New Testament Theology: The Pauline Epistles and Luke-Acts

The overall objective of this course is to lay the foundation for a lifetime of work in the Pauline Epistles and Luke-Acts, introducing the student to all of the essential processes and resources necessary to frame in a biblical theology of the Pauline Epistles and Luke-Acts, and to a process of moving from biblical theology to theology in culture.  Specifically, this means that each person studying the course would:

• Develop an overall understanding of the Pauline Epistles and Luke-Acts, including the development of a canonical intent statement that integrates the authors’ intention and literary design and the role this literature plays in relation to the other sections of the New Testament canon.

• Develop skill in handling the special literature of the Pauline Epistles and Luke-Acts—majoring on the unique combination of Graeco-Roman letters and biography, as well as paying attention to the over-arching role that Luke-Acts  played in shaping the Pauline corpus.

• Develop an author’s intention statement for each book, which pays careful attention to the literary design; develop a theology of each book, which develops the author’s emphasis of crafting his theological ideas.

• Develop a theology of Luke-Acts as a whole, which again, respects the literary design and identifies the careful crafting of the author’s theological ideas, identifying both themes and rhemes.

• Develop a framework for beginning to use the Pauline Epistles and Luke-Acts in both life and ministry, including framing in a couple of future series ideas for preaching from the Pauline Epistles and Luke-Acts.