Paul’s Message and Ministry in Covenant Perspective: Selected Essays

Author(s): Scott J. Hafemann
Publisher: Cascade Books
Price: $2.99      

The essays presented here represent over twenty-five years of thinking about the theology and life of the Apostle Paul who, as a “slave of Jesus Christ” (Rom 1:1), was a “servant of the new covenant” with a “ministry of the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:6, 8). Taking the questions raised by the history of scholarship since F. C. Baur as their starting point, Hafemann’s exegetical studies focus on how Paul’s self-understanding shaped his message, the motivations of his ministry, and his consequent call to suffer for the sake of his churches. Hafemann’s work reveals that Paul’s views of redemption, of his own redemptive mission, and of the life of the redeemed derived from his eschatological conviction that the purpose of the new covenant realities inaugurated by the Christ is to prepare for their promised consummation when Christ returns to judge the world.

“What an important contribution Scott Hafemann has made through these penetrating essays, working together to demonstrate the cross-centered nature of Paul’s life and proclamation of the gospel, demonstrating in concrete terms the power of God reflected in the weakness of the cross and in ministry marked by such ‘foolishness’ and ‘weakness.’ By making these essays more accessible to a wider readership this volume makes its own contribution to understanding this crucial aspect of Paul’s message and ministry.”
–Roy E. Ciampa, Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship, New York, NY

“It is excellent to have Hafemann’s essays collected together here, and updated to include the latest scholarship. This book encapsulates Hafemann’s combination of exegetical skill and theological interest, which are all too rare in Pauline studies.”
–Simon Gathercole, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

“The essays in this collection demonstrate Scott Hafemann’s unwavering commitment, not only to interacting with difficult Pauline texts, but wrestling with them until they yield to his considerable exegetical skill. They offer a plethora of new insights that will challenge every reader at some point to rethink long-held assumptions with regard to Paul’s message and ministry.”
–Joel White, Dean of International Exchanges, Freie Theologische Hochschule Giessen, Germany

“Over several years, Scott Hafemann has been steadily amassing a portfolio of impressive work on Paul within his larger biblical and covenantal context. This opens up dimensions that are often ignored or downplayed but which are arguably vital to any serious historical and theological reading of the great apostle. The present volume makes this important work freshly available so that it can have the impact it deserves.”
–N. T. Wright, Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, the University of St. Andrews, Fife, UK

Scott Hafemann is Reader in New Testament at St. Mary’s College, School of Divinity, at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland).