Chris Bruno, Ph.D. 2010

Recipient of the Eugene & Margaret Logan Fellowship

Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology
Bethlehem Bible College and Seminary, Minneapolis, MN

My dissertation, entitled, “‘God is One’: EIΣ O ΘEΟΣ As a Ground for Gentile Inclusion in Paul’s Letters,” supervised by Dr. Douglas Moo and published by Bloomsbury, traces the use of the phrase “God is one” or “the Lord is one” and its function as an identifying marker for the people of God. I argue that in the OT and early Judaism, the phrase is the exclusive knowledge and confession of the nation of Israel; therefore, to know this God, one must be a member of the nation of Israel. The exception to this pattern is found in Zech 14:9, which envisions the knowledge of God extending to the nations. When we turn to Paul’s use of “God is one” in Rom 3:30 and Gal 3:20, we find that his use of the phrase is very much in line with Zech 14:9 and may have been influenced by it. Therefore, Paul may have seen the coming of Christ as the fundamental factor in inaugurating the fulfillment of Zech 14:9 and the knowledge of the one God extending to the nations.

My time at Wheaton has been very rich. Working under Dr Moo and the rest of the doctoral faculty has been a high privilege, as have been my interactions with other students. The level of academic rigor matches or exceeds any other program I was considering, and the mid-atlantic model was a great fit for me. In addition to my NT work, I learned much about OT Theology and historical and systematic theology. In short, the program has been a great model of theological education: focused without being myopic, and done in a community of students and teachers who are committed to Christ and his kingdom.