Sigurd Grindheim
- Ph.D. in New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL
- Professor, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Stord, Norway
As an undergraduate, I read a lot of Martin Luther, and his
emphasis on sin and grace has been very influential for my
own personal development. (Click here for a list of the books that have impacted me the most
At the same time I studied and was very impressed by E. P. Sanders, who argues that the traditional, Lutheran understanding of Paul is based on a misunderstanding of the Jewish sources. Judaism, with its focus on election and the covenant, was grace-based, he maintains, just like Paul's theology. One might be excused for concluding that I was predestined to do my own doctoral work on Paul's theology of the cross and the relationship between Paul and Judaism.
Sanders's work has
precipitated a long range of studies on Paul and the law (click
here for my list of the best
In my own studies, I have tried to find out why Paul rejected his own past and disagreed with his fellow Jews. In my dissertation (click here for a popular summary), I have argued that Paul's theology is transformed and determined by the cross of Christ. The conviction that God's glory is revealed in the humiliated, crucified Christ has a profound impact on his thinking. This conviction changes the way he understands what it means to be elected by God and belong to his chosen people. It is not a question of being lifted up to a superior status, but a question of being united with Christ in his humiliation.
The Jewish confidence that they are God's people because of his election is therefore not a commendable trust in God's grace, according to Paul. When they understood God's election as conferring a superior status, they were not in conformity with God's revelation, the theology of the cross.
I appreciate many aspects of the new perspective on Paul, the concern to read the Jewish sources without Christian prejudice, the emphasis on Paul as a Jewish theologian, and the focus on the community building nature of Paul's theology.
Nevertheless, as do many others, I believe that the new perspective underestimates the fundamental change that the cross of Christ made in Paul's thinking. While the cross represents for Paul the fulfillment of the Scriptures of Israel, it also represents the condemnation of all self-righteousness, for Jews and Gentiles alike, and reveals the righteousness that is found in Jesus Christ.
Some of My Publications
The Letter to the Hebrews
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018).“A Theology of Glory: Paul's Use of Δόξα Terminology in Romans,” Journal of Biblical Literature 136 (2017): 451-465.
“The Kingdom of God in Romans,” Biblica 98 (2017): 72-90.
“Biblical Authority: What Is It Good For?,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 59 (2016): 791-803.
“Faith in Jesus: The Historical Jesus and the Object of Fath,” Biblica 97 (2016): 79-100.
“The Work of God or of Human Beings: A Note on John 6:29,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 59 (2016): 63-66.
“Fasting That Is Pleasing to the Lord: A NT Theology of Fasting,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 58 (2015): 697-707.
“Divine and Human Forgiveness: A Response to Tobias Hägerland,” Svensk exegetisk årsbok 80 (2015): 125-141.
“Luke, Paul, and the Law,” Novum Testamentum 56 (2014): 335-358.
Introducing Biblical Theology
“Not Salvation History, but Salvation Territory: The Main Subject Matter of Galatians,” New Testament Studies 59 (2013): 91-108.
Christology in the Synoptic Gospels: God or God's Servant?
God's Equal: What Can We Know About Jesus' Self-Understanding? 
“Ignorance Is Bliss: Attitudinal Aspects of the Judgment according to Works in Matthew 25:31-46,” Novum Testamentum 50 (2008): 313-331.
“Apostate Turned Prophet: Paul’s Retrospective Self-Understanding and Prophetic Hermeneutic with Special Reference to Galatians 3:10-12,” New Testament Studies 53 (2007): 545-565.
The Crux of Election: Paul's Critique of the Jewish Confidence in the Election of Israel
“‘Everything is Possible for One Who Believes’: Faith and Healing in the New Testament,” Trinity Journal 26 (2005): 11-17.
“What the OT Prophets Did Not Know: The Mystery of the Church in Eph 3,2-13,” Biblica 84 (2003): 531-553.
“Wisdom for the Perfect: Paul’s Challenge to the Corinthian Church (1 Corinthians 2:6-16),” Journal of Biblical Literature 121 (2002): 691-711.
“The Law Kills but the Gospel Gives Life: The Letter-Spirit Dualism in 2. Corinthians 3.5-18,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 84 (2001): 97-115.
Short articles in Norwegian (hosted by foross.no).