Professor John Barclay john.barclay@durham.ac.uk
Emeritus
This response to Willis, Sumney, and MacDonald highlights and develops their key points. Reinforcing Willis’ reading of gift-reciprocity in Philippians, seen even in the self-giving (non-“taking”) of Christ (Phil 2.6-11), it is argued that Paul views gifts in Christ as operative simultaneously at two levels—gifts circulate among believers, but also come from God and are offered to God. Sumney’s reading of 2 Thessalonians is nuanced by connecting the language of “worth” to 1 Thess 2.12: the congruity between believers and the Kingdom of God is based on the agency of God and the prior gift of new life. Further reflection is offered on the perfection of “efficacy” and its possible range of meanings. Finally, MacDonald’s reading of Ephesians is affirmed with emphasis on the Christ-gift as the key to the cosmos; the Psalm-interpretation in Ephesians 4.7-10 clarifies how this gift permeates (“fills”) all reality, as manifested first in gifts within Christ’s body.
Barclay, J. M. (2019). Gift and Grace in Philippians, 2 Thessalonians, and Ephesians: a Response. Horizons in Biblical Theology, 41(2), 224-237. https://doi.org/10.1163/18712207-12341399
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Online Publication Date | Sep 13, 2019 |
Publication Date | Sep 30, 2019 |
Deposit Date | Oct 10, 2019 |
Publicly Available Date | Sep 13, 2020 |
Journal | Horizons in Biblical Theology |
Print ISSN | 0195-9085 |
Electronic ISSN | 1871-2207 |
Publisher | Brill Academic Publishers |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 41 |
Issue | 2 |
Pages | 224-237 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1163/18712207-12341399 |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1318435 |
Accepted Journal Article
(492 Kb)
PDF
Rich Poverty: 2 Corinthians 8.1–15 and the Social Meaning of Poverty and Wealth
(2023)
Journal Article
Does the Gospel Require Self-Sacrifice? Paul and the Reconfiguration of the Self
(2022)
Journal Article
The New Testament in Comparison
(2020)
Book
Household Networks and Early Christian Economics: A Fresh Study of 1 Timothy 5.3–16
(2020)
Journal Article
Paul and Grace in Theological Perspective: A Grateful Response
(2020)
Journal Article
About Durham Research Online (DRO)
Administrator e-mail: dro.admin@durham.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2025
Advanced Search