been faithful to his original covenant obligation to Israel? Paul’s denial was, as usual, emphatic: μὴ γένοιτο—​“By no means! God forbid!” (3:4). But the tension remained. And Paul climaxes his theological statement of his gospel in chs. 9–11 by attempting to resolve the tension. Christiaan Beker was right to see in this resolution a key to the coherent theme of Paul’s gospel that he postulates as the final triumph of God.10 Hence the close link between God’s “faithfulness,” God’s “truth,” and God’s