Divine Instruction in Early Christianity
by Stephen E. Witmer
Stephen E. Witmer investigates one aspect of early Christian self-understanding: the conviction of some early followers of Jesus that they had been, and were being, taught by God, in fulfillment of OT prophetic promises (especially Isa 54:13 and Jer 31:33-34). In this study, he contextualizes the Christian understanding of divine instruction through analysis of divine instruction in the Old Testament and early Jewish literature. Of particular interest is the development of the idea of an eschatological teaching of God in some prophetic literature and early Jewish literature. With this context in place, the author focuses on the idea of divine instruction in the Johannine corpus. He argues that the Fourth Gospel re-interprets the prophetic promise of divine instruction in light of the teaching of Jesus and the Spirit, and that the concept functions in the Fourth Gospel polemically and as a means of self-legitimation. The consequences for human teaching are addressed through an examination of the Johannine letters, focusing particularly on 1 John 2.20, 27. The final chapters then extend the study beyond the Johannine corpus by investigating the key Pauline references to divine instruction and by providing a close reading of Matt 23.8-10.
Stephen E. Witmer, Born 1976; 2003 M.Div. and Th.M. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; 2007 PhD from the University of Cambridge; since 2008 Pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, Massachussetts, USA.
- By (author) Stephen E Witmer
Other Titles in this Series
Hidden Criticism?
The Methodology and Plausibility of the Search for a Counter-Imperial Subtext in Paul
Volume 392
Die Ethik des Johannesevangeliums im sprachlichen Feld des Handelns
Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics. Band V
Volume 359
Sturmfahrt und Schiffbruch
Zur lukanischen Verwendung eines literarischen Topos in Apostelgeschichte 27,1-28,6
Volume 274
Sunde und Rechtfertigung bei Paulus
Eine exegetische Untersuchung zum paulinischen Sundenverstandnis aus soteriologischer Sicht
Volume 318
The Origins of Pauline Pneumatology
The Eschatological Bestowal of the Spirit upon Gentiles in Judaism and in the Early Development of Paul's Theology
Volume 194
Religious Experience of the Pneuma
Communication with the Spirit World in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14
Volume 230
Jesus’ Fulfilment of the Torah and Prophets
Inherited Strategies and Torah Interpretation in Matthew's Gospel
Volume 594
Zeit und Ethik im Johannesevangelium
Theoretische, methodische und exegetische Annaherung an die Gunst der Stunde. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics
Volume 488
Pioneer and Perfecter of Faith
Jesus' Faith as the Climax of Israel's History in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Volume 338
Language and Identity in Ancient Narratives
The Relationship between Speech Patterns and Social Context in the Acts of the Apostles, Acts of John, and Acts of Philip
Volume 370
Pistis and the Righteous One
A Study of Romans 1:17 against the Background of Scripture and Second Temple Jewish Literature
Volume 235
Hellenisten in der Apostelgeschichte
Historische und exegetische Untersuchungen zu Apg 6,1; 9,29; 11,20
Volume 264
Die JĂ¼ngerinnen und JĂ¼nger im Thomasevangelium
Ein narratologisch inspirierter Zugang zum Text als Einheit
Die basileia tou theou im Markusevangelium
Erzahlstrategien und eine Hermeneutik der Korperlichkeit
Volume 607
Archaeology and the Itinerant Jesus
A Historical Enquiry into Jesus' Itinerant Ministry in the North
Volume 564
Is Jesus Athene or Odysseus?
Investigating the Unrecognisability and Metamorphosis of Jesus in his Post-Resurrection Appearances
Volume 500
The Poor, the Crippled, the Blind, and the Lame
Physical and Sensory Disability in the Gospels of the New Testament
Volume 469
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