Dr. David Briones, assistant professor of theology and ministry at Sterling College, will travel to Chicago Nov. 16-20 to present at the Institute for Biblical Research Annual Meeting. Briones will present his work on Paul’s relationship with the church in 2 Corinthians. This is the first year that Briones has been asked to speak at the conference, which draws biblical scholars from around the world.

The paper Briones is presenting is titled, “Hierarchy, Equality, or Mutuality?: Mapping out the Relational Contours of Second Corinthians.” His research attempts to define Paul’s ideal relationship with the Corinthian church because Briones believes that this will lead to a deeper understanding of Paul’s theology of grace.

“There are three main types of relationships: hierarchical, egalitarian, and mutual,” said Briones. “My research suggests that Paul's relationship with the church was both hierarchical and egalitarian because of their mutual participation in the grace of God. Most scholars opt for one relational pattern over the other, but I am arguing that Paul presents a radical mixture of the two.”

In previous years, Briones presented research to the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature, which are programs affiliated with the Institute for Biblical Research. The papers presented to these two groups also focused on Paul and included: “Did the Corinthians attempt to become Paul’s Patron?: Reassessing Pauline Scholarship on the Apostle’s Financial Policy,” “Does Obligation Corrupt the ‘Purity’ of the Gift: Comparing Seneca’s ‘De Beneficiis’ with Paul’s Letter to the Philippians,” “Paul’s Intentional ‘Thankless Thanks’ in Philippians 4:10-20,” and “Mutual Brokers of Grace: A Social-Scientific Approach to 2 Corinthians 1:3-11.”