In Saint Paul, Elliott C. Maloney explores what the great saint says about the spiritual life, the “how to” in the day-to-day activities and concerns of Christians. How should people live in covenant relationship with God, committed to seeking God’s will in every aspect of their lives? Spirituality is a popular topic, but it is regarded as merely one part of life, some “higher level” of living when compared to ordinary living. Even Catholic scholarship, Maloney argues, notable as it is in Pauline exegesis and theology, seems to lack a feel for the overall kind of living that Paul wanted for his communities, not to mention how we might appropriate such wisdom for today. For Paul, all of a believer’s life is spiritual life. The alternative is a life “according to the flesh,” a self-centered life without God, a continual spiritual death. Based on over forty years of teaching and study of the Pauline letters, Maloney’s Saint Paul offers a rich vision of Christianity and the spiritual life “in Christ.”

In Saint Paul, Elliott C. Maloney explores what the great saint says about the spiritual life, the "how to" in the day-to-day activities and concerns of Christians. How should people live in covenant relationship with God, committed to seeking God's will in every aspect of their lives? Spirituality is a popular topic, but it is regarded as merely one part of life, some "higher level" of living when compared to ordinary living. Even Catholic scholarship, Maloney argues, notable as it is in Pauline exegesis and theology, seems to lack a feel for the overall kind of living that Paul wanted for his communities, not to mention how we might appropriate such wisdom for today. For Paul, all of a believer's life is spiritual life. The alternative is a life "according to the flesh," a self-centered life without God, a continual spiritual death. Based on over forty years of teaching and study of the Pauline letters, Maloney's Saint Paul offers a rich vision of Christianity and the spiritual life "in Christ."

"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the apostle Paul." —John Piper No one has had a greater impact on the world for eternal good than the apostle Paul—except Jesus himself. For John Piper, this impact is very personal. He does not just admire and trust Paul. He loves him. Piper gives us thirty glimpses into why his heart and mind respond this way. Can a Christian-killer really endure 195 lashes from a heart of love? Can a mystic who thinks he was caught up into heaven be a model of lucid rationality? Can an ethnocentric Jew write the most beautiful call to reconciliation? Can a person who lives with the unceasing anguish of empathy be always rejoicing? Can a man's description of the horrors of human sin be exceeded by his delight in human splendor? Can a man with a backbone of steel be as tender as a nursing mother? If we know this man—if we see what Piper sees—we too will love him. Paul's testimony is a matter of life and death. Piper invites you into his relationship with Paul in the hope that you will know life, forever.

Frank Matera begins his book with the thesis that Paul calls us to imitate him because he has learned to conform himself to Christ and to express the Paschal Mystery of Christ's death and resurrection in his life since he lives in such close and intimate union with Christ. Matera explores the genesis of Paul's spirituality so that we can better understand how and why he invites us to imitate him. Some of the themes explored are living by God's grace; dying and rising with Christ; finding power in weakness; and living by faith, hope, and love. The themes explored here are common in Pauline theology, and there is a necessary overlap between theology and spirituality. The goal is to draw out the implications of Paul's theology for living our lives in Christ by manifesting the Paschal Mystery in all we do. +

The traditional venues for making sense of the complicated apostle Paul are history and theology. Indeed, one cannot understand him apart from either. However, something is still missing from our portrait of Paul. Rather than thinking of Paul as a theologian and an apostle, Leslie Hardin argues there is great benefit in approaching him as a disciple, a Spirit-filled man who wanted to pass vibrant spirituality on to those he encountered. In The Spirituality of Paul, Hardin uncovers the things Paul practiced in his own life, and those he taught his followers, in order to attempt to live an authentic, Spirit-filled Christian life. Hardin points out that in order to foster the power of the Spirit, Paul, like each of us, had to dedicate himself to everyday routines and practices. What were those spiritual disciplines? How did they help him? And how might they be applied in our modern lives to bring us closer to Christ? Whether a general reader or mature believer, the reader of this book will find Paul to be a true brother, a fellow sinner receiving grace.

Rodney Reeves contrasts easy spiritualities of serenity and retreat with the apostle Paul's vision: a cross-shaped spirituality for fools making their way through life's trials. Responding to Paul's invitation "follow me as I follow Christ," Reeves discovers an ancient spiritual path in the letters of Paul.

Paul’s spiritual journey is driven by a transforming encounter with the risen Lord. In A Window into the Spirituality of Paul, Patrick J. Hartin focuses on the spiritual vision that emerges in Paul’s own personal response to Christ, found within his letters in the New Testament. Not only were early followers shaped by Paul’s example, but throughout history many saints and sinners have given flesh to this rich spiritual tradition. Their witness is an integral part of how Hartin helps us explore key aspects of Paul’s spirituality.