Resurrection in Romans
(avg. read time: 20–39 mins.)
As I have mentioned before, my planned volume on resurrection in Paul is planned for last in the series. Compared to most other volumes in the planned series, there is so much written on this subject with new articles and books coming out seemingly every year that I will need to keep up with. And I have no doubt that it will be the longest volume in the series. But because I have it pushed back even more than other volumes, I have even less clarity about how I want to structure it. I am not sure if Romans should be first because it serves as a summary to help us illuminate other parts of Paul’s works or if it should be last because it is that summary which is illuminated by Paul’s other works. In any case, this is the shortest of the roughest of rough drafts on the subject of resurrection in Romans.
Our first reference relevant to resurrection actually comes from the opening of Romans. It is part of his opening summary of his teaching by reference to the three-stage gospel narrative. The gospel he proclaims, which (as seen many times already) is presented as fulfilling Scripture, concerns God’s Son Jesus Christ, appointed in/with power by his resurrection from the dead. Clearly, Jesus’s resurrection, and his death by implication, is at the center of his gospel and his summary is further encompassed by appeal to the exaltation, hence the references to Jesus as Son of God and Lord here. Resurrection and kingship/kingdom are closely tied together for Paul, and thus the resurrection is closely tied with the exaltation, as the latter brings to fruition what Jesus accomplished in his death and resurrection.
While this fits with Paul’s theology, particularly as I illustrate in the above link on the use of the three-stage gospel narrative elsewhere in Paul, scholars have often recognized pre-Pauline elements here, though it is not necessarily clear how much is pre-Pauline. This would make sense, as Paul has also summarized his gospel proclamation in 1 Cor 15:3–7 in a way that signifies that he is adopting and adding to a summary that he received from elsewhere. The indicates that pre-Pauline material is present are the unusual vocabulary for Paul, such as the use of the verb for “appoint” (or “declare” in some translations; ὁρίζω), the description of Jesus as being Son of God “in/with power” (ἐν δυνάμει), and the reference to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of holiness” (πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης).1 The juxtaposition of Jesus coming to be in the flesh with his exaltation in the Spirit by the resurrection fits with other confession-like statement in 1 Tim 3:16 and 1 Pet 3:18. Likewise, the fact that his other use of Ps 2:7 in relation to Jesus and his resurrection in Acts 13:32–33 shows the marks of tradition, as he is proclaiming a gospel reminiscent of Peter’s proclamation (even if not in exact wording and structure), and that the text is used similarly in Heb 1:5 and 5:5, may also indicate that we are dealing with a summary that has its origins before Paul.