saving actions. This is true of Paul generally.

Note the precision work of the saving God in Ephesians 1:

v4 God chose
v5 God predestined
v6/8 God lavished grace upon us
v9/10 God made his saving purposes known
v11 God performed and accomplished his will as he planned it

God has shown great mercy [Eph 2:4, 5], grace [2:6, 7] and kindness [2:7] in saving
us.

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