Law and Life: Leviticus 18.5 in the Literary Framework of ... - Clover

More documents

Recommendations

Info

216 Preston Sprinkk The Afterlife in Romans 2'7 The phrase ~ 45 665~5 TGV ~t5xvov TOG 8~05 is set in opposition to the ~ fcpeoeG5, i ~ the corruption from which the creation will be freedyJ. Believers, then, will be physically renewed through glorification at the resurrection in a way analogous to the renewal of creation. This is evident in Paul's use of &nsx66~opa~ in 8 : 19 and 23. In 8: 19, Paul says that creation "longs for" (&~TEx~~x&TCXL) "the revelation of the sons of God" (T~V &xox&hu$~v TGV uiGv TOG ~EOU - 8:19). SO too, believers "long for" (&~&x~Ex~~EvoL) the full manifestation of their "sonship" (uioesoiav - 8:23a), which Paul defmes as "the redemption of our bodies" (T$ drnoh6zeootv TOG ohpa~o5- 8:23). The basic thought is this: God's created order - subhuman creation and mankind - longs for the day when their physical existence will be renewed from its present state of physical corruption. For believers, this will entail glory rather than "corruption" and thus full participation in the divine quality of life for which they were originally created as Brendan Byrne states: "'Glory' (665a) here particularly connotes the sense of immortality: to bear the glory of God, to be 'like God' in this sense, means sharing God's own immortal being"yG. For this participation to take place, the sons of God need to be transformed from their present state of physical corruption. 4.2.3 Glory at the Parousia In the letters of Paul, and throughout the NT, this glorification of believers into Christ-likeness will take place at the parousia of Christ." In Romans 8, however, the parousia is not explicitly mentioned. Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that the parousia is implied in Romans 8 :I 8-19 where Paul reiterates the idea expressed in 8 :17b ("if we suffer with hi then we will be glorified with him"). Rom. 8318-19: ~oyicopa~ yhe ~ To~jx L &
2 I 8 Preston Sprinkle This idea of glory as physical transformation at the parousia is presented elsewhere in early Christian tradition. For instance, I Pet. 4:1j says, "just as you have partaken of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice because you will exceedingly rejoice in the revelation of his glory" (kv 74 dmoxah6Q~~ zfj~ 665q5 a6zoC). This idea is taken up again in 5:1 where the author reiterates this event with language remarkably similar to Rom 8 :I 8 : "I exhort the elders among you as a ... fellow partaker of the gloty to be revealed (zij~ p~hh060q5 dlnoxah6nz~oea~ 865q~)". This "glory to be revealed" is the "apocalypse of glory" in 4: I 3 : the transformative revelation of the glory of Christ at the parousia (cf. I Pet. j:lo)Gl. We have reason to believe, then, that the language used by Paul in Romans 8: I 8 refers to the parousia of Christ as a time when his glory is manifested. This manifestation will transform believers into that same glorified state as in Phil. j :21. This not only evokes the previous statement in 8:17b, where we will be "glorified with Christ" (ouv6ocao- ~G~Ev), but also the next verse where Paul speaks of the "revelation of the sons of God" (8:19). This may be another way of looking at the same event: the parousia of the glorious Christ will transform believers and thus the full nature of their sonship will be publicly displayed. The phrase, "the revelation of the sons of God", may refer exclusively to believers in Christ, but in light of our reading of 8:18 it may also include Christ himself. This captures the thought of both 8:17 where believers are called "fellow heirs of Christ" and 8:29 where they are considered "brothers and sisters" of the Son of God. 4.2.4 Glorification and Sonship The "sonship" of believers is one of the most dominant motifs in the broader context of 8:1q-30. This is highlighted by the terms "sons" (8:14, 19), "adoption as sons" (8:15, 23), "children" (8:16, 17, 21), and the cry "Abba, Father" (8:15). In 8.17, the "sonship" of believers guarantees their "inheritance of ~od"~~. If believers are true sons of God, then this implies that they will enjoy the inl~eritance~~ that a father bestows on his children. 65 See too I John 32: "we are children of God, and thus it will be manifested what we will be, because we know that when he is manifested, we will be hke him, became (~TL) we will see hun as he isJ'. By standing in the physical presence of the glorified Christ at the parousia and looking upon his glory, believers will be transformed into that same glory (cf. John 17:q -'iva ~ EO~GOLV ~fiv &pip). l3e Afterlife in Romans 219 Sonship and glorification are two inseparable motifs in Romans 868. In fact, glorification is in some sense the future visible manifestation of the believers' presently inward status as "sons of God". Their corrupted state and the suffering that follows might call this status into question. Therefore, their glorification will be the outward manifestation of this statusG9. When their status is both internally and externally confirmed, then God will have completed his goal of redemption: to spiritually and physically renew his "sons" in order that He might enjoyed unhindered fellowship with them. In other words, God does not transform believers simply for the sake of transforming them. In Romans 8, rather, the creator God is bringing final restoration to the relationship between Him and his "sons" through their glorification. This idea, that glorification is integrally connected to sonship, is stated in 8.23 where "adoption as sons is defined7" as "the redemption of our bodies". As mentioned above, this reference to resurrection is associated with the other statements about "glorification". The implication, then, is that the full sonship of believers will be manifested when they "bear the image of the heavenly one" (I Cor. 15:49) and are transformed - glorified - in conformity to Christ7'. The relationship between glorification and sonship is summed up in 8:29 where the believers' conformity to Christ upon glorification is done for the purpose of creating brothers and sisters who are now fully identified with the 66 The motifs of "sonship" and "inheritance" have two distinct tradition-histories, and yet they come together in various early Jewish texts; e.g. 4 Ezra 638-59; 7:1o-I 8; see the discussion in BYRNE, Sons of God (s. note 48) 68-70. 67 The implication from 8: I 3 is that the inheritance here in 8.17 is eternal life (cf. I En. 37:4; 487; 582; LAB 23:13); following Byrne, Sons of God (s. note 48) 101-102. 68 Cf. BYRNE - "the revelation of our glory and the revelation of our sonship are opposite sides of the one coin" ('Sons of God' [s. note 481 105, cf. 140). 69 Cf. esp. I John 3 :z. It can be argued that hope of glory of which this passage is focused on, is given to answer the theological problem of suffering. The hope of glory then is the comfort given to suffering people. Nevertheless, the suffering motif itself is born out of the main issue relating to sonship: if believers are in fact "sons of God" then why do they suffer? The answer is: their sonship is hidden and awaits a public manifestation at the parousia. Therefore, the gloriication of the saints, wMe being a solution to the dilemma of suffering, is primarily a public manifestation of the status of believers; they are sons of creator God. 70 See BYRNE, Sons of God (s. note 48) I 10. 71 A similar motif, whereby a necessary attribute of a "son of God" is luminous beauty or angel-like qualities, can be found throughout Joseph and Aseneth (e.g. 6:3 [6]-4[7]; 16:14; 18:9; 19:8); see Byrne, Sons of God (s. note 48) 49-54.
Page 2 and 3: Hinweise: Abkurzungen richten sich
Page 4 and 5: The Afterlife in Romans. Understand
Page 6 and 7: 204 Preston Sprinkle assume a date
Page 8 and 9: Preston Sprinkle l3e Afterlife in R
Page 10 and 11: Preston Sprinkle The Aftw1;fe in Ro
Page 14: 220 Preston Sprinkle fie Afterlife
Page 17 and 18: 226 Preston Sprinkle i%e Afr~f;f. i
Page 19 and 20: 230 Preston Sprinkle Be Afterlife i
Page 21 and 22: Journal for the Study of the Old Te
Page 23 and 24: 278 Journal for the Study of the Ol

Law and Life: Leviticus 18.5 in the Literary Framework of ... - Clover

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?