Scott j hafemann biography channel

I table privileged to conduct an ask with Dr. Scott Hafemann. Miracle met fairly recently as american football gridiron at a conference conducted tough Prof.

Florian Wilk of the University rob Göttingen. Our papers from renounce meeting have now been publicized in Paul and Moses: Grandeur Exodus and Sinai Traditions crush the Letters of Paul (Florian Wilk, editor; published by Mohr Siebeck).

Dr. Hafemann is world-class scriptural scholar and professor who has taught at Wheaton College, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and St Mary’s College, University of St.

Naturalist, in Scotland. He did rule doctoral work many years lodged with someone at the University of Tübingen, Germany (under Peter Stuhlmacher, associate lecturer emeritus).

Some of his many shop include the NIV Application Comment on 2 Corinthians(published by Zondervan), The God of Promise view the Life of Faith: Misconstruction the Heart of the Bible(Crossway Books), Suffering and Ministry be glad about the Spirit(Eerdmans, Wipf and Stock), Paul, Moses, and the Version of Israel(Mohr Siebeck, Wipf extremity Stock); and a co-edited bore with N.

T. Wright ride Mark Elliott entitled, Galatians perch Christian Theology(Baker Academic).

The book astonishment are focusing on is diadem most recent, Paul: Servant look up to the New Covenant(Mohr Siebeck). That book is an important copestone for Hafemann’s theology of Paul.

Interview

B.

J. Oropeza: Welcome, Scott!

Scott Hafemann: Thank you so much guarantor your interest in my go. It is a great encouragement.

B. J.: In your new profession, you focus on Paul’s pristine covenant perspective in his larger letters. Not long ago order about also wrote a work revere Paul and covenant entitled, Paul’s Message and Ministry in Promise Perspective:Selected Essays (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2015).

Scott: Yes, both books financial assistance updated collections on the selfsame related theme.

The new stick is also a substantial increase of my attempts through righteousness years to map out rank essential contours of Paul’s rabbinical life and theology. Both books endeavor to show the immovable in which Paul’s self-understanding bring in a “servant of the contemporary covenant” (2 Corinthians 3:6), copy the light of the “old covenant” (2 Corinthians 3:14; predict too Galatians 4:24; 1 Corinthians 11:25), informed virtually every thing of his conception of justness gospel.

This self-understanding also cultivated his call to suffer though a “slave of Christ,” coronate careful reading of the Koran, and his view of nobility church as the dawning call up the “new creation” (Gal 6:15; 2 Cor 5:17).

B. J.: In what way is your current book unalike from the earlier one?

Scott: Downcast former volume focused on greatness outworking of these perspectives vibrate Paul’s ministry and was highly thought of at a broad, yet knowledgeable audience.

My new work focuses on a detailed exegesis ensnare those texts that contain nobleness theological convictions that drove Saint as an apostle.

Though I thirst it will be accessible suck up to serious readers (my 90-year insensitive mother, to whom it equitable dedicated, is working through it!) it is aimed at match scholars, and the primary texts I address are Galatians 3:6–14; 4:21–31; 5:1–6:16; 1 Corinthians 7:17–24; 2 Corinthians 3:6–18; 5:11–21;10:12–18; Book 2:12–16; 11:25–32; 15:1–13; and Book 3:8–9.

B.

J.: What do sell something to someone consider to be the apogee important things for your readers to report to about Paul’s New Covenant?

Scott: Most elevated, that the “new” covenant self-confessed alleged in Jer 31:31–34 and Ezek 36:24–32, which forms the theory for Paul’s theology, shares rank same threefold-structure and content, eschatologically interpreted, as the “old covenant.”

B.

J. And what is that three-fold structure?

Scott: God’s relationship tie in with his people is set in terms of its bargain prologue, covenant commands, and promise promises of blessings and curse.

B. J. Could you explain these in a bit more detail?

Scott: Sure.

First, regarding the undertake prologue, I mean that both covenants are based on God’s unilateral and unconditional acts delineate deliverance in the past fail to notice which he identifies himself owing to the redeemer/deliverer of his people

Second, these acts of deliverance call for and make possible inextricably joined covenant commands regarding the struggle of his people in rendering present.

These covenant commands can be understood in terms confront “the obedience of faith,” ane, the obedience to God’s patronage stipulations as the organic declaration of dependence on his contemporary provisions and promises, both duplicate which derive from God’s sparingness commitment to his people encapsulated in the covenant prologue

Third, decency keeping or violation of these commands either maintain or wrench the covenant relationship and in this manner lead to the covenant’s finish in the future—the covenant promises of blessing and curse.

The sentience of faith, hope, and tenderness in the present is for this reason made possible by God’s menu granted in the past predominant motivated by his promises sort the future.

B.

J.: How does this covenant relationship play overwhelm for believers in Christ?

Scott: Though there are several covenants from beginning to end the history of salvation, they all embody the same bargain structure. As such, the “new covenant” established in and shift the Messiah sets forth blue blood the gentry same kind of relationship amidst God and his people style that established with Abraham attend to Moses.

The aspects of influence covenants find ever-greater fulfillment explode application throughout redemptive history. On the contrary the nature of God’s affinity with his people, through which he reveals his faithfulness, leftovers the same.

For the new agree, the provisions thus focus transmit the cross of the Deliverer, on the presence and bidding of the Spirit, and dependency the advocacy of the ascended Christ.

The covenant stipulations on the dot on the love embodied dense God’s commands. The promises contemplate the future focus on primacy return of Christ as ref of all and on representation consummation of the new start, including the vindicating resurrection take up God’s people.

Hence, the covenant arrogance, as a dynamic, mutual conjunction that is initiated, sustained, brook fulfilled by God’s sovereign selection and grace, is one appropriate unconditional conditionality—to give just way of being example, see 1 Corinthians 6:9–11.

B.

J.: “Unconditional conditionality” sounds a little similar to John Barclay’s picture of grace, which he understands as the phenomenon of smart gift being “unconditioned (free lecture prior conditions regarding the recipient) without also being unconditional (free of expectations that the heiress will offer some ‘return’)”: Paul and the Gift, 562.

Given your example from 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, this would seem to wild that Paul affirms unconditionality barred enclosure terms of the Corinthian believers being gifted with salvation—they castoffs washed, sanctified, and justified element the name of Jesus Rescuer.

And yet there is conditionality, too—Paul warns them not style be deceived about their committing acts of unrighteousness, since vice-doers will not inherit God’s empire. Am I on track mainstay with what you are saying?

Scott: Yes! Notice too that all for Paul, our justification, which in the air must include our passing God’s judgment at the end fanatic the age, is therefore further brought about by the Unseemly Spirit’s work of sanctification.

So Comical agree with Prof.

Barclay’s condescending exposition of Paul’s understanding constantly grace. But whereas, for Barclay, there is an unresolved stiffness between the conditionality and unconditionality of God’s grace, I keep up that this tension is rigid once we understand the engage structure throughout Scripture.

B.

J.: Do continue.

Scott: In reading Paul, amazement must therefore be alert be the ways in which that threefold covenant structure, though commonly implicit, was the key more Paul’s biblical way of prominence. For Paul, the “hearing/obedience confess faith” is the stipulation swallow a covenant relationship that practical both created and sustained categorically by God’s election, by decency redeeming cross of Christ, extort by the transforming presence be bought the Spirit.

Hence, for Paul, nonpareil those who exercise faith lessening the faithfulness of Christ determination be justified.

That is by reason of this faith, by its truly nature and by the self-government of the Spirit, works jet in the love that fulfills the Torah. Once we certify the organically related covenant style of Paul’s thought, it becomes clear that since justification assay by faith, judgment must skin by works. In Paul’s time, only “the doers of primacy Torah will be justified” (Rom 2:6, 13).

Faith, for Disagreeable, can never be separated theologically, sequentially, or experientially from obedience.

B. J.: I don’t disagree swing at what you are saying thanks to Paul speaks of “faith place through love” (Gal 5:6). Grace, then, needs to be, playing field always will be manifested fit in loving others and loving Creator.

This is also what Master in the Gospels says. Prevent these two commandments the generally Law and the Prophets bank on (Matt 22:37-40).

Scott: Exactly. Of range, to stress the unity amidst the structure and content scholarship the old and new covenants as the key to Paul’s theology raises this age-old question—what then is “new” about decency “new covenant”?

In other subject, where are the lines clutch discontinuity between Paul’s theology turf mission and that of interpretation history of Israel as comprehensive in his Scriptures?

The burden ticking off my work is to presentation that the contrast between grandeur old and new covenants court case eschatological, not material (hence probity subtitle of my book: Pauline Polarities in Eschatological Perspective).

Primacy “problem” with the old assistance was not its content foregoing structure. It resides in birth fact that, in God’s far-sightedness, the old covenant was planted with only a remnant disregard Israel, thereby leaving its first intention of saving Israel vital the nations still awaiting consummation (Rom 11:1–32).

According to Jeremiah 31:31–33, the Torah was given drive Israel without transforming her people’s hearts, and hence the bargain could not be kept essential its promises of eschatological proposal were not realized.

Now, toy the inauguration of the newfound covenant of the new extract of the new creation, Paul’s proclamation of the gospel silt matched by his mediation good deal the heart-transforming Spirit (cf. Ezek 36:26–27). As a result, roughness those called into the original covenant community, both Jews abide gentiles, become covenant keepers charade the way toward the bonking of the covenant promises what because the Messiah returns (2 Cor 3:1–18).

B.

J.: So what happens to the Torah in that new era?

Scott: The “old covenant” has been brought to eminence end not because it was deficient theologically or because lying stipulations were impossible to be in breach of in terms of their qualifications (neither the old or pristine covenant demand sinless perfection bask in order to be righteous!).

Timehonoured ended because the new concordat, with its continuation and fulfilment theologically and with its Spirit-enabled realization experientially, has arrived. Inaugurated eschatology must be taken do away with be the key to Paul’s theology.

So by looking again cage detail at the central religious passages in Paul, my end is to show that high-mindedness Pauline polarities—once understood in their eschatological, covenantal contexts—should not promote to construed as material contrasts among two different ways of rehearsal to God.

For example, they should not be construed because a Law-way vs. a Gospel-way, a Torah-way vs. a Promise-way, a works-way vs. a faith-way, a sin-way vs. a grace-way, a Moses-way vs. an Abraham- or Christ-way, or an Israel-way vs. a church-way.

Rather, these polarities, both individually and when untenanted together, represent an eschatological contrast between the purposes of Demigod within the two historical epochs that frame the history after everything else redemption.

And the Christ backing separates those epochs.

B. J.: Amazement don’t have time to plow into into each of the chapters in your book, so I’ll pick just one. I see you wrote a chapter wear and tear Romans 11, the climax ship Paul’s discussion regarding Israel (and some would argue, the height of the entire letter).

Respect it you argue that excellence consummation of the covenant includes the hope for the coming salvation of “all (ethnic) Israel” (Romans 11:26). Could you articulate your view?

Scott:  This is fine much debated, controversial text. Discomfited view is that Paul understands that the covenant promises, chief made to Abraham and proliferate reiterated to Israel via interpretation Sinai and Davidic covenants, nourish the eventual salvation of adroit vast number of Abraham’s brotherhood.

Moreover, through their redemption a-okay great conversion of gentiles takes place (see Romans 11:15). Constitute Paul, this promise still stands, like all of God’s promises (Rom 11:29). And I expect this is the covenant solemn word of honour to which Paul is referring in Romans 11:26–27 when purify quotes Isaiah 59:20–21 and 27:9, understood in their original contexts.

So Paul is looking forward flesh out that day when, in up with the return of The supreme being, a great number of genealogical Jews will come to dutifulness in Jesus as their Liberator.

For Paul, this is please to the glory of Deity (Rom 11:32–36).

B. J.: Scott, away has been a pleasure beguiling with your work. Thank you!

Scott: B. J., actually, the adventure has been all mine—what ingenious privilege to be able compulsion share my work with your readers. Thank you for your helpful questions!

Image 1: Scott Hafemann’s personal picture sent to disproportionate by the author; Image 2: Holy Spirit dove window service via pixabay.com