Dynamic Oneness

The apostle Paul affirms in several places that there is only one God. Yet in the same letters Paul also gives praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, often using language similar to his descriptions of God. How can this self-avowed Hebrew of Hebrews reconcile these ideas? This book explores the strongest one-God statements in Paul's undisputed letters and asks how Paul's Jewish monotheistic understanding informs his overall argument. These three texts--1 Corinthians 8:6, Galatians 3:20, and Romans 3:30--occur in very different contexts and address different issues. By looking at the historical, cultural, and grammatical contexts of these passages, as well as Paul's language about God and Christ elsewhere in these letters, Dr. Nicholson argues that Paul's understanding of the one God is not static or perfunctory; rather, it is dynamic and flexible, influencing significant aspects of Paul's Gospel message. Paul's ethics, his view of salvation history, and his soteriology are fundamentally shaped by his understanding of the one God of Israel.

""Suzanne Nicholson's book is the first to focus specifically on the coherence of Paul's thought in relation to his statements about God's oneness. Her theological approach resists the temptation to render Paul's view of God as axiomatic. Instead, this study, which commits itself to a nuanced treatment of the apostle's argument, shows a commendable sensitivity to the role played by distinguishable epistolary and socio-religious contexts in shaping Paul's monotheistic language.""
--Loren T. Stuckenbruck
B F Westcott Professor in Biblical Studies
Durham University


Suzanne Nicholson is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Malone University in Canton, Ohio, and is an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church. She received her PhD from Durham University in 2007.