Lecture 5: Paul and Christianity’s First Expansion
o Paul is the source for the earliest religious claims concerning
the Holy Spirit, Jesus as Lord, and the church as the body
of Christ.o He is the earliest recorder of such Christian practices as
baptism, the Lord’s Supper, healing, speaking in tongues,
and prophecy.o His letters show the diverse forms of authority and structure
the early communities developed, from the authority of the
apostle himself to the local boards of elders.o In his responses to various crises in his communities, Paul
illustrates the need for translation and interpretation of
fundamental experiences and convictions in solving human
conflicts and errors.Paul’s Letters
• Paul’s letters open a window to a variety of serious tensions that
challenged the first urban Christians and continued to haunt this
religion through the centuries.• The issue of authority was fundamental: Jesus is Lord of all, but
how is his reign exercised? Paul was sent as a delegate (apostolos)
by God and the risen Christ, but his claims to authority were not
self-validating or universally recognized. What was the relationship
between the itinerant authority of the apostle and the local
authorities placed in the church?• Becoming “God’s assembly” through conversion—this is an
intentional not a national or biologically based community—
demands “holiness,” but how is “difference” to be expressed? What
manner of life distinguishes the “saints” from the “world”?
o Distinctions from Gentiles were fairly easy, given that idolatry
and the vice characteristically associated with idolatry were
easy to detect and prohibit.