Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2016, Vol. 38(3) 277–300 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0142064X15621654 jsnt.sagepub.com ‘Christ-Faith’ as an Eschatological Event (Galatians 3.23-26): A ‘Third View’ on Π ί σ τ ι ς Χ ρ ι σ τ ο ῦ 1 Benjamin Schliesser University of Zürich, Switzerland Abstract The meaning of πίστις Χριστοῦ in Paul (Gal. 2.16, 20; 3.22; Rom. 3.22, 26; Phil. 3.9) continues to be the subject of controversial debate in Pauline scholarship. Should the genitive construction be understood objectively as ‘faith in Christ’ or subjectively as ‘the faith(fulness) of Christ’? The prevalent either/or character of the discussion is increasingly proving to be an impediment to finding a solution to this issue. A minority view, the so-called ‘third view’, seeks to move beyond the subjective-objective dichotomy by accounting for the intrinsic complexity of the Greek genitive and pointing to the event- character of πίστις in Paul. The primary reference text for this ‘third view’ is Gal. 3.23- 26, which exhibits an altogether remarkable language of faith and envisages πίστις as ‘coming’ (ἔρχεσθαι) and as ‘being revealed’ (ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι). This article reviews the exegetical status quaestionis and argues that Paul does not regard πίστις Χριστοῦ as an individual disposition or character (either Christ’s or that of the believer), but rather as an eschatological event. The aim is not to offer a comprehensive analysis of the verses in question, but to advance exegetical and theological support for the ‘third view’ and to point to its considerable explanatory power in our effort for a more nuanced appreciation of Paul’s language of faith. Keywords Abraham, eschatology, objective genitive, pistis Christou, pistis, subjective genitive Article 1 This article is a revised and supplemented version of a paper given in various forms at the universities of Munich, Toronto and Uppsala, and at the SBL Annual Meeting in Baltimore in 2013. I am grateful to all participants in these sessions for a very helpful dialogue, in particu- lar to John Kloppenborg, Jim Kelhoffer and Valérie Nicolet-Anderson. Special thanks are also owed to Samuel Vollenweider and Jörg Frey for their valuable comments and to Jacob Cerone for improving the English style of this article. Corresponding author: Benjamin Schliesser, University of Zürich, Kirchgasse 9, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland. Email: benjamin.schliesser@theol.uzh.ch at UZH Hauptbibliothek / Zentralbibliothek Zuerich on February 25, 2016 jnt.sagepub.com Downloaded from