Akoē Pisteōs (Gal. 3:2–5) and Martin Luther’s Place in Pauline Scholarship

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Abstract Few historical figures cast as long a shadow on Pauline scholarship as does Martin Luther. Pauline scholars espousing the ‘Old’ or ‘Lutheran’ Perspective will invoke his name in support of their interpretations while many from the ‘New’ Perspective will use him as a foil to distinguish their reading of Paul from traditional ones. At times, however, Luther himself does not relate to modern schools of Pauline scholarship in the ways many would expect. Luther’s interpretation of akoē pisteōs, a notoriously difficult phrase from Galatians 3:2–5, illustrates this particularly well. Far from agreeing with the Old/Lutheran Perspective in reading this phrase with an emphasis on subjective faith (e.g. ‘hearing with faith’), Luther’s reading of akoē pisteōs more closely resembles those of the modern Apocalyptic Perspective on Paul by emphasizing the power of the objective message (e.g. ‘proclamation of the gospel’). This finding supports the recent trend of recognizing more apocalyptic elements in Luther’s thought and challenges scholars of both Luther and Paul to reevaluate his place in the history of Pauline scholarship.