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An exhaustive study of Pauline Christology by noted Pauline scholar, Gordon Fee. The author provides a detailed analysis of the letters of Paul (including those whose authorship is questioned) individually, exploring the Christology of each one, and then attempts a synthesis of the exegetical work into a biblical Christology of Paul.

The author’s synthesis covers the following themes: Christ’s roles as divine Savior and as preexistent and incarnate Savior; Jesus as the Second Adam, the Jewish Messiah, and Son of God; and as the Messiah and exalted Lord. Fee also explores the relationship between Christ and the Spirit and considers the Person and role of the Spirit in Paul’s thought. Appendices cover the theme of Christ and Personified Wisdom, and Paul’s use of Kurios (Lord) in citations and echoes of the Septuagint.

“Anyone who has read even a smattering of Paul’s writings recognizes early on that his devotion to Christ was the foremost reality and passion of his life. What he said in one of his later letters serves as a kind of motto for his entire Christian life: ‘For me to live is Christ; to die is [to] gain [Christ]’ (Phil. 1:21). Christ is the beginning and goal of everything for Paul, and thus is the single great reality along the way.”
—From the Introduction

Reviews

“Fee's Pauline Christology is quite simply the best work to have ever been written on Pauline Christology. This is not only because it is the first modern scholarly work to be dedicated to this subject, but also because of Fee's exegetical insightfulness as well as some of his methodological choices. . . . As with almost all of Fee's work, his exegesis is generally fair and very clear. It is easy to follow. . . . It is an enormously helpful and insightful volume, one with which every student of Paul will need to become familiar.”
—Chrisedom blog—http://www.christilling.de/blog/ctblog.html

“Gordon Fee, Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Regent College in Vancouver, is one of the foremost Evangelical scholars in North America. He brings his great erudition and theological insight to bear on the topic of Paul's christology, which strangely, as Fee points out, has not been the subject of many explicit book-length studies. This work, encyclopedic in its length and format, goes a long way toward making yip for such neglect. ‘Christology’ is defined as what Paul believed (and taught) about the person of Christ—not simply the effects of Christ's work on our behalf. Fee proceeds by examining the christological passages in each of Paul's letters, including works assumed by many scholars to be deutero-Pauline such as 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, and the Pastoral Letters. The exegetical groundwork of the first section is followed by a second half of the volume that weaves the conclusions from these studies into a synthesis under various titles (e.g., Second Adam, Son of God, Messiah, etc.) or categories of interpretation (e.g., Pre-existent, Divine Savior, Personified Wisdom, etc.). There is no doubt that this substantial study will be a reference point for some time to come. ”
—The Bible Today

"This is a monumental book—in some respects, even a watershed book—in both size and significance."
—Catholic Biblical Quarterly

“All in all, the bottom line is that Fee’s book is the most thorough and compelling account of Paul’s Christology to date and is nothing short of a great achievement. It is sure to remain the standard in the field for some time to come.”
—Review of Biblical Literature

“To say that this work is monumental is to understate the case. Although one may have a few quibbles with some of the conclusions reached here, Fee has still managed to offer compelling readings of key texts, all the while filling a large lacuna in Pauline scholarship. He helpfully walks the reader through his exegetical decisions one text at a time and provides a synthesis that gathers all the relevant data under consideration, making this a goldmine of a reference book. Any future work on Paul’s Christology or christological studies in general will be forced to reckon with this magnificent volume for years to come. ”
—Review of Biblical Literature

“All in all . . . readers cannot go wrong in purchasing this book—loaded with excellent coverage of a quintessential Christian doctrine. Fee is clear: Jesus is an object of worship, to whom Paul is completely devoted. May we be likewise.”
—The Pneuma Review

"Pauline Christology is a very welcome addition to Pauline studies, filling a gap in the scholarly literature. It is essential reading for NT scholars, and of coures, especially for those who know and love Paul."
—Journal of the Evangelical Society

“This is a conservative yet innovative work. It is conservative inasmuch as it rejects any attempt to minimize the centrality of preexistence and incarnation in Pauline Christology. It is innovative in its understanding of the role that the Septuagint and its Kyrios title play in Pauline Christology. Fee’s work is the most complete and thorough presentation of Pauline Christology presently available.”
—Theological Studies Book Reviews

“Fee’s work is a welcome and worthy exegetical and theological treatment of an important subject. Time will no doubt prove its worth in New Testament studies.”
—Toronto Journal of Theology

“Fee’s benchmark study on Pauline Christology is impressive for its breadth and specificity. Fee begins by discussing current perspectives on Pauline Christology. In part one he scrutinizes all the Pauline letters in chronological order with sections involving descriptions and titles: eternal Son of God, kurios, God, Christ, the Spirit, messiah, second Adam, wisdom, preexistence, incarnate savior, and redeemer. On each letter, he discusses backgrounds, structure, and purpose. At the end of each chapter he supplies an appendix of the texts in Greek and “An Analysis of Usage.” Part two, designated “synthesis,” consists of systematic observations on each of the previously mentioned topics. The book concludes with an appendix on wisdom. Fee ends with an extended bibliography, and indices of modern authors, subjects, and ancient sources. Fee dialogues with an impressive range of international authors. He concludes that the manner in which Paul employs kurios and his references to preexistence clearly identify Jesus as an Eternal divine Son. He argues that Paul “neither knew nor articulated anything that might resemble a Wisdom Christology.” This book is highly recommended for seminary courses in Christology and for graduate seminars in Pauline theology.”
—Religious Studies Review

"After several weeks reading every page, I came away from the task [of reading the book] with admiration for Fee’s depth of study and wideness of acquaintance with both primary texts and secondary sources reflected in this hefty volume. As such, the book will stand on the bookshelf as an invaluable resource and point of reference whenever a central theme of NT theology is discussed. It is Fee’s magnum opus.
—Interpretation

“This is an ambitious book and an important and useful one. It is valuable for the data it collects, the methodology it carefully explains and follows, the detail of its exegesis and the forthrightness of its conclusions There may be other more integrated ways to examine Paul’s Christology but until they come along this book does sterling service for those wishing to investigate Paul’s thinking on this most foundational area. We are indebted to Professor Fee for his patient and insightful work.”
—Reformed Theological Review

“This magisterial work is the first full-scale, comprehensive study of Paul's Christology. Whereas other works on Paul discuss his Christology alongside a variety of other Pauline themes, Fee has made Paul's Christology the centre of his study. One of Fee's aims is to counter the tendency in New Testament scholarship to downplay Pauline Christology. The approach Fee has adopted to bring to the fore Paul's Christology is to provide a close reading of each of the Pauline letters – both authentic and disputed. The study of each letter is then organized according to the Christological themes that emerge from the exegesis of that letter. This approach has the advantage of allowing the Christological elements of the Pauline corpus to emerge from the texts themselves and also allows the reader to grasp the distinctiveness of each letter's portrayal of Christ.

“In the introduction Fee deals with preliminary but problematic issues such as the definition of Christology and its application to Paul, and provides a brief discussion of the state of twentieth century scholarship on Pauline Christology. In this opening chapter Fee also alerts the reader to key exegetical questions and considers whether Paul used the Septuagint. The remainder of the book falls into two parts. Part I, 'Analysis', provides a detailed study of the Christological themes of each individual letter written by or attributed to Paul. In Part II, entitled Synthesis', Fee attempts to draw together the Christological themes identified in Part II into a coherent Pauline Christology. Pauline Christology: An Exegetical Theological Study is an outstanding work of scholarship and is likely to become the definitive work on Pauline Christology for the foreseeable future.
—Theological Book Review

“The book should be purchased, read, dog-eared, and utilized by student and pastor alike.”
—Criswell Theological Review

“This massively detailed study of Pauline christology is divided into two parts. In the first part Fee examines the individual Pauline letters discretely, although treating the Thessalonian letters and the Pastoral Epistles as one chapter each. Thus this first section considers not only the undisputed Pauline letters, but , also includes those letters which are generally of disputed authorship.
“The methodology of the study in this first section aims to identify the christology of each letter in its own right rather than attempting to generalize about Pauline Christology.
“After this prelude on the basis of the christology of the individual letters Fee turns in the second section of the book to a thematic treatment as a synthesis of his first section. Themes treated include Jesus as divine saviour, as pre-existent, as Second Adam and Messiah.
“The book will be noteworthy as a counterpoint to the work of scholars such as James Dunn in arguing for the pre-existence of Christ and for a proto-Trinitarian christology, a term Fee avows is not original but borrowed from Stanley Porter.
“The book includes extensive use of Greek, but typically the quotations in the text are translated in a way which will enable those without Greek or those with limited Greek to appreciate the argument.
“The book will be suitable for more advanced students who are following an M. Div. or first degree in Theology as well as those undertaking graduate-level courses in New Testament. It will be a valuable addition to libraries in institutions providing serious courses in biblical studies.”
—Theological Book Review

Gordon D. Fee is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is the author of numerous works, including New Testament Exegesis, Third Edition: A Handbook for Students and Pastors; To What End Exegesis? Essays Textual, Exegetical, and Theological; Listening to the Spirit in the Text; The First Epistle to the Corinthians (New International Commentary); 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus (New International Biblical Commentary); and, with Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth.

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