Category: Theology (Page 1 of 4)

Viljoen, “Christ’s Immutability in 2 Timothy 2:11–13”

September 6, 2026 / Chuck Bumgardner

Viljoen, François P. “Christ’s Immutability in 2 Timothy 2:11–13: A Threat, a Comfort, or an Encouragement?” Pages 78–93 in Biblical Theological Investigations into the Immutability of God in the New Testament. Edited by François P. Viljoen and Albert J. Coetsee. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2026.

Abstract: “This paper explores the nature of Christ’s immutability in 2 Tim 2:11–13, with particular attention to the varied interpretations of the concluding clause, “he cannot deny himself.” The passage, structured around four conditional statements, highlights Christ’s steadfast character in contrast to human unreliability. The final clause presents interpretative challenges, with scholars offering divergent views: some regard it as a comforting affirmation of Christ’s unwavering faithfulness to the faithless, while others interpret it as a solemn warning, emphasizing his commitment to justly judge the unfaithful. This study engages these perspectives and argues for a more nuanced interpretation, grounded in the broader textual context of the clause. The central claim is that the passage should be read as a reaffirmation of the letter’s overarching exhortation, encouraging its addressee to persevere in his ministerial calling amid adversity.” (78)

From the foreward:
“François Viljoen’s chapter examines Christ’s immutability in 2 Tim 2:11–13, focusing on the interpretive tensions surrounding the clause ‘he cannot deny himself.’ The passage, structured as a fourfold confessional statement, juxtaposes human unreliability with Christ’s steadfastness. While some scholars read the final clause as a comforting assurance of Christ’s faithfulness despite human lapses, others interpret it as a solemn warning of judgment upon denial. Viljoen argues for a nuanced synthesis: the statement functions not merely as threat or comfort but as exhortation, reinforcing the epistle’s overarching call to endurance in ministry. By situating the clause within the broader Pauline theology of divine faithfulness, the chapter demonstrates how Christ’s immutability rather serves as encouragement and assurance, anchoring perseverance in the unchanging reliability of the Lord.” (xviii–xix).

McQuaid, “Nearness of God”

June 9, 2025 / Chuck Bumgardner

McQuaid, Joshua. “Nearness of God.” Journal of Theological Interpretation 19.1 (2025): 89–109.

Abstract: Among Scripture’s many descriptions of God, “living God” language is at once one of the most common and least examined. Interpretations of the relevant texts have largely ignored theological categories operative within the doctrine of God, leading to a haphazard understanding of how this scriptural theme might inform theological articulation. By investigating the living God language in Rom 14:11 and 1 Thess 1:9, this study specifically responds to earlier neglect of that language in the Pauline writings and seeks to demonstrate the value of its recovery for theological interpretation. It considers relevant background texts in Israel’s Scriptures and argues that Scripture’s living God language regularly signals God’s communicative nearness—that is, God’s nearness to see, to hear, and/or to speak—sounding a note of personal engagement that interpreters often neglect.

The title of this recent article may not catch the eye of students of the Pastorals. However, as a treatment of “living God” language in Paul, it will be of interest to those working in 1 Timothy 3:15 or 4:10.

Percival, “The Plan of Salvation in the Letters to Timothy and Titus”

December 19, 2022 / Chuck Bumgardner

John Percival has finished up his Cambridge PhD thesis on the Pastorals, and researchers in the Pastorals will want to engage his work in their own where they can. Because of the nature of the project, it will be germane to other research done throughout all three letters. This is true not only for the thesis’s main area of investigation, the plan of salvation, but also in the way it examines distinctions among the three letters.

Here’s the abstract:

“The New Testament letters to Timothy and Titus (LTT) are often lumped together as ‘The Pastoral Epistles.’ While there are understandable reasons for this approach, it has meant that the distinctive contribution of each of the three letters has not been sufficiently considered. Furthermore, narrative approaches to the Pauline letters have led to fruitful explorations of their theology, especially from a salvation-historical perspective, but these approaches have not been applied to the LTT, at least in part due to their marginal status in the conversation. Taken together, this has impoverished our understanding of the theology and purpose of the LTT.
“Therefore, this thesis employs a narrative approach to examine the salvation-historical outlook of each of the LTT. This is accomplished by adopting minimal assumptions about authorship and reviewing each letter in turn, describing the components of a narrative ‘plan of salvation.’ The relationship between the elements of the plan is examined so as to shed light on the narrative world, theology and, especially, the rhetorical purpose of the letter. For such short letters, there is a wealth of data and clear differences between the three. Thus we are able to identify areas where the letters have been misrepresented or misunderstood in scholarly literature, offering a fresh and creative contribution to scholarship on the LTT. The outcome is a clearer understanding of the distinctive contribution of each letter, particularly in terms of the plan of salvation as conceived from a narrative perspective.”

For more information, see this Cambridge repository page.

Genade, “Life in the Pastoral Epistles”

March 5, 2022 / Chuck Bumgardner

Aldred A. Genade, “Life in the Pauline Letters (3): Life in the Pastoral Epistles.” Pages 109–27 in Biblical Theology of Life in the New Testament. Edited by Francois P. Viljoen and Albert J. Coetsee. Reformed Theology in Africa Series 6. Cape Town: AOSIS, 2021.

Aldred Genade has contributed a chapter on the Pastorals to a volume presenting a NT theology of life. The volume is open-source and is available in full here.

Genade’s other contributions to Pastorals literature include:

Aldred A. Genade. “The Letter to Titus in Recent Scholarship: A Critical Overview.” Currents in Biblical Research 9.1 (2010): 48–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476993X09360726

________. Persuading the Cretans: A Text-Generated Persuasion Analysis of the Letter to Titus. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011.

________. “Titus 3:3 as selfvilifikasie: ‘n Retoriese opsie [Titus 3:3 as Self-vilification: A Rhetorical Option].” Verbum et Ecclesia 31 (2010), article 346. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v31i1.346

Archer, “The Spirit in the Pastoral Epistles”

December 24, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

Kenneth Archer has added to the literature on the Holy Spirit in the Pastoral Epistles with a new article in the journal produced by the Society for Pentecostal Studies:

Archer, Kenneth J. “The Spirit in the Pastoral Epistles: Inspiring, Gifting, Sanctifying Presence.” Pneuma 43.3–4 (2021): 532–37. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700747-bja10061

Abstract: “The pneumatology of the Pastoral Epistles (PE) appears at first glance to be rather limited. The term pneuma occurs only seven times in the PE. In this essay, I will address the seven references in canonical order and then summarize the pneumatology of the PE. The PE reinforce the traditional systematic theological perspective of the role of the Spirit as active in revelation and the salvation process and as empowering persons for service. The Holy Spirit is the main person of the Trinity actively working in eschatological salvation for all by bringing forth the fruit of holiness and working powerfully through the sufferings of gifted persons.”

Simmons, “The Holy Spirit in the Pastorals”

November 13, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

Those interested in pneumatology in the Pastorals will be interested in a chapter in a recent volume:

Simmons, William A. The Holy Spirit in the New Testament: A Pentecostal Guide. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2021. [note chap. 13: “The Holy Spirit in the Pastoral Epistles: The Spirit of Power, Love and Self-Control,” pp. 161–72]

McKnight, “From Timely Exegesis to Contemporary Ecclesiology”

May 15, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

I list here an article which falls under the category of “hidden contributions to Pastorals scholarship”:

Scot McKnight, “From Timely Exegesis to Contemporary Ecclesiology: Relevant Hermeneutics and Provocative Embodiment of Faith in a Corona-Defined World – Generosity During a Pandemic.” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 77.4 (2021): a6426. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v77i4.6426

The article engages the Pastorals in a discussion of generosity and humanitarian concern for the poor (pp. 2-3). McKnight is slated to produce a commentary on the Pastorals in the New Cambridge Bible Commentary.

Van den Heede, “La participation à la mort du Christ par le baptême”

March 27, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

A new article of potential interest to Pastorals scholars:

Philippe van den Heede, “La participation à la mort du Christ par le baptême (Rm 6,3–11: Une conception pré-paulinienne (Rm 6,8; 2 Tm 2,11).” Revue Biblique 128.1 (2021): 99–115.

Abstract: “Several scholars are of the opinion that the notion of participation in the death and resurrection of Christ through baptism does not appear before the letter to the Romans (Rom 6:3-11). It would therefore be an original theological creation of Paul. However, comparison of Rom 6:8 with 2 Tim 2:11, which is found in a traditional hymn, shows that this baptismal conception is pre-Paulinian (it is also found in Eph 5:14). Paul therefore inherited this tradition which he integrated and developed in his theological reflection.”

Newell, “Biblical Veganism: An Examination of 1 Timothy 4:1–8”

March 15, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

In a journal not known for its extended treatments of the biblical text, a new article on 1 Timothy has appeared:

Marcello Newall, “Biblical Veganism: An Examination of 1 Timothy 4:1–8.” Journal of Animal Ethics 11.1 (2021): 11–35.

Abstract: “1 Timothy 4:1-8 is often used as a proof text against veganism; this is especially true among certain fundamentalist Christian groups and conspiracy theorists. This article argues that a closer look at its linguistic, historical, and theological context reveals that Paul is in reality seeking to uphold the goodness of creation, as described in the first chapters of Genesis, against the dualistic proto-Gnostic creation story that saw the material world as evil. In this sense, 1 Timothy 4:1-8 appears to be a point-by-point rebuttal of the proto-Gnostic view of creation, which is contrasted with the account in Genesis. In particular, the apostle is denouncing a harsh asceticism, and food restriction/deprivation, described as ‘bodily exercise,’ which by severely mortifying the body sought deliverance from the material world. The article goes on to analyze ancient forms of asceticism as well as dietary patterns in the ancient Mediterranean in order to show how contemporary veganism differs sharply from the kind of mortification that is being condemned. 1 Timothy 4:1-8 highlights how food, generally understood, and creation should be received with thanksgiving as they are both gifts from God, which were pronounced good. Furthermore, 1 Timothy underlines that true Christian holiness does not consist in the harsh mortification of the body but in an inner holiness based on love and faith in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. Ultimately, veganism, far from being anti-Christian, as God’s original ideal, can be seen as a sign of hope pointing to the coming of the Kingdom of God and the restoration of creation beyond all violence, suffering, and death.”

Learning of this article reminded me of another in the same journal, broader in scope, but having the Pastorals in its ambit: Carl Frayne, “On Imitating the Regimen of Immortality or Facing the Diet of Mortal Reality: A Brief History of Abstinence from Flesh-Eating in Christianity,” Journal of Animal Ethics 6.2 (2016): 188–212.

A significant amount of scholarly attention has been given to 1 Tim 4:1-5 in the last twenty years, not least because of the juxtaposition of rising environmental concerns and the passage’s emphasis on the goodness of creation. Italian scholarship has made significant contributions: see Roberto Amici, “Tutto ciò che Dio ha creato è buono” (1Tm 4,4). Il rapporto con le realtà terrene nelle Lettere pastorali, RivBSup 48 (Bologna: Dehoniane, 2007); Giuseppe de Virgilio, “Πᾶν κτίσμα θεοῦ καλόν (1Tm 4,4). La positività della creasione e la sua dimensione salvifica nelle Lettere Pastorali,” in Creation and Salvation in the Bible, ed. M. V. Fabbri and M. Tábet (Rome: EDUSC, 2009), 361–76. As well, note Boudewijn Dehandschutter, “The History-of-Religions Background of 1 Timothy 4:4: ‘Everything that God Has Created Is Good,’” in The Creation of Heaven and Earth: Re-interpretations of Genesis 1 in the Context of Judaism, Ancient Philosophy, Christianity, and Modern Physics, ed. Geurt Hendrik van Kooten, Themes in Biblical Narrative: Jewish and Christian Traditions 8 (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 211–21; Jeremy Mann, “A Consecrated Cosmos? First Timothy 4:1–5 in Exegetical and Theological Perspective,” Bulletin of Ecclesial Theology 4.2 (2017): 79–88; Dillon T. Thornton, “Consecrated Creation: First Timothy 4:1–5 as an Underused Remedy for the Cosmological Dualism Prevalent in the Church,” Bulletin of Ecclesial Theology 4.1 (2017): 15–25; Paul R. Trebilco, “The Goodness and Holiness of the Earth and the Whole Creation (1 Timothy 4.1‒5),” in Readings from the Perspective of Earth, ed. Norman C. Habel (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), 204‒20.

Poirier, The Invention of the Inspired Text

February 22, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

Of interest to students of the Pastorals, and particularly those who study the theology of the letters: I received notice of a new volume forthcoming in the LNTS series, which mounts a challenge to the traditional understanding of θεόπνευστος in 2 Tim 3:16 and elsewhere in the early centuries of Christianity, advocating a meaning of “life-giving.”

Poirier, John C. The Invention of the Inspired Text: Philological Windows on the Theopneustia of Scripture. Library of New Testament Studies 640. New York: T&T Clark, 2021.

Here is the publisher’s overview of the book: “John C. Poirier examines the ‘theopneustic’ nature of the Scripture, as a response to the view that ‘inspiration’ lies at the heart of most contemporary Christian theology. In contrast to the traditional rendering of the Greek word theopneustos as ‘God-inspired’ in 2 Tim 3:16, Poirier argues that a close look at first- and second-century uses of theopneustos reveals that the traditional inspirationist understanding of the term did not arise until the time of Origen in the early third century CE, and that in every pre-Origen use of theopneustos the word instead means ‘life-giving.’

“Poirier thus conducts a detailed investigation of theopneustos as it appears in the fifth Sibylline Oracle, the Testament of Abraham, Vettius Valens, Pseudo-Plutarch (Placita Philosophorum), and Pseudo-Phocylides, all of whom understand the word to mean ‘life-giving.’ He also studies the use of the cognate term theopnous in Numenius, the Corpus Hermeticum, on an inscription at the Great Sphinx of Giza, and on an inscription at a nymphaeum at Laodicea on the Lycus. Poirier argues that a rendering of ‘life-giving’ also fits better within the context of 2 Tim 3:16, and that this meaning survived late enough to figure in a fifth-century work by Nonnus of Panopolis. He further traces the pre-Origen use of theopneustos among the Church Fathers. Poirier concludes by addressing the implication of rethinking the traditional understanding of Scripture, stressing that the lack of ‘God-inspired’ scripture ultimately does not affect the truth status of the gospel as preached by the apostles.”

The entire first chapter appears to focus on the seminal text, being titled “Is ‘All Scripture … Inspired’? The Meaning of Theopneustia in 2 Timothy 3:16.”