Paul and the Mission of the Church: Philippians in Ancient Jewish Context - eBook

James P. Ware (PhD, Yale University) is associate professor of religion at the University of Evansville, where he teaches in the area of New Testament and ancient Christianity. He is the editor of Synopsis of the Pauline Letters in Greek and English.

This excellent book makes a strong and convincing case that Paul expected his converts to engage in mission. Along the way it sheds very important light on Jewish attitudes toward gentile conversion and offers some outstanding exegetical treatments of the Letter to the Philippians. This is a first-class contribution to scholarship that will delight all researchers in the field.
-John M. G. Barclay,
Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, department of theology and religion, Durham University

In a culture that is increasingly inhospitable to the gospel, our interpretive lenses are sharpening the focus on the centrality of mission in the Bible. It is heartening to see the growing literature on this subject, especially among biblical scholars, and James Ware's book will be another fine addition to this corpus. Against the important background of eschatology and mission in the Old Testament, Ware amply demonstrates the centrality of mission for Paul and the Philippian church in a time when the eschatological future of Isaiah has arrived. This book is fine biblical scholarship in the service of the missional church.
-Michael W. Goheen,
Geneva Professor of Worldview and Religious Studies, Trinity Western University