The Interaction Between Law and Love in the Pauline Writings: Law and Love in Paul

By Pandelani Paul

There are five chapters of this book. The first chapter is the overview of the whole book and how the research was going to be conducted. It also gives the summary of law and love in the books of Paul.
The interaction between law and love in Pauline writing has been an interesting topic, where we have discovered that the law of God cannot be separated from his agape love, which has followed mankind from creation and eventually leads him to eternity. We discovered that the law of God reveals Gods character, and that is his love. The law of God and his love are one and cannot be separated from each other. God gives the law to prove to man that he loves him deeply and eternally.
The death of Jesus on the cross was the final crown of the proof of how much we mean to God and the length He can go to redeem us. He gave his all for our redemption. The plan of salvation is the perfect revelation of law and love in Pauline writings.
Chapter 1 and 2 looks at law and love and the theology and ethics of law and love. The plan of salvation is laid bare and how the Jews missed the mark of spreading the Word to the whole world by holding to God as a Jewish God alone.
In chapter 3 we discover the difference between the ceremonial law and the Decalogue. The ceremonial laws were pointing toward the coming of Jesus, and so with his arrival, they came to an end because they were pointing to his coming. The Decalogue was there and it will continue till the end of time when Jesus will come the second time.
Chapter 4 is all about love and what it means to God and how he could not compromise his Decalogue and the meaning of redemption.
Chapter 5 is the blending of law and love in Pauline writings. Keeping the law is not a problem when you love God and you know that God loves you; its not difficult to keep the Decalogue because your love supercedes the law. When you love someone, its easy to follow or keep the law.
Gods Decalogue is a mirror and love is the crown of our redemption. For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son to die for man because His law could not be changed. Love will lift us up, such that doing and keeping Gods law will not be a burden but a pleasure because through Christs death, we realize how important we are to God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: Jul 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781482808261

Pandelani Paul

He has written on the interesting subject in the theological area. Law and love. It is not a common subject. The common one is law and grace. Law and love, it’s the first of its kind, and it is an interesting subject to read. Law and love are very interesting to read. One would want to know how the two interact with each other and how Paul has interwoven them.

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Copyright © 2015 by Pandelani Paul.

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ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

The following people and Institutions deserves my deepest love and thanks:

God the Father, who gave me life. He also gave me Good health during my struggle with this thesis. I am very grateful for that because without him I can do nothing.

To my dearest wife Maureen, who typed this thesis in good and difficult times, looked after the family during my research around South Africa and during the four months I spent in America and the United Kingdom. She was great and deserves my deepest thanks.

To my loving three kids, Tsiko, Thikho and Tshidzwa, who bore my absence patiently and lightened the days and brought in sunshine when the work was really heavy. To Tshidzwa who missed me so much that he would weep Bitterly and say, I want my father. Special thanks to Inonge Sinyinda, for helping with the typing during her school vacation.

To Professor Jan A. Du Rand, for his dedication and for making me one of his students. For his patience and time. I say thank you very much. In my language we say: :Ri a livhuwa, Muhali".

To my parents Mmberegeni Alfred and Suzan Muvhulawa Mbedzi. Thank you for their love and Motivation. To day I am what I am because of the courage they instilled in me from childhood. Thank you so much.

Pastor Justice and Mrs. Nnditsheni Mongwe, Mrs Phillis Moeketsi, Pastor Moses and Mrs Tsidi Moeletsi, Helderburg College, Dr. and Mrs Paul Shongwe, Mr. And Mrs Mwanangombe Mubita, Pastor and Mrs Coster Munyengwe, Trust Ndlovu, Mr. And Mrs Makesa, Link House, Cambridge and all the people and institutions that accommodated me during my research and made this work come to fruition. I say to all thank you so much.

To Mrs. Chinonge, Mr. Jack Sampisi and his family, David Sethlare and his family, Pastor Mutemwa and his family and all who assisted in transporting my kids during my research work. Thank you indeed.

To the following Institutions for allowing me to use their Libraries and material: Rand Afrikaans University, Wits University, University of South Africa (UNISA), University of Pretoria, University of Portchefstroom, University of Stellenbosch, Helderburg College, Rhodes University, Andrews University in Michigan U.S.A and Tyndale House at Cambridge United Kingdom. I want to thank them for providing a good environment of study and interaction with other students.

To the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-Orange Conference, for affording me a leave of absence, the Mafikeng District members and my collegue Pastor Solly Kubeka and family for doing my work while I was away. I want to thank all of you for your spirit of co-operation. I could not have made it without you.

I want to thank every body who played a part in making this work a success. Your words and acts of encouragement have been appreciated. My greatest appreciation go to Mr. And Mrs John Otto Mogotsi, who played a very significant part in sending me over seas to do part of my research. People like them are rare in this time and age.

Thank you very much.

SUMMARY

The interaction between law and love in Pauline writing has been an interesting topic, where we have discovered that the law of God cannot be separated from his agapic love, which has followed mankind from creation and eventually leads him to eternity. We discovered that the law of God reveals God’s character and that is his love.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, He died because of the love for his created beings and the law that was broken and could not be altered or changed without the shedding of blood. The redemption of the sinner had to be made possible through the shedding of blood by the one who had not broken God’s law. The love and death of Jesus can only be understood through the plan of salvation, which is the interaction between law and love as exposed in Pauline writings. This is a mystery of the wonderful love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is wonderful to discover the way Paul blends the law and love in a way that it makes it hard to separate the two. If not carefully studied, one would not be able to see this fact in Pauline writings. The Law of God is actually the expression of His love to us. He would like us to love Him by keeping the first four commandments and loving our fellow man by keeping the last six of the Ten Commandments. We need to have a positive outlook on the law, so that we may love to do God’s will and honour Him because He loved us very much and did not spare His own son.

In chapter one and two, we look at the overview of law and love in Pauline writings. The Pauline framework, its theology and the ethics of law and love. The whole plan of salvation for all humanity and how God loves all His creation. Even though God had a chosen people through Abraham, He only wanted to make His love known throughout the world and all generations. God had always had His special people through whom He made His love and care known even though they sometimes failed to do His will. Like the children of Israel failed him throughout the ages and He has always been patient with them until they killed Jesus on the Cross.

In chapter three, we discover the relationship between the ceremonial law and the Decalogue in the writings of Paul. How the one was abolished with the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus came to fulfil the Decalogue through His death and to prove that this law shall stand forever, as long as sin shall remain in this world. We also discover that God gave the Decalogue out of His love and mercy toward fallen humanity. We also discovered that the law is a mirror in our lives, which points out sin so that man can be brought back to Christ.

In Chapter four, we study about the love of God, which is beyond compare. God’s love is unconditional and it has proved itself to all sinners throughout the generations. The death of Jesus Christ reveals the mystery of God’s love, which cannot be compared to anything on earth. There is no human being who can fully understand and farthom the love of Jesus. In almost all his letters, Paul displays the art of addressing the topic of love in such a wonderful way that, if he does not do it in his introduction, he does it in his conclusion.

He had areas where he addressed love and dedicated the whole chapter on it. The way Paul blends love and love makes one love and appreciate the law of God better. It is made so clear and so beautiful so much so that one appreciates the wisdom of God in granting it. When we study God’s love, we will learn to appreciate a lot of things we did not understand about Him. Love opens the door to proper fellowship with one another and with God.

The last chapter talks about the Interaction between law and love in Pauline writings and the union between them. When we love God we will not have a problem of keeping his love at all. We will in fact find it easy and a pleasure to do His will always. It will be our delight to do His will and keep all His commandments.

Our God is a God of Love and even His law is a law of love. He does not want anyone to do His will grudgingly, but He loves a cheerful giver. Every thing we do for Him should be done in love just as He gave us His son to die for us, in love. He does not want us to do anything for him by force. We are going to cheerfully do God’s will if we look at the way Paul dedicated his life to the service of God because of how much he loved Him. The last chapter expresses the way law and love are so united and intertwined all along, yet few people saw this. God has always wanted the best for us and His love will in way fail us.

We should study more about the law and the love of God because it will change our attitude towards God’s Law. We shall start loving Him forever and ever because we will discover how we have wasted our time breaking His heart when we could have loved Him and worshipped Him for who He is. We should love God and our fellow men in order to appreciate the purpose of God’s law.

God’s law is a mirror in our lives and He has given the Law to humanity because he loved us. We are created in God’s Imaged for a purpose. That Purpose is to glorify God and to worship him in love and Honour above all else. Love will lift us up such that doing and keeping God’s law will be our pleasure at all times. Jesus was in love with his father and there was nothing too hard for him to do for his father because doing his father’s will was his pleasure. That is why Jesus said to his disciples If you love me, keep my commandments. He did not start with the commandments, but with Love because there is power in Love.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

SUMMARY

DECLARATION

CHAPTER ONE

ORIENTATION INTO THE PAULINE WRITINGS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. THE TITLE.

3. THE PURPOSE.

4. RESEARCH METHOD

5. THE MISSION OF THE THESIS.

6. AN OVERVIEW OF PAULINE WRITINGS.

CHAPTER TWO

THE PAULINE FRAMEWORK

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 PAULINE THEOLOGY

2.2 PAULINE CHRISTOLOGY

2.3 PAULINE PNEUMATOLOGY

2.3.1 THE INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT.

2.3.2 THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT (CHARISMATA).

2.3.3 THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

2.4 THE PAULINE SOTERIOLOGY.

2.4.1 GOD AS THE INITIATOR OF OUR SALVATION.

2.4.2 GOD’S MOTIVE FOR OUR SALVATION.

2.4.3 MANKIND IN NEED OF SALVATION.

2.4.4 THE UNIVERSALITY OF SALVATION.

2.5 SALVATION (SOTERIOLOGY).

2.5.1 SALVATION AS OBJECTIVE REALITY.

2.6 THE PAULINE ECCLESIOLOGY.

2.6.1 LIBERAL THEOLOGY ABOUT THE CHURCH.

2.6.2 THE SPIRITUAL CHANGE AND RENEWAL OF THE CHURCH

2.6.3 SURVEY OF THE PAULINE IMAGES AND TITLES OF THE CHURCH.

2.6.4 THE CHURCH AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD: THE TITLE EKKLESIA.

2.6.5 THE CHURCH AS THE BODY OF CHRIST.

2.6.6 THE PRAGMATIC ASPECTS OF THE CHURCH

2.7 PAUL’S ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

2.7.1 PAUL’S LEADING VIEWS ON THE LAW

2.7.2 THE VIEW THAT THE LAW HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED

2.7.3 THE VIEW OF THE CONTINUITY OF THE LAW

2.8 THE PAULINE ESCHATOLOGY.

2.8.1 THE PROMINENCE OF ESCHATOLOGY IN PAUL’S LETTERS.

2.8.2 PAUL’S ESCHATOLOGICAL PROCLAMATION

2.9 THE PAULINE ETHICS.

2.9.1 THE PAULINE EXHORTATIONS.

2.9.2 THE CHARACTER OF PAULINE ETHICS

2.10 THE GENERAL PLACE OF LAW AND LOVE IN PAUL.

CHAPTER THREE

THE LAW OF GOD ACCORDING TO PAUL

3. INTRODUCTION.

3.1 THE CEREMONIAL LAWS.

3.2 THE COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND ABRAHAM

3.3 GOD’S COVENANT WITH ISRAEL THROUGH MOSES.

3.4 THE UNITY OF THE OLD AND NEW COVENANTS

3.5 THE NEW COVENANT IN PAUL’S WRITINGS.

3.5.1 JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD.

3.5.2 THE NEW COVENANT OF BAPTISM IN PAUL’S WRITINGS.

3.5.3 THE NEW COVENANT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

3.6 THE DECALOGUE.

3.6.1 COMMANDMENT NUMBER ONE (1).

3.6.2 THE SECOND COMMANDMENT (2).

3.6.3 THE THIRD COMMANDMENT (3).

3.6.4 THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT (4).

3.6.5 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT (5).

3.6.6 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT (6).

3.6.7 THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT (7).

3.6.8 THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT (8).

3.6.9 THE NINTH COMMANDMENT (9).

3.6.10 THE TENTH COMMANDMENT (10).

3.7 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO LAWS IN PAUL.

3.7.1 PAUL AND THE LAW IN ROMANS.

3.7.2 THE LAW IN ROMANS CHAPTER TWO.

3.7.3 THE LAW IN ROMANS 2:9-29.

3.8 THE LAW IN GALATIANS

3.8.1 THE LAW IN GALATIANS 2:16-21

3.8.2 THE LAW IN GALATIANS CHAPTER 3

3.8.3 THE LAW IN GALATIANS CHAPTER FOUR (4)

3.8.4 THE LAW IN GALATIANS CHAPTER FIVE (5)

3.8.5 THE LAW IN GALATIANS CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER FOUR

GOD’S LOVE IN CHRIST ACCORDING TO PAUL

4. INTRODUCTION

4.1 LOVE IS LONG SUFFERING

4.2 LOVE IS KIND

4.3 LOVE IS NOT PUFFED UP

4.4 LOVE BRINGS JOY

4.5 LOVE BRINGS PEACE

4.6 LOVE BRINGS GENTLENESS

4.7 LOVE BRINGS GOODNESS

4.8 LOVE BRINGS MEEKNESS

4.9 LOVE BRINGS IN FAITH

4.10 LOVE BRINGS HOPE

4.11 LOVE BRINGS TEMPERANCE

4.12 LOVE

4.12.1 THE CONTRAST OF LOVE

4.12.2 THE ANALYSIS OF LOVE

4.12.3 THE DEFENCE OF LOVE

4.12.4 THE GLAD TIDINGS

4.12.5 LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER AS GOD’S CREATURES

4.12.6 THE UNITY THAT IS BROUGHT BY JESUS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN AND BETWEEN MAN AND FELLOW MAN

4.12.7 PAUL AND THE GREAT COMMANDMENT OF LOVE

CHAPTER FIVE

LOVE AS THE FULFILMENT OF THE LAW

5. INTRODUCTION

5.1 LOVE AS THE THEOLOGICAL FULFILLING OF THE LAW

5.2.1 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE FIRST COMMANDMENT

5.2.2 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE SECOND COMMANDMENT

5.2.3 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

5.2.4 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

5.2.5 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT

5.2.6 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT

5.2.7 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT

5.2.8 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

5.2.9 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE’S FULFILMENT OF THE LAW IN THE NINETH COMMANDMENT

5.2.10 THE THEOLOGY OF LOVE AS THE FULFILMENT OF LAW IN THE TENTH COMMANDMENT

5.3 THE CHRISTOLOGICAL FULFILMENT OF LAW AND LOVE

5.3.1 THE ETERNAL LOVE OF GOD

5.3.2 JESUS CHRIST THE POWER OF REDEMPTION

5.3.3 THE CROSS AS THE CENTRE OF REDEEMING GRACE AND LOVE

5.3.4 PAUL’S TEACHINGS ON REDEEMING GRACE

5.4 LOVE AS THE FULFILMENT OF THE LAW: PNEUMATOLOGICALLY

5.5 LOVE AS THE FULFILMENT OF THE LAW: ETHICALLY

5.6 LOVE AS THE FULFILMENT OF THE LAW: ANTHROPOLOGICALLY

5.7 LOVE AS THE FULFILMENT OF LAW: ECCLESIOLOGICALLY

5.8 LOVE AS THE FULIFLMENT OF LAW: SOTERIOLOGICALLY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the Thesis submitted for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Biblical Studies, New Testament, to the Rand Afrikaans University, apart from the help recognised, is my own work and has not been formerly submitted to another University for a degree.

Pandelani Paul Mbedzi.

CHAPTER ONE

ORIENTATION INTO THE PAULINE WRITINGS

1. INTRODUCTION

P aul has been credited with about thirteen books of the New Testament. The fourteenth book has been credited by other scholars to Barnabas, Luke, Apollos, Peter or by many other scholars to Paul. The Thompson Chain Reference Bible, in the condensed encyclopaedia says: The most that can be said is that the weight of opinion, seems to favour the Pauline authorship. (1964:222). I would like to concur with this view of Paul as the author of the book of Hebrews. Therefore, I would like to include this fourteenth book in my research. I would like to include the story of the sanctuary, which blends well with our salvation. When one reads the book of Hebrews, the language and the Greek used is that of Paul, other Scholars see Peter’s Greek and lang uage.

The following books are credited to Pauline writing: Romans, the first and second Epistles to the Corinthians; the epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, first and second Thessalonians, first and second Timothy, Titus, Philemon and Hebrews. These books contain the most profound exhortations on love for one another and other Christian moral behaviours. In my opinion, the books clearly demarcate the ceremonial laws and point to the permanence and existence of the Decalogue in the New Testament. For others, they are very difficult books to understand.

Paul has the most difficult theology in the New Testament. Peter commented on this, saying:

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given him unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (II Peter 3: 15-16.)

It is in this context that many do not understand Paul when he deals with the law that has been abolished and the law that God has not been abolished. Together we shall unfold the drama of the two laws and see how law and love have worked together throughout the centuries to make our salvation possible. We will learn together the interaction between law and love in the Pauline writings. God has put together such a wonderful plan of our salvation in His law and love for all humanity to study. We have no reason to be lost unless we stubbornly refuse so great a salvation.

There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb, to redeem all mankind from our sins. The beauty of God’s love can only be seen in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we forget the cross, we forget the only hope of our salvation. We have a great job before us and I believe that God will give us understanding and courage to sail on even in the rough tides of the seas, in order to bring us safely ashore. We must allow him to be the captain of our ship and all will be well with us, but if we exclude him from our life, we are headed for trouble. Jesus Christ is our only hope of salvation and we are safe in his arms.

2. THE TITLE.

The title of this Thesis is: The Interaction between law and love in the Pauline writings. I will try to establish the relationship between law and love in the writings of Paul. There are many scholars who would not relate the law of God, which is the Ten Commandments, with the love of God for humanity. There are also those who would use the writings of Paul to say the law has been abolished, when in fact, Paul himself refutes this statement. This Thesis will try to point out the existence of the Decalogue, which some scholars claim has been abolished according to Paul. The Thesis will seek to find the common ground of law and love. The relationship between the two shall make it impossible for the law to be abolished because the law is the very character of God. The law reveals the love of God in that the death of Christ in Calvary revealed the depth of the love of God in that the redemption could not be fulfilled without the shading of the Blood of Jesus.

3. THE PURPOSE.

The purpose of this Thesis is to find out from Pauline writings, which one of the two laws has been abolished, the moral law or the ceremonial law. When we look at the law, we will also look at love in the view of God’s law, in order to establish the relationship between them. Many scholars have written so much on the law, grace, love and such other topics, but I have not found one who has written on the interaction between law and love. The Law of God was give out of the Love of God towards mankind which was too deep, He could not watch us dead in our sins, we had to be saved come what may? God the Son himself had to comedown to die for the sins of the world.

The greatest purpose of this Thesis is to bring to the field of learning, a fresh look at the existence of the Decalogue, which some scholars like H. Raisanen and E. P. Sanders claim has been abolished. They do not do justice to Paul’s points on the Law/Decalogue. In fact, it is the ceremonial laws, which Paul said have been nailed to the cross. James D.G. Dunn has a very clear view of the Decalogue and says: And Paul himself uses the Decalogue repeatedly as a measure of God’s requirement throughout Romans. In other words Paul took it for granted that the law was given to be obeyed, submission to the law was what God expected. (Romans 8:7) (1998:135).

The two laws are very important because the ceremonial law was pointing to the death of Jesus. While the Moral Law was the reason Jesus came to die, because Adam and Eve had sinned and broken the Law, and since the law of God could not be changed, He had to die. The love of God has now come to us in its fullness because Jesus died to redeem us from all unrighteousness. God, who is the creator, is all wisdom and will not give man what will not mould him and draw him closer to Him. The law should not be seen as a burden, but as a love-letter from our creator. Jesus Christ came to the world to demonstrate the inseparable law and love of God by the death of Jesus on the cross for the broken Law in Eden.

We will investigate the contrast between the moral law (Decalogue) and the ceremonial law, and God’s love. Here is a summary of the bible texts on the moral law and the ceremonial law. There will be a chapter dedicated to the study of the two laws from the Old Testament and the New Testament, in particular the writings of Paul in Romans and Galatians, the book of Exodus and others.

The change of God’s Law, And the days and times were Prophesied by Daniel and Paul. They said man would attempt to change God’s times and laws. Daniel 7:25; ll Thessalonians 2:3,4. The powers that Daniel and Paul talked about have tried to change God’s Law. The Sabbath was tampered with greatly. The counting of hours in a day, according to the bible, a day starts at sunset not midnight. Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31. The week starts with Sunday as the first day and ends with Saturday as the seventh day of the week. Matt. 28:1. The number of days in a month were changed from 30 days to 31 or 28 and sometimes to 29 days and the year from 360 days to 365 1/4 days. There were many other attempts at changing God’s Law, even the law of nature, like the names of the days of the week. There has been an attempt to change the week from seven days to an 8 day week by the rulers of Roman but it all failed. They then twisted how and when the day starts. They changed from sunset to midnight as the start of a new day. All this attempts of undermining God’s Holy day will not work, God is still in charge of the universe.

When God refers to the Law, He does not talk of nine of the Ten Commandments or seven of the Ten commandments, He talks of the whole ten. When one of them is broken, all are broken. You cannot have one without the other and still claim to have kept the Commandments (Matt, 5:17-20). God is not interested in our offerings that are not accompanied by repentance. He does not want half obedience, but full and complete committed obedience, this is what he demands from his children. Jesus said if we love him, we should keep His Commandments and love one another as He loved and kept His father’s Commandments and obeyed Him. (James 2:8-11)

4. RESEARCH METHOD

The research method used is that of consulting primary sources, secondary sources as well as magazines and periodicals, which have addressed the law and love issues. Many libraries at different Universities in South Africa, America and the United Kingdom were consulted, and during these trips, I managed to rub shoulders with some great theologians of the world, e.g. Bruce Longernecker who wrote his Thesis on Law and Grace in Galatians. He is presently lecturing at Cambridge University in England.

Through this research, I managed to visit more than twelve Universities here in South Africa. I also visited some University libraries abroad, that is Andrews University Library in Michigan, United States of America, and Tyndale House in Cambridge. It was an experience that I will not exchange for anything in this world because it was one in a lifetime, I will always appreciate it and thank God for it for the rest of my life. It was an eye-opening research in which I learned to love God and appreciate people from all walks of life and religious backgrounds of the world. I have discovered that love is God’s law in action and that one cannot serve without the other because they are so closely related and therefore sealed by the blood of the Lamb at Calvary.

The approach and methodology used in the analyses of the biblical texts is the comparative literary exegetical and theological method. There is an analytical comparison of law and love in the Pauline writings and the separation of the two laws, the Ceremonial and the Decalogue. I also investigated which one of the two has been abolished, which one was established for ever and ever (Ps. 111:7,8) and which one is timeless and Holy. We will discover that just as much as God wanted the law for all humanity, He also wanted his love to be shared by all humanity.

5. THE MISSION OF THE THESIS.

The mission concept of this thesis is to bring man to the realisation that when God’s Law is made cheap, even human relationships are cheapened. The love of many grows cold every day because moral law is no longer regarded. When moral standard is lowered in society, man becomes no better than animals in our moral decline. There is so much moral decay in the world today that it will take the destruction of the world to destroy it. In the words of Dr Paul Shongwe, mission work encompasses the following:

"i). Serving and relieving the plight of humanity; addressing social issues such as: diseases, economy, unemployment, poverty, homelessness landlessness and environmental issues, in short; mission in this study refers to promoting the well being of the whole being, physical, mental, Spiritual, social and emotional;

ii). Influencing public policy in order to promote justice and equity;

iii). Being the agent of reconciliation between God and his people and between man and man." (1998:5)

The greatest mission of this thesis is to remind all Christians to return to the basics of God’s Law and to bring the understanding that there is no love without proper regard of God’s law. Our mission is to go back to the basics of God’s law and love. In doing this, we will have high regard for God first and then for our fellow man. We will have fulfilled the law because we will love God and our fellow men dearly.

This research has been an eye-opener in that I was able to see how Paul, in his writing, managed to give me the light to know that law and love are related to each other so much so that they cannot be separated. God is helping me to pass on this information to others. I pray that it should make sense and remind us to love God’s law and love one another deeply. Instead of seeing colour, black or white, yellow and pink, we should only see children of God. I pray that God should have mercy on us and that the blood of Jesus Christ should reconcile us, just as Paul prayed for the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles. This thesis should help smooth the reconciliation between blacks and whites in South Africa, and that they should remember that God died for both on Calvary. Jesus is the forunner on issues of reconciliation between Him and Mankind and He took the initiative to come to man because he took redemption story serious. God took the initiative and came forward to buy back man from sin with His own blood, hanging on a tree.

6. AN OVERVIEW OF PAULINE WRITINGS.

Pauline writings occupy almost half of the New Testament because of the twenty-six New Testament books, fourteen are credited to the writings of Paul, as previously indicated. The names of the books were also listed in point one above. Paul was an apostle called by Jesus Christ to work for the Gentiles, and Peter was an apostle to the Jews. Paul worked hard for the reconciliation of the Jews and the Gentiles, and at one stage he had a different view from Peter on the issue of the treatment of the Gentile Christians. By God’s grace the issue was later resolved and the gospel progressed quickly in Jerusalem and in other parts of the gentile world.

The main theme of the book of Romans is salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and the exhortations concerning Christian duties. The theme in first Corinthians is about the cleansing of the church from false conceptions of the ministry, such as intellectual pride, social evils, and other disorders that were taking place in the church in Corinth. Paul deals with the true view of the ministry as the dispensers of the truth, as gardeners, as co-labourers with God, as character builders, as stewards, as sufferers for Christ’s sake, as examples and as administrators of discipline in the church. We read this in l Corinthians 3:4. The church must give a good moral example in the community.

The main theme of the second epistle to the Corinthians was Paul’s personal vindication of apostleship because there were some who questioned it. He was responding to this and confirmed his call. The theme of the book of Galatians is a defence of the doctrine of justification by faith, warning against revelation to Judaism and a vindication of Paul’s apostleship. Emphatic words, such as faith, grace, liberty, the Cross, were dealt with to a great extent. The main theme of the epistle to the Ephesians is the unity of the church. The Jews and Gentiles have been united by the blood of Jesus. Paul uses together and one in many sections in this book and finally one baptism and one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-6). The blood of Jesus was to unite us as one people. Heaven came down in Glory in the form of God the Son and Man was reconciled back to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. Justice and mercy kissed each other at the Cross.

The themes of the first epistle to the Thessalonians are commendations, personal reminiscences, counsels and exhortations. The theme of the second epistle to the Thessalonians is about the Second Coming of Christ. We must prepare for this event and make sure that we are ready because He will come like a thief in the night. There will be no further warning about the second coming of Christ and so we must be ready at all times, so that He finds us ready when He comes.

The central truth is the future hope of the Advent of Christ. The Lord is coming soon and we should be ready for Him. The theme of first Timothy is counsels and exhortations to a young pastor, respecting his personal conduct and ministerial work. The theme of second Timothy is exhortation to a young pastor and that he should visit Paul in prison for to comfort him. His companionship was so special and needed by the great apostle. Christ may come in our life time and he may come when we have dead, but it does not matter, we must be found ready at all times.

The main themes of the epistle to Titus are counsels and exhortations relating to ministerial duties and doctrines, with special emphasis upon the maintenance of good works. Paul had a burden. He wanted the ministry to be respected and the call to be honoured by ministers. The theme of Philemon was a private letter of intercession to Philemon from Rome about his slave called Onesimus, who had run away. Paul wants Philemon to take the slave back in, because he has accepted Christ. Paul pleads for Onesimus to be taken back to favour. The theme of the last epistle of Paul is about the Hebrew Christians who will relapse into Judaism or ceremonial observances. The death of Christ for our sins uplifted Him and did away with the animal sacrifices. The true offering to which the animal sacrifices pointed too had been made once and for all. The author of Hebrews addresses the Pre-eminence of Christ’s Priesthood and Exhortations, and he includes practical teachings about the Cross.

The main theme of all Pauline writings is the Love that God has for us: the law that He gave in order to guide our love for Him in the first four Commandments, and our love for our fellow men as stipulated by the last six Commandments. Love and Exhortation are the greatest themes of Pauline writing. Both will always embrace the principles of the law. When Paul talks about the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23, he begins with love and concludes with the law. Paul therefore says: against such there is no Law (Gal. 5:23). Paul brings about beautiful interaction between law and love in his writings. We need, therefore, to read his writings with great care.

When we study Pauline writings, we must note the parabolic language in all his epistles. We need to read Pauline writings prayerfully with all our minds and thoughts in order to understand his writing well. The parabolic language he used needs careful study. Riesenfield says:

Let us begin with a well-known passage where the allusion made by Paul to a saying of Christ is so clear that one can in principle give a positive reply to the question whether the apostle has referred to what he must have known from the teaching of Jesus. In characterising the true Christian faith which ought to be dominated by love, Paul declares that it is insufficient to have all faith; so as to remove mountains if one does not have love (l Cor. 13:2). These words of Jesus are encountered three times in the synoptic gospels, twice in Matthew (Matt. 17:20, 21:21; Mark 11:23), which shows the importance attributed to them in the early church. (1970: 22).

The great coincidence between the epistle and the gospel of both the metaphor and the thoughts is too striking to be mere chance. Paul and Jesus expressed one great thought, here, of love that should be the motivating factor for Christians. We can perform all, but without love we are nothing before man and before God as well. We will be mindful of the parabolic language of Paul when we deal with the interaction of law and love in the Pauline writings. Jesus came to bring two groups of people together who could not see eye to eye, so they could love each other because he had died for both of them. For this reason, love should be manifested in the love for professed Christians and those who do not.

Paul’s letters were written in order to bring reconciliation between God and man and between Jews and Gentiles, blacks and whites in South Africa and everyone else. Paul’s subject is law and love among all groups of people. Christianity was to bring the Jewish religion and heathenism together. Barclay says:

The problem which faced Christianity was acute. It had a message for all men; and yet in the eyes of the world it was a Jewish thing, and the Jews were the most bitterly hated and hating people in the ancient world. Clearly one thing was necessary - a man who could somehow form a bridge between the Jewish and the Greek worlds. Obviously such a man would be hard to find; such a man would be unique; and yet, in the providence of God, the hour produced the man - and that man was Paul. (1958:10)

Paul had to explain God’s law in the light of God’s love so that the Gentile Christian may understand. The Jews had spoiled God’s mission to the world to such an extent that no one was willing to listen to Christianity any longer. God found Paul, a Jew, to preach the good news. Through love, Paul became the bridge of love between the Jews and the Gentiles. Paul was a man of faith, and he believed that God was behind the life of Christ. Paul suffered rejection throughout his ministry, but he was a strong man of faith and he never gave up the work until he was executed for the same Gospel in Rome. Paul in the beginning was an enermy of the Gospel.

God was behind the incarnation, He was behind the cross, He was behind the resurrection (Gal. 4:4; Rom. 4:25; Gal. 1:1 etc.). God is behind our redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour, and through Paul he wanted the whole world back for himself in love. Barclay says: Salvation did not come to men in opposition to the will of God; it came because it was the will of God. (1958:33). It is the Divine initiative. The love of God initiated the entire process of salvation (ll Thessalonians 2:16) etc. God loves each one of us with an agapic love, which is by grace so that we should not see God in terms of the law, but his love through his immeasurable grace through the death of Christ. God give his only son, in order to reconcile the world unto Himself.

CHAPTER TWO

THE PAULINE FRAMEWORK

2. INTRODUCTION

P auline writings in the New Testament influenced a great deal, including the New Testament Theology and the New Testament ethics as a whole. Pauline letters to the gentiles have addressed a lot of ‘what forms the basis of New Testament Theology and ethics’ because Paul had to communicate to them in the letters about Christianity. He had a duty to remove them from their pagan way of life and worship in order to bring them to the Christian way of life and worship, which was altogether very new to their way of life. Paul taught them and then followed up later with letters in order to teach more of the new lessons and the old he had already taught, so that they would always have letters to read again and again. Paul was a great teacher who wanted his fellow Christian brothers always to be in the light, and so he documented all his communications with them at all t imes.

Pauline writings had been influenced by the Old Testament teachings, which had a (Jewish) Hellenistic and Greek influence. There were no New Testament writings during the time of Paul and the Apostles. Only the Old Testament bible was available then. We must study Pauline theology and ethics very carefully because they are very complex and complicated at times, and we will need to be careful readers of the word of God to understand the writings of Paul because they are not easy to understand. Peter said so about the writings of Paul. He also said some had been mislead and lost the faith because of misreading Paul’s writings. Therefore, it is very important that we read Paul’s writings after much prayer and full bible knowledge of both the Old and the New Testament, because Paul was an Old Testament scholar as there were no New Testament bibles then.

It is clear beyond question that Paul was the recipient and in turn bearer, of Christian traditions. This is evident when He Hands on creedal formulations or liturgical material he himself has received (1Cor.15: 3ff, 11:23). The words he uses in these two passages (paralaudavein) [«Receive], (paradidavai) [Hand on]) are, in such contexts;" (Furnish, 1968: 51).

Technical terms erring to the mediation of tradition. That the Traditions Paul received had to do with matters of conduct. At least with matters of church discipline, is not only a prior problem, but specifically indicated in I Cor. 11:2ff. There his Commendation of the Corinthians for maintaining the Tradition (Paradoqeis) He has handed on (Paredwka) to them introduces a discussion of the propriety of women’s head covering in the church". (1968:51). The gospel that Paul received from the Lord was the gospel he was to pass on to the gentiles so that they too may receive salvation (setoriology) full and free. Paul in his framework addressed to the gentile Christians the following issues; Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, anthropology, society of his time, Eschatology and many other ethical and theological issues of his times.

2.1 PAULINE THEOLOGY

Pauline theology is very broad and addresses many issues, which are varying in importance to the New Testament and Christianity as a whole. I will not be able to discuss them all, but only those that are relevant to my thesis and that will contribute to the better understanding of Pauline writings, particularly The Interaction between Law and Love in Pauline writings. Law and Love have been made enemies, and yet they are great friends. If we look closely, the two cannot be separated because the one cannot do without the other. There is no law from God to man without Love, and there is no Love without the principles of the Law.

God the father is often portrayed as the ultimate source of salvation and there is a heightened concern to stress the relationship between creation and redemption: as God created all things and persons through Christ, God now works to save all through Christ. Since the whole world is God’s creation, believers must accept it as good and use it responsibly. God as final judge is a prominent theme in the pastoral letters 2 Thessalonians. Yet the trustworthiness of God and the hope believers have in God’s election and saving purpose also are prominent themes in these letters (e.g. Eph. 1:4-5, Col. 1:12-14, Titus 1:2). (Johnson,1997 :190).

I will deal with prominent theological issues, such as Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Anthropology, Pauline Society and Pauline Eschatology. Pauline ethics will have a section in this chapter. The issue of law and love will be dealt with in order to provide a full understanding of law and love in Paul’s writings and how the two cannot be separated because they are so intertwined they cannot be apart. Law and Love will be discussed in the theological themes of Christology, Pneumatology etc. so that we do not lose the climax of the thesis throughout the great theological themes and the Interaction of Law and Love.

2.2 PAULINE CHRISTOLOGY

Paul was a Jew who was very jealousy of Jewish laws and traditions. His name was previously Saul. In the fight to preserve Jewish tradition, Saul met with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was actually on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians there. Paul did not want any one to disregard the Law of the Elders of the Church, so he worked very hard to try and arrest all the followers of Christ and bring them to Jerusalem. He was very protective of the Jewish traditions. Macpherson says:

The risen Christ whom Paul encountered on the Damascus road was the central reference point for the whole of his subsequent life and thought. Whatever external event may or may not have occurred for Paul the experience was a direct communication from God to Himself. (1996 :7).

During the experience Saul did not only have an encounter, but his name was also changed from Saul to Paul. Paul was not one of Jesus’ disciples, but with the Damascus experience, Paul talks of Christ more like a disciple if not better than the disciples. He spoke about Christ like his own personal friend and he could not stop talking about Christ until he died the death of execution for the same Jesus. The experience Paul had with Jesus on the road to Damascus was a life-changing experience, which could not leave Paul the same man again.

It is in the gospel and Pauline Christology where Jesus is called:

1. The Son of Man.

2. The Son of God.

3. Christ.

4. The Lord (kurios).

This is known among theologians as the origin of Christology. Moule says:

It is a truism for New Testament scholars that it was only after the new Testament periods that use began to be made of the two phrases the son of man and the son of God to designate the human and divine natures respectively in a two nature Christology according to the majority opinion, indeed, ‘The son of man’ so far from connoting the ‘manhood’ of Christ, stands for an exalted, apocalyptic figure" (1988:23).

The birth of Christ into humanity brought about the theology of hope to mankind, which is known as Christological hope. When sin came into the world through Adam and Eve, God was not taken by surprise. He was ready, because the plan of salvation was already in place, just waiting to be implemented should it be necessary in order to bring hope to all humanity. God became man through Christ to remove the barriers between God and man by meeting the conditions of the law in Christ, restoring mans blessed communion. Louis Berkhof says:

Gracious provision of God for a covenant of friendship with man, which provides for a life of communion with God; but it is a covenant which is effective only in and through Christ. And therefore the doctrine of Christ, as the mediator of the covenant, must be necessarily followed. Christ, typified and predicted in the old Testament as the Redeemer of man, came in the fullness of time to tabernacle among men and to effect an eternal reconciliation. (1981:305).

The doctrine of Christology according to Paul is meant to change lives and to bring Christ to all mankind, Jew or Gentile alike. The great problem of Christology today is the dual nature of Christ, that he is both human and God. It is hard for people and theologians to understand how Christ can be fully human and fully God. There are theologians who believe that Jesus is only fully man, and those who believe He is fully God, and those who believe both natures. But Paul has dealt with this issue in Galatians 4:4f, where he writes:

But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his son born of a woman….. He is at one and the same time God and man. To express this conviction in an acceptable formula quickly became a challenge, even a problem". (Du Toit,1996:202).

But Paul has a way of presenting the two natures of Christ in a joint separate way that leaves many scholars baffled. In I Timothy 2:5, Paul says: There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus…. The issue of one God and the issue of Jesus as both God and Man are the tough issues theologians must work hard at in order to make theology easy to be understood even by the man in the street. Paul tried his best to make these issues clear and simple if we read him well and prayerfully. This is the mystry of salvation beyond human understand and beyond measure, God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.

Paul would want all his readers to understand the two natures of Christ because our salvation depends on the understanding of both. As God, He created and as man, He redeemed. The death and the resurrection of Christ were the climax of the Christological hope brought to man by God. The hope of man’s salvation is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God has justified us through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ours is to accept salvation full and free. There is no name under heaven given to save man except the name of Jesus, which has the power to save and redeem all humanity from all our sins.

The theme of the Bible in the Old Testament and in the New Testament is Jesus. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, God came and promised them a saviour in Genesis 3:15, and throughout the Old Testament covenants were made and offerings were offered all pointing towards the coming of the saviour of the world, the man Christ Jesus. In the New Testament, He came to take the sins of the World and to be offered as a one-time offering but for all times never to be offered again to stop the death of all innocent animals, which have died throughout the ages till Christ came. Jesus is the theme of our redemption and we will study it throughout eternity.

2.3 PAULINE PNEUMATOLOGY

The theology of Pneumatology in Pauline writings confirms the unity in the trinity (God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit). Paul’s letters are filled with proclamation concerning the Spirit. I will deal with a few passages in Pauline writings, which deal with the theme of the Holy Spirit and the great role the spirit plays in Law and Love in Pauline writings. The Holy Spirit is also one of the God Head. Jesus promised the disciples that the Holy Spirit would come when he left to be a comforter and a guide to them and all who believe in Him. He will also teach them all things which Christ could not because of time and scope of so many things to be taught which human mind could not grasp at the same time.

- Romans 8, the relationship of the Holy Spirit with the new age

- II Corinthians 3, New age and Christ’s relationship with the Holy Spirit.

- I Corinthians 12-14, work of the Holy Spirit in building the church as the body of Christ.

- Galatians 5, particularly in respect of the fruit of the Spirit in the life of the individual believer.

Coetzee, when he discusses the Trinitarian angle in Paul says:

For a correct and balanced appreciation of the Holy Spirit’s place in Paul’s proclamation our point of departure must be to note that he says nothing about the Holy Spirit except in terms of the unity, harmony, and ‘collaboration’ of God the Father, Jesus Christ the son of God, and the Holy Spirit (Du Toit. 1996:221).

The Holy Spirit in Paul is revealed through the gifts that inspire Christians to love, to be kind, to help, to be hospitable etc. These are called spiritual gifts by which the trinity reveals itself to us. They are also called the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5: 22-23 and in other writings of Paul. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth and teach us what to do in times of trouble. There is such great harmony between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit because they always working as a unit. We find such a wonderful expression and unity for God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:9.

But yea are not in the flesh; but in the Spirit, If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. (Verses.9-10)

The mixed role of the Spirit in bringing the Trinitarian message across to us through Paul is so beautiful, and this spirit of unity prevails throughout Romans 8. The Spirit gives power to those who are willing to be used by the Spirit of God, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit played a great role during Christ’s ministry on earth and during the resurrection.

Before Christ was taken up to heaven, He promised His disciples that He would not leave them alone, but would send them the Holy Spirit in abundance. This was true about the promise of the Holy Spirit. When the disciples were in one accord, God sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and Peter spoke filled with the Spirit and the whole congregation heard him in their own languages. They needed no interpreter because the spirit spoke to them in their own tongues. The disciples were given power to preach the gospel just as Christ had promised them before He left for glory.

2.3.1 THE INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit used to be manifested to select people such as the prophets, the builders of the temple etc., but in the New Testament the Spirit is promised to everyone who believes. The Holy Spirit was also now known as a person, not just as an attribute (Eph. 1:1-14, Matt. 28:19. I Peter 1:2). At Pentecost, the early church received the full measure of the long-awaited arrival of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit had now come to indwell permanently in all God’s people (Acts 2:16,33,38-39). It is against this background that we must grasp Paul’s understanding of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, especially the Eschatological tension that results for the believer. The spirit has taken up residence in the Christian body and thereby transforms it into the temple of the Lord. However, the process now begun will only be complete with the future resurrection body. (Marvin,1995 :151).

When a Christian accepts Christ as his/her personal saviour and the Holy Spirit takes control of the person, the Spirit will do all that God requires through that person. It will now be natural through the Spirit for the person to love both friends and enemies, and keep God’s commandments because they will be written in the heart. When we have the Spirit we will be true Christians in the true sense of the word.

We receive Christ by faith and at that moment, the sinner receives the gift of the spirit (Gal.3: 2). We are then baptised into Christ (ICor.12: 13). As human beings we need a total surrender to Christ and His Spirit, so that the Spirit may work through us, to do in us that which we could not do on our own. God has given enough grace through the Son to save us from all our sins. We need to take it by faith and it will be ours indeed and the spirit will help us to do God’s will.

"One of the most significant metaphors the apostle uses to describe the habitation of the Spirit within the believer is the temple of the Lord. That idea is applied by Paul to both the individual Christian’s body (ICor.6: 9) and to the corporate church, the body of Christ (ICor.3:16, 2Cor.6:16; Eph. 2:2-10. (1995 : 151)).

We should not overlook the eschatological importance of these statements. Israel was never identified with God’s temple; the statement was for the coming age (Isa.28: 16. etc). When Paul stated that the Christian and the church is