Is Paul’s Gospel Narratable?

Abstract

Does Paul’s gospel have a narrative substructure? If so, what are the implications for our understanding of Paul’s theology? This review article reflects on the issues raised by Bruce W. Longenecker (ed.), Narrative Dynamics in Paul. The essay has six sections. Section 1 frames the problems. Sections 2-4 respond to issues raised by the book: the method for investigating ‘narrative’ in Paul, the shape and content of Paul’s gospel story, and the hermeneutical implications of a narrative approach. Section 5 offers constructive observations about the fundamental ‘grammar’ of Paul’s gospel narrative. The gospel story is explicated ‘according to the Scriptures’; it posits a tension between the present time and the hoped-for future glory; it focuses not on personal experience but on the death and resurrection of Jesus; and it proclaims a participatory soteriology, so that salvation has an inalienably ecclesial character. Finally, Section 6 replies to Francis Watson’s claim that the gospel is ‘nonnarratable’. On the contrary, as Karl Barth argued, whoever speaks of the gospel must narrate the story of what God has done in Jesus Christ.