Paul's gospel is misunderstood. Paul's gospel is seen as his message, perhaps an empowered message; he saw it differently. His gospel can be many things: tradition about Jesus, Jesus Christ himself, the ministry of Jesus, the replication of the ministry of Jesus, God's salvific drama, the salvation experience of people, a message, and something that can (and should) be embodied or lived. And the gospel does not come to people in Paul's preaching. He says it comes or takes place in both his message and the miraculous. Without the involvement and acts of God (in the miraculous), for Paul, there would have been no gospel, only preaching. It is not that the miraculous was simply a proof or demonstration of the gospel; it was integral to it. In the gospel's coming or establishment, it is clear that, at heart, the gospel is God's salvation--the presence of God himself--in Christ, experienced in the symbiotic relationship between Paul's message about God's Son, Jesus Christ, and the activity of God in the miraculous. Not surprisingly, then, Paul rarely talks of preaching the gospel. He sees himself as "gospelling."
Industry Reviews
“Graham Twelftree's meticulous examination contends the gospel must be seen in all its fullness and not through a single, narrow lens. This book will prove to be a significant turning point in gospel studies and deserves a wide, fair, and conversational reading.”
—Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary
“With characteristic diligence and insight, Professor Twelftree exhorts biblical interpreters to remove Protestant eyeglasses and to view afresh ‘the gospel’ as Paul demonstrably understood it. . . . The Gospel According to Paul is a vital contribution to scholarship that historians, theologians, pastors, and students would neglect at their peril.”
—C. Clifton Black, Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
“Graham Twelftree has written what has been needed for a long time: a comprehensive and thorough study of the Apostle Paul’s ‘gospel’ language against its Jewish and Greco-Roman background. This concise and well-written study provides access to the center of Paul’s thinking. It can be considered as a book that combines exegetical diligence and theological commitment in the best sense. It is to be wished that it will find many readers.”
—Michael Wolter, Professor of New Testament, University of Bonn
“Is the gospel just a message? Is it even, as Twelftree has previously written, a message supported by the miraculous? In a passionately argued book, Twelftree seeks to persuade his reader that, for Paul, ‘gospel’ covers a range of ideas but is, at heart, God’s transforming encounter with people. Everyone, from church members to scholars, will find value in listening to the case Twelftree makes.”
—Peter Oakes, Professor of New Testament, University of Manchester
