Christ Is King: Paul's Royal Ideology

by Joshua W. Jipp

Until recently, many scholars have read Paul's use of the word Christos as more of a proper name ("Jesus Christ") than a title, Jesus the Messiah. One result, Joshua W. Jipp argues, is that important aspects of Paul's thinking about Jesus' messiahship have gone unrecognized. Jipp argues that kingship discourse is an important source for Paul's christological language: Paul uses royal language to present Christ as the good king. Jipp surveys Greco-Roman and Jewish depictions of the ideal king and argues for the influence of these traditions on several aspects of Paul's thought: king and law (Galatians 5–6; Romans 13–15; 1 Corinthians 9); hymning to the king (Colossians 1:15-20); the just and faithful king; the royal roots of Paul's language of participation "in Christ"; and the enthroned king (Romans 1:3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28). Jipp finds that Paul's use of royal tropes is indeed significant. Christos is a royal honorific within Paul's letters, and Paul is another witness to ancient discussions of monarchy and ideal kingship. In the process, Jipp offers new and noteworthy solutions to outstanding questions concerning Christ and the law, the pistis Christou debate, and Paul's participatory language.

Genres: Theology, New Testament, Christian, Nonfiction, Scripture

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2015

Reviews

[Daniel Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Jipp argues that when Paul speaks of Jesus, he very often is doing so using descriptions and categories drawn from Greco-Roman and Jewish conceptions of the good king.

In the ancient Mediterranean world, discussion of what a good king was expected to be and to do was common. So for example, the good king dispenses justice; he uses his wealth and resources for the benefit of this subjects; he embodies virtue and the justice of the law to provide a "living law" and model for his people which produces stability and harmony in his kingdom—this, Jipp suggests, is what Paul refers to with his phrase "the law of Christ" in Galatians 6:2, which scholars have come to little consensus on as to its meaning.

Paul speaks of Jesus frequently according to these same categories and themes, and Jipp argues that this is essential context for (for example) what Paul says about justification, believers' sharing in the rule of the Messiah, and more.

This book is more like a monograph and is pretty academic, but it's a worthwhile resource and a good recovery of a theme that I think (and Jipp argues) is under-appreciated.

[Widmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource and approach

This book is dense, it has incredible footnotes and is not a quick read, but if you can carefully make your way through the depths, you will be better off in the end. I haven’t needed this much time to read a book in years, but I’m glad I did and I will be returning to it often. The citations are worth the price of the book alone, but Jipp has done a very good job laying out a reasonable lens that will certainly have its fans and its opponents. He did not extend the argument too far though, and is simply another step in getting scholarship to step out of the century old debates and look afresh at the worldview of the New Testament authors. Highly recommend, but plan some time to really sit with this!

[JonM · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was boring. That’s all I have to say about it.

[Geoff Ng · Rating 5 out of 5]

For so much of the history of modern interpretation, christology has been a central point of contention, dividing scholars into camps and delineating schools of interpretation and thought. More recently, there have been a spat of rather significant studies in christology that have put the issue to the forefront of debate once again - Fletcher-Louis' first in a multi-volume study, Kirk's exploration of the idealized human Jesus of the Gospels, and Hurtado's magnum opus on worship and Christology, just to name a few. Joshua Jipp brings his own unique and compelling contribution to the discussion in this book. But instead of constructing a broad reaching christological study, Jipp focuses centrally on Paul and his use of royal tropes and language in regards to Jesus. Jipp brings both deft exegesis and a familiarity with NT, OT, and contemporaneous Greco-Roman literature to bear in making his case. One claim of note is the compelling case he makes for Christ as the king who embodies the law, a living law. The book is organized well, written clearly, and does not devote too much space to overview or introduction. In this way, it should not be considered as a way into the discussion regarding NT christology as a whole. Still, those interested in the debate surrounding the topic, especially with regard to Paul's own conception of Jesus, will find Jipp's work both clear and compelling.

[Lindsay John Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very provocative book that brings together Jewish and Greco-Roman kingship to shed light on Paul's own view of Christ as king. He also presents some great fresh exegetical insights. Best chapters are on the Law of Christ and Divine Righteousness.