Why Foreign Missions? 23: Paul's Terms Describing Salvation (and Related Notions)
This post offers an outline of terms for salvation in Paul's letters. The outline format allows one to scan rather quickly what is otherwise a lengthy post.
This post continues an earlier study of the Gospel in New Testament authors--particularly Paul. The Gospel is good news about God's salvation for sinful humanity. The good news for all (Jews and Gentiles) is that God Himself has accomplished salvation through Jesus Christ for us. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach that God is the author of salvation--we are recipients of His grace that comes to us not through our own works but through the Redeemer God sends. This Redeemer, spoken of by Isaiah in particular (cf. Isaiah 59.20-21), is identified by Christians as Jesus Christ our Lord.
[The original title for those studies on the Gospel, 'Why Foreign Missions?', is somewhat problematic because it is not very clear. Yet the point I intended to make is worth affirming: we have a story to tell to the nations (as the old hymn puts it). Missions has become everything for so many churches today that the message of the Gospel is somewhat crowded out in the theologies and mission budgets of too many churches, particularly those in the West. Understanding mission as first and foremost the proclamation of Good News to the nations helps us to understand Paul and the challenge facing missions in our day.]
Introduction:
A. Paul uses several
terms to describe salvation in Christ Jesus and all it entails. In the following survey of terms, note the variety of images he uses to describe transfer from the sphere of
God's wrath, sin, death, and the Law to the sphere of Christ's Lordship in
which is peace with God, righteousness, life, and freedom in the Spirit.
B. Note also the tenses (past, present, future) of
the salvation words‑‑it is a work accomplished on the cross, it is an ongoing
work in the proclamation of the Gospel and the obedience of faith, and it is a
future work to be accomplished with Christ's coming.
C. Further, consider
ways in which this unwieldy list of salvation terms might be organised in accordance with a more basic
structure.
1.
For example, E. P. Sanders manages to group many of
Paul’s terms into simple categories of life outside of Christ, life in Christ,
and the transfer terms (salvation terms) Paul uses to show movement from the
first to the second sphere (Paul, The
Law, and the Jewish People (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983), pp. 7‑9)). In the list of terms which I give below,
there is certainly overlap between ‘transfer’ terms of salvation and terms
reflecting life in Christ. But I have
not included Paul’s favourite description of Christian life in this list (to be
‘in Christ’).
2.
Gerd Theissen organises the terms according to
‘physiomorphic transformation symbolism’ (physical transformation, death and
life, and unification) and ‘sociomorphic interaction symbolism’ (liberation,
justification, and reconciliation) (as presented in English by J. C. Beker, Paul the Apostle: the Triumph of God in
Life and Thought (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980), pp. 256ff; Gerd Theissen,
‘Soteriologische Symbolik in den paulinischen Schriften’, Kerygma und Dogma 20 (1974): 282-304.). More than a single word fits with each of
these symbols, which function as a cluster for various other notions. Thus with respect to the sociomorphic
interaction symbolism, liberation involves images of social power such as the
unredeemed state’s bondage and suppression, the enslaving powers of Satan,
death, sin, and the law, redemption from these power structures, the
preposition ‘under’ (hypo) predominates, and Jesus is represented
as a redeemer who also became a slave (Phl. 2.7), was killed by the powers (1
Cor. 2.8), and subjected to the law (Gal. 4.4).
Justification symbolism has to do with guilt, people’s failure to obey
the law, acquittal before the divine Judge (e.g., Rom. 14.10), but also this
divine Judge’s setting things right through grace and covenant faithfulness (Rom.
D. Consider the
significance of considering salvation terms as metaphors. Paul’s use of metaphors is to convey ideas, but metaphors separated from
their context and these thoughts can be pressed beyond Paul’s intentions. Developing the richness of a metaphor beyond
Paul’s intent, or using certain metaphors apart from others, or altering the
emphasis of some metaphors over others can actually alter Paul’s theology.
I. Salvation (soteria, sozo)
A. Salvation is
from God’s wrath due to sin
·
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how
much more shall we be saved from
God's wrath
through him! (Rom.
·
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to
receive salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ (1 Thes.
5.9)
B. Time?
1. Past:
* For in this hope we were
saved (Rom. 8.24‑‑shows future/past idea)
2. Present:
·
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those
who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor.
1.18)
·
I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is
the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6.2)
·
For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those
who are being saved and those who are
perishing (2 Cor.
2.15)
3. Future
· (See A 2, above)
· [...the word of
faith we are proclaiming:] That if you confess with your mouth, `Jesus is
Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. For it is with your heart that
you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and
are saved (Rom.
·
The hour has come for you to wake up from your
slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed (Rom.
13.11)
II.
Justification/Righteousness (Dikaiosune,
dikaioo, dikaios)
A.
Meaning:
1. The same Greek
word can refer to (a) justification,
acquittal before God (a law court image) or (b) righteousness, right living before God (a moral idea). Often, scholars see the noun more as a moral
term (b) and the verb more as a forensic term (a). Rather, the verb seems to be used in a
variety of ways as ‘vindicate’ (prove righteous/in the right) (Ps.Sol. 8.23;
Jer. 3.11; Is. 43.26; Mt. 11.19//Lk. 7.35 [lawcourt]), ‘declare righteous’
(Ps.Sol. 8.26), ‘shown to be righteous/justified’ (Is. 42.21; 43.9), ‘present
as righteous’ (Ez. 16.51f), ‘acknowledge as righteous’ (Lk. 7.29), ‘made
righteous’ (Is. 45.25 LXX; 1 Cor. 6.11).
2. The phrase "righteousness of God" may refer to
(a) God's own character (Possessive Genitive), to (b) God's righteous activity
(Subjective Genitive), and/or to (c) the righteousness that comes from God to
humanity (Ablative of Source). This has
resulted in various interpretations, but here's how I see it.
1. Refers to God's character:
·
But if our unrighteousness brings out God's
righteousness more clearly, what shall we say?
That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (Rom.
·
[God] did this to demonstrate his justice,
because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished‑‑he
did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just
(Rom. 3.25f)
2. Refers to God's gift to humanity (a righteousness from God; NIV):
·
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law,
has been made known....This righteousness from God comes through faith in [or,
"the faithfulness of"] Jesus Christ to all who believe (Rom. 3.21).
3. Refers to an apocalyptic
inbreaking of God working righteousness in the present
(Kässemann).
Justification’ is an eschatological concept and is something that God
works.
4. Refers to all the above,
as in Is. 59.16-21: God dons his righteousness on behalf of sinful
Israel to offer a Redeemer and new
covenant. Is. 45.21-22 includes
salvation for the ends of the earth from the righteous God and Saviour, as well
as judgement that means ‘vindication’ for Israel (vv. 23-25).
1. As the judgement of acquittal
("justification"):
·
...to the man who does not work but trusts God who
justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness (Rom. 4.5) (but
surely more is intended: God acquits the wicked not because he is unjust but
because he has acted to save, and faith is a righteous response to this action)
·
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death
reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's
abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life
through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for
all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that
brings life for all men (Rom.
·
This view finds imputed righteousness in Paul: 1
Cor. 1.30; 2 Cor. 5.21; Rom. 4.5; Phl. 3.9.
Other scholars (e.g., N. T. Wright, Ben Witherington) find these
passages to speak of our participating in
God’s righteousness (avoiding imputation as a transaction in favour of a
greater working of righteousness by God).
2. As righteousness, morally right:
·
Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as
instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who
have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him
as instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6.13)
·
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so
that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5.21)
3. Verb and Noun
·
Many argue that the verb dikaiozō is forensic (‘declare just,’ ‘justify’) whereas the noun
may be either forensic or moral. This
argument needs to be evaluated in terms of (1) the OT background and Hebrew and
(2) the use of terms in their contexts.
Also, it is possible that both meanings are present at the same time in
a passage. Keener (Romans): God’s declaration of ‘just’ implies moral righteousness—do
not separate the forensic and moral concepts.
·
Cf. NRS Romans 4:5 But to one who without works trusts him who
justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.
Does God ‘justify’ the ungodly by accounting
faith as righteousness, or does God make the ungodly ‘righteous’ by a person’s
faith in God’s work, not his/her own work?
D. Time
a.
Past:
·
But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but
you were made righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit
of our God (1 Cor. 6.11; my translation)
b.
Future:
·
For it is not those who hear the law who are
righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared
righteous (Rom. 2.13)
4. Faith (righteousness of God from faith to
faith: Rom.
a.
"Faith"
as
- "belief
that": acceptance of the truth/reliabilitiy of what has been
- "trust in", "reliance upon" (Rom. 4.5, 25; 9.33; 10.11; Gal. 2.16; Phl. 1.29(
- "faithfulness":
- God's faithfulness (Rom. 3.3; Gal. 5.22; 2 Th. 1.4)
b.
Hab. 2.4 (Rom.
1. MT reads:
"the righteous one will live by his faith". Traditional Judaism thus read
this verse as saying that
the righteous person lives by faithfulness to the covenant, by observing the
Law. In Habakkuk 1-2, the righteous live
by faith in God’s hand of salvation from Israel’s enemy.
2.
LXX reads: "the righteous one will live by my [God’s] faith/faithfulness"
3. Paul: "the righteous one will live by faith/faithfulness." Paul thus leaves the
3. Paul: "the righteous one will live by faith/faithfulness." Paul thus leaves the
meaning ambiguous: Faith as
God's faithfulness or our trust?
Possibly both (so J. Dunn, Romans,
I, pp. 48f). Paul opposes Jewish
understanding: faith is not faithfulness as observance of the Law.
c.
Gen. 15.6
Abraham had faith in God—before
Moses (Gal. 3.6, 17-18) and before circumcision (Rom. 4.3, 9-10), and therefore
apart from works. Like Hab. 2.4, Gen.
15.6 focuses salvation on God’s action, with faith as the response.
III. Redemption (in Paul: lutroō (Tit. 2.14), apolutrosis (7 times),
antilutron (1 Tim. 2.6))
A. This term comes
from the slave‑market and captures the image of Israel
Egyptian bondage. It refers to being set free through payment
of the slave price. Yet the key to
understanding redemption comes from the notion of redemption of God’s people in
the Old Testament.
B. It refers to being set free by Christ Jesus
from sin and God's judgement. In Paul,
that Christ ‘redeems’ is found only in Gal. 3.13; 4.5, and ‘redemption’ as the
work of Christ is found only in Rom. 3.24; Eph. 1.7; Col. 1.14 (and 4 other
times):
·
There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, and are justified/made righteous freely by his grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3.24, my translation)
·
...Christ
Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God‑‑that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption (1 Cor. 1.30)
·
In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he
lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding (Eph. 1.7)
·
For there is one God and one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom [antilutroō, only here] or redemption]
for all men‑‑the testimony given in its proper time (1 Tim. 2.6)
·
Past: ‘...who gave himself as a ransom for all men’
(1 Tim. 2.6)
·
Present: ‘For he has rescued us from the dominion of
darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins’ (Col. 1.14; cf. Eph. 1.7: In him we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according
to the riches of his grace)
·
Future: ‘And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption’ (Eph. 4.30)
D. Redeemer in
the OT:
1. God is called ‘Redeemer’ in the Psalms
(twice), and Job, Prov., and Jeremiah (once
each), but especially in Isaiah 41ff (13
verses): Is. 41.14; 43.14; 44.6, 24; 47.4; 48.17; 49.7, 26; 54.8; 59.20; 60.16;
63.13.
2. Possible connection between Rom. 3.21-26 and Isaiah 59.20 (and
parallel texts):
a. The Septuagint has “ho hryomenos”
for “Redeemer” in Isaiah 59:20. Paul uses
a synonym meaning “redemption,” dia tēs apolytrōseōs, in Rom 3:24, but the LXX of Isaiah also uses
this synonym, “ho lytroumenos,” “the
Redeemer” of God in Isaiah 44:14; 43:14: 44:24. The Hebrew for “Redeemer” in
these texts and in Isaiah 59:20, though, is the same: “gō’ēl.”
b. The term for “redeemer”
(Isaiah 59:20) is found earlier in its verbal form in Isaiah 52:9, where God is
similarly said to redeem exiled Jerusalem. The passages are linked through the
same word and thought. In near proximity to Isaiah 52:9, the prophet speaks of
the one who announces the “good news” (cf. “Gospel”) of salvation (Isaiah 52:7)
and, a little later, that the suffering servant will provide a guilt offering
(Isaiah 53:10). A feature of Jewish Scriptural interpretation was to interpret
one text in light of another if they shared a term in common. On such an
interpretation, Isaiah 59:20 and Isaiah 52:9 and its surrounding texts can be
interpreted together.
IV. Reconciliation (katallasso, katallage)
A. This presupposes
the state of enmity with God now overcome in Christ. It captures the
powerful idea of the present
effect of Christ's work‑‑humanity's reconciliation to God. Yet it can also have a present reference (an
ongoing challenge to the believer to be reconciled) and refer to the whole
cosmos being reconciled to God. As all
are reconciled to God, so Jews and Gentiles are now reconciled to each other (a
social dimension of reconciliation in Ephesians). This term does not seem to have an OT
background. It does, however, fit with
other theological ideas such as ‘peace’, ‘forgiveness’, ‘oneness’. The strongly eschatological and/or cosmic
aspects of reconciliation (even if already being implemented for Christians)
brings to mind the OT expectations of the gathering of all nations to God’s
holy mountain.
·
For if, when we were God's enemies, we were
reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been
reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Rom.
·
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was
reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against
them. And he has committed to us the
message of reconciliation. We are
therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through
us. We implore you on Christ's behalf:
Be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5.18‑20)
·
His purpose was to create in himself one new man out
of the two [Jews and Gentiles], thus making peace, and in this one body to
reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their
hostility (Eph. 2.15f)
·
...and through [Christ] to reconcile to himself all
things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through
his blood, shed on the cross (Col. 1.20)
V. Cleansed/washed (from
sins) (apolouomai or katharizo)
·
But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were
made righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our
God (1 Cor. 6.11, my translation)
·
This is also the work to which believers need to attend:
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every
defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God (2
Cor. 7.1; cf. Rom. 12.1f)
·
Ephesians 5:26 in order to make her holy by
cleansing her with the washing of water by the word (Eph. 5.26)
·
He it is who gave himself for us that he might
redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are
zealous for good deeds (Tit. 2.14)
VI.
Atonement/Expiation/Propitiation (hilasterion)
The meaning of this once‑used term in Paul is
debated. Some argue that the term means expiation, making amends for
wrongdoing. Others argue that the term
is more graphic and means propitiation,
i.e., not only making amends but also and thereby appeasing God's wrath. Also, the term was used for the mercy seat over the ark of the covenant
in the Temple Israel
·
[Christ Jesus], whom God presented a
"hilasterion" through faith in his blood in order to show his
righteousness on account of the overlooking of preceding sins in God's
forbearance (Rom. 3.25f, my translation)
VII. Sanctification (hagiazo, hagios)
A. This term means to make holy, to set apart for God.
"Saints," "sanctify," "holy" all have the
same underlying
Greek word. "Saints" refer to
Christians and is never singular.
B. Time
1. Past:
·
But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but
you were made righteous in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit
of our God (1 Cor. 6.11)
2. Ongoing process:
·
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you
through and through (1 Thes. 5.23)
3. Goal (present and future ideas):
·
But now that you have been set free from sin and
have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the
result is eternal life (Rom. 6.22)
C. Who works
sanctification?
1. Jesus Christ, through His death:
·
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified
in Christ Jesus and called to be holy.... (1 Cor. 1.2)
2. The Holy Spirit, active in the believer's
life:
·
...from the beginning God chose you to be saved
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth (2
Thes. 2.13)
3. Both Jesus and Spirit:
·
B 1, above
4. God:
·
B 2, above
5. Believers' responsibility
·
It is God's will that you should be holy; that you
should avoid sexual immorality.... (1 Thes. 4.3)
·
...in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual worship
(Rom. 12.1)
VIII. Transformation (metamorphoomai, etc.)
This word occurs twice in Paul, referring to
the present change which the unbeliever is
undergoing.
Related Pauline terms and ideas are: summorphos,
conformed (Rom. 8.29; Phl. 3.21) and summorphizesthai,
to be conformed (Phl. 3.10); morphoun,
to form (Gal. 4.19; allassein, to
change (1 Cor. 15.51, 52).
·
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12.2)
·
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the
Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3.18)
·
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers (Rom. 8.29)
·
...for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth
until Christ is formed in you.... (Gal. 4.19)
IX. New Creation (kaine ktisis)
There are two instances of the phrase, both with reference
to present time. But passages
having to do with the next two categories (X
and XI) are related.
·
Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means
anything; what counts is a new creation (Gal. 6.15)
·
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5.17)
X. New Life
A.
‘Born (gennao) of the Spirit’:
1. Outside Paul: (a)
Especially a Johannine image ('born from above' (Jn. 3.3, 7); 'born of water
and Spirit' (Jn. 3.5); Belief that Jesus is the Christ means one 'has been born
of God' (1 Jn. 5.1)). (b) It does relate
to an understanding of Jesus’ incarnational birth (he is 'from the Holy Spirit'
(Mt. 1.20; cf. Lk. 1.35)). (c)
Distinctions between life before and now in the Kingdom of God
2. Paul:
a. ‘But just as at
that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child
who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also’ (Gal. 4:29).
b. Perhaps related
to the idea as expressed in (1), above: ‘For in the one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body-- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-- and we were all made
to drink of one Spirit’ (1 Cor. 12.13)
B.
Children of God
1. ‘But now that
faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ
Jesus you are all
children of God through faith’ (Gal. 3.25f)
2.
‘Abba’:
a. For you did not
receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a
spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" (Rom.
b. And because you
are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
"Abba! Father!" (Gal. 4.6)
3.
Children of God: (Rom.
4.
Adoption as children: Rom.
C. Heirs (kleronomeo, kleronomos)
1. This is a future idea,
pointing to the goal and reward of our salvation.
·
Now if we are children, then we are heirs‑‑heirs of
God and co‑heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order
that we may also share in his glory (Rom. 8.17)
·
I warn you...that those who live like this will not
inherit the kingdom
of God
2. The Holy Spirit is present
proof to believers of their sealing of salvation, participating in
God’s new
creation, and their inheritance:
a. The Holy Spirit
is given to believers as a seal (proof; sphragizo)
of salvation: 2 Cor. 1.22; Eph. 1.13; 4.30)
b. The Holy Spirit is the 'first fruit' (aparche) of God's new creation (Rom.
8.23)
c. The Holy Spirit is the 'pledge' or 'first
installment' (arrabon) of our
inheritance (2 Cor. 1.22; 5.5; Eph. 1.14)
XI. Dying and Rising with
Christ
This is related to the idea of being a new
creation. No particular Greek word
applies,
only the notion. The idea has a past reference but with
continuing results, since it involves participating in Christ's death and
resurrection life. Cf. also Rom. 8.10f;
Col. 2.12, 20; 3.1‑4.
·
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer
live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in
the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2.20)
·
We were therefore buried with him through baptism
into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the
glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Rom. 6.4)
XII. Exalted with Christ
Colossians and Ephesians express salvation
not only in terms of dying and rising with Christ but also in terms of being
exalted with Him. This is spoken of in
terms of present time, but a futuristic idea is present.
·
For you died, and your life is now hidden with
Christ in God. When Christ, who is your
life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Col.
·
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us in
the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.... (Eph. 2.6)
XIII. Glorification (doxazo, doxa)
Salvation may also be described in terms of
glorification in the past, present, and future
times.
·
And those he predestined, he also called, those he
called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (Rom. 8.30)
·
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the
Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever‑increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3.18)
·
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8.18; note v. 17)
XIV. Predestination (proorizo)
The three relevant uses of this word appear
here. Of course, it is a past tense
notion. Is it a corporate notion as
opposed to an individual notion? Is the
focus more on God’s plan of salvation
than salvation itself? (See the next
term, ‘called’)
·
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. And those he predestined, he
also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also
glorified (Rom.
·
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons
through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will... (Eph. 1.5)
·
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined
according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will (Eph. 1.11)
XV. Called (kletos, kaleo, eklektos)
A. As a verb, this term appears only in the past tense and applies the
Old Testament image of God's chosen, called, elect people to believers. It is typically a corporate notion, not a
term for personal salvation, and typically identifies God’s purpose (here it may be used of
individuals) in his salvation plan:
·
And you also are among those
who are called to belong to Jesus Christ (Rom. 1.6)
·
And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to
his purpose (Rom. 8.28)
·
...to those sanctified in
Christ Jesus and called to be holy... (1 Cor. 1.2; cf. Rom.
·
...but to those whom God has
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1
Cor. 1.24)
·
...even us, whom he called, not only from the Jews
but also from the Gentiles? (Rom.
·
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful (1 Cor. 1.9)
·
…just as he chose us in
Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him
in love (Eph. 1.4; note calling is corporate and ethical)
·
Therefore I endure everything
for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is
in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory (2 Tim. 2.10; note the distinction and
relationship between elect and salvation)
B. Romans 9-11:
This passage is often read as though it is
about personal election—God electing some to be saved. Rather, it is about God’s plan, and it is a
narrative theology (how God has, is, and will work salvation through his plan,
his election—exile—redemption of Israel for a salvation of both Israel and the
Gentiles who put their faith in God’s salvation in Jesus Christ). Nations and people play roles in God’s plan
so that salvation may come (through Isaac, Jacob, Pharaoh, and Israel). This is not the same as saying that these
were saved (especially Pharaoh!) and others were not. Rather, through these came God’s plan of
salvation. In this plan, only a remnant
of Israel will be saved (9.27), and those not chosen (Gentiles) are included
(9.25-26, quoting Hos.). God’s plan of
election serves the purpose of salvation without being equated with it, and it
demonstrates his mercy and power.
Moreover (ch. 10), elect
Israel did not attain righteousness because they pursued it through works,
whereas the Gentiles—who were not elect--did
attain it because they believed in God’s provision of it. This does not mean (ch. 11) that God has
rejected Israel in his plan of election.
God has by grace and not by works chosen a remnant of Israel (11.5f),
and Israel’s stumbling is part of God’s plan to bring salvation to the Gentiles
(11.11). They have not stumbled so far
as to fall (11.11), and their future acceptance will mean the resurrection
(‘life from the dead,’ 11.15). Election
is like an olive tree, with branches broken off because of unbelief and
branches grafted in through faith (11.20).
Those branches grafted in can still be cut off if they do not continue
in God’s kindness (11.22), and those cut off can be regrafted into the tree
through faith (11.23). Once the full
number of Gentiles has come in, all Israel will be saved (11.25-27, quoting Is.
59.20-21a and 27.9 (both speaking of Israel’s redemption/restoration from
sin/captivity).
XVI. Freedom (eleutheria, eleutheros, eleutheroo)
All three time periods are used with the idea
of being set free from sin and the Law and set free to Christ and
righteousness. ‘Freedom’ has to do with
being set free from slavery to sin, the law, and death (including creation’s
future liberation from subjection to decay).
*You
have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness (Rom. 6.18)
*Therefore, there is no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the
Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death (Rom.
*’…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom…’ (2 Cor. 3.17)
*It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free. Stand firm,
then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Gal.
5.1)
*For the creation was
subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who
subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God
(Rom. 8.21)
XVII. Forgiveness of Sins, Mercy, Grace
A. Forgiveness of
Sins:
1.
Many would say ‘forgiveness of sins’ is a
non-Pauline way of speaking about salvation.
The word ‘forgiveness’ (aphesis,
aphiemi) is not frequent in Paul, even if we affirm pauline authorship for
Ephesians and Colossians. But related
terms demonstrate that the notion of
forgiveness is present in Paul. Paul
tends to dwell on the significance of
forgiveness in his context (salvation by grace not works of Jewish law) more
than on forgiveness per se.
2.
Ephesians and Colossians speak of the forgiveness of
trespasses/sins (Eph. 1.7; Col. 1.14).
The term ‘aphiemi’ is not
otherwise found in Paul.
B. ‘Grace’ (charis) and ‘mercy’ (eleos; and ‘gift’ (dorea) are key terms in Paul.
·
they are now justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3.24)
·
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if
the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace
of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded
for the many (Rom. 5.15)
·
But law came in, with the result that the trespass
multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Rom. 5.20)
·
he saved us, not because of any works of
righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water
of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3.5)
·
I appeal to you therefore,
brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, … (Rom. 12.1)
C. Forgiveness for trespasses and grace are
two ways of speaking of the same thing.
The participle charisamenos is
translated ‘forgave’ in Col. 2.13-14: And when you were dead in trespasses and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he
forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with
its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.
D. The idea of forgiveness coheres with
justification (discussed above) of sinners.
E. Cf. Rom. 5.8: ‘But God proves his love
for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us’ (cf. 1 Tim.
1.15).
F. The idea also coheres with Paul’s
understanding of the human condition or plight from which we have been
delivered.
·
He it is who gave himself for us that he might
redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are
zealous for good deeds (Tit. 2.14).
G. This notion also overlaps with ‘washed,
‘expiation/ propitiation,’ and ‘sanctified’ (above).
XVIII. Triumph over the Powers
A.
Broadly
speaking, salvation is also thought of in terms of vanquishing the enemy,
whether Egyptian slave masters (‘redemption’ is a fitting term in this
instance), the nations, or the powers of the cosmos. Two messianic psalms stand out in this
regard: Ps. 2 and Ps. 110. Originally
royal psalms, the enemies in mind were the warring nations around Israel
B.
The
spiritual overlords have a hold over humanity in that the latter has
transgressed God’s cosmic law, but Christ has set humanity free from them:
1.
Why then the law? It was
added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the
promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator (Gal.
3.19). (The thought continues a little later:) … 3 So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to
the elemental spirits (stoicheion) of
the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his
Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those
who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6
And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our
hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a
slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. 8
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature
are not gods. 9 Now, however, that you have come to know God, or
rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly
elemental spirits (stoicheion)? How
can you want to be enslaved to them again? (Gal. 4.3-9).
2.
Then comes the end, when he
hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler
and every authority and power (1 Cor. 15.24).
3.
God put this power to work in
Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the
heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and
dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in
the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has
made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his
body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which you
once lived, following the course of this world [or ‘in which
you once walked in accordance with this world’s Aeon’], following the ruler of the power of the air, the
spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3 All of
us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of
flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.
(Eph. 1.20-2.3).
4.
He disarmed the rulers and
authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it (Col.
2.15). (The thought parallels the
quotations from Gal., above. It
continues in Col., as follows:) 20
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits (stoicheion) of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the
world, do you submit to regulations- 21
"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (Col. 2.20-21).
5.
See to it that no one takes
you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition,
according to the elemental spirits (stoicheion)
of the universe, and not according to Christ.
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