God’s Ḥesed Revealed to the Apostle Paul
The author of Lamentations praises, “The ḥesed of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam 3:22–23; ESV). Paul writes, “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful” (1 Cor 1:8–9; NIV). Clearly, God’s ḥesed changed Paul and sustained him throughout his ministry.
God’s Ḥesed in the Old Testament
Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew & Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament lists the following main entries for ḥesed: (1) “joint obligation between relatives, friends, host and guest, master and servant; closeness, solidarity, loyalty,” (2) “in God’s relationship with the people or an individual, faithfulness, goodness, graciousness,” and (3) “the individual actions resulting from solidarity—(of people) godly action, achievements, or (God’s) proofs of mercy.”1 In the Septuagint (LXX), ḥesed is predominantly translated as eleos (“mercy, compassion”).2 However, it is also translated as dikaiosune (“righteousness”; Gen 19:19; 20:13; 21:23; 24:27; 32:11; Exod 15:13; 34:7; Hos 10:12; cf. dikaios in Isa 57:1), charis (“grace, favor”; Gen 47:29; Esth 2:9, 17; Dan 1:9), doxa (“beauty, glory”; Isa 40:6), hosios (“holy, pious”; Isa 55:3), eirēnē (“peace”; Jer 16:5), and oiktirēma (“pity, compassion”; Jer 31:3)—cf. oiktirmōn (“compassionate”; Ps 109:12).
The Hebrew noun ḥēn “grace, favor” is normally translated as the Greek noun charis in the LXX.3 However, it is sometimes translated as eleos (“mercy, compassion”; Gen 19:19) and kallos (“beauty”; Prov 31:10). While ḥesed is typically translated as eleos and ḥēn as charis in the LXX, the semantic realm of ḥesed (faithfulness, goodness, graciousness) and that of ḥēn (“grace, favor”) overlap, as it is reflected in the LXX. The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature observes the linguistic connection between ḥesed and charis, and defines the latter as “a beneficent disposition toward someone, favor, grace, gracious care/help, good will (almost a technical term in the reciprocity-oriented world dominated by Hellenistic influence as well as by the Semitic sense of social obligation expressed in the term ḥesed).”4 James Dunn rightly notes, “As with the ḥesed theology of ancient Israel, Paul rooted his understanding of divine-human relations in the conviction that God’s purpose for humankind was one of generous initiative and sustained faithfulness from start to finish.”5
It is impossible to discuss in detail all the Old Testament passages in which God shows his ḥesed to the people of Israel. However, one passage that particularly comes to my mind is Deut 5:1–9:6. In the Ten Commandments, God speaks to the Israelites, “for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing ḥesed to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Deut 5:10; NIV). Moses teaches the Israelites (Deut 7:9; NIV), “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his ḥesed to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” Moses, however, warns the Israelites against their spiritual pride and underscores that it is not by the Israelites’ own righteousness that the Lord is giving them the Promised Land, but on account of the wickedness of the nations (Deut 9:4–6). Paul, as a devout Jew versed in the Scriptures, comprehends God’s ḥesed towards Israel, attested throughout the Scriptures, and seems to have in mind God’s ḥesed whenever he mentions charis in his letters.
God’s Ḥesed in the Atoning Death of Jesus
Having indicted both Gentiles and Jews for their depravity and unrighteousness (Rom 1:18–3:20), Paul expounds on “a righteousness from God apart from law,” which comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Rom 3:21–22). Paul writes, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his charis through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” He goes on, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:23–26; NIV). Paul reiterates God’s undeserved love for sinners, “You see, as just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6–8; NIV). A few verses later, Paul refers to the atoning death of Jesus as God’s grace, “But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s charis and the gift that came by the charis of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” (Rom 5:15). As Udo Schnelle points out, “Paul consistently uses charis (63 times in Paul, of 155 New Testament instances) in the singular; this linguistic usage already signals the fundamental idea of his doctrine of grace: charis proceeds from God, is concentrated in the Christ event, and is effective for baptized believers.”6 Paul finds the climax of God’s ḥesed in the atoning death of Jesus on behalf of sinners.
God’s Ḥesed Revealed to Apostle Paul on the Damascus Road
One of the recent movies that swept various distinguished film awards is Les Misérables. This magnificent story by Victor Hugo describes a criminal whose life is forever changed by an act of mercy. Bishop Myriel provides an ex-convict, Jean Valjean, shelter. At night, Valjean runs away with Myriel’s silverware. When the police arrest Valjean, Myriel tells them that he has given the silverware to Valjean as gifts, even adding two more silver candlesticks. The police accept Myriel’s explanation and release Valjean. Myriel tells Valjean that his life has been spared for God, that he should use the gifts to make an honest man of himself. This unexpected encounter with kindness and forgiveness creates a completely new person in Jean Valjean, a man with integrity and mercy towards others. Something similar happened to Apostle Paul. He experienced God’s ḥesed most personally and with great impact, when he dramatically encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, an event that changed his life forever(Gal 1:11–16; Phil 3:1–11; cf. Acts 9:1–19; 22:3 –21; 26:4–23). In a conference paper, Piet van Veldhuizen proposes that Luke creates what he calls “bibliodrama” in Acts 9:4, where Paul realizes that he has been persecuting not a false prophet but the Lord’s Messiah; the question “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute (diōkō) me?” (Acts 9:4; NIV) echoes David’s question to King Saul “Why is my lord pursuing (kata–diōkō) his servant?” (1 Sam 26:18; NIV).7
Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ on the Damascus road made him realize that God has set him apart and called him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Seyoon Kim points out that Paul’s concept of God’s charis is rooted in his Damascus experience:
At the Damascus Christophany he came to know that he had been opposing God and therefore that it was he who was ungodly, not the Christians. This terrible knowledge was, however, accompanied by the experience of God’s justification as God forgave him and called him to be an apostle of Christ (Phil 3:9).8
Despite the many valid criticisms of the so-called “New Perspective” on Paul, Martin Luther and the other Reformers rightly re-discovered the centrality of the concept of justification by faith in Paul’s theology—faith alone (sola fide) and grace alone (sola gratia). Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus was his most powerful understanding of God’s ḥeseḏ. All those who are called to preach the gospel must constantly rediscover God’s ḥesed manifested in the Scriptures, the cross of Jesus Christ, and their own testimonies, when facing the challenges of Christian ministry today. “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful” (1 Cor 1:9; NIV).
Notes
1. Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, Hebrew & Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Study Edition; Leiden: Brill, 2001), 336–37.
2. Gen 24:12, 14; 39:21; 40:14; Exod 20:6; 34:6; Num 14:18, 19; Deut 5:10; 7:9; Josh 2:12, 14; Judg 1:14; 8:35; 1 Sam 15:6; 20:15; 2 Sam 2:5; 3:8; 7:15; 9:1, 3, 7; 10:2; 15:20; 16:17; 22:51; 1 Kgs 2:7; 3:6; 8:23; 21:31; Isa 16:5; 54:8, 10; 63:7; Jer 2:2; 9:23; 32:18; 33:11; Hos 2:21; 4:1; 6:4, 6; 12:7; Joel 2:13; Jonah 2:9; 4:2; Mic 6:8; 7:18; Zech 7:9; Ps 5:8; 6:5; 13:6; 17:7; 18:51; 21:8; 23:6; 25:6, 7; 25:10; 26:3; 31:8; 31:17, 22; 36:6, 8, 11; 10:11, 12; 42:9; 51:3; 52:10; 57:4, 11; 59:11, 17, 18; 61:8; 62:13; 63:4; 66:20; 69:14, 17; 77:9; 85:8, 11; 86:5, 13, 15; 88:12; 89:2, 3, 15, 25, 29, 34, 50; 92:3; 98:3; 100:5; 101:1; 103:4, 8; 103:11, 17; 106:1, 7, 46; 107:1, 8, 15, 21, 31, 43; 108:5; 109:16, 21, 26; 114:9; 117:2, 3, 4, 29; 119:41, 64, 76, 88, 124, 149, 159, 130:7; 136:1–26; 138:2, 8; 141:5; 143:8, 12; 144:2; 145:8; 147:11; Job 6:14; 10:12; 37:13; Prov 14:22; Ruth 1:8; 2:20; 3:10; Lam 3:32; Dan 9:4; Ezra 3:11; 7:28; 9:9; Neh 1:5; 9:17, 32; 13:14, 22; 1 Chr 16:34, 41; 17:13; 19:2; 2 Chr 1:8; 5:13; 6:14; 6:42; 7:3, 6; 20:21; 24:22; 32:32; cf. a related abstract noun eleēmosunē (“pity, alms”; Prov 3:3; 19:22; 20:28; 21:21) and a participle form eleēmōn (“pitiful, merciful”; Prov 11:17; 20:6).
3. Gen 6:8; 18:3; 30:27; 32:6; 33:8, 10; 33:15; 34:11; 39:4, 21; 47:25, 29; 50:4; Exod 3:21; 11:3; 12:36; 33:12, 13, 16, 17; 34:9; Num 11:11; 32:5; Deut 24:11; Judg 6:17; 1 Sam 1:18; 16:22; 20:29; 25:8; 27:5; 2 Sam 14:22; 15:25; 16:4; 1 Kgs 11:19; Zech 4:7; 6:14; 12:10; Ps 45:3; 83:12; Prov 3:4, 22, 34; 4:9; 5:19; 13:15; 17:8; 22:1; 28:23; Ruth 2:2, 10; Eccl 9:11; 10:12; Esth 2:15, 17; 5:8; 7:3; 8:5; cf. eucharistos (“thankful, kindhearted”; Prov 11:16); epicharēs (“agreeable”; Nah 3:4).
4. Walter Bauer, F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (3rd ed.; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1079.
5. James D. G. Dunn, Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 322.
6. Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology (trans. M. Eugene Boring; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), 482–83.
7. Piet van Veldhuizen, “Bibliodrama in Acts: The Calling of Saulos/Paulos” in The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament Seminar (St Deiniol’s Library, Hawarden, UK: 2010).
8. Seyoon Kim, The Origin of Paul’s Gospel (WUNT II.4; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1981), 287.
