Father Who Redeems and the Son Who Obeys: Consideration of Paul's Teaching in Romans

This study takes up the challenge to keep Christological perspective in balance with the Father-God motif that has its roots in the Old Testament and that is prominent in the Second Temple period. It argues that for Paul, God is the Father who redeems. The Old Testament imagery that shaped Israel’s conception of God’s interaction with them, and was a basis for God’s future restoration of the nation despite their unfaithfulness, is central to Paul’s explanation of the new salvific act of God the Father in Christ, the faithful and obedient Son. The fresh contribution of this study to an understanding of Paul’s letter to the Romans is rooted in the seriousness with which it takes Old Testament and Second Temple Jewish traditions of the Fatherhood of God.