This chapter focuses on Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Among thecritical issues tdiscussed are the literary relationship between Ephesians and Colossians, the significance of the haustafeln in their various forms, and early Christian attitudes toward slavery.

This chapter focuses on Pauline ecclesiology, which on some contemporary accounts takes much more prominence than in traditional Protestant theology. In particular, the chapter contrasts the strong ties between soteriology and ecclesiology in the reading of N. T. Wright with the consistent loosening of these ties in the history of Reformed theology. The intrinsic relationship in Paul between church and salvation is investigated by a study of Wright’s reading of Galatians 2 and Ephesians 2. The loosening of this relationship in Reformed theology is traced in the writings of John Calvin, Francis Turretin, and Charles Hodge.

The relationship between Christ and history has been the point of contention between the two major exegetical conversations: the salvation-historical and apocalyptic readings of Paul. The salvation-historical tradition reads Paul as taking Christ to be the climax of God’s covenant with Israel. Christ embodies God’s faithfulness to a journey with God’s people that has stretched over ages. The apocalyptic reading of Paul conceives of Christ’s coming as an apocalyptic, disruptive invasion in this world. Both readings locate Christ and his work in the context of God’s relating to creation in reconciliation, conceiving of the difference that Christ makes as God’s response to the problems of evil and sin. This chapter argues that this betrays an ultimately deficient Christological logic. Based on Colossians and Ephesians, it is argued that Paul makes Christ also central to creation and eschatological consummation, as the pre-orderly center of all that is. This in turn offers a perspective on the relationship between Christ and history that incorporates the notions of “salvation history” and “apocalyptic revelation” in a larger, supralapsarian Christological narrative.

Dialogue gospels are part of the wider network of texts and traditions that shaped early Christianity. This chapter offers examples of thematic and linguistic connections between the dialogue gospels and texts that came to be incorporated in the New Testament. These examples include the Johannine Farewell Discourse as a possible inspiration for the genre as well as specific links between John 13.31-17.1 and its non-canonical counterparts; links between the canonical resurrection appearances and dialogue gospels; and the Pauline influence, specifically the emphasis on the risen Jesus and the construal of the makeup of the cosmos. Common concerns include Jesus’ departure and its consequences, the nature of his resurrection, and how to overcome hostile cosmic beings that inhabit the space between heaven and earth. The chapter then looks at the shared themes of parables, mysteries and the question of who is worthy of receiving Jesus’ teachings. This wide-ranging demonstration of intertextual connections draws attention to the proximity of dialogue gospels and certain New Testament texts.

Chapter 1 looks at previous scholarly work on ‘dialogue gospels’ and offers a new group of 13 early Christian texts in which Jesus engages in dialogue with his disciples, answering their questions on the eve of his departure. Earlier classifications of dialogue gospels have varied widely, resulting in divergence regarding both what to call the genre and which texts are to be included in it. To construct a genre for the purpose of comparison, I argue for an inclusive and open understanding of genre. The 13 chosen texts demonstrate that the dialogue gospel form is not intrinsically linked to ‘gnosticism’ or any specific theology; that the narrative frame of the text and the dialogue are normally not two separate entities later glued together; and that the dialogical form is a fitting vehicle for eschatological revelation. This is followed by a preliminary comparative survey of main themes found within dialogue gospels: the saviour and eschatology. Dialogue gospels are comparable in that each is attentive to eschatological revelation, yet the revelations themselves are divergent. The overlaps and connections within these revelations demonstrate how problematic it is to taxonomize these texts into particular theological groups.