When examining Christology as an integral branch of theology (Module 5 Slide 9), much of the study begins with how Jesus is portrayed in Scripture: Was he primarily a historical figure who lived a fully human life and perhaps experienced some degree of a divine or spiritual calling (low Christology)? Or was he God incarnate in the flesh and thus lived as both a fully human and fully divine being (high Christology)?
Further broken down, Christology has two main components: Who exactly was Jesus as a person, and what did his work ultimately signify (Sanders 91)? The Pauline letters, for example, address both components, though scholars are divided on whether they equal a low Christology or perhaps a high Christology. Still, contrary to the majority scholarship suggesting that Paul’s undisputed letters, in particular, mostly feature a low Christology, this paper will propose that Paul’s Christology, when based on all Pauline letters collectively, appears to build a theological bridge between the ‘high’ and ‘low.’
First, to understand Paul’s Christology begins with understanding his theology. Interestingly, although Paul had an encounter with the risen Christ, there is no record of him having witnessed Jesus’ earthly ministry; he does not appear to know much about Jesus beyond the Damascus experience. Therefore, many scholars simply conclude that it is only logical that Paul would write a limited account of Jesus’ life. However, many other scholars believe that because Paul provides key information about Jesus, he must have had more knowledge than what his letters suggest (Soards 174).
In fact, Paul does list several biographical details about Jesus that corroborate with the Gospels (Soards 173, 174; Sanders 91): Jesus’ lineage traces back to Abraham and through the line of David (Gal 3:16; Rom 1:3); he “was born of a woman, under the law” (Gal 4:4); was crucified and then buried at the behest of Roman and Jewish authority (1 Cor 2:8, 15:4); was then raised from the dead and also exalted by God (1 Thess 1:10); and he now reigns in heaven as he sits at the right hand of God (1 Cor 15:23).
Next, using allegory and his skills in Midrashic interpretation, Paul explains a central dichotomy between Adam and Jesus, with Adam bringing sin and spiritual death into the world, while redemption and freedom from this now corrupt world can be found through Jesus’ salvific sacrifice and resurrection (1 Cor 15:21-22; Rom 5:15-21; Module 5 Slide 14). As such, Paul proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God (Rom 1:3-4): He is the Christ whom God made “to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (Rom 5:21). Therefore, believers who are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection “become one person with Christ” (Sanders 93).
Scholars note, however, that Paul’s undisputed letters do not refer directly to Jesus as ‘God ‘ — except for possibly Rom 9:5, though there are debates over how the punctuation in the verse is used. Moreover, each time Paul’s undisputed letters speak of God in relation to Jesus, he appears to distinguish the two ontologically, thereby giving scholars at least one reason to view Paul’s Christology as ‘low’ (Module 5 Slide 10).
Yet, in Phil 2:10-11, as well as in the disputed and pastoral letters (e.g., Col 1:15-23; 2 Tim 1:2; Titus 2:13) Jesus is more boldly described as equal in status to God (Module 5 Slide 9). Nevertheless, while Jesus is not explicitly called ‘God’ in the undisputed letters, the references to Jesus as ‘Son of God’ are not to be taken in a minimalistic, non-divine way. For one, Paul’s use of the word “sending” in Rom 8:3 shows a powerful relationship between God and his ‘sending’ down Jesus to save humankind from the power of sin (Soards 174; Sanders 93). Also, when comparing Paul’s phrasing to Hellenistic-based, Jewish literature, such as Sirach 24, Baruch 3, and Philo’s works, “God sends ‘Torah’ or ‘Wisdom’ or ‘Logos’ for the salvation of humankind” (Soards 175). Thus, by ‘sending’ Jesus down as the ‘Logos’ (John 1:1) and as ‘Wisdom’ (1 Cor 1:24), God is revealing himself through Christ, which can indicate Jesus as God incarnate.
Still, when factoring all Pauline letters, undisputed or otherwise, it is difficult to deny that Paul appears somewhat inconsistent in how he describes Jesus, especially as the Son of God. One common example is how scholars compare Romans 1:1-6 to Philippians 2:5-11. On one hand, Romans 1:1-6 seems to suggest an ‘adoptionist Christology’, whereby Jesus was appointed Son of God when he was resurrected from the dead. On the other hand, Phil 2:5-11 suggests that Jesus has eternally existed; and that when he took human form, while also rooted in the form of God, he was later exalted as ‘Lord’ during his resurrection (Sanders 96; Module 5 Slide 13).
However, it could be argued that the end result of both passages is that Jesus’ divinity matches God’s, that they are ontologically intertwined in order to bring about salvation for humankind, Jews and Gentiles alike, as explained in Romans 9 -11. Or, as Sanders summarizes about Paul’s theology: “In Christ, God acted to save the entire world” (97).
In short, while the undisputed Pauline letters appear to point to a ‘low Christology’, and versus the ‘high Christology’ more prevalent in the disputed and pastoral letters, it is clear that Pauline theology, across the board, views Jesus as the Messiah (Module 5 Slide 9). Moreover, the incarnate Christ had a divinely infused purpose in serving as the Savior of humankind.
Furthermore, just as Paul’s undisputed letters, for example, do not contain the exact same theological points in each letter, then why is not possible for Paul’s Christology to be a web of interrelated claims about Jesus’s divinity, based on the audience he is addressing and the overall message he is conveying? What is for certain is that Paul was “first a missionary and evangelist, not a theologian” (Module 5 Slide 8).
Works Cited
Saint Leo University. Module 5 Lecture Slides. THY-532. 2024.
Sanders, E.P. Paul: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2001.
Soards, Marion L. The Apostle Paul: An Introduction to his Writings and Teaching. Paulist Press, 1986.