Ezra Greek Apocalypse of Ezra HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology HTA Historisch Theologische Auslegung HTR Harvard Theological Review ICC International Critical Commentary JBL Journal of Biblical Literature Jdt Judith. JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament. NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary NSBT New Studies in Biblical Theology.
RTR The Reformed Theological Review SBJT Southern Baptist Journal of Theology SJT Scottish Journal of Theology. The process of writing this thesis has been humbling and, on many levels, a sanctifying instrument in my life. Brian Vickers, who has invested in me over the years and challenged me to become a better writer.
Jarvis Williams, who provided the necessary encouragement to pursue this dissertation topic, challenged me to read Paul as a Second Temple figure and gave me thorough feedback on an initial seminar paper. And may God bless the efforts made in this thesis to reveal the unfathomable depths of his glorious wisdom in the gospel, the mystery of Christ (Rom 16:25–26).
INTRODUCTION
Brown, Mystery in the New Testament: The Semitic Background of the Term “Mystery” in the NT (Philadelphia: Fortress Press D. Munck, however, maintains that the phrase refers to the preaching of the gospel among all Gentiles. Contrary to the other interpretations of Romans 9-11, these see Paul's primary concern not with Israel's rejection of the Messiah, but with God's plan for the Gentiles.
First, the "mystery to come" (היהנזר) refers to God's rule over the history of the world. Knowledge of God's mysteries reveals not only the order of the cosmos, but also God's eschatological purposes for the world. Finally, these mysteries are eschatological in regard to the redemption of God's people, the judgment of the wicked, and the restoration of the earth.
Lightfoot, “The Structure and Destination of the Epistle to the Romans,” in Biblical Essays (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. Therefore, in the context of Psalm 97, God's righteousness is salvation on behalf of the whole earth. While in the OT, it is expected that God's righteousness revealed before the eyes of all the earth (Ps 97,3 [LXX]), Paul claims that.
Through faith in the gospel - the revelation of the hidden mystery of God - one gets a real grip on reality. There is a newness in the revelation of the justice of God in the Christ event that brings strength and works faith in the hearer. Consequently, the enthronement of the Davidic king will lead to the submission of the nations to the Son of God.
Christ became a servant not only to the Jews, but also "to the Gentiles, for the mercy of God to glorify God" (v. 9). Therefore, in quoting this Psalm, Paul sees in the Gentiles' reception in Christ the confirmation of God's covenant with Israel. First, this mystery scheme was worked out in the revelation of the person of the Christ.
Paul's use of the OT reveals a "Christological monotheism" in which Jesus is incorporated into the unique identity of the God of Israel. In particular, the hidden eschatological realities of Israel's salvation and the judgment of the wicked are made.
This two-fold purpose for retelling Israel’s story continues in Paul’s recollection of the exodus, specifically as it concerns God’s purpose in
As a revealed mystery, God's actions in the past were reimagined as prefigurations of a new historical situation. This dual purpose for the retelling of Israel's story continues in Paul's recollection of the exodus, specifically as it relates to God's purpose. 120Wright simply sees the question of God's justice as relating to his covenant promises to Israel.
Therefore, in this revelation of the glory of God, a basic characteristic is made known; namely, his freedom to bestow mercy and compassion on whomever he chooses. God's choice of Isaac and Jacob was an expression of his mercy; and no one can claim that God owes them mercy. These words were spoken to Pharaoh through Moses after the sixth plague and reveal the purpose behind all of God's great actions in redeeming Israel.
Thirdly, God's power was shown not only in mercy to Israel, but in judgment to Egypt.131 This display of power also had a purpose. In this way, God's justice is vindicated by his freedom to bring judgment and salvation to whomever he pleases. This change reflects Paul's emphasis on God's sovereignty in appointing Pharaoh for his purposes.
This last deviation from the LXX most likely reflects Paul's desire to associate God's power (δύναµις) over Pharaoh with the power (δύναµις) of God in the Gospel (cf. 1:16-17). This principle is extremely important because Paul has shown throughout the history of Israel how God accomplishes his saving purposes through a paradigm of acceptance and rejection. The same spoken word accomplishes God's purpose according to election, whether mercy or judgment.
Later, Paul will build on this foundational principle to show how it is currently unfolding through God's hardening of Israel to bring salvation to the Gentiles. By retelling Israel's story of the exodus, Paul defends any charge against God's justice of choosing some for salvation and rejecting others. The following lines reveal that Paul intends to present God's negative actions toward Pharaoh as parallel to most of Israel.
The subsequent verses reveal that Paul intends to present God’s negative actions toward Pharaoh as parallel with most of Israel. This becomes
As a result, the riches of God's glory will shine ever more brightly compared to the severity of his wrath (cf. 11:22). Second, after emphasizing God's modus operandi in the story of Israel's past, Paul is ready to show how Israel's current unbelief fits God's purposes in the present. In this way, Paul is willing to show that God's ways in the past have been summed up in the present to give hope for the future.
Therefore, as Paul explores Israel's current destiny, he does so in terms of God's purposes in Christ. In this way, Paul explains that God's word of promise to Israel is upheld. Paul's precise way of combining the two passages also emphasizes the stone as God's instrument of.
This lack of knowledge is illustrated by Israel's ignorance of God's righteousness that comes by faith (v. 3; cf. 1:16-17) and their worthless pursuit of their own righteousness. Therefore, the “righteousness of God” refers to the gift of God in a right relationship with him (cf. 9:30). At the same time, he further emphasizes Israel's ignorance of God's righteousness while explaining what Scripture actually teaches.
Paul understands the OT as a mystery of Christ, whereby the ways of God in the past have been recapitulated in the present work of Christ. Consequently, this message of faith in Christ has served as God's divine means of hardening Israel. Therefore, Paul's goal has been to explain Israel's distress in the light of God's purpose according to election (9:11).
For this reason, Israel's unbelief must be understood in terms of God's absolute sovereignty in election (cf. 9:6–23). This double character of the promise corresponds to the connection of election and rejection presented by Paul in In other words, the fact that the majority of Israel did not believe in the resurrected Christ is evidence of their hardening by God. In this passage Paul continues to argue against the idea that Israel's rejection of Christ and failure to gain righteousness constitutes the end of God.
In this section Paul continues to argue against the idea that Israel’s rejection of Christ and failure to obtain righteousness constitutes God’s final
Regarding the internal mechanism of hardening, I would say that God instilled faith in Israel that he would be saved by his works: he pursued the law οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως ἀλλ’ ὡς ἐξ ἔργων (Rom 9:32a). Because of this attitude of work-righteousness, so rooted in the consciousness of Israel, she stumbled over the stone of offense (Rom. Because of this blindness, the preached word that creates faith (cf. 10:8) cannot create faith in those Jews whose blindness God he did not remove.182.
Paul offers a threefold testimony from the law, the prophets, and the scriptures concerning the mystery of the hardening of Israel (vv. 8–10). He first confuses Deuteronomy 29:3 (LXX) with Isaiah 29:10 to emphasize God's judgmental activity in strengthening Israel.186 This confusion is not surprising since Paul has already relied heavily on these two scriptures, especially the pair of Paul 27-30.187 of Moses and Isaiah signals that he sees the two passages as mutually interpreting each other.188 Regarding Deuteronomy 29:3, it is important to note that Moses speaks of God's forbidding of Israel a heart for to know, eyes to see or ears to hear. ; while Paul reverses God's activity by actively inciting Israel with spiritual blindness (Rom 11:8). Despite this change, “the change is not drastic, as the 'hardening' for Paul represents the divine surrender of human beings to their rebellion.
