Harking back to your post a couple of weeks ago, Jon, I came across Richard Hays' précis of the bible's story while reading his book on NT ethics. Here it is:
“The God of Israel, the creator of the world, has acted (astoundingly) to rescue a lost and broken world through the death and resurrection of Jesus; the full scope of that rescue is not yet apparent, but God has created a community of witnesses to this good news, the church. While awaiting the grand conclusion of the story, the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is called to reenact the loving obedience of Jesus Christ and thus to serve as a sign of God’s redemptive purposes for the world” (193).
Thoughts? (I love his emphasis on cruciformity here--a "metaphor" which, according to him, lies close to the heart of Pauline ethics)
Wd
“The God of Israel, the creator of the world, has acted (astoundingly) to rescue a lost and broken world through the death and resurrection of Jesus; the full scope of that rescue is not yet apparent, but God has created a community of witnesses to this good news, the church. While awaiting the grand conclusion of the story, the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is called to reenact the loving obedience of Jesus Christ and thus to serve as a sign of God’s redemptive purposes for the world” (193).
Thoughts? (I love his emphasis on cruciformity here--a "metaphor" which, according to him, lies close to the heart of Pauline ethics)
Wd