Paul and the Hope of Glory: An Exegetical and Theological Study

by Constantine R. Campbell

A Unique Study of Pauline Eschatology that Is Both Exegetical and Theological One of the trajectories coming out of Constantine Campbell's award-winning book Paul and Union with Christ is the significance of eschatology for the apostle. Along with union with Christ, eschatology is a feature of Paul’s thinking that affects virtually everything else. While union with Christ is the "webbing" that joins Paul's thought together, eschatology provides the "shape" of his thought, and thus gives shape to his teaching about justification, resurrection, the cross, ethics, and so forth. There is considerable debate, however, about Paul's eschatology, asking whether he is a "covenant" or an "apocalyptic" theologian. In Paul and the Hope of Glory Campbell conducts a thorough exegetical study of the relevant elements of Paul's eschatological language, metaphors, and images including "parousia," "the last day," "inheritance," "hope," and others. He examines each passage in context, aiming to build inductively an overall sense of Paul's thinking. The results of this exegetical study then feed into a theological study that demonstrates the integration of Paul's eschatological thought into his overall theological framework. The study is comprised of three This volume combines high-level scholarship and a concern for practical application of a topic currently debated in the academy and the church. More than a monograph, this book is a helpful reference tool for students, scholars, and pastors to consult its treatment of any particular instance of any phrase or metaphor that relates to eschatology in Paul's thinking.

Genres: New Testament, Theology, Biblical Studies

503 pages, Paperback

Published November 24, 2020

About the author

also published under Con Campbell

Reviews

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profoundly clear, exhaustive, and helpful.

[Spencer R · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Read the full review on my blog SpoiledMilks, 8/17/21)

In this book, Constantine Campbell covers 11 themes reflecting Paul’s theology, many of which are broken down into subthemes. For example, if you're going to do a study on the kingdom of God, you can't search only terms like "kingdom" and "kingdom of God." You'll need to search for "king," a king's actions, what the kingdom does or how it functions, and so on.

Part One: Introductory Matters
Campbell's book is centered in Paul's understanding of eschatology. “The end” shaped Paul’s thinking. As Campbell writes, “The ‘end’ has already dawned on the ‘middle’ of time” (5). It includes the past (Jesus’ death and resurrection), the present (current situation of Christian communities), and the future (the end of all things). The old age and the new age are realms that “mark out the ‘territory’ over which their rulers exercise influence and power, controlling those who belong to them” (5). The old age is ruled by sin and death, but the new age by Christ by the power of the Spirit.

To understand Paul, Campbell holds exegesis and theology together. Part Two looks at the themes and sub-themes of eschatology in all of Paul’s letters and then ties them together theologically on Part Three.

Part Two: Exegetical Study
The 11 topics Campbell covers are:
1. Two ages and two realms
2. The parousia
3. The last day
4. Judgment
5. Resurrection
6. Eternal life
7. Inheritance
8. New creation
9. Israel
10. Glory
11. Hope

With each he provides an introduction (often noting the subthemes that are encompassed by each theme). For example, under Two Ages and Two Realms (ch. 3), the sub themes are:
* Kingdom
* Inaugurated eschatology
* Elemental forces and/or spirits
* Spiritual warfare and weapons
* Visible and invisible realities
* Authorities, powers, and dominion

Then he gives the verse (in bold) and it’s context in both Greek and English before he comments on what Paul is emphasizing here. He ends with a concluding summary.

Example, Romans 5:19-21
Considering the two-ages schema, Romans 5:19-21 tells us about the rulers over the two ages: “sin reigns in death… while grace rules through righteousness…” (67). There are two domains—death and righteousness—and two rulers—sins and grace. Since “a realm will be shaped by its ruler as the ruler imposes its will over its domain,” everyone who lives in “the realm of grace and righteousness” will be “characterized by their goodness and light” (67).

Covering almost 150 pages, Part Three synthesizes the exegesis from Part Two and gives us Paul’s theology on these matters. Paul’s eschatology is Christ-centered. It began with the death and resurrection of Christ, it has come, he is ruling the new realm now, and it will be fulfilled when he comes as Judge.

In his previous book Paul and Union with Christ, Campbell argued that “union with Christ would be the webbing that connects all of Paul’s key theological commitments” (453). In this book, “eschatology is the frame of the web” (453). Every theologically significant event takes place within Paul’s “two-ages” schema. It is all-pervasive. I think this is a wonderful book. I somehow never picked up Paul and Union with Christ, but I'm glad that Campbell has continued his series of books. Highly recommended.

[Sanjuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Campbell has written an extremely helpful and relatively thorough book on Paul's apocalyptic background and disposition. He covers a lot of ground in a reasonable space, and the prose is readable for a topic often lost in academic jargon.

The book is broken into 3 parts. Part one, the literary review, is informative and is best read all the way through. Part two, on exegesis, can be read straight through but works well enough as a reference section for those interested in particular topics or passages. Part three, the theological recap, is influenced by the exegesis of part two and is best read straight through.

In my view, the book suffers from two shortcomings. First, despite being an academic book, Campbell interacts far too little with important studies on some of his topics. For example, three important books have been published on inheritance in Paul (Hester, Forman, Johnson-Hodge), and in his chapter on inheritance, Campbell doesn't cite any of them, and none of them even appear in the bibliography. The same is true of his chapter on glory, which ignores vital contributions from Newman and Jacob. If Campbell had accounted for some of these perspectives, without engaging with the authors, then maybe that'd be ok, but Jacob's book is a game changer on glory in Paul, and she draws different conclusions than Campbell, particularly regarding Rom 8:28-30. One wonders if any of Campbell's conclusions would be different if he had engaged with some vital studies that he appears to ignore.
Second, as a matter of necessity to keep the book at a manageable length, much of the exegetical work of section two is limited and lacking in important detail. There were quite a few sections where I felt that Campbell had limited his reflections to the obvious when more insight was necessary. This means that the book works as a starting point for some of the texts under discussion, but much of section two contains very little that might be new or surprising to most readers. This is not bad per se, but it is a limitation of the book.

Overall, despite two shortcomings, I really enjoyed this book, especially the lit review in part one. I'll continually use this as a reference source with great benefit.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Campbell offers as a clearly written, helpfully organized exposition of Paul's eschatology. The bulk of the book consists of exegesis of key Pauline texts surrounding eschatology. From this, Campbell provides a theological synthesis of his exegetical findings. There are many good insights in this volume. I found his discussion of the age to come (ch. 16) very helpful. Interestingly, he argues that Paul does not explicitly support the classic view of hell nor does he support universalism, though he could be read in favor of annihilationism, though Campbell is careful to note that such support is not conclusive. In his chapter on the present age (ch. 17), he provides some interesting discussion on such topics as work, church and ecology. I would highly recommend this this work to anyone interested in doing a deep dive in Pauline eschatology that is conversant with contemporary scholarship.

[Ben K · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful investigation into the eschatology of Paul as observed in his letters. Campbell argues that eschatology is the “frame” of Paul’s thought, shaping all of his other teachings. The book’s immaculate organization makes it both easy to follow and useful as a reference later on. Its progression from exegesis to theology ensures that we are truly letting Paul speak on his own terms, not seeking answers to questions that Paul never addressed (such as the nature of the millennium, which Paul is silent about).

My only complaint is that Campbell too frequently circled back to summarize previous observations. He might have been able to shave 20-30 pages from the book if in later chapters he had simply pointed the reader back to prior chapter conclusions. But this is a minor complaint. This is a rich, well-written resource that I will come back to again and again.

[Travis Cory · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is probably most helpful as a reference guide and not something to read end to end. For some the author's conclusions might be novel but I found myself asking, "what is your contribution?" throughout. If someone is looking for a guide for all the ways Paul's eschatology is expressed it is worth looking at, but not a text that is seeking to push Pauline studies forward (not that every book needs to do that).