Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Crux Sola: Formed by Scripture to Live like Christ

Home
Evangelical
#50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Jeanette Hagen Pifer

#50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Jeanette Hagen Pifer

Last updated on: March 7, 2020 at 11:27 am by Nijay Gupta

#50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Jeanette Hagen Pifer 2020-03-07T11:27:38-08:00 Nijay Gupta

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This blog series spotlights 50 NT scholars and their research. The goal of this series is to introduce readers to a wider circle of scholarship than they have encountered. The majority of people on this list are early or mid-career NT scholars who are doing great research and writing.

Introducing

Jeanette Hagen Pifer

Assistant Professor of New Testament

Biola University

Explain why you love teaching and/or writing, and why it brings you vocational satisfaction.

I have the best job in the world. I’ve always had a passion for teaching–being able to share what I have gained in a variety of ways brings me tremendous joy in general. Even more specifically, teaching the subject matter of the Bible means I get to share every day the source of my deepest joy, love and hope. And of course, writing is just another avenue through which I can share what has impacted me in my own study! It brings me tremendous joy when my students see deeper textual implications through learning to read the New Testament in the original Greek. I love it when greater contextual awareness opens up implications to my students that impact the way they do life. In short, it is my deepest joy when I see transformation happen in my students and watch as they have opportunities to impact others with the self-giving love of Christ.

What is one “big idea,” emphasis, or theme in your scholarship that you hope impacts the way students and scholars read and understand the NT?

The focus of my scholarship thus far has been on unpacking the biblical meaning of faith, mostly in Paul’s letters but I have and continue to work through the ways this central and vital topic is handled throughout the whole Canon. If there is one big idea that I hope impacts the way students and scholars read and understand the New Testament, it is that being united with Christ by faith/trust/dependence on him is the single-most important gift we can ever receive. It is a gift that redefines us—who we are, our whole outlook on life. All other aspects of life are then filtered through this one life-changing relationship that we have.

Who is your academic hero and why?

One of my academic heroes is our Dean, Clint Arnold. He mentored me through my Master’s degree and modeled for me what excellence in Christian scholarship looks like—working diligently for deep, careful, and quality exegesis that can make an impact at both the scholarly level and in ecclesial contexts. He has a genuine heart for people to know Christ.

And of course John Barclay is another hero of mine. He was the best doctoral supervisor anybody could ask for and modeled at every step the grace about which he writes. His expectations were indeed high, but his kindness, support and guidance were unmatched!

Name a few academic books that were formative for you as a student.

Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians stands at the top of my list of books that were formative for me as a student. Luther writes: “Faith takes hold of Christ and has Him present, enclosing Him as the ring encloses the gem. And whoever is found having this faith in the Christ who is grasped in the heart, him God accounts as righteous” (LW, 26:132). This visual has dominated the way I think of faith whenever I write or speak on this central topic.

A second work that impacted me deeply was Michael J. Wilkins, Following the Master. I read this while still working on my Master’s degree and while I had the privilege of taking his class “Biblical Theology of Discipleship” at Talbot. He prefaces this work with a prayer that his readers would “see Jesus clearly and that his Word, not this book, becomes the authoritative voice that we follow.” This prayer coordinated with his weekly question to his students: “how is Jesus discipling you today?” True faith leads to a kind of radical discipleship to this Jesus we call Savior and Lord.

Lastly, the work of my own Doktorvater, Paul and the Gift, was in many ways a backbone for my own work. After all, there can be no true faith without grace!

Read Pifer’s Work

Faith as Participation: An Exegetical Study of Some Key Pauline Texts (2019)

Pifer has helped with the editing of multiple volumes of the works of J.B. Lightfoot

Follow Pifer’s Work ONLINE

OnScript Interview about Faith as Participation

“Suffering and the Spirit in the Story of Paul” (VIDEO LECTURE)

Follow Pifer on Social Media

Twitter

If you ran into me at SBL, and you didn’t want to talk about New Testament studies, what would you want to talk about?

Other fun topics I enjoy talking about include music, travel, the arts, etc. But I mostly enjoy the opportunity to connect with people about the things that matter most to them –family, how one is doing amidst both the challenges and joys of life, etc.

What is a research/writing project you are working on right now that you are excited about?

I have a few projects that I am currently working on, but I am especially excited about the opportunity I have to write a biblical theology on faith for the Zondervan Biblical Theology for Life series. I’m looking forward to being able to both distill and expand some of my previous work on this topic and am hopeful this will provide a helpful resource for a pastors, students, and anybody interested in exploring this vital topic in greater depth.

50-2-Follow

Previous Post

March 4, 2020

#50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Matthew W. Bates

Next Post

March 10, 2020 #50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Janette H. Ok

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Mis)Understanding Philippians 10 Things I Can't Live Without 2023 New Books 30 OT HB Scholars to Read and Follow 5 Books Series 50-2-Follow Academia Christian Theologians to Read and Follow Cruciform Scripture: Contributor Reflections Crux Sola TV Editors Behind Great Books in NT Studies Education Gendering the Holy Spirit Gupta FB Live Lectures In Faith and Doubt In Their Own Words Living the King Jesus Gospel My Top 6 OT Commentaries New Testament Resource Guide New Word Biblical Themes Nijay's A Very Library Christmas Shopping Guide Notes from an Editor Notes on New Books NTRG OT in the NT Paul Seminary Now The Bible in God's World The Word Felt Among Us SPENCER Translating Philippians Uncategorized Why I Use Accordance Women in Ministry

Select a Month March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz