Exaltation in the Epistles of St Paul Against the Background of Greek Classical Literature

First study to show the terminological and conceptual dependence of the motif of exaltation in St Paul’s letters on classical Greek literature.

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Sławomir Jan Stasiak’s book is devoted to the theme of exaltation in the letters of St Paul and the terminology related to his issue. A comparison of the Greek classical texts with the letters of St Paul shows that, following the example of his predecessors, Paul presents God as the Most High. However, he also writes about Him as the One. On high the world of Olympus was inhabited by gods. For the Apostle, heights are not only the place of God’s existence, but also the goal of human life. The antithesis between humiliation and exaltation characteristic of the ancient world is also used by Paul. Some of the classical authors accepted the possibility of a human resurrection. Paul made the theme of the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of believers one of the key treatises of his theology (1 Cor 15). The ancient world also had a negative understanding of heights as pride and exaltation. Stasiak also find this theme in Paul’s letters, albeit in a somewhat richer dimension.