Paul: An Outline of His Theology (Paperback)

~ Herman Ridderbos (Author) "It is not surprising that with respect to so profound and complicated a phenomenom as the manner in which the Apostle Paul has given form..." (more)
Key Phrases: New Testament, Old Testament, Holy Spirit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This is the English translation of the monumental study of the theology of the Apostle Paul by the Dutch theologian and Biblical scholar, Herman Ridderbos.

Language Notes

Text: English, Dutch (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (September 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802844693
• ISBN-13: 978-0802844699
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #191,034 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breath-taking in its scope and depth., November 25, 1998

By A Customer

This is the classic modern exposition of Paul's thought and theology. Topically arranged, Ridderbos exposes the structure and Paul's system and sheds a calm, thorough light on such matters as Paul's meaning of law/grace, flesh/spirit, present age/age to come. Ridderbos is in line with Geerhardus Vos' biblical theology without being dependent on the great Princeton theologian.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect scholarly complement to E. W. Keyon's books., August 9, 1998

By	Kelly M. Johnson (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first read this book in 1980 as part of my Bible school curriculum. I bought another copy because my old one was deteriorating from so much use. This is the only book I've found that explains Paul's Revelation from a theological standpoint, but without making it stiff and difficult to understand. A must for any Christian who shares Paul's desire to "comprehend the One by whom he has been apprehended."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarity On The Biblical Paul, September 14, 2008

By	Jacques Schoeman (SA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

'This interdependence between the eschatological and the christological ground motif of Paul's preaching is of the highest importance for the understanding of both.' pg 49

Herman Ridderbos sought to secure finer features of the complex Pauline theology that had run afoul of higher-criticism. Ridderbos critiqued the divergence of the biblical Paul by showing that the revelation of the once-hidden mystery of Christ had for Paul a completely different sense.

'The contrast is therefore of a redemptive-historical nature: it qualifies the world and the mode of existence before Christ as flesh, that is, as the creaturely in its weakness; on the other hand, the dispensation that has taken effect with Christ as that of the Spirit, i.e., of power and imperishableness and glory.' pg 66

One of the greatest ongoing challenges to the historic faith promulgated by Anabaptism is the unusual emphasis on the individuality of salvation. The corporate dimensions of salvation that affect the ekklesia or 'assembly of God' are often overlooked to the exclusion of the individual's conversion experience, whereby the soteriology of Paul suffers from a lack of objectivity in its ecclesiological dimension. 'We have already determined that with this old and new man one is not to think in the first place of the conversion of individual believers, but of the common mode of existence of 'the many' in Adam and in Christ respectively.' pg 401

Ridderbos firstly began with the elimination of the relevant non-Pauline texts which may have a bearing on the polemic. An unhealthy preoccupation with 'the anointing' is rejected as he placed the undivided intent of those texts on the gift at regeneration, and definitely not a separate or second blessing: 'To our mind one will with the 'anointing' have to think directly of the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38; 1 John 2:20, 27).' pg 400 Furthermore, Ridderbos denied the prospect of regenerational baptism in stating that the proper perspective of baptism 'does not denote conversion.' pg 404 A homiletical error that is often heard at baptismal events is the analogy that the baptized is himself/herself undergoing a symbolic burial and resurrection. Ridderbos rebuked this fanciful reading of Scripture: 'The death, burial and resurrection of which there is mention here are undoubtedly the death, burial and resurrection of Christ; to be buried with Him in baptism consequently means to participate by baptism in that death and that grave.' pg 403

'...because we have concluded this: that One has died for all, therefore all have died' 2 Cor 5:14 '...so in Christ shall all be made alive.' 1 Cor 15:22

Ridderbos certainly did not share the convictions as reflected in the content of modern commentators regarding baptism, and motivated his point even further with well-founded biblical exegesis: 'For this reason the expression 'to be baptized into Christ' (Rom 6:5 and Gal 3:27) cannot be simply interpreted as an abbreviation of the formula, 'to be baptized in the name of Christ', as is often assumed. Rather, this compressed expression has a more pregnant significance, in that it is the denotation of the union of the one baptized with Christ in this corporate sense, and thus with His death, burial and resurrection.' pg 403

In a faithful exegesis of the Romans 6 and Col 2 references to baptism, Ridderbos soberly assessed the issue at stake when stating that the preference for the Enlightenment position contains 'within it the danger of diverting attention from the specific significance Paul here ascribes to baptism'. pg 403 For Paul the significance lies entirely in the new creation brought about by the redemptive-historical death and resurrection of Christ, which is entirely appropriated to the believer in his participation through baptism: 'For the old man, too, has once been crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6) and the laying aside of the old man in baptism signifies above all, therefore, participation in that unique event.' pg 404 and 'To be baptized means also to participate in an actual sense in what once took place in Christ.' pg 405 On this FF Bruce was agreed: 'Incorporation into this body is effected by personal faith in Christ, sacramentally sealed in baptism and sustained by the eucharist.' Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free pg 138

'He gives, when He gives it, of His own, and the union effected between Him and the Spirit and through the Spirit and believers, acquires the character of an organic mystical union, so that to be in the Spirit is to be in Christ.' Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology pg 387

Demonstrating our union with Christ as our corporate Head and Archegos (and not merely experiential identification with Christ as proposed by Wiersbe) Ridderbos continued to amaze with an invaluable study of the Israelite fathers who 'were baptized into Moses' from 1 Cor 10, illustrating Paul's use of typology for incorporation comprehensively.

'It is the redemptive-historical transition, effected in Christ's death and resurrection, that is working itself out in this process. And it all rests on their being-in-Him, as the second Adam.' pg 64