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34 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW XII As was true of both Romans 3:21-26 and Galatians 2:16-20, then, Galatians 3:22 also appears to fit very smoothly into its context when pi,stij vIhsou/ Cristou/ is understood subjectively as “the faith of Jesus Christ”. d) Philippians 3:9 The final phrase under consideration is found at the end of Paul’s argument in Philippians 3:7-9, again as found in the alternate NRSV version. 3 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ [h[ghmai dia. to.n Cristo.n zhmi,an]. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss [h`gou/mai pa,nta zhmi,an ei=nai] because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish [h`gou/mai sku,bala], in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through the faith of Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith [th.n dia. pi,stewj Cristou/( th.n evk qeou/ dikaiosu,nhn evpi. th/| pi,stei]. As Morna Hooker points out, here, too, Paul introduces the idea of “the faith of Christ” in the context of a larger argument about Paul’s own nonexistent contribution to salvation. In 3:4-6 he lists his privileges as a Jew, then in 3:7-9 makes it clear by the threefold use of the verb that he regards (h`ge,omai) them all as nothing compared to what he has received in Christ. Each time, h`ge,omai echoes back to the programmatic Christological 2:6, where Christ did not regard (h`gh,sato) equality with God as “something to be exploited”. Now Paul, too, is following Christ’s example, considering as loss (zhmi,a) and rubbish (sku,bala) whatever was formerly to his advantage. In all of these parallels, Hooker thinks, “The echo of Philippians 2 suggests that this phrase ought to refer to the obedient self-surrender of Christ—that is, to his faithfulness.” 46 Ian Wallis, too, points out three other possessive genitives in Philippians that he thinks support this subjective interpretation. In 1:27a he understands tou/ euvaggeli,ou tou/ Cristou/ as a genitive of apposition (“the Gospel which is Christ”); in 1:27b he takes th/| pi,stei tou/ euvaggeliou/ as an instrumental dative followed by a possessive genitive (“by means of the faith belonging to the Gospel”); and in 3:8 he prefers to see th/j gnw,sewj Cristou/ VIhsou/ tou/ kuri,ou mou subjectively (“the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”, in the sense of being known by Him) rather than in the more usual objective manner (“knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord”). In 3:8 especially, Wallis thinks, it is important for Paul to continue emphasizing God’s initiative, with “the 46 Hooker 332 (emphasis added).
CHAMBERS: PISTIS CRISTOU IN PAUL knowledge of Christ” constituting “the grounds rather than the goal of Paul’s kenosis”. 47 According to these arguments too, then, a subjective understanding of pi,stij Cristou/ in Philippians 3:9 helps to integrate Paul’s thought within the larger argument of the whole letter—just as subjective readings of similar phrases in other passages supported Paul’s purpose in other letters also. e) Response from an “objective” perspective Clearly, it would be an enormous task to respond to each of these suggestions individually; the greater part of Ian Wallis’ 1995 bibliography, which is more than 23 single-spaced pages long, represents works that favour the subjective perspective. Little wonder, then, that James Dunn felt (at the 1988 SBL meeting already mentioned) that he was being overwhelmed by a mass of onrushing Gerasene swine! Not everybody, though, has been swept away completely as yet. Dunn, and Arland Hultgren, in particular, among others, both still raise pertinent objections to significant details of the subjective interpretations outlined above. Their arguments are organized below according to the text(s) they address most directly. i) Romans 3:21-26 Hultgren raises the crucial point that, in terms of the context of pi,stij vIhsou/ (Cristou/), Paul does in fact speak fairly often about God justifying believers on the basis of their own faith. Hultgren lists 11 such passages from Romans and Galatians alone. 48 Even if a few of these passages are controversial (e.g. Rom. 1:17, Gal. 3:11, both of which are understood by some proponents of the subjective interpretation to support that view), the majority are quite indisputable. 49 Justification, for Paul, is both frequently and obviously linked with the faith of the believer. Three texts from Hultgren’s list stand out because of the strength of the link they forge between these two ideas: righteousness, and the faith of the believer. In Romans 4:11, it is significant that Abraham is said to have obtained “righteousness by faith” (th/j dikaiosu,nhj th/j pi,stewj) at the very same time that he is also explicitly called “the ancestor of all who believe” 47 Wallis 123. 48 The passages are: Rom. 3:28, 30; 4:5, 11, 13; 5:1; 9:30-32; 10:4-6; Gal. 3:8-9, 11, 24. Hultgren 258. 49 It should be noted that Richard Longenecker, for one, does not see evk pi,stewj at Rom. 1:17 and Gal. 3:11 as a reference to Christ, but rather to human trust and faith. Paul, Apostle of Liberty (New York: Harper & Row, 1964) 150 n. 140. 35
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