Date of Award
5-1-1973
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Sacred Theology (STM)
Department
Exegetical Theology
First Advisor
Herbert Mayer
Scripture References in this Resource
Deuteronomy 5:16-20; Deuteronomy 8:3b; Exodus 20:12-16; Ezekiel 3:10, 12; Isaiah 14:32; Isaiah 28:16; Leviticus 19:18b; Matthew 1:23; Matthew 13:14, 15; Matthew 18:16b; Matthew 19:18, 19; Matthew 2:15; Matthew 2:6; Matthew 21:16; Matthew 26:31; Matthew 27:46; Matthew 27:9, 10; Matthew 4:4; Matthew 4:7; Psalm 8:2-3
Abstract
This thesis proposes to discuss the pneuma theology of St. Paul on the basis of the much disputed seventeenth verse of 2 Corinthians 3 and related passages. The study will concentrate on the role of pneuma as authority and moving force in the Pauline congregation. The word pneuma is used frequently in Paul's letters, particularly in the Pillar Epistles, in a variety of contexts. Pneuma is unquestionably a key concept in Pauline theology. A study of Paul's pneuma theology, then, is a vital one, for it strikes close to the heart of his entire theological thinking. The centrality of his pneuma theology is even more apparent when one takes note of the close connection which Paul makes between pneuma and Kyrios, especially in 2 Cor. 3:17, where the two words are connected with estin. The thesis will attempt to define as closely as possible the relationship that Paul sees between Kyrios and pneuma. It is tempting in this context to raise anachronistic questions; such as, what connection does Paul make between the second and third persons of the Blessed Trinity, or can Paul's theology be classified as binitarian or modalistic, or would he have subscribed to the Niceno-Conatantinopolitanum or to the Quicunque vult? An exegetical study, to be true to its purpose, must resist the temptation to put such questions to Paul, since Paul never shows any interest in answering questions of this type. Ontological speculation concerning the pneuma is foreign to his epistles. Paul presents the pneuma dynamically, in action, since the pneuma is not to be studied so much as experienced.
Recommended Citation
Beese, Roger, "The Pneuma as Authority and Moving Force in Paul, with Special Reference to 2 Corinthians 3:17" (1973). Master of Sacred Theology Thesis. 415.
https://scholar.csl.edu/stm/415
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