James D. G. Dunn (1939–2020) was a New Testament scholar and prolific writer. Pentecostals often encounter encounter his Baptism in the Holy Spirit (1970) where he emphasizes the centrality of the Spirit in new birth but denies the doctrine of subsequence.
The Apostle Paul was in Dunn’s blood. He authored commentaries on Acts, Romans, Galatians, Colossians, and Philemon. He was perhaps best known for his work on The New Perspective on Paul (2006)—a view that denies the idea that Judaism was a system of works-righteousness.
Given Dunn’s history, I was eager to read his Theology of Paul the Apostle (1998). One of the best ways to learn something is to recapitulate it in your own words, so that’s just what I did. The links below point to blog posts where I summarize all twenty-five chapters of Dunn’s 800-page work on Paul. While I trust that these summaries will be helpful for people exploring Dunn’s interpretation of Paul, my words are in no way authoritative. If you find a theme or idea that interests you, I’d encourage you to pick up a copy of Dunn’s work for yourself. It’s well worth the investment.
§ 1 Prolegomena to a theology of Paul
I just finished reading Wright's mammoth Resurrection of the Son of God. While reading about Paul's understanding of the resurrection, I began to feel anemic. I've focused on the Old Testament (specifically the prophets) and Jesus for quite a while, so a healthy dose of the Apostle Paul in order. Dunn's The Theology of Paul the Apostle should do the trick! While writing my very brief review of Wright's work, I noticed how much of the book I had already forgotten. In order to help me remember and process the depth of this work, I thought I'd summarize each of [...]
§ 2 God
In case you missed the first post in the series, I'm summarizing each of the 25 sections in Dunn's masterpiece on Paul to help me remember what I've read. Using Romans as a guide and dialogue as a model, Dunn begins by turning his attention toward Paul's understanding of God (which is really the essence of any theology). Chapter 2: God and Humankind § 2: God Paul's understanding of God must take priority in a study of Pauline theology because of Paul's overwhelming emphasis on God. There is a difficulty here since Paul's statements about God presuppose his views instead [...]
§ 3 Humankind
Now that we've looked at what Paul thinks about God, we'll see what he thinks about the rest of us. Having been indoctrinated since Bible College in the old trichotomist/dichotomist debates, I'm looking forward to moving beyond. With section headings like sōma, sarx, nous, kardia, psychē, and pneuma, Dunn promises to get right down to business. Chapter 2: God and Humankind § 3: Humankind Paul's anthropological presuppositions are even less explained than his theological presuppositions. However, his view of anthropology is woven throughout his theology. Body (sōma) in particular has an incredibly wide range of meanings. Barth overplayed the idea [...]
§4 Adam
This chapter looks at all of Paul's allusions to the Adam and Eve narrative from Genesis 1-3. If Christ is the second Adam, we had better understand the first one. Chapter 3: Humankind under Indictment § 4: Adam Following the pattern of Romans, our next topic must be human depravity. Paul makes it clear that all the anthropological terms we reviewed in the previous chapter are corrupted to various degrees in humans—even pneuma! The complete picture of Paul's anthropology views humans as ungodly (literally, "without worship"), sinners, and enemies of God. This dark side of humanity is not only a [...]
§5 Sin and death
This section is the middle of three in the chapter, "Humankind under Indictment". Now that we've seen how Adam completely blew it (§4), we turn to the role of sin and death in the life of a believer. Only after that will we examine the role of the law in human failure. Then (finally), we can move on to some good news! But for now . . . sin and death: Chapter 3: Humankind under Indictment § 5: Sin and death Even a post-religious world falls back on religious categories of evil when inexplicable horror occurs. The ancient world often [...]
§6 The law
This is the third section in the chapter, "Humankind under Indictment". In it, we will see how the Christ-transformed Paul understood the law (nomos)—that which is most precious to any Jew. This chapter should clarify Dunn's New Perspective on Paul further. Here we go... Chapter 3: Humankind under Indictment § 6: The law The law is incredibly important in Pauline theology, as evidenced by the 66 appearances of the word between Romans 2:12 and 8:7! However, Paul's understanding of the law is difficult to discern. At times he speaks of "law" along with "sin" and "death" as a sort of [...]
§7 Gospel
It's time to turn the corner. After three chapters expounding humanities failures (Romans 1:18-30), it's time to look to the solution: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have to admit: after reading about Adam's failures, Sin, Death, and the Law, I'm about ready for some good news. I suppose that's why Paul spent so much time emphasizing the negative at the beginning of Romans. Everyone asks for the bad news first. Chapter 4: The Gospel of Jesus Christ § 7: Gospel Paul is able to indict humankind in such brutal terms (Romans 1:18-3:20) because his answer to the indictment is [...]
§8 Jesus the man
Now that we've considered what "Gospel" means for Paul, Dunn moves on to some essentials of Christology: Jesus Christ the human, crucified, resurrected, and ultimately pre-existent. This chapter focuses on how Paul understood the relevance of Jesus' incarnate life. Chapter 4: The Gospel of Jesus Christ § 8: Jesus the man If we were to write a history of Jesus based solely on Pauline literature, it would be very sparse. We would know that he was a human Jewish man from the lineage of David. Aside from that, Paul choose to focus almost exclusively on Jesus' death—the essence of his [...]
§9 Christ crucified
This chapter transitions us from what we don't know to what are overwhelmed with. As much as Paul assumes most of Jesus' life, he makes explicit the significance of his death as a key part of the substance of Gospel. Chapter 4: The Gospel of Jesus Christ § 9: Christ crucified The centre of Pauline theology is this: Jesus died and rose from the grave. As we saw in the last chapter, Paul tends to move straight to Jesus' death, with little regard to the assumed details of his life. Indeed, Jesus' life gains its purpose by his death. Representation [...]
§10 The risen Lord
In this chapter we move from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Just what is the relationship between Jesus' death and resurrection? We know that his death is Paul's most important theme—is his resurrection an afterthought or something more significant? Chapter 4: The Gospel of Jesus Christ § 10: The risen Lord Jesus' death and resurrection form the center of Paul's gospel proclamation. Indeed, Paul's first recorded statement of faith is, "we believe that Jesus died and rose again" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). While Jesus' sacrificial death was complete in itself, it is mere despair without a subsequent resurrection. Paul stressed the [...]
§11 The pre-existent one
Now we enter mysterious territory. The question is: how did Paul understand Jesus' existence before the incarnation, and how does that line up with the Old Testament? I'm really looking forward to this discussion. Let's get to it. Chapter 4: The Gospel of Jesus Christ § 11: The preexistent one Talk of the preexistent Christ is difficult to find in Romans, but it is clear in two other passages: 1 Corinthians 8:6, and Colossians 1:15-20. In both of these texts, all things (Greek shorthand for the totality of the universe and created entities) were created through Jesus. Anyone reading these [...]
§12 Until he comes
My particular background in the Christian tradition used to speak of the foursquare gospel: Jesus saves, Jesus heals, Jesus baptizes, and Jesus is coming again. I'm not interested in debating the amount of skew that places on our understanding of Jesus. I want to point out how cherished the topic of Jesus' second coming is to many people. The details of the parousia often get clouded in debates about particular end-time theologies. I'm quite looking forward to Dunn's take on Paul's take on Jesus' second advent. Chapter 4: The Gospel of Jesus Christ § 12: Until he comes Like Paul's [...]
§13 The crucial transition
We're now turning the corner from Christology to Soteriology. (As I wrote that sentence, I had mental flash-backs to 8 a.m. Bible College classes. Thankfully, I'm far more interested in the subject matter now!) Let's dive into God's plan in Christ to save this world. Chapter 5: The Beginning of Salvation § 13: The crucial transition The dilemma is clear. Humans are the beloved creation of God. However, we're weak and inevitably enslaved by our passions. We even corrupted God's good law. In Jesus, God summed up what it means to be human and dealt with sinful flesh by killing [...]
§14 Justification by faith
This chapter's a biggie. It's almost double the size of any preceding chapter and, given its subject (justification by faith), it's easy to understand why. This is pretty much the central doctrine of every Protestant congregation. Let's hear Dunn's take on this metaphor. Chapter 5: The Beginning of Salvation § 14: Justification by faith We will start with a summary of the new perspective on Paul. Luther rediscovered the doctrine of justification by faith—that we are not saved from moral effort, but solely by the merits of Christ given to us instantaneously through faith, a gift of God. This way [...]
§15 Participation in Christ
Now that we're through that monster chapter on "justification" (the foci of the new perspective), let's move in a more mystical direction: en Christō. Chapter 5: The Beginning of Salvation § 15: Participation in Christ The phrase "in Christ" is a more natural way to understand Pauline Soteriology than the "justification" metaphor. The emphasis on "in Christ" began with the 20th century: Adolf Deissmann: The "in Christ" phrase is "the most intimate possible fellowship of the Christian with the living and spiritual Christ" (391). Wilhelm Bousset: Pauline piety expresses "the intense feeling of personal belonging and of spiritual relationship with [...]
§16 The gift of the Spirit
Ah, we've made it to the chapter that torments Pentecostals: The gift of the Spirit. Why doesn't Paul's discussion of this theme follow the pattern established in Acts? It will be good for this Pentecostal-trained boy to hear what Paul has to say on this topic without Lukan interference! Chapter 5: The Beginning of Salvation § 16: The gift of the Spirit The gift of the Spirit is the third way Paul described the start of Christian's life. Here's a good way to look at the three ways: Justification - restored status - intellectual appeal - stressed in Protestant Christianity [...]
§17 Baptism
This chapter on baptism rounds out Dunn's entire section on "The Beginning of Salvation". Dunn took such pains to show how "in Christ", "justification", and the "gift of the spirit" fit together, it will be interesting to see how he fits baptism into the picture. Chapter 5: The Beginning of Salvation § 17: Baptism Baptism is a big word. It can include all three aspects of the crucial transition (443): "Justification is the effect of baptism" "The means of union with Christ is baptism" "The Spirit is mediated through or bestowed in baptism" On the other hand, it can be [...]
§18 The eschatological tension
This week we turn the corner from five sections on "The Beginning of Salvation" to two sections on "The Process of Salvation". While I'm most excited to read the next section on Israel, the process begins here, with "The eschatological tension." Already / Not Yet, here I come ... Chapter 6: The Process of Salvation § 18: The eschatological tension We can see in an early letter (Galatians 3:3) and a later letter (Philippians 1:6) that Paul conceived of salvation as both an aorist event and a continuous process. While these two elements of salvation cannot be held strictly apart, [...]
§19 Israel
Ah, the moment I've been waiting for. The question I've never been able to understand: now that the Gentile mission has flourished, what about the Jewish people? This question is exacerbated by the prophetic fervor that has gripped my tradition ever since Israel became a political player on the world scene. I'm excited to how Dunn synthesizes Paul's view of his own people. Chapter 6: The Process of Salvation § 19: Israel It seems odd to read the beautiful climax of Romans 8, only to be thrust into the lengthy anguish-ridden argument of 9-11. A closer look at Romans reveals [...]
§20 The body of Christ
We now turn the corner from the question of Israel to Paul's broader understanding of the church. Funny coincidence: I just finished reading the papers from the 2010 Wheaton Theology Conference on the works of N. T. Wright. In a tantalizing foretaste of his big book on Paul, Wright questions why so many Pauline theologians leave ecclesiology to a chapter at the end of the book. It looks like Wright is starting his Paul book with Philemon! Chapter 7: The Church § 20: The body of Christ It's easy to assume that Paul contrasts the particularism of Israel's relationship with [...]
§21 Ministry and authority
Now we come to that area of theology that is so abused in the modern church: authority! (Can I hear a, "touch not God's anointed"?) In all seriousness, I've never spent any significant time thinking about issues of apostolic authority. This should be interesting. Chapter 7: The Church § 21: Ministry and authority Having just described the body of Christ as a charismatic community, we now need to relate charismatic freedom to more formal church structure. For most of church history the early churches were understood as essentially democratic organizations which supported the functions of apostles, prophets, and teachers—but not [...]
§22 The Lord’s Supper
I'm almost 37 years old. I probably started taking communion around age 13. My tradition celebrates the Eucharist monthly. That means, allowing for the odd skipped first Sunday of the month, I've participated in communion about 250 times. And I have to say (not just because I'm a minister) that each time is still meaningful. I just finished reading Victor Shepherd's Interpreting Martin Luther which included a solid chapter on the Eucharist. Now that' I'm primed with ancient Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinistic, and Zwinglian views, it's time to hear what (Dunn says) Paul had to say about the matter. Chapter [...]
§23 Motivating principles
We're closing in on the end. There are only two sections left before the epilogue. In these chapters (Motivating principles & Ethics in practice), I suspect we'll get down to the nitty-gritty about how Paul's theology should influence our day-to-day lives. As a preacher (not to mention a Christian), I suspect this to be among the most important elements of Paul's theology. So without further ado ... Chapter 8: How Should Believers Live? § 23: Motivating principles Many have noted a divide in Paul's letters between the theological and the practical (e.g. Romans 12:1). This is misleading because all of [...]
§24 Ethics in practice
I remember sitting in Pastoral Theology classes back in Bible College. The professor would offer a case study of a situation that was far from black-and-white, and we naïve students would offer a solid answer. I learned then that the application of principles is a complex art. Now that we've studied Paul's ethical principles, it's time to get to the case studies. Chapter 8: How Should Believers Live? § 24: Ethics in practice Of the various ethical systems that have been tried, most have failed. For Paul, these systems don't appreciate the reality of sin's power or the eschatological tension. [...]
§25 Postlegomena to a theology of Paul
The end. Phew. In once sense I'm relieved that this epic study of Paul is finished. On the other hand, I suspect I'll have to pick up another book by Dunn shortly. His formula of scholarship + passion + lucid writing is perfect. Here in the last chapter we're going to wrap up the study and consider the whole of Paul's theology one last time. Chapter 9: Epilogue § 24: Postlegomena to a theology of Paul As mentioned in chapter one, any study of Paul is a dialogue on three different levels: Paul's dialogue with his inherited beliefs (Judaism) Paul's [...]