Adapted from a recent comment I made on Derek Leman's blog:
For a long time, Messianic Jews have been affirming that Jewish identity is not nullified in Messiah. Many Gentile believers have heartily affirmed this truth as well. However, when it comes to "Gentile identity," some are left with questions. After all, Jewish identity seems (at least to some) to be easily identified as a rich heritage that is documented in the Scriptures and interwoven and extended through history and tradition. "But what does 'Gentile identity' even refer to?" some ask.
I think that this is a very good question and would like to see more efforts to explore possible, Biblical
answers. I do think that Paul explicitly affirms “paternity” (in a very
Roman fashion, btw), when he writes in Ephesians 3.14-15:
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family (Greek patria literally “ancestry” or “family,” from the word pater, father) in heaven and on earth is named…”
Roman societies organized themselves around family
structures which had the father at the head. Here Paul seems to be building on that understanding with his claim that every “ancestry”is derived from the Father by virtue of the fact that it is literally named after Him.*
There is a group of scholars within what
is known as the Radical Perspective on Paul (i.e. Paul as a
Torah-observant Jewish apostle to the Gentiles) who are asking similar
questions specifically in the context of the Pauline corpus. William S.
Campbell, Kathy Ehrensberger, and J. Brian Tucker are all exploring
ways in which Gentile identity is both continued, transformed, and
reinvented in Paul’s ministry as evidenced in his letters.
Campbell’s book
Paul and the Creation of Christian Identity (pictured above) is a significant contribution to this effort and worth reading.** Also, J. Brian Tucker has a book on the continuation of social identities in 1 Corinthians called
"Remain in Your Calling" (pictured at right).
There are also a number of papers by J. Brian Tucker available for free on
mjstudies.com:
While both Campbell and Tucker perhaps raise as many questions as they answer, they show that there may be much more to learn about Gentile identity in Messiah from the first-century apostle to the Gentiles.
*
Paul goes on to address the Ephesians using a form known as a household code (see Eph. 5.21-6.9), a Roman religio-cultural value system which is structured
around the father. Some interpreters think Paul transforms the household code away from its normal patriarchalism in the way he gives specific
instructions not only to wives, children, and slaves, but also to husbands, fathers, and masters. To the degree that household codes are a particularly Greco-Roman way of addressing issues of order in families and households, this is relevant to the discussion at hand.
** Don't trip up over Campbell's use of the term "Christian." He is part of a cadre of Pauline scholars who are well aware of the anachronism. Of course, you can if you want. I'm just saying I think it would be counter-productive.
Roman societies organized themselves around family
structures which had the father at the head. Here Paul seems to be building on that understanding with his claim that every “ancestry”is derived from the Father by virtue of the fact that it is literally named after Him.*
There is a group of scholars within what is known as the Radical Perspective on Paul (i.e. Paul as a Torah-observant Jewish apostle to the Gentiles) who are asking similar questions specifically in the context of the Pauline corpus. William S. Campbell, Kathy Ehrensberger, and J. Brian Tucker are all exploring ways in which Gentile identity is both continued, transformed, and reinvented in Paul’s ministry as evidenced in his letters.
There are also a number of papers by J. Brian Tucker available for free on mjstudies.com:
- (On the Radical Perspective on Paul) ‘Beyond
the New Perspective on Paul’ and the Evangelical New Testament Scholar:
Is Paul Torah-Observant in 1 Corinthians 9.20–21?
- The Continuation of Gentile Identity in Christ
- “Paul, Gentiles, and Identity Negotiation: A Response to Kathy Ehrensperger”
- “The Continuation of Gentile Identity in Ephesians”
- “‘Gentile
Christianity’ and the Study of Christian Origins: A Response to Terence
L. Donaldson Focusing on Gentile Self-Identification”
While both Campbell and Tucker perhaps raise as many questions as they answer, they show that there may be much more to learn about Gentile identity in Messiah from the first-century apostle to the Gentiles.* Paul goes on to address the Ephesians using a form known as a household code (see Eph. 5.21-6.9), a Roman religio-cultural value system which is structured around the father. Some interpreters think Paul transforms the household code away from its normal patriarchalism in the way he gives specific instructions not only to wives, children, and slaves, but also to husbands, fathers, and masters. To the degree that household codes are a particularly Greco-Roman way of addressing issues of order in families and households, this is relevant to the discussion at hand.
** Don't trip up over Campbell's use of the term "Christian." He is part of a cadre of Pauline scholars who are well aware of the anachronism. Of course, you can if you want. I'm just saying I think it would be counter-productive.