Paul's Common Paraenesis (1 Thess. 4-5; Phil. 2-4; and Rom. 12-13): The Correspondence between Romans 1:18-32 and 12:1-2, and the Unity of Romans 12-13

Abstract

First Thessalonians 5:12-24; Romans 12:9-21; and Philippians 4:2-9 show close parallels, while their wider contexts (1 Thess. 4–5; Rom. 12–13; and Phil. 3:17–4:9) also display a substantial parallelism. This observation leads us to affirm Paul’s common paraenesis (cf. 1 Cor. 4:17), and helps us see what he considers the fundamental way of Christian existence (cf. Gal. 5:22-25). Then, this observation helps us also see (a) the correspondence between Romans 1:18-32 and 12:1-2; (b) the unity of Romans 12–13 as a whole, in which Romans 12:1-2 and 13:11-14 form an inclusio, which are, respectively, the thesis statement and the concluding statement about the Daseinsweise of the redeemed in contrast to that of fallen humanity in Romans 1:18-21; and (c) the consistent line of Paul’s thinking in Romans, which is sustained through his Adam-Christ antithesis (5:12-21). Finally, the notion of Paul’s common paraenesis enables us to conduct a comparative study of the paraenetical sections of the various epistles of Paul and to appreciate the distinctive elements in a given epistle (e.g. the extended elaboration of the theme of ‘living peaceably with all’ in Rom. 12:14–13:10) in terms of the particular needs of the recipients of that epistle.