Proceedings EGL MWBS 19 (1999)

83

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAULS CHRISTOLOGY

Sharon Dunlevy
Fairborn, OH 45324
I. Introduction
The development of Pauls Christology is a difficult topic to discuss. Paul was not bom a
Christian, nor did he become one readily, if we believe the account in the Book of Acts.
Therefore, Paul must have developed his Christology over a period of time, learning from other
beliefs and then forming his own. The question is, what or who influenced Paul? This paper will
attempt to point out some possible influences, not necessarily stating any that would have
positively been the influence, but just speculating as to possibilities.
II. Development of PauPs Christology
There are many schools o f thought on how Pauls Christology could have developed.
There is conflicting evidence in the book of Acts and in Pauls own letters on where Paul was
when he became a Christian. If we judge Pauls letters as a primary, and therefore more accurate
source, we can determine that Paul became a Christian in Damascus and not Jerusalem.1 In fact,
it appears that Paul has little connection with Jerusalem at all.2 The significance of this, is that
Paul then developed as a Christian within the context of Hellenistic and Diaspora Christianity
and not Jewish Christianity.3
The Hellenistic Church was very different from the Church developing in Jerusalem. This
would explain the discrepancies between the Gospel messages and Pauls message. The Gospels
spoke of Jesus in historical terms, giving him earthly and human qualities. Paul speaks of Jesus
in mythological and cosmic terms, not viewing Jesus as a human, but as a divine creature of God.
Wilhelm Heitmuller contends that this cosmic view of Christ grew out of the Hellenistic
Church4 However, this view is speculative and not easily proven. The difficulty is naming which
sources are pre-Pauline and from this Hellenistic Church and what is purely from Paul. This
paper will speak in terms of the influences on Paul, though it is possible that these were ideas
incorporated into the practices of the Hellenistic Church and that Paul was unaware of the
traditions that inspired them.
There are some points to this argument that could possible lead one to believe that there
was a separate Church development outside of the walls of Jerusalem, one that was influenced by
feelings of isolation and the surrounding Hellenistic neighbors. For example, the Gospels speak
mostly of Jesus as Christ, the Jewish idea of the Messiah or anointed one that would come. Paul
speaks of Jesus as Kyrios, or Lord. This is a new term for Jesus, not related to the everyday term

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kyrie, but a title of distinction.5 Kyrios cults were prevalent in many cultures of the time. The

leader, the Kyrios, invariably was viewed as more than human.6 This type of cult did not develop
around Jesus in Jerusalem because of the strict monotheism of Judaism. However, in the
Diaspora, where the Jews have been influenced by many other beliefs and gods, this strict
monotheism may have been less important. Therefore, Jesus begins to develop a more
supernatural quality that is reflected in Pauls letters.7 This evidence could lead one to believe
that Paul did indeed develop his Christology in the Hellenistic Church.
Yet, there are some unique qualities to Pauls Christology that cannot be explained by the
Hellenistic theory. In 1 Corinthians 6:15,10:17 and 12:14-31 and Romans 12:4-5, there is a new
theme to Pauls Christology. This is the issue of the Corporate Christ, the Christ that includes not
only a cosmic being, but its believers in its being.8 These passages describe the community of
believers as the soma, or body of Christ and Jesus as Kyrios, or head of the body. This connected
view of Christ and the believers has no precedence in Jewish literature and is not present in
Kyrios cults either. There is a story in the books of Livy, a pre-Pauline Roman historian, about

Agrippa Menenius. Agrippa Menenius gave a similar speech to a city that was racked with
fighting and hatred. He, too, compared the citizens of the city to body parts that must work
together in order to live comfortably.9 The similarities are so close that it seems very likely that
Paul had some knowledge of this story.
However, the story of Agrippa Menenius does not contain the idea of being connected to
a deity, only to each other. Therefore, Paul must have had another influence. Poimandres may
have been this other influence. Poimandres is found in the Corpus Hermeticum and tells of ones
encounter with the Man Shepherd, or Poimandres. In this story, God is equated with the Mind,
while the son of God is the Word that comes to the one telling the story.10 This gnostic tale has
an ambiguous origin. It is possible it originated in Egypt.11 The significance is the connection
between the deity and the individual, in this case. This connection is echoed in Pauls letter,
though it includes the whole community and not just one being. Again, there appears to be the
possibility that Paul also knew of this story.
There is another unique quality to Pauls Christology. This is the comparison of Jesus to
Adam. This comparison can be found in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, and 15:38-49 and Romans 5:1421 and 8:1-13. This comparison between Adam and Jesus is very unique to Paul. Through this
comparison, he makes a distinction between the flesh and the spirit. Adam was the beginning of
creation, a symbol of the whole human race. Jesus, the second Adam, is a continuation of that
creation and more. Jesus is a new creation, a cosmic spirit that gives life, where Adam was
merely a living being, human in every way.12 Unlike common interpretations, Jesus is not the

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answer to the fallen Adam, but is a whole new life that was not even possible before he came.
Paul does favor spirit over flesh, but he is not dwelling on the fall of man. Paul is giving hope
to the problem of death. Jesus, the cosmic Adam, offers us life beyond death. Adam could not
offer such a thing.
Although the division between flesh and spirit may seem very Platonic, there does not
appear to be a precedence for Pauls development of this idea. The Egyptian story o f Osiris has
some similar themes. Osiris was named ruler of Egypt after his father. He was a good ruler and
brought civilization to Egypt and surrounding areas. In a sense, he created order. He was
murdered by his brother, but was resurrected in the land of the dead and ruled there. After his
death, Osiriss wife became impregnated with his son.13 There are several parallels to the life of
Jesus. Both Osiris and God are creators of order. Both Osiris and Jesus die at the hands of ones
attempting to disrupt that order. Both are resurrected and triumph over that evil. In both o f these
stories, the hero triumphs over the death of flesh in order to live again in some other form. If
the stories of Jesus are influenced by Osiris, it would have been long before Pauls writing, but in
the earliest forms of the oral Gospels.
III. Conclusion
As we examine Pauls Christology, we see several themes emerge. To Paul, Jesus is a
cosmic Kyrios, who brings together community and deity into one being. These ideas appear to
have many different origins that may have influenced Pauls development as a Christian. In
another paper, I examined Pauls us of , !h e debate was whether the
phrase used a subjective or an objective genitive. If the genitive is objective, then the translation
would be faith in Jesus Christ saves humankind. If it is subjective, then the translation would be
faith of Jesus Christ. My argument was that the translation would depend more on theology than
on exegesis, namely that knowing Pauls Christology would help with this dilemma of
translation. I bring this up now because I believe the research of this paper can clear up that
argument. If Paul believes in a cosmic Christ, one that brings together a community, it seems
most likely that Paul would use the subjective genitive. The objective genitive would remove
Christs powers and place his deification in the hands of the believers. Pauls clearly does not
believe that the believers are the ones that created Christ, but that Christ created the believers and
therefore, it is Christs faith that makes us the children of God.
As I stated in the beginning, I cannot name where Pauls ideas developed, I can only
name the influences that were present at the time and that could have played a part in Pauls own
development as a Christian theologian. It is clear, that despite all influences, Paul also developed
a Christology of his own, unique to Judaism and Hellenism. Pauls Christology suggests that we

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should strive to work together in community. We should not attempt to control our own fate, but
place our trust in a Christ that was able to conquer death and become more that human.

Notes
1Heitmuller, Wilhelm. Hellenistic Christianity Before Paul (1912). In The Writings o f St. Paul. Ed. Wayne A.
Meeks (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1972). 312.

Bousset, Wilhelm. Kvrios Christos. (Nashville: Abingdon Press 2, 1970(. 119.

Ibid 3, 120.

4Heitmuller, 314-318.
Bousset 5, 122.

Bousset 6, 139.

Bousset 7, 147.

Moule, C.F.D. The Origin of Christoloev. (New York: Cambridge University Press 8, 1977(. 53.

Livy. Books land II. Translated by B.O. Foster. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press 9, 1919(.
323-325.

Mead, G.R.S. Thrice-Greatest Hermes V01.II. (London: John M. Watkins 10, 1949(. 2.

Marcus, Ralph. The Name Poimandres 11. Journal o f Near Eastern Studies 8 (January 1949(: 40.

Muddiman, John. Adam, the Type of the One to Come. Theology 87 (March 12 1984(: 102-106.

.Bonnel, Roland Guy and Vincent Arieh Tobin. Christ and Osiris: A Comparative Study. In Pharaonic Egypt, ed 13
Sarah Israelit-Groll (Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1985(. 6-7.

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