Spring 1999 - Quarterly Review

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and living space of others. Others may manipulate the law covertlyand maintain the appearance of justification. But their ownachievements are made absolute; the memory of their ownshortcomings is suppressed; the will of God is missed; and thepotential of others is hindered—and all this in a much more subtle andhidden form than that of the open transgression of the law.The message of justification does not apply only to situations inwhich people deliberately seek God's gracious acceptance; it alsospeaks to those who struggle in general for meaning and worth in theirlives. It proclaims salvation to those who are aware of theirbrokenness in lives that are spoiled and lost and to those who pretendthat they have "justified" their own lives through success, property,power, reputation, or efficiency but who nevertheless sense—be itconscious or unconscious—that this is not true life. True life is alwaysGod's gift. That is the message of justification through Jesus Christ,even for the people of our time.The Word became Flesh. The third line is connected closely with thesecond. It is marked by the fundamental confession of the Johanninetradition: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, sothat everyone who believes in him may not perish but may haveeternal life" (John 3:16). The Johannine phraseology of God's "givingup the Son" in this text corresponds to a similar pattern of a God's"sending the Son" (1 John 4:9-10, 14). We find here the furtherstatement that the Son is given up unto death. The purpose of theseformulaic structures is to describe the saving effect of the Son ofGod's adoption of our human nature. We find a similar dynamic inPaul, although he emphasizes the death of Jesus Christ (cf. Gal. 4:4-5;Rom. 8:3-4 with Rom. 8:32; Phil. 2:6-8; Gal. 2:20).The whole tradition is closely connected with the title "Son ofGod"; the deep connection between Father and Son is expressed bythe words only or own. God gives himself through the Son. Thissoteriological scheme also imputes a motive to God's saving activity:love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10; Rom. 8:37-39; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:2; cf.Rom. 5:8). The deepest evidence of God's love is the fact that the Sonhas given himself into the world and unto death!Whereas the Johannine "sending of the Son" formula describes thesaving effect of the sending in terms of atonement and vicarious death(cf. I John 4:10; Gal 4:4-5), the formula of the "giving up of the Son"characterizes God's saving action in a much more comprehensive way.24 QUARTERLY REVIEW / SPRING <strong>1999</strong>
In Rom. 8:31-39 this formula appears with another statement of God'smotivation for acting on human behalf: God is "for us." Through theSon, God enters into human need, even death, the deepest and mostextreme distress of human existence. The Son's abandonment of selfauthenticates God's yes to us, which is valid even when all externalcircumstances seem to speak against it—be it our own sin (vv. 33-34)or the heights and depths of human existence (vv. 38-39).According to this tradition, what salvation gives is life: life withGod, eternal life. Even more remarkable, the Gospel of John dares tosay that all who by their faith in Jesus Christ have been received intothe communion with God have this life already. God's becominghuman, even "flesh," fdls the "lack of God" in human beings. Now,even after we have fallen short of the doxa of God (Rom. 3:23), theglory of God is seen again in the face of Jesus Christ.The proclamation of salvation in this tradition responds to theGod-forsakenness of human beings. Of course, it is not that God hasforsaken them but rather that they have forsaken God; this is thesource of their isolation, loneliness, and forlornness. People are lostnot only in the eschatological sense, that they are doomed to the finalcondemnation, but also in a ontological sense, living in loneliness andisolation amidst the infinite cosmos. It is this dreadful human "angst"that attacks, weakens, and erodes the foundations of our lives. Thepain of this experience drives us to secure and defend our lives forourselves—a path that leads to aggressiveness toward others and theend of real life with them.Salvation is the gift of a new existence from God; it is the gift ofbecoming children of God: "God sent his Son ... so that we mightreceive adoption as children" (Gal. 4:4-5) (or in the words of"Amazing Grace," "I once was lost but now am found ..."). With thisgift we regain our original trust in God, which conquers "angst." Weare authorized and empowered by God to be mature and responsible,providing the basis for a new relationship to the people with whom welive.We have seen that the New Testament speaks in different waysabout salvation, but all agree that salvation is rooted in the encounterwith the saving God. It is the coming of God's kingdom in the workand teaching of Jesus which delivers the oppressed and exalts thepoor. It is the revelation of God's righteousness in the death andresurrection of Jesus Christ which justifies sinners and reconcilesenemies. And it is the light of God's glory in the person and life of thePROCLAIMING SALVATION—MAKING DISCIPLES 25
Page 2: Editorial BoardTed A. CampbellWesle
Page 8 and 9: add to it add to it To add complete
Page 11 and 12: Thomas E. FrankMinding What We Say:
Page 13 and 14: ulbs into the bright sunshine. But
Page 15 and 16: and reinforces the individual's ide
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Page 19 and 20: marketed to consumers. To achieve t
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Page 79 and 80: Douglas W. RuffleHoliness and Happi
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holiness and happiness, shall cover
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letter that he would send financial
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emphasis on a "lifestyle" evangeliz
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Wesley saw the need to bring "real"
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Kenneth G. DavisStill Gringo after
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considered her casual demeanor to b
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like to give attention to the lumin
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into the light of these luminarias.
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ecause I cannot be other than what
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one might choose to look at the som
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Jesus was not, however, a crowd-ple
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coming of the kingdom (9:35), they
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about Jesus has been forever known
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Although the message comes from the
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would strike at the very fabric of
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these little ones." The parallel an
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(16:18-19) was vying for recognitio
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July 18,1999—Eighth Sunday after
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Matthew's "little apocalypse" descr
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Spring 1999 - Quarterly Review

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