SYLLABUS

FOUNDATIONAL TEACHINGS IN PAUL'S LETTERS

Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete

WEEK I: Paul's Authority and Biography Readings: Acts 9:1-19; Philippians 3:4-10; Galatians 1:1-2, 11-24; 2:20; 1 Timothy 1:8-12; Philippians 1:7, 12-13; Colossians 4:3; 2 Corinthians 11:1-33; 12:1-6, 9-10. WEEK II: Christology Readings: Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9; Philippians 2:5-11. WEEK III: The Doctrine of Reconciliation and Predestination Readings: 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, 21; Romans 5:6-11; 8:3, 34, 28-30; 1 Timothy 2:5-7; Ephesians 1:3-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13. WEEK IV: Faith Part 1 Readings: 1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 10-13; 10:25-29; Galatians 2:3, 11-13, 15-17; 4:10; 5:2, 3, 12; 6:12; Romans 4:1-8; 1:17; 3:20-25; Titus 3:3-8; Philippians 2:12-13. WEEK V: Faith Part 2 Readings: Galatians 3:6-14; James 2:14-26. WEEK VI: The Life of the Spirit Readings: Galatians 5:13-25; Romans 7:7-25; 8:1-4; 12:9-21; 13:8-10. WEEK VII: Old Self/New Self Readings: Colossians 3:5-17; Ephesians 4:22-5:2, 8-14; Titus 1:5-9; 2:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24; 2 Timothy 2:22-26. WEEK VIII: Love Readings: Romans 5:9-10; 8:31-32; 5:1, 11; 5:5; 8:37-39; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. WEEK IX: Sin Readings: Romans 8: 1-17; 7:7-25; 6:1-2, 12-13; 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:1-10; Romans 6:1-2, 12. WEEK XI: Women in Early Christianity Readings: Romans 16:1-2, 3, 6, 12; Philippians 4:2-3; Colossians 4:15; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 2 Timothy 4:19.

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FOUNDATIONAL TEACHINGS IN PAUL'S LETTERS

CONTENTS

WEEK I: Paul's Authority and Biography .......................................................................... 1 WEEK II: Christology ......................................................................................................... 3 WEEK III: Reconciliation and Predestination .................................................................... 5 WEEK IV: Salvation by Faith Part 1 .................................................................................. 7 WEEK V: Salvation by Faith Part 2 ..................................................................................... 9 WEEK VI: The Life of the Spirit ....................................................................................... 11 WEEK VII: Putting off the Old Self/Putting on the New Self …....................................... 13 WEEK VIII: Love .............................................................................................................. 15 WEEK IX: Sin .................................................................................................................... 17 WEEK X: Women in Early Christianity ............................................................................ 19

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WEEK I

PAUL'S AUTHORITY AND BIOGRAPHY

The Apostle Paul was crucial to the spread of Christianity all over the Mediterranean region. His place in the history of the Christian Church is unparalleled by other Apostles--at least so we can infer from his letters.

But aside from spreading the gospel message among the gentiles, his preserved letters have provided Christianity with some of its most powerful doctrines and teachings. Paul was a preacher, and most of his letters are arguments in the style of Cynic/Stoic philosophy. So Christianity, particularly Protestant Christianity, has drawn on Paul's letters to construct doctrines about who Jesus was, and how the process of salvation comes to Christians. If we are not interested in what Paul said for our own religious edification, we should interest ourselves in Paul due to the powerful influence he has had on the history of Christian thought.

We will look at Paul from a Swedenborgian perspective. As a Swedenborgian, I am interested in truth wherever I find it. Although one can find disparaging passages in Swedenborg's writings about Paul, we need not assume prejudice against Paul ourselves. As countless Christians affirm, in Paul there is much beauty and truth. We will attempt to be a fair reader of Paul and to Swedenborg. When we find doctrinal opposition, we will lay out both sides of the argument. In this way, one will be able to see how and where Swedenborg's theology differs from Paul.

In this course we will attempt to give Paul his own voice. This is more difficult than may be imagined. Paul's letters are addressed to specific communities, usually in response to specific problems that arose in the early Christian churches in the Mediterranean region. Paul did not sit in a study and write out systematic theology. He attempts to pacify dissentions, persuade dissenters, and argue against theological opponents. So we often find in Paul what appear to be contradictions. Manifest contradictions.

Nevertheless, Paul may be more consistent than he appears. It is due to the way the Christian church has interpreted Paul that he appears to contradict himself. This is seen largely in relation to the subjects of Grace, Atonement, Works and the Law. We will look at these doctrines in subsequent lessons.

But who was Paul? And what credentials did Paul have to carry the gospel message and preach it to the gentiles?

Paul started life as an Orthodox Jew. In fact, he belonged to the scribal group called Pharisees. Paul was a zealous Jew and from good lineage. As he describes himself, he was "a Hebrew of Hebrews" (Philippians 3:5). He was from the tribe of Benjamin, which was one of the two remaining tribes after the many conquerors that came through Israel. Paul tells us also that he was as zealous in persecuting Christians as he was in following the Law of Moses.

Paul underwent a momentous conversion experience. On his way to Damascus, Paul saw a blinding heavenly light and he fell to the ground. He heard Jesus' voice, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" When he arose, he found himself blind. Paul is told to

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go to the home of a certain Ananias. Ananias heals Paul's vision and Paul, converted to Christianity, is baptized.

Paul claimed to have been taught the Gospel directly by Jesus. The gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12).

He claims to be called to preach the gospel to the gentiles. And his travels take him all over the near east, Asia Minor, and even to Macedonia, Greece, and Rome.

His preaching brought him in conflict at times with Jewish Christians. In the early years of Christianity, the majority of Christians were practicing Jews. An early debate arose as to whether gentiles had to convert to Judaism and practice the Law before they could become Christians. Paul argued vehemently against this doctrine, and as the Apostle to the gentiles, Paul saw them as free from the law by the blood of Christ.

So in Paul we have numerous tirades against observing the law, and about salvation by faith and grace. In the history of Christianity, this has been interpreted to mean that Paul teaches that we don't need to do good works to be saved. "A man is not justified by observing the law but by faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:15). I think that Paul does not include all good works in statements like this, but he means specifically those minute prescriptions that the Pharisees came up with as ways of observing the law of Moses. We will examine this debate in greater depth in Weeks IV and V.

His preaching brought Paul into conflict with the Roman authorities. There are brief statements from Paul about being in chains for the sake of the gospel. Rather than cause him embarrassment, Paul suffers willingly for the sake of the gospel. In one passage, he says that even the prison guards are becoming converted to the gospel.

The churches founded by Paul were vulnerable to threats from individuals who put themselves above the Gospel message. There were strict Jews, who wanted Christians to follow their ways. There were "super apostles" who seemed to have special gifts and dispensations from God. Against these, Paul bragged about being humble and God's fool. He talks about all the embarrassments he endured for the sake of the gospel, turning the arguments of the "super apostles" and Judaising Christians upside down (2 Corinthians 11-12).

There is little reliable history that tells us how Paul died. The book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome. There he continued preaching. Tradition holds that Paul's martyrdom was at the hand of Nero who beheaded the great prophet to the gentiles.

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WEEK II

CHRISTOLOGY

As I have said before, Paul was not a systematic theologian. His letters are usually arguments against divisive issues in the churches he had founded. So we do not have a systematic development of who Jesus was. Paul is more interested in saying how Jesus functions to save us than he is in talking about the nature of Jesus.

But there are passages in which Paul mentions the nature of Jesus almost in passing, while treating other issues. Colossians 1:15-20 is one such place. There we have almost a unitarian view of Jesus. Jesus is "the image of the invisible God." Here, we find the passage Swedenborg cites to explain his own view of the trinity. Colossians 1:19 says that, "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him." And more specifically, Colossians 2:9 says, "In Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily." I take this to mean that Jesus is the physical incarnation of the infinite God.

Paul, though, claims that the Person of Jesus, the Second Person of the trinity, existed from all time with the Father. "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Col. 1:17). Paul also says that Jesus created all things, "By him all things were created." This doctrine is currently held by most Christians, namely that creation was effected by the Second Person of the Trinity. We find this teaching in the Nicene Creed, to which most Christian Churches assent:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Paul also here, and in Ephesians 5, uses the image of the human body to talk about our relationship to Jesus. He states that Christ is the head and the church is the body.

Swedenborg finds the idea that Jesus existed before creation problematic. He says that Jesus didn't exist until He was born of Mary. God did have a humanity--the Divine Humanity--but God was not incarnated in the flesh as Jesus until His birth on Christmas.

There is a beautiful hymn to Jesus in Philippians 2. It appears to originally been a hymn to Wisdom. Everyone in the Greek world knew of Wisdom as a woman--Lady Sophia. Yet the hymn to Jesus is playful with that idea. The writer calls specific attention to the idea that Jesus as wisdom was a Man!

Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man (italics mine).

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At the conclusion of the hymn, we find language identifying Jesus with Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. In Greek, Jesus is called "Lord" which is how the Israelites spoke of Yahweh, since the actual name of Yahweh was considered too holy to utter.

at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

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WEEK III

RECONCILIATION AND PREDESTINATION

There are several terms for the doctrine of reconciliation. It is sometimes called intercession and also justification. The doctrine of reconciliation is strongly emphasized in Protestant Christianity, but recently an encyclical has been put forth by the Catholic Church stating that there is essential agreement between the Catholic and Lutheran doctrine of justification.

The doctrine of justification, or reconciliation, requires a strong articulation of the trinity. That is, the doctrine of reconciliation requires that God the Father and God the Son be two separate persons. This doctrine states that God was angry with the human race because of human sin. Jesus “intercedes” on our behalf and calms the Father down. Jesus thus “reconciles” God to sinful humans.

When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possible dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ dies for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Romans 5:6-10).

We find this idea of intercession in Romans 8 also. It is brought up in a wide reaching discourse on sin, the law, life in the spirit, and intercession. After Paul has condemned himself for the sin he does, he talks about Jesus sitting at the right hand of God and interceding for him.

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. . . . Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Romans 8:3, 34). Another way of saying this is to say that Jesus bore our sins on the cross. So the

sins of the whole human race were put on Jesus, and Jesus was sacrificed on the cross the way animals were sacrificed in the Jewish temple. By taking on the sins of the whole human race, Jesus “reconciled” God the Father to humanity. So Paul will say, “God made him who had no sin [Jesus] to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). By taking our sin upon us, Jesus reconciled us to God,

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled himself to us through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them (2 Cor. 5:17-19).

The doctrine of predestination is also woven into the fabric of justification doctrines. Predestination means that God has already decided whom He will save and whom He will damn. Those whom God will save are called the “elect”. There is nothing a person can do to change one’s fate. So the doctrine of predestination denies free will.

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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son . . . And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified (Romans 8:28-30).

The doctrine teaches that God saves and damns according to His own pleasure and will. No one and no amount of effort can make a person godly or ungodly—it is all God’s work, not a person’s. We see the doctrine of predestination presented in conjunction with Christ’s blood sacrifice, taking our sins away,

He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will . . . In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us . . . In him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will (Ephesians 1:4-5, 7, 11).

For Swedenborg there are grave problems with the doctrines of reconciliation and predestination. First, God dwells in Christ bodily, so they are one Person. Jesus cannot intercede with the Father because they are intimately one. Second, no one’s sins can be transferred to someone else. So our sins cannot be placed on Jesus to be carried and atoned for. We are responsible for our own good and evil. True, God gives us the power to resist evil and do and love good, but we are the ones who take action to form the image of Christ in our hearts. Third, there can be no predestination. Swedenborg calls the doctrine of predestination a “cruel heresy.” God is all love and mercy, God could never predestine someone to hell. Furthermore, Swedenborg teaches a robust doctrine of free will. We are free to choose good or evil. God guards our freedom zealously. Only in freedom can we make life choices that remain with us. And only in freedom can we love God as of ourselves. If predestination were possible, everyone would be predestined to heaven. God wishes to give heaven’s blessings, joy, and happiness to everybody.

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WEEK IV

SALVATION BY FAITH, PART 1

It is in Paul's letters that we find the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. According to this doctrine, we are not saved by doing good, but by believing. Our faith that Jesus died for our sins is what saves us.

This is the doctrine that finally set Luther apart from Catholicism, and this doctrine ushered in the Protestant revolution. Catholicism taught that doing good such as going to church, confessing our sins and receiving absolution, taking holy communion, going on pilgrimages, fasting, and doing other works gave us the grace that saves. Luther argued that none of these "works" save us, but only faith that Jesus died for our sins. Luther found this doctrine in Paul.

It certainly is in Paul. But there are problems when one tries to claim that Paul opposes all forms of good works. There are many passages in which Paul affirms good acts, which he calls "fruit of the Spirit" or "living by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22, 25). (We will look at this idea in Week VIII.) In terms of doing good and its relationship to salvation, Paul is ambiguous. He can be read either way. Then the issue of doing Jewish rituals comes into the picture. It seems that in many cases, perhaps most cases, when Paul eschews works he is referring to the rituals of Judaism. In early Christianity, most Christians were Jews. Being Jews, they performed Jewish rituals like circumcision, observing certain festivals of the Jewish calendar, eating kosher food, and the like. Recall from Week I that Paul was an Apostle to the Gentiles. By Gentiles, Paul meant those who weren't Jews, i.e., Greeks and Romans and others in the region of the Mediterranean. The Jewish Christians would come to churches Paul had founded and urge the members to adopt Jewish ways, or in other words, to practice the works of the Law of Moses. Paul's great plea was that Christ liberated us from the works of the Mosaic Law, and that we don't need to practice Jewish rituals to be Christians. So taken in this context, Paul's tirades against works seem mostly to be against works of the Jewish Law (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 10-13; 10:25-29; Galatians 2:3, 11-13, 14, 4:10; 5:2, 3, 12; 6:12). Given these considerations, a doctrine of faith alone cannot be conclusively drawn from Paul. Paul is ambiguous on this issue. Furthermore, it appears that in large part, when Paul talks about works, he is talking about rituals of the Jewish Law of Moses.

Be that as it may, it is a hallmark of most mainstream Protestant churches that we are saved by faith alone. Let us consider some of Paul's words to that effect. In considering this issue, we need bear in mind some of last week's issue of reconciliation. The whole doctrine of faith alone depends on the doctrine of reconciliation. We are saved by faith because Christ died for our sins, blotting them out.

To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are they

whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man

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whose sin the Lord will never count against him (Psalm 32:1, 2, in Romans 4:5-8).

Luther relied profoundly on the letter to the Galatians for his doctrine that faith alone justifies. In Galatians, that idea is clearly stated--perhaps! One can think that it is clearly stated depending on how one interprets the language about works of the law. To me, Paul is clearly referring to rituals of kosher, festivals, circumcision, and other aspects of Jewish Christians. How do you read the following?

We who are Jews by birth and not "Gentile sinners" know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:15-16).

To me, this passage is clearly about following the prescriptions of Jewish purity laws and other rituals, not about all good deeds.

Titus 3 is a good example of just how ambiguous Paul can be on the subject of faith and works. He begins a paragraph looking like he is going to be talking about faith alone, only to end by talking about doing good:

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. . . . But when kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy . . . so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. . . . And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good (Titus 3:3-5, 7-8).

Swedenborg wrote a good deal against the idea that faith alone could save a person. He compares it to winter light, which may be bright, but is cold. Faith alone lacks the love that prompts a person to do good to his or her neighbor. For Swedenborg, the perfect marriage of faith and charity, or truth and good is what makes a person live spiritually.

He draws this doctrine from his understanding of what God is. For Swedenborg, God is the perfect marriage of Love and Wisdom. Anything good we do and anything true we think and speak is God in us doing the good and think the truth. So if we are to have God in our hearts and minds, then we need both love and wisdom in us, good and truth, charity and faith. Swedenborg would probably like Paul's advice to the Philippians:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed . . . continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:12-13).

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WEEK V

SALVATION BY FAITH, PART 2

We have a literary account of the debate surrounding faith and works. That debate can be found in Galatians 3:6-14 (Paul) and James 2:14-26. It is clear from the texts that James has read Paul's letter to the Galatians and his own letter is a rebuttal of Paul.

In arguing for faith apart from works of the law, Paul makes much of a line from the story of Abraham. God promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars. We then read, "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). Abraham believing is the emblem of all believers. Righteousness will be credited to all who believe, not by any effort of their own,

After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? . . . Consider Abraham: "He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scriptures foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:6-9).

James is aware of this letter, and references it in his own letter. However, James uses the story of Abraham as an argument for works. James says that Abraham is considered righteous because of what he did, not for what he believed. The story to which James refers is the sacrifice of Isaac. In that story, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son by Sarah, Isaac. Abraham obeys God, but at the last moment, a ram is sacrificed instead of Isaac. So James says,

Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone (James 2:21-24).

James has his own arguments about works. It is in James that we find the famous line that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). His arguments are plain enough, and do not require explanation. In fact, they strike me as self-evident:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:14-17).

James does not deny that faith is necessary. His argument is against faith alone as sufficient for salvation. James wants both faith and actions, "His faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did" (2:22).

Swedenborg favors James in this debate. As we saw last week, Swedenborg wants a marriage of faith and charity, wisdom and love. As I said last week, Paul is

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ambiguous on this issue. It may be that Apostles like James had an influence on Paul, since there are many places where Paul praises the life of the Spirit and all manner of good feelings and deeds. We will look at some of these passages next week.

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WEEK VI

THE LIFE OF THE SPIRIT

Paul does indeed talk in many places about doing good deeds. These are "fruits of the Spirit." Those who claim that faith saves, often say that the fruit of belief is good works. However one interprets this theologically, Paul claims that life in Jesus produces virtuous living.

One way Paul discusses the fruits of the Spirit is to contrast them with deeds of "the flesh." He says that the deeds of the flesh are contrary to the deeds of the Spirit. he even talks about a kind of struggle in which "you do not do what you want,

The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want (Galatians 5:17).

Paul lists the various deeds that correspond to deeds of the Spirit and those of the flesh: Do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another in love . . . The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:13, 19-23).

In this sermon, Paul uses the image of the crucifixion not to talk about justification but in terms of personal responsibility. We have crucified the flesh, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24). But crucifying the flesh does not seem to be easy. it is not just done in an instant upon conversion to Christianity. There is a well-known passage in Romans in which Paul struggles against what he does not want to do,

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good. . . . I do not understand what I do. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do. . . . For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this is what I keep on doing (Romans 7:12, 15, 18-19).

This idea of trying to do what is good, but falling short becomes confused with life of the Spirit and with Christ as the sacrificial lamb, who takes away our sins.

Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1-4).

Paul sums up the life of the Spirit in the same way the Jesus does--the law of love. While we have seen Paul denounce bondage to the law, he seems quite willing to refer to it positively when it fits his theological purposes, "Serve one another in love. The entire law

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is summed up in a single command, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Galatians 5:14). Paul says this in many places, such as Romans 12, "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love" (10). Or in Romans 13,

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal, "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." . . . Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:8-9, 10).

We see that Paul commends good works to us. Faith alone is not sufficient for the Christian's life. We can get into theological fine points as to whether good deeds do the saving or whether it is faith that saves and good deeds follow faith. Some do, including Swedenborg. But Paul is clear enough. Love, joy, peace, kindness, and self-control are all part of the Christian life and commended by Paul.

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WEEK VII

PUTTING OFF THE OLD SELF/PUTTING ON THE NEW SELF

A new self comes with conversion to Christianity. Paul talks about this as putting off the old self and putting on the new self. In this he uses the crucifixion of Jesus as a metaphor for us. We are to put to death the old self and renew ourselves in the image of our Creator.

Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin . . . Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires (Romans 6:3-6, 11, 12)

When we have Christ Jesus in our hearts, we are no longer the same people we were. We were immersed in darkness, now we take on deeds of light.

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what is pleasing to the Lord (Ephesians 5:8-10).

When Paul talks about these two selves, his discussion is solidly grounded in works. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. . . . You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge in the image of its Creator. . . .

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience . . . And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:5, 7-10, 12, 14).

Paul can admonish us to do these good things, because it is not our own power doing them. It is Christ dwelling in our hearts that is doing the good in us. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . . Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:15, 16).

Urging us to put to death our old self and to renew our self in the image of Christ, Paul teaches what such a person’s soul will look like. Similarly to the Greek moral philosophers, Paul lists catalogues of virtues that Christians will adopt. He has differing lists for gender and for the different stages in life we pass through. Older men are told to, "be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance" (Titus 2:2). Older women have virtues of their own--among which appears to be the education of younger women,

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teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. They can then train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, and to be subject to their husbands (Titus 2:3-5).

In this passage, we see the subordination of women to men that Paul teaches in other letters, according to Greek custom (cf. Ephesians 5:22-33).

We are to teach young men by our own example, not by empty words, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned (Titus 2:6-8).

In Titus 2 we also find the unfortunate teaching to slaves. They are told to remain subject to their masters,

Teach Slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted (Titus 2:9-10).

It is true that these teachings from Titus are from a letter that can be considered a deuteron-Pauline letter. In later generations of Christianity, it may be that the drive for church order led teachers to try to codify behavior. Perhaps these are not teachings Paul himself would embrace.

Paul's teachings about putting off the old self and putting on the new self, and his moral teachings are all summed up in his own words, "Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5: 21-22). This letter is an authentic Pauline epistle.

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WEEK VIII

LOVE

We find Paul ambiguous in regard to love, too. Paul can paint a picture of God's wrath at the human race for our sins. And he can also talk about God's fathomless love who sent His only Son to atone for our sins. But he is much more consistent in the realm of human love. Here, Paul seems unequivocal in commending love to us for the unity of the church and as the sum of the law.

Paul is capable of contradictions within one chapter of the book of Romans. In book 5, Paul talks about God's wrath,

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Romans 5:9-10)

In Paul's doctrine, God loved the human race so much that He sent His only Son to die and innocent death for us.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things (Romans 8:31-32).

However we are to understand our relationship to the Father, or His relationship to humanity, Paul seems to want to say that our hope is solely in Jesus. In Jesus we find the object of our love and God's love expressed. It is Jesus who interceded with the Father for us. And it is through Jesus that we have peace with the Father,

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. . . . We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5:1, 11).

God pours His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5). Paul talks about our love for God, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28). But Paul seems to especially want to reserve love for Jesus, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ." Perhaps the idea of God's love is in Paul's understanding of the trinity. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three Persons with One Essence, so perhaps it is all three persons who work together in some kind of formula that makes God love us?

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God than is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

Swedenborg takes issue with several of these ideas. He would agree with those statements in Paul in which it is said that God loves the human race. But he would take issue with the places where Paul says that God has wrath for humanity. God's love is infinite for the whole of humanity.

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The Lord imputes good to every person, but hell imputes evil to every person. That the Lord imputes to man good and not evil, while the devil (meaning hell), imputes evil is a new thing in the church; and it is new for the reason that in the Word it is frequently said that God is angry, takes vengeance, hates, damns, punishes, casts into hell, and tempts, all of which pertain to evil, and therefore are evils. But . . . the Lord is never angry, never takes vengeance, never hates, damns, punishes, casts into hell, or tempts, consequently does evil to a person (TCR 650).

Swedenborg argues this point with no little zeal, it can be seen how deluded those are who think, and still more those who believe, and still more those who teach, that God can damn any one, curse any one, send any one to hell, predestine any soul to eternal death, avenge wrongs, be angry, or punish. He cannot even turn Himself away from humanity, nor look upon anyone with a stern countenance (TCR 56).

Finally, Swedenborg would take exception with the traditional doctrine of the trinity. For Swedenborg God is one Person. Jesus is the body of the Creator God who lives in Jesus as the soul in the body of humans. The Holy Spirit is God's influence shining forth to humanity.

We have seen in previous chapters how Paul commends love to the people in his churches. Since we have preserved Paul's letters in the New Testament, we now hold these teachings for all Christians. Paul has left humanity with perhaps the most enduring and beautiful statement of love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). It comes from an unfortunate context, however. Paul is discussing spiritual gifts. The gifts he talks about are working miracles, speaking in tongues, prophesy, helping others, church administration (!) and healing. Here, Paul is very diplomatic. He commends those who have gifts. But he subordinates all these gifts to love (charity). Though one can speak "in the tongues of men and angels" but have not love one is "only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." And so with prophesy, giving to the poor and martyrdom, and faith. These only have meaning if the person possessed of these gifts has also love. Then Paul discusses the very nature of love (1 Corinthians 13:4-12). he concludes with a flourish that encapsulates his whole wonderful sermon: "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).

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WEEK IX

SIN

Paul speaks of sin is two ways: personal and universal. Personal sin means the various deeds, emotions, and thoughts we do as persons. Universal sin is passed on from human to human all the way back to Adam who first sinned. We inherit this universal sin at conception, long before we think or do anything. It is a condition of humanity that we have this "original sin" in us from Adam.

We have seen Paul talk about personal sin. We have looked at Paul's lists of "deeds of the flesh." In Romans, Paul says that it is the very Ten Commandments that bring sin. The Ten Commandments tell us what sin is, and we become conscious of our sins.

I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what it was to covet if the law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. . . . Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died (Romans 7:7-8, 9).

As we have seen, in some places, Paul says that we are saved by grace, not by any works we do. We will consider these passages again just below. But in the context of personal sin, Paul also says that we will not let sin rule in our bodies when we have been raised up alive in Christ Jesus.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? . . . Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:1-2, 12-13).

So Paul speaks of personal sin. When we consider universal sin, or original sin, all the doctrines of justification,

faith, grace, and intercession come into play. For it is through Christ's sacrifice on the cross that original sin is cancelled. Sin and death came into the world through Adam's original sin of eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The consequence was expulsion from the garden and death. Paul means real, physical death in this context, not spiritual death. We would live on earth for ever had Adam not sinned and brought death to humanity.

Original Sin and death came into the world through one man, Adam. And salvation from sin and eternal life came through one man, Christ Jesus:

Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, . . . But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many transgressions and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through

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that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men (Romans 5:12, 15-18).

It is difficult to see what context Paul locates grace in. But whether it be personal sin or original sin, there are places in Paul where unmerited grace is what saves us. These are places where Paul says that we are saved by grace and by no effort of our own.

It is by grace you have been saved. . . . And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:5, 6-9).

This statement is from a deutero-Pauline letter, and was not written by Paul himself, but by his followers. Nevertheless, it is a foundational doctrine in most Protestant churches that we are saved by grace, and not by any effort of our own. But when we consider Paul's own words, it is clear that we have works to do in resisting sin,

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? . . . Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires (Romans 6:1-2, 12). Again, we see that Paul is ambiguous on the works/grace/faith question. We find

works called for and there is no denying that there are places in which Paul claims that we are saved by grace apart from works. And Paul is ambiguous in the idea of sin. Apparently, we need Christ’s atoning sacrifice to save us from original sin. But we are also responsible for personal sins we commit. As I heard one Baptist preacher put it, there is Sin (original sin) and there are sins (personal transgressions).

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WEEK 10

WOMEN IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY

Despite the subordinate role allotted to women in Classical society, and as it appears in Ephesians 5 and Titus 2:3-5, in early Christianity it seems that women play a significant role. Many of Paul's letters include the mention of women's names in his opening and closing addresses.

Women can receive very high spiritual status. For instance, Phoebe in Cenchrea is called a saint. She seems to have a ministry of her own. Priscilla and Aquila have a church that meets in their house. Mary is working hard for the church in Rome. Likewise Tryphena and Tryphosa are women who work hard for the church, as well (Romans 16:1-2, 3, 6, 12).

Euodia and Syntyche are women who have worked side-by-side with Paul (Philippians 4:2-3).

Nympha has a church in her house (Colossians 4:15). Despite these powerful women in the early Christian church, in 1 Timothy, Paul

subordinates women below men. They are not allowed to teach and they are to be submissive (2:9-14).

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