A Theological Introduction to Paul's Letters: Exploring a Threefold Theology of Paul

by YungSuk Kim

Synopsis: In this study Kim explores a new way of reading Paul's letters and understanding his theology with a focus on three aspects of Paul's gospel: "the righteousness of God," "faith of Christ," and "the body of Christ." Kim argues that Paul's thought can be best understood by reading these genitives as the subjective or attributive genitives, rather than as the objective genitives. The subjective or attributive reading places an emphasis on the subject's participation: God's participatory righteousness, Christ's faithful obedience to God, and the believer's living of Christ's body. Using this approach, Kim investigates the root of Paul's theology in a wide array of texts and contexts: in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, the Greco-Roman world, and Paul's canonical letters. In doing so, Kim synthesizes Paul's theology and ethics seamlessly, balancing the roles of God, Christ, and believers in Paul's gospel. For the website: Study/Discussion Questions and Sample Syllabus available at http: //youaregood.com/threefoldtheology.htm Endorsements: "Yung Suk Kim possesses one of the most original, refreshing, and urgent voices among the rising generation of New Testament theologians. Kim has a rare ability to synthesize various critical approaches in constructing Paul's theology: historical criticism, sociological analysis, and post-colonial interpretation interact productively. Kim's Theological Introduction to Paul's Letters invites readers to rethink crucial aspects of Paul's theology--'righteousness, ' 'faith, ' 'embodiment'--as avenues of subjective participation in the politics of love." -Laurence L. Welborn Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity Fordham University Author Biography: Yung Suk Kim is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Richmond. He is the author of Christ's Body in Corinth: The Politics of a Metaphor (2008), and editor of the Journal of Bible and Human Transformation.

162 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2011

About the author

Yung Suk Kim, M.Div. (McCormick), Ph.D. (Vanderbilt), is Full Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Virginia Union University. He has authored nearly twenty books, including How to Read the Gospels (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), Monotheism, Biblical Traditions, and Race Relations (Cambridge University Press, 2022), How to Read Paul (Fortress, 2021), Toward Decentering the New Testament (Cascade, 2018, co-authored with Mitzi J. Smith), and Christ’s Body in Corinth (Fortress, 2008). He has also edited four volumes, including At the Intersection of Hermeneutics and Homiletics and Paul's Gospel, Empire, Race, and Ethnicity. The forthcoming book's title is Justice and Parables (T&T Clark, 2026, forthcoming). Kim's research interests encompass Paul's letters and his theology, parables, political philosophy, and comparative wisdom literature.

Reviews

[Yung Suk Kim]

A new wave of Pauline theology characterized by the threefold participation of God, Christ, and the believer

An extensive, insightful, original research on key themes of Paul’s texts and contexts

Engaging Paul for today: Convergence of theology and ethics