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Arland J. Hultgren, Pauls Letter to the Romans: A Commentary.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2011.
Chapter Four
5:1-8:39 is exegeted in this long chapter, of which materials
Hultgren observes
in each of the four chapters, Paul affirms the freedom of
the
believer at some point: freedom from the wrath of God in
chapter
5; freedom from the power of sin in chapter 6; freedom from
the
law in chapter 7; and freedom from death in chapter 8. (p.
197).
Hultgrens careful work continues, as, for instance, his exegesis
of 5:12-21 demonstrates. Of the
section he notes
The following section (5:12-21) opens with
(therefore), which has no clear antecedent. [But Paul] doesnot
merely continue the previous discussion, he uses therefore to
mark a transition, drawing consequences from what has been
said
but moving on to another topic that turns out to be a
discussion
of the effects of Adam and Christ upon humanity (p. 219).
This is a good place, I suppose, to mention one of the real
strengths of Hultgren s work, and that
is, that he keeps the big picture in mind when he works on even
the smallest pericopae. Manycommentators get lost in the woods and
forget that the discrete units which so engage them
with various minutia are part of a whole. Its all well and good
to examine the smallest particles
of information but if they arent integrated into an examination
of the whole they serve no
purpose. Theyre little more than pieces of a puzzle that are
never fitted into their proper spaceso that the whole image can be
seen.
Hultgren assembles the entire puzzle even in the smallest
sections so that the reader knowswhats going on throughout. In this
regard, Hultgren is a master commentator.
Also very good is his work on the classic text, 6:1-11. He
assembles a lot of material from other
commentators but he nicely weaves them together. Ill not spoil
the fun for you, reader of thisreview. Ill just urge you to see for
yourself.
I will, however, spoil the fun for those interested in how
Hultgren takes 7:1-6. Of this importantCrux he writes
It is not immediately obvious why Paul now (in chapter 7 as
a
whole) turns to the topic of the law. But in fact it is
incumbentupon him to do so. But all of this begs a question. How
does a
believer in Christ live in righteousness and in opposition to
sin?
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The simplest response is, If one is a Jewish Christian, one
should continue observing the ancestral law. If one is a
GentileChristian, one should adopt the law (at least its moral
teachings) as
the basis for a life of righteousness. The quick and easy
answer,
however, is not Pauls. [Pauls answer to the problem is] to
maintain that the law has had an important function in the
historyof salvation and that the law is holy, and the commandment
is
holy, just, and good (p. 268).
And the second Crux of the chapter (and the more interesting
really) has to do with the subject of
the I sayings in 7:14-25.
The issues surrounding the identity of the first person singular
used in this passage ... are discussed in an appendix (The
Identity
of the I in Romans 7). The viewpoint taken here is that
7:7-25
as a whole, in spite of the differences cited between 7:7-13
and
7:14-25, Paul speaks of what it means to live under the law
inorder to be righteous, taking insights from his own life
experience
in the past under the law as paradigmatic, and seeing all from
theperspective of one who is now in Christ (p. 285).
So, he continues, chapter 8 follows chapter 7 logically because
sin really has been overcome.
So, in chapter 8
[Paul] speaks forthrightly to the suffering that comes from
ones
incorporation into Christ through baptism and the consequences
ofit as one lives in union with Christ (p. 312).
Hultgrens interpretation of 8:18-30 is simply tremendous. It,
like several other passages in the
commentary, has to be experienced first hand for the full
pleasure to be feld. Of 8:31-39Hultgren could not be more correct,
suggesting
The message of Paul in this entire section is that God is for us
(p.336).
The chapter closes with this intriguing remark
The bond between God and believers is so great that it can
never
be broken. But what, then, can one say about persons who are
not
in Christ? Paul takes up that issue in the next three chapters
(p.342).
And so shall we.
Jim West
