God’s Saving Grace: A Pauline Theology by Frank J. Matera (review)

Matera is known, among other things, for his wise and readable synthetic work. His book on New Testament Christology, for instance, is an excellent resource for introductory classes on the subject. Matera has again produced an accessible book on a controversial and large subject, demonstrating his masterful ability to explain and organize.

Matera distinguishes this work from books on Paul’s theology. Whereas those who write on Paul’s theology claim to summarize the theology of the apostle Paul, Matera attempts rather to summarize the theology of the Pauline letters. The first enterprise focuses on the historical figure of Paul and his theology. The second—the one that Matera seeks to undertake—clarifies and synthesizes the theology of the Pauline letters.

Matera identifies the Pauline letters as the thirteen canonical letters that bear Paul’s name—whether or not they were actually written by the apostle. In this Matera hearkens back to the pre-modern era when Paul’s theology was understood on the basis of these thirteen letters.

The book is very clearly organized, replete with summaries to guide the reader relatively effortlessly through the framework that Matera establishes. That framework is guided by two ‘‘principles’’: the theme of God’s saving grace, which Paul experienced at his call and conversion; and the three implicit narratives underlying Paul’s theology—the narrative of Paul’s own life, the narrative of what God has done in Christ, and the narrative of God’s saving grace in the lives of those in Christ (10–11).

On the basis of this framework Matera structures his Pauline theology in the following sequence and categories: Paul’s Damascus road experience as the generative centre of Paul’s theology; Christ as the content of the gospel Paul received and proclaims to the nations; the salvation brought by Christ; the Church as the eschatological people of God and the body of Christ; Pauline ethics; eschatological existence; and God.

Each of the chapters is organized in categories and subcategories that draw together and acknowledge the differences among the thirteen letters. In the chapter on Christ as the embodiment of God’s saving grace, for instance, Matera groups the information from the thirteen letters under three main categories having to do with what the Pauline letters teach about the identity of Christ: how Paul identifies Christ; Christ as the one who pre-existed and exists with God, and the corporate Christ. In each of these groupings Matera has subcategories, such as, under the first: Son / Son of God, Christ/Messiah, and Lord. In each of these subcategories Matera again further organizes and distinguishes differences and trajectories in the Pauline corpus.

This is an impressive synthetic work, offering an array of valuable observations, making constructive connections and conversing judiciously with important scholarly works on particular passages or issues. Throughout Matera evidences his mastery of the field and responsible decision making ability.

My one confusion concerns Matera’s use of the historical Paul and how this differs from those who use the Apostle in writing a theology of Paul. Matera claims his work focuses on the theology of the literature of the Pauline corpus rather than on the theology of the historical Paul (6), and considers that this separates his endeavour from theologies of Paul. What is confusing, however, is that Matera proceeds to use the historical Paul in a foundational way. According to Matera, Paul’s experience is the foundation of Paul’s gospel, which becomes the basis of the Pauline theology of all of the letters—even those Paul did not write. Furthermore, Matera finds coherence in the theology of the Pauline letters on the basis of ‘‘Paul’s experience of saving grace on the Damascus road’’ (246). As mentioned, Matera claims that one of his two ‘‘principles’’ is that the framework for his Pauline theology ‘‘arises from three implicit narratives,’’ one of which is the narrative of Paul’s own...