Baptism & identity: Pauline directives for Christian ethics

Baptism & Identity: Pauline Directives for Christian Ethics by Jana de Lange Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master in Theology at the University of Stellenbosch Supervisor: Prof. Aletta Elizabeth Johanna Mouton Co-supervisor: Prof. Jan Cilliers Breytenbach Faculty of Theology Department of Old and New Testament March 2011 1 Declaration By submitting this thesis/dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. March 2011 Copyright © 2011 University of Stellenbosch All rights reserved 2 Abstract Baptism has been an important aspect of the Christian community and faith since its very beginnings. This study investigates Paul’s reference to baptism since the Pauline epistles are the oldest written records that we have on the topic of baptism and because of the foundational role the Pauline gospel still has for the identity of contemporary Christianity. In his various letters, Paul often mentions or alludes to baptism, but Paul never writes a passage that could be titled ‘On Baptism’, where he presents his theology of baptism. Neither does he describe the act of baptism nor how it is administered. Instead, in the texts where he mentions baptism he is actually discussing something else. This leads to the questions: Why did Paul deem it necessary to refer to the baptism in the various contexts of his letters? What does baptism mean for Paul, as can be concluded from these texts? How did he use the baptism in his arguments and what conclusions did he draw from his references to baptism? This study aims to answer these questions through exegetical analysis of the separate texts 1 Cor 6:11, 12:12-13; Gal 3:27 and Rom 6:3 in their various contexts in an attempt to arrive at Paul’s understanding of baptism, how it serves as basis for the early Christian self-definition and group identity, and which kind of ethos is promoted on the basis of the ethical implication of baptism as an integrating ritual in Pauline Christianity. It becomes evident that for Paul the baptism is very important and central to the Christian faith and community, therefore he utilises the common participation and meaning of baptism as a foundation for other aspects of his theology: righteousness, new life in the Spirit, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, pneumatology and eschatology. By referring to their baptism Paul reminds believers of what they experienced at that point in time and what that now implies for their lives here and now, as well as for their future expectation and hope. The strength of Paul’s argument and the consequences thereof is rooted in the actual experience and event of the believers’ baptism. It is clear that Paul advocates a total and radical change of identity where the believer completely and utterly identifies with Christ in and through the baptism and he uses different metaphors to describe this identification with Christ. When Paul writes that they are one in Christ it has ecclesiological relevance grounded in Christ’s passion and resurrection. However, Paul also closely associates the baptism with the Spirit. The baptism is where the Spirit is received and the baptism occurs in/through the Spirit, but everything that occurs at the baptism occurs on God’s initiative. The baptism serves as a cornerstone for Pauline ethics because by accepting God’s salvation through faith and the baptism, believers are transformed to live a new life in the sight of God and being guided by the Spirit leads to a new ethos for the individual and the community of faith. 3 Opsomming Die doop speel nog altyd ‘n belangrike rol in die Christen gemeenskap. Hierdie studie ondersoek Paulus se verwysings na die doop, aangesien die Paulinies briewe die oudste skriftelike dokumente is wat na die Christelike doop verwys, as ook a.g.v. die bepalende invloed wat die Paulinies evangelie steeds vandag op die Christelike identiteit het. In sy onderskeie briewe, verwys Paulus gereeld na die doop, maar daar is geen gedeelte wat as ‘Oor die doop’ geklassifiseer kan word, waar hy sy teologie aangaande die doop aanbied nie. Hy beskryf ook nooit die aksie of uitvoering van die doop nie. In die tekste waar hy die doop noem, bespreek hy eintlik iets anders. Dit lei tot die vrae: Hoekom ag Paulus dit nodig om na die doop te verwys? Wat beteken die doop vir Paulus soos uit hierdie tekste afgelei kan word? Hoe gebruik hy die doop in sy argumentvoering en wat is sy gevolgtrekkings? Hierdie studie poog om hierdie vrae te antwoord deur eksegetiese analise van 1 Kor 6:11, 12:12-13; Gal 3:27 en Rom 6:3 in hul verskeie kontekste, met die doel om Paulus se verstaan van die doop te bepaal, hoe dit dien as basis vir die Christen identiteit en watter etos aangemoedig word vanuit die etiese implikasies wat die doop as intree-rite in die Christen gemeenskap oordra. Dit word duidelik dat die doop vir Paulus uiters belangrik en van kardinale belang vir die Christen geloof en gemeenskap is. Daarom gebruik hy die algemene deelname en betekenis van die doop as basis vir ander aspekte van sy teologie: geregtigheid, nuwe lewe in die Gees, Christologie, soteriologie, ekklesiologie, pneumatologie and eskatologie. Deur na hul doop te verwys, herinner Paulus die gelowiges aan dit wat hulle ervaar het op daardie oomblik van die doop en wat dit tans vir hul lewens hier en nou beteken, as ook vir hul toekomstige hoop en verwagting. Die krag van Paulus se argument en die gevolge daarvan is gewortel in die ervaring van die gelowige se doop. Dit is duidelik dat Paulus ‘n radikale en totale verandering van identiteit voorhou, waar die gelowige geheel en al met Christus identifiseer deur die doop en Paulus gebruik verskillende metafore om hierdie identifisering met Christus te beskryf. As Paulus dus skryf dat hulle een is met Christus het dit ekklesiologiese waarde wat gegrond is in Christus se lyding en opstanding. Paulus verbind die doop egter ook direk met die Gees. Die doop is waar die Gees ontvang word, maar die doop vind ook deur/in die Gees plaas. Alles wat egter by die doop plaasvind, gebeur a.g.v. God se inisiatief. Die doop dien dan sodoende as hoeksteen vir Paulus se etiek, want deur God se verlossing deur geloof en die doop aan te neem, word gelowiges verander om ‘n nuwe lewe in die aangesig van God te leef, gelei deur die Gees wat lei tot n nuwe etos vir die individu sowel as die gemeenskap van gelowiges. 4 Acknowledgements The list of people whom I wish to thank for their assistance and support during the writing of this thesis is endless. Firstly to all my professors at the University of Pretoria, who kindled in me a love for theology. I am especially grateful to prof. Jan van der Watt (Radboud University, Nijmegen), for this thesis would never have been written if not for his initial support and encouragement. He arranged for me to go study in Berlin, Germany, and in so doing he was the catalyst behind this whole endeavour. His constant support and guidance as professor and mentor remain eternally valuable for me. The guidance, patience, and support of prof. Cilliers Breytenbach (Humboldt University of Berlin), my supervisor and mentor in Germany, were the great impetus behind my work. His constant guidance and hospitality, along with his wife, Dr. Annekie Joubert, kept me focussed and sane in a home away from home. His entire chair at the Humboldt University of Berlin, especially Ines Lochert and Matthias Müller, with regards to administrative and editing matters, were also of great help. I am particularly grateful to the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) who - through their sponsoring of a subject-related partnership between the Humboldt University of Berlin, the University of KwaZuluNatal, and the University of Stellenbosch – enabled me to participate in this exchange programme. Prof. Elna Mouton (University of Stellenbosch), my supervisor at US, was a pillar of hope, faith, and constant encouragement and her assistance with the final editing of the thesis was invaluable. Also a word of thanks to the entire Department of Old- and New Testament at US, especially to prof. Jeremy Punt, prof. Hendrik Bosman and mrs. Felicity Grové, for their assistance with this entirely unique situation. Finally a word of thanks to all my family and friends for their constant support, love, faith, and prayers—I am eternally grateful. And of course, none of this would have been possible if not for my Lord and God, Jesus Christ, into whom I have been baptised and now also live. 5 Table of Contents Introduction 7 Baptism in 1 Corinthians 1313 1 Cor 6:9-11 1414 Digression: Spirit 22 1 Cor 12:12-13 23 The role of baptism 34 Baptism in Galatians 39 Gal 3:6-4:7 40 Baptism in Paul’s argument 53 The role of baptism 64 Baptism in Romans 66 Rom 5:20-6:14 67 The role of baptism 87 Conclusion 91 Paul’s overall notion of baptism 92 Baptism as ritual and its significance for individual and social identity 96 The role of baptism in Pauline ethics 97 Bibliography 100 6 Introduction: Baptism has been an important aspect of the Christian community and faith since its very beginnings. We see this in the manifold references to the baptism which are found in the various books of the New Testament.1 Naturally this has caused for innumerable studies regarding baptism throughout the ages and this study hopes to add another enlightening perspective to this vast field of study. The study investigates Paul’s reference to baptism since the Pauline epistles are the oldest written records that we have on the topic of baptism and because of the foundational role the Pauline gospel still has for the identity of contemporary Christianity. The term “Pauline” should be understood in the narrow sense referring to Paul’s generally undisputed letters (the four main epistles, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon) and these texts will be used in order to construct a Pauline notion of baptism and what it implies for Christian identity and ethics. In his various letters, Paul often mentions or alludes to baptism,2 but as Hartman3 states Paul never writes a passage that could be titled “‘On Baptism’, and in which Paul explicitly presents a few fundamental features of his theology of baptism.” Neither does he describe the act of baptism nor how it is administered. Instead, in the texts where he mentions baptism he is actually discussing something else. This leads to the questions: Why did Paul deem it necessary to refer to the baptism in the various contexts of his letters? What does baptism mean for Paul, as can be concluded from these texts? How did he use the baptism in his arguments and what conclusions did he draw from his references to baptism? This study aims to answer these questions through thorough grammatico-exegetical analysis of the separate texts 1 Cor 6:11, 12:12-13; Gal 3:27 and Rom 6:34 in their various contexts in an attempt to arrive at Paul’s understanding of baptism and what that entails for the identity of those who have been baptised. Paul focuses his attention on what implications are to be drawn from the fact that every believer has been baptised. He utilises the common participation and meaning of baptism as a foundation for other 1 Matt 28:19; Mark 16:16; John 1:33; Acts 2:38; Eph 4:5; Col 2:12; 1 Pet 3:21 and Tit 3:5 to name but a few. 1 Cor 1:13-17; 6:11; 10:1-4; 12:12-13; 15:29; Rom 6:3-4 and Gal 3:27; possibly also 2 Cor 1:22. 3 Hartman, Into the Name, 53. 4 These texts are studied since their focus is on the baptism of the believer and what it entails for them. The other Pauline texts on baptism are not regarded, because the allusion to baptism is not clear (2 Cor 1:22); it refers to baptism for the dead (1 Cor 15:29); it refers to the allegorical baptism of the Israelites with Moses (1 Cor 10:1-4) or the focus is on the one who baptises and not the baptism itself (1 Cor 1:13-17). 2 7 aspects of his theology. Each of the several passages where Paul refers to baptism has a different emphasis on what baptism entails. There are, nevertheless, also similarities among the different passages. Therefore when regarding these various passages, the aim is to discover Paul’s understanding of baptism as presented in the texts, how it serves as basis for the early Christian self-definition and group identity, and which kind of ethos is promoted on the basis of the ethical implication of baptism as an integrating ritual in Pauline Christianity. These findings are consequently also relevant for every believer who has been baptised in our day and age. In this sense one can also agree with Schnelle5 when he states, “Das Taufgeschehen ist sowohl in seiner Wirkung als auch in seiner Verbindlichkeit keineswegs auf die Vergangenheit zu beschränken, sondern umgekehrt gerade in seiner Bedeutung für Gegenwart und Zukunft zu sehen.” As has been mentioned, there have been countless previous studies on baptism, and this paper stands on the shoulders of those who have gone before, while hoping to give an illuminating innovative perspective. One of the most recent well-known works on baptism is that of Everett Ferguson’s Baptism in the Early Church.6 It is a comprehensive study of the history, theology, and liturgy of baptism in the first five centuries: from pre-Christian ritual washings up until the works of Augustine. Ferguson regards the practice and doctrine of baptism as portrayed in the various literary sources and other existing materials (such as art depictions and baptismal fonts) from the first five centuries of Christian baptismal practice. Other comprehensive studies on baptism are those of Lars Hartman, Into the Name of the Lord7and Gerhard Barth, Die Taufe in frühchristlicher Zeit,8 which focus on baptism as found in the New Testament only. Hartman argues that although there are different teachings on baptism found within the various New Testament texts, there remain unifying “Urmotive”9 among them. The most significant of these “Urmotive” is the baptism’s relation to Christ and therefore the title, Into the Name of the Lord Jesus, with the accompanying in-depth study of the baptismal formulas. Gerhard Barth does an exegetical historical study of the various baptism texts found in the New Testament and concerns himself with the origin, development, and understanding of baptism in the time of the New Testament. Where Ferguson and Hartman regard every New Testament writer’s or book’s view of the baptism 5 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 125. Ferguson, Baptism. 7 Hartman, Into the Name. 8 Barth, Taufe. 9 Hartman, Auf den Namen, 78. 6 8 separately (ascribing entire chapters to baptism in the Pauline epistles) Barth looks at the various texts under the different themes or interpretations of the baptism. However, one of the sub-chapters also explores the integration of the baptism into Paul’s theology of justification and his theologica crucis. Another book that focuses on the Pauline theology of baptism, as well as that of the pre-Pauline, is the doctoral dissertation of Udo Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit und Christusgegenwart.10 This comprehensive study busies itself with the relation of the baptism to Paul’s theology of justification, as well as looking at the presence of Christ as perceived in the baptism, and what the baptism means for Paul’s ecclesiology, ethic and soteriology. His book is distinct from those of Ferguson, Hartman and Barth, because of its pertinent focus on baptism in Paul’s theology. The following study will, like that of Schnelle, solely focus on the undisputed letters of Paul. Though no separate chapter is reserved for the purpose, special consideration will also be given to Paul’s specific use of the baptismal formula , as Hartman has done. The study is unique in its primary aim to achieve an in-depth critical grammatico-exegetical analysis of the various texts and what it entails for Christian identity. The methodology will be a grammatical and syntactical analysis of the particular texts. While the importance of the socio-historic context of Paul and his readers should not be neglected, this will only be touched upon in every chapter, since it is not the main focus. Every chapter will begin with a quick summary of the context for the writing of that particular letter and how the specified text fits within the greater scheme of the letter. The study however remains textimmanent. I am keenly aware of the need of multi-dimensional exegesis, especially with regard to the formation of ethics through the use of the New Testament, but this focus will fall on the text “as is”. As a member of the Dutch Reformed church my understanding of Paul, the concept of righteousness “ ” and baptism, have consequently mainly been influenced by the Protestant-Reformed traditions regarding these topics. With regards to the terms ‘identity,’ ‘ethics,’ and ‘ethos’ I refer to the definitions as set forth by Van der Watt.11 “Identity relates to the question: ‘Who are you?’ Identity refers to who a person or persons (community) regard themselves to be and why. A person’s identity has a direct and determinative influence on what follows, namely ethics and ethos.” As is clear from the definition, identity can be 10 11 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit. Van der Watt, Identity, vi-vii. 9 related to either an individual or group. Within the collectivistic mindset of the first century identity is most often and most likely linked with the group, in this case the early Christian communities, however, the individual is not entirely absent from view. The identity of the community is the sphere within which the individual finds her/his own new identity. The identity of the individual is expressed in relation to the group and in this case, also in relation to Christ. “Ethics relates to the question: ‘according to which rules are you and your group acting and why?’ This is the ‘ought to’ or ‘should’ question. It is understood as the motivated ‘rules/principles/basic exhortations/ethical pointers’ presented in a particular document, like ‘love one another’, which are based upon and related to the identity of a person.”12 As will consequently will be shown in this study, the ethics that Paul develops for the Christian communities strongly rely on the identity, as perceived and explained by Paul, of the community of believers. With regards to the subtitle of this study, “Pauline Directives for Christian Ethics” the aim of this study is not to give another perspective on Pauline ethics, for that is an entire book on its own, but rather to indicate Paul’s use of baptism in his argumentation, his theological understanding of the baptism and how it relates to the Christian identity which then serves as basis for Paul’s Christian ethics. “Ethos relates to the question: ‘how do you behave or what do you do?’ This is a behavioural category. It focuses on the behaviour of a group concretely expressing the above-mentioned rules (ethics) and thus functionally displaying their identity. It indicates how the rules (ethics) are interpreted and translated into concrete action by a particular group with a particular identity within everyday situations. It deals with the way in which believers concretized their ethical convictions into actions in the totality of their life experience.”13 As will become more obvious, Paul most likely envisioned his addressees to adhere to a common ethos that expressed the ethical imperatives that he set forth in his letters. This can be described as “an idealized, or projected, ethos since such remarks reflect behaviour, but not necessarily the behaviour of the addressee, as much as they reflect the projected behaviour of the author, in the light of his interpretation of the identity and ethics of his addressees. Distinctions are therefore made between real and idealized ethos.”14 Thus, this study does not intend to describe the common ethos of the earliest Christian communities, but instead to refer to Paul’s idealized ethos and 12 Van der Watt, Identity, vii. Van der Watt, Identity, vii. 14 Van der Watt, Identity, vii. 13 10 hopefully to indicate to some extent how the baptism is still relevant as basis for a contemporary Christian identity, ethics and consequently ethos. The relationship of identity to ethos is poignantly stated by Wolter15: “With respect to their function, the practices of an ethos point beyond themselves, since it is the identity of the group that is expressed by them. There is no group conceivable that can do without an ethos, if its members want to be discerned as a distinct group from outsiders or if they want to experience themselves as such. From this we can deduce that the ethos of every group has to be a mixture of exclusive and inclusive practices: Through exclusive practices the group differs from its social environment, whereas the inclusive practices are also practiced by the social majority and therefore can suit its integration into society. That means every group that wants to be discernable as group is in need of an at least partially exclusive ethos that functions outwards as ‘boundary marker’ and inwards as ‘identity marker’.” Thus it will become evident that the baptism and the consequent ethics, as well as ethos, which Paul advocates will serve as boundary marker for the Christian community within the wider society, but even more importantly, as identity marker within the group. The paper will start by looking at Paul’s conception of baptism firstly in his letter to the Corinthians, to the Galatians and finally to the Romans. Through grammatical exegetical analysis of the texts—by close study of the metaphors that Paul associates with baptism and the use of baptism in his argument—the role of baptism in the various contexts will be constructed and what it implies for Paul’s specific audience. The metaphors that Paul uses describe the new identity of the believers. Finally a conclusion will follow constructing a summary of Paul’s various concepts of baptism, as is available to us from the various texts16, as well as recognising its significance for the Christian identity and consequently Christian ethics. As Hays17 states, “Paul’s thought-world reflects the fusion of cultures; there are many clear instances where his ethical categories and vocabulary are drawn from his Jewish and Hellenistic cultural backgrounds. Nevertheless, when we examine Paul’s actual ethical arguments, we find that such cultural traditions play a relatively slight role in comparison to two fundamental 15 Wolter, “Pauline Ethics”, 200-201. As Schrage, Ethics, 3 states “we have only the ethical instructions contained in the texts; only very indirectly is it possible to reconstruct the actual practice of the earliest Christian communities.” 17 Hays, Moral Vision, 41. 16 11 norms to which he points repeatedly: the unity of the community and the imitation of Christ.” In light of this, my focus will fall on those subjects to which Paul repeatedly refers, and not specifically his cultural background. Most of the translations of the various verses and texts are my own; however, where another translation has been used it is duly indicated after the specific text. The acronyms, abbreviations and notes have been done according to the SBL Handbook of Style: For Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies.18 18 Alexander et al, SBL Handbook of Style. 12 Baptism in 1 Corinthians The city of Corinth was an important trade-city due to its geographical location. It was a large economic and political19 metropolis and people from all walks of life lived there. “First-century Corinth had a large agglomeration of Romans, Greeks, and Orientals including Jews.”20 There was a Jewish community and synagogue (Acts 18), but being a Roman colony the Greco-Roman pagan cult was commonly practised with many temples in honour of Greco-Roman gods as well. There was a wide variety of religions and as Paul notes in 1 Cor 11:20-22, there was a remarkable gap between the rich21 and poor of the community. The manner in which Paul addresses the congregation in Corinth in 1:26 “not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth,” (NRSV) illustrates that the Corinthian congregation comprised of many people from the lower class as well as those who indeed were of “noble birth” and so forth. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians gives a very detailed account of Paul’s thoughts regarding the Christian community and church. Hence, the ecclesiology developed in 1 Corinthians is deemed the chief concern of the letter.22 According to Orr23, “The first part of the book discusses disturbing reports which Paul had received concerning threatened schism among various parties in the church,” such as quarrels and inappropriate conduct among believers. “The second part of the book (beginning with chapter 7) discusses matters that had been raised in a communication from the church to Paul”24 concerning various topics, one of which was spiritual gifts. 19 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 25, states Corinth was the “seat of the proconsul governing the Roman province of Achaia in the time when Paul first visited and evangelized the city.” 20 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 119. 21 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 32-33: “It is not easy to determine the social status of inhabitants of Roman Corinth. According to Strabo, many freedmen (liberti, apeleutheroi) were settled there (Geogr. 8.6.23; cf. Pausanias, Descr. Graec. 2.3.1). Plutarch knows also of veteran soldiers who were brought there (Vita Caisaris 57.7). The freedmen would have been emancipated slaves; hence members of a social class just above slaves. Among them were the poor who begged for food (Appian, Libyca 8.20.136). The strategic location of the city, however, would have attracted many people to a thriving Corinth, and a good number of the inhabitants would have become well-to-do merchants who flourished on the prosperity of the Roman colony.” “Gill (‘In search of the Social Elite’) has amassed a considerable amount of evidence, however, to show that in the Corinth of Paul’s day there were many persons who would have been among the socially élite, and some of these would have been among the converts to Christianity,”. 22 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 81. 23 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 121. 24 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 121. 13 The letter to the Corinthians as usual starts with an introduction (1:1-9). It is then immediately followed by a section where Paul reacts to a “threat of schism from party quarrels and class rivalry”25 (1:104:21). Paul considers this a very important issue that needs to be addressed—as is seen from its length and prominent position in the letter—and he does so comprehensively. Paul is “addressing the Corinthian community as a whole; and the second plural dominates throughout the letter. He recognizes, especially in chaps. 1-4, that there are diverse groups within the community, but his aim is to recall such groups to unity, and so he addresses them all equally and at the same time.”26 It is evident that unity and order among the members of the congregation are essential and Paul addresses this issue in both baptism-related27 texts of 6:11 and 12:12-13 and their various contexts, which will be studied more closely. 1 Cor 6:9-11 In 1 Cor 6:1-11 Paul addresses the way in which the Corinthian church handles quarrels and disputes among the believers, since these disputes naturally affect the church order and discipline.28 This section seems rather strange at first when read between 5:1-13 and 6:12-20 where is the main topic, but it does indeed clarify the main concern even more: believers are not yet conducting themselves in the manner that is fitting to the church of Christ29—whether it be in juridical matters or sexual. Here, Paul is outraged that believers, who he addresses as saints ( another and then go to non-believers ( ) or unjust ( : 6:1; 14:33; 16:15), quarrel with one )30 judges to settle their lawsuits. How can people who have no standing in the church and are unjust31 according to the moral standards of the church, pronounce a verdict concerning the justified believers? Paul writes to them explaining that they will judge the world and the angels (vv. 2-3) and certainly they have the wisdom and authority now to reach a verdict among their brothers and sisters in faith and should be settling their disputes among 25 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 147. Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 52. 27 While acknowledging the reference to baptism in 1 Cor 1:13-17 and 10:2, these texts will not be regarded since they are not of direct relevance to the topic concerned. 28 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 248. 29 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 145. Wolff, Korinther, 112, and Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 28, also indicate the connection between 5:1-13 and 6:1-11 based on the use of various keywords, e.g. , , and and variables. 30 The use of (v. 1) and (v. 6) place these two in direct correlation to one another—the unjust are the non-believers who stand in opposition to the saints ( ) 31 It should be noted that Paul does not necessarily perceive the pagan judges to be unjust in the sense that they give unjust and unfair verdicts, but they are unjust in the sense that they are not justified believers. 26 14 themselves32 (vv. 1-6). His eschatological perspective serves as foundation and answer for the present situation.33 But worse than their lawsuits being judged by non-believers, Paul is dissatisfied with the fact that they quarrel with one another at all; that they cause their brothers and sisters in faith to suffer unrighteousness (vv. 7-8). This is unacceptable behaviour for Christians. They should not act like the non-believers and unjust. Verse 9 leads in a second segment in this entire section (vv. 1-11), reminding the believers of their new status which then strengthens what was expressed in vv. 1-8.34 ! " 9 * #-!% 9 # + , , " 2 ( # ( , + ! , / 5 ( #$ ! " / 0 * ! # , / % ; #& 10 ( #$ 1! ' ! · ( - % ) ( ( - . 11 . · " * 2 3 )# " % , % 4 " . " ! " 0# Or do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom/reign of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators nor idolaters neither adulterers nor catamites neither sodomites/pederasts 10nor thieves neither the greedy nor drunkards neither revilers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom/reign of God. 11 And some of you were these things, but you have let yourself be washed, you have been sanctified, you have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. Writing in diatribe style as seen by, “Do you not know,”35 Paul then goes on to remind them that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God36 ( ! " 32 #$ % 37 ). They will As Schrage, Korinther, 405, states his argument is a maiore ad minus. Conzelmann, Korinther, 132: “Die apokalyptische Vorstellung von der Rolle der ‘Heiligen’ im Jüngsten Gericht wird in gegenwärtige Deutung umgesetzt, daß sie ihre eschatologische Souveränität in der Welt praktiziert.” 34 Schrage, Korinther, 1:404, 426, 429. The use of links up with , in v. 8. However, Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 195, divide chap. 6 between 1-9a and 9b-20. 35 Conzelmann, Korinther, 132. 36 BDAG, s.v. 1b, states that although ! " is usually rendered as “kingdom of God” this dilutes the primary component of ruling activity and therefore should rather be read as “the royal reign of God.” Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 225, suggests that this phrase reverberates the OT idea of Yahweh as king or His governance as king. As Schrage, Korinther, 429, states it refers to the coming reign of God for in Paul’s use it mostly has an eschatological nuance. Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 38, claims that “kingdom of God” is here marked by the “ethisch-belehrenden Kontext.” 37 The word #$ % reminds of the OT motif of the inheritance or attainment of the promised land. See Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 254; Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 195, and Conzelmann, Korinther, 135. 33 15 not share and take part38 in God’s eschatological reign, and consequently will not have the authority to judge as the saints will.39 Believers obviously hope to inherit God’s kingdom and share in his reign and therefore Paul deems it necessary to remind them that they cannot act as those who are unjust, for he considers it a relapse into their pagan past. He states emphatically “Do not be deceived!” (#& ' ! ). They should not think that they, as believers, can go on living like the unjust and still inherit God’s kingdom, for it is not true.40 Paul then goes on to list the various sins and vices that characterise the unjust.41 A catalogue of vices42 (or list of evildoers)43 was a common literary form at the time and there are various instances of these lists of vices found in the NT.44 Here Paul states that the unjust are those who are sexually immoral, who serve idols, who steal, who are abusive and drunkards.45 The people, who do these things, or rather those who are such kind of people, are considered the , for they scorn and despise the will and rule of God.46 Now having explained who the unjust are, Paul repeats his previous statement to emphasise the fact that these people who commit these sins will not inherit God’s kingdom and will not share in His eschatological reign.47 38 So also Weiß, Korintherbrief, 154. As Schrage, Korinther, 429, states that in v. 2 Paul reminded them of the eschatological hope of the saints, where he now reminds them of the eschatological expectation of the unrighteous. 40 As Wolff, Korinther, 117, states Paul warns the believers against a false security. 41 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 153, understands v. 9b-10 not merely as a repetition of v. 9a, but as a reinforced emphasis and wake-up call to the Corinthians’ blunted moral judgement. 42 In accordance with Schrage, Korinther, 426, the list does not indicate a particular order or pattern in the listing of the vices but merely mentions the various vices. The vices regarding sexuality indeed do link up with the previous (5:1-13) and the following segments (6:12-20) but the catalogue serves the paranesis instead. Wolff, Korinther, 118, states that many of the vices mentioned (of sexual immorality and idolatry) were considered vices in Jewish thought—particularly seen as the sins of the pagans—and it is clear that Paul stands firmly in the Jewish tradition of the OT since the association with the Decalogue is evident. But as Schrage, Korinther, 432, also notes theft and the like were also frowned upon in Greco-Roman societies. 43 As Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 249, rightly notes, in this instance Paul mentions the persons and not the vices. 44 1 Cor 5:21; Rom 1:29-30, 13:13; Gal 5:19-21; Col 3:5; Eph 5:5; 1 Tim 1:9-10; 2 Tim 3:2-4; 1 Pet 4:3; Rev 21:8, 22:15. 45 The exact understanding of each vice mentioned is not the main concern of this study and will therefore not be handled in depth; see Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 249-250, 255-258; Wolff, Korinther, 119-120, and Schrage, Korinther, 431-432, 435-436. Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 250, states that the sense of these vices relate to the unifying aim of the letter, since this type of conduct can “pollute the sanctity of the community.” 46 Wolff, Korinther, 118. 47 According to Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 249, this instance where Paul relates the list of vices with the kingdom of God is possibly from an early Christian catechetical summary or a traditional exhortation. So also Conzelmann, Korinther, 135; Schrage, Korinther, 426, and Weiß, Korintherbrief, 153, who also states, “Hiermit greift Paulus in die Gedanken der ältesten Verkündigung zurück, wobei sein eigenster Gedanke, daß alle Menschen sind, die nur durch einen besondern Akt der Gnade von Gott für gerecht erklärt werden können, ganz im hintergrunde bleibt.” 39 16 In v. 11, which is both the purpose and foundation of this section,48 Paul emphatically states, “And some of you were these people!” ( . ). Some of the Corinthian believers actually " * committed these above mentioned vices and were accordingly considered unjust, which would mean that they would not have inherited God’s kingdom. However, this was the past reality, as seen in the imperfect tense of # , and now there exists a new reality for them. As Conzelmann49 states, it is “eine Anspielung auf das Schema Einst – Jetzt.” Hays50 claims that “the statement that evildoers will not inherit God’s kingdom is set forward not as a threat to the Corinthian community but rather as an invitation to them to claim their own baptismal identity as a sanctified people under the lordship of 6, in triadic formula,51 shows convincingly that their new reality stands in Christ.” The repetition of opposition to what they once were.52 They no longer are these things, because they have been washed, sanctified and justified ( ! , / The three verbs , 7 * , and /0 * ! ) , / 1! ).53 are all written in the aorist, indicating one single momentary past action and it is most likely that they all refer to the same event.54 7 * and ) are both written in the passive voice, indicating that the action was done to the believers. Even though is written in the middle voice55 it conveys the passive meaning in this instance, namely “to let oneself be washed.”56 Despite the fact that the word being washed ( 57 is not explicitly mentioned, the imagery of ) would certainly refer to the single washing ritual in the Christian faith: the baptism, which has traditionally been understood as a cleansing act.58 The passive of the verbs also correlates with the baptism, since the baptism was always administered by someone else.59 The 48 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 38: “Ziel und Begründung” Conzelmann, Korinther, 136; also Schrage, Korinther, 427. 50 Hays, The Moral Vision, 41. 51 Conzelmann, Korinther, 136. 52 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 154, notes that when Paul states that some of them were unjust, a compromise between the ideal and the reality of the Corinthian community is expressed. For the believers it was simultaneously true “daß sie ‘Heilige’ sind und daß sie doch leider den nur allzu ähnlich geworden sind.” 53 Schrage, Korinther, 427, and Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 39, consider this phrase as part of tradition. Cf. 1 Cor 1:30. 54 So also Ferguson, Baptism, 150. 55 According to BDAG, s.v., in NT literature is only found in the middle voice. 56 BDF, §317. Moulton, Grammar, 3:54, states, “The middle voice has sometimes been described as reflexive . . . Theoretically the middle involves the whole subject in the verb’s action and expresses the subject in some special relationship to himself; e.g. 1 Co 6:11 ! you were washed i.e. got yourselves washed.” Ferguson, Baptism, 150; Hartman, Into the Name, 63, and Conzelmann, Korinther, 136, read ! as passive. Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 258; Weiß, Korintherbrief, 155, and Schrage, Korinther, 427, interpret the middle voice of to indicate the human act of the baptismal rite accomplished upon own initiative, in differentiation with the aorist passive of 7 * and ) as indicating divine passives of God’s divine activity. 57 Wolff, Korinther, 121, describes it as a “Taufterminus.” 58 Conzelmann, Korinther, 136, and Schrage, Korinther, 427. 59 This is seen in the other Pauline texts where is written in the passive voice (Rom 6:3; Gal 3:28; 1 Cor 1:13, 10:2, 12:13, 15:29) or Paul tells of him baptising others (1 Cor 1:14, 16). 49 17 association with the baptism is further illustrated by the phrase “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” ( 2 3 )# " % %4 "5 "), which was part of the Christian baptismal liturgy from its earliest origins.60 To be baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ was the discerning factor which differentiated the Christian baptism from that of John the Baptist and any other ritual washings. Thus the reference to baptism is quite apparent.61 Hartman62 considers this as a reference to “the whole process of leaving the old pagan life behind and entering the Christian community.” When Paul therefore writes that the believers have been washed, he has the ritual baptism with water in mind, or rather the imagery of washing is derived from the fact that the baptism is a water rite. At the baptism the water symbolises the washing away of impurities and sin (cf. Acts 22:16).63 Paul does not explicitly mention the washing away of sin, but the idea of sin as physical uncleanness that is removed through washing rituals is found in Jewish thought64 (Num 8:21; Ps 51:2; Isai 1:16). Paul neither often speaks of forgiveness of sins,65 but in Rom 6 Paul clearly indicates that baptism separates the believer from sin and therefore it can be safely assumed that it is also implied in this instance. Hence, having been washed, believers have been cleansed of their past sins, those mentioned in vv. 9-10 and others, and have been made pure. Simultaneously the believers have been sanctified; they have been made holy. According to Danker66 7 * means, “to include a person in the inner circle of what is holy, in both cultic and moral associations of the word, consecrate, dedicate, sanctify.” As a result, the word 7 * has significance for both the individual and the community, giving it ecclesiological meaning. At the baptism believers are consecrated and through this sanctification they are included in the community of the saints ( ). Holiness has its roots in Hellenistic Jewish thoughts as orientated by the being of God and his requirements where people (and also objects) are seen in a specific relationship to God.67 Weiß68 states that their sanctification “besteht darin, daß sie durch den heiligen Geist in unmittelbare Verbindung mit Gott und Christus gesetzt werden, deren Heiligkeit auf sie übergeht.” God’s holiness is now 60 Hartman, Into the Name, 63, 65, states that this verse certainly contains established turns of phrases, which would enhance its effectiveness and that it most possibly is a baptismal formula of a certain tradition. 61 So also Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 39. 62 Hartman, Into the Name, 63. 63 These are the only two instances where is used in the NT. Although Acts is not Pauline-literature the close correlation between the passages’ use of should be noted. See Schrage, Korinther, 427. 64 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 39. 65 Schrage, Korinther, 433. 66 BDAG, s.v. (Italics original). 67 EWNT, s.v. 7 * , 1:44. 68 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 155. 18 experienced by the believer and present in him/her for it has been given through the Spirit.69 They have not only been freed from the guilt of sin, but taken out from under the power of sin.70 To be holy means that a person belongs to God, is set apart from the secular world for God, and “belongs to the realm which is reserved for and dedicated to him.”71 Now having been made holy, they must thus live lives worthy of the divine; in accordance with God’s will. They are called to holiness72 and are distinguished from the world.73 It is because of their baptism, where they were sanctified, that Paul has the assurance to call them saints—holy ones—(1 Cor 1:2) and this is what characterises the whole community of faith. Since they are saints, who will reign with God and judge the world, they are indeed capable of judging disputes even now (vv. 1-6). Then Paul states that they have been justified.74 The word ) in the passive voice in the Pauline corpus is mostly translated “to be vindicated, be acquitted, be pronounced and treated as righteous”75 by God. In this instance, however, Danker76 renders it “you have become pure.” While this is clearly the overall image that Paul wishes to bring across in this passage—relating it with washing and sanctifying—the more specific Pauline usage of ) should not be neglected and is indeed implied here.77 For it is at their baptism that they are acquitted and justified by God, or rather where God’s justifying action through Christ becomes a reality for the believer. They who had once been the unjust ( ) are now the just and righteous, because they have been justified by God. They have been put in a right relationship with God78 and are called to a new way of life. Justification does not eliminate “the basic need for a righteous life; it rather provides a true basis for it.”79 Believers as justified men and women, now stand in direct opposition to who they once were as unjust and non-believers. They are encouraged to live a life in accordance with their righteous state and now have the hope of reigning with God. 69 EWNT, s.v. 7 * , 1:44. Wolff, Korinther, 121, and Schrage, Korinther, 433. 71 Hartman, Into the Name, 64. 72 Schrage, Korinther, 433, states that they are “zur Heiligung verpflichtet.” 73 Schelle, Gerechtigkeit, 40. 74 According to Wolff, Korinther, 121, ) encapsulates the two preceding terms. “In der Taufe hat sich Rechtfertigung dadurch ereignet, daß Gottes freie Gnade den Glaubenden der Sündenmacht entnommen (vgl. Röm. 6,7) und zur Heiligung ermächtigt (vgl. Röm. 6,19.22), ihm eine neue Existenz geschaffen hat.” 75 BDAG, s.v. 2b . 76 BDAG, s.v. 3. 77 So also Conzelmann, Korinther, 136, and Schrage, Korinther, 433. Weiß, Korintherbrief, 155 acknowledges a nuanced difference in Paul’s use of ) in this text as opposed to Romans and Galatians. 78 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 258. 79 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 197. 70 19 These three verbs , 7 * , and ) , though referring to the same occurrence—the baptism—stand in escalating relation to one another.80 What Paul wishes to illustrate is that this is indeed everything that their baptism encapsulates. At their baptism, they were not only washed of their past sins, but sanctified to be holy; to be saints—set apart for God in the present. Moreover they were acquitted and made righteous by God. They are no longer unclean and full of sin, but they are now pure; no longer unbelievers, but saints; no longer unjust, but just and righteous. These are the various components and realities that are brought about at the baptism.81 All this occurred and was done “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” ( 2 3 )# " % %4 "5 " 2 # " ! " 0# ). Although this final phrase is written only once, it pertains to all three verbs.82 In both cases the locative and instrumental sense of are probable.83 As Weiß84 correctly notes the indicates the objective factors—both the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit85—on which the baptism rests. “The baptismal process introduces the individual into the sphere that is denominated by the name and Spirit, and at the same time these are the means by which the effects of baptism take place.”86 The phrase 2 3 )# 4 "5 " is used in Acts 2:38 and 10:48 with regards to baptism,87 which indicates its association with the act. In this instance where " % % is added, it indicates 88 belief in Christ as the glorified Jesus who now exerts his power on earth: Jesus is Lord. According to Danker89 the phrase “in the name of” either God or Jesus usually means “with mention of the name, while naming or calling on the name.” This is also seen when in Acts 22:16 it is stated, “Get up, be 80 Also Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 39; Weiß, Korintherbrief, 156, and Schrage, Korinther, 427, to a degree, as opposed to Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 258, who states that only refers to the baptism and that there exists no particular order among them. Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthian, 201, write that has to do with baptism, and the other two verbs with its effects. 81 So also Ferguson, Baptism, 150. 82 As Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 258, and Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 39. Weiß, Korintherbrief, 155, also concedes this although he warns against applying “the name of Christ” merely to and “the Spirit” to 7 * and ) . 83 Hartman, Into the Name, 65, and Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 199, concede that the instrumental and locative interpretation of cannot be clearly differentiated. Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 40; Wolff, Korinther, 122, and Schrage, Korinther, 428, take both –phrases as instrumental. 84 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 156. 85 Wolff, Korinther, 122, states that the close relationship that is attested to the believer with the Lord and the Spirit through the baptism, serves as basis for the following section, vv. 12-19. “Durch die Taufe gehören die Glaubenden aufs engste zum Kyrios (V.13b-17); das äußert sich darin, daß ihr Leib Tempel des heiligen Geistes ist (V.19).” 86 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 199. 87 Paul uses the phrase 2 3 )# " % %4 " in 1 Cor 5:4 and 2 3 )# 4 " in Phil 2:10, but neither with regards to baptism. 88 Hartman, Into the Name, 48. 89 BDAG, s.v. 8 # 1d . 20 baptized, and have your sins washed away ( ) % ), calling on his name,” (NRSV). It is evident that at the baptism the name of Jesus Christ was uttered and called upon and the baptism was administered in his name—making it a unique Christian ritual.90 The baptism is done with regards to the Lord Jesus Christ, believers are dependent on the Lord91 (in the baptism and in their lives) and therefore his name is pronounced.92 However, Danker93 states that in this instance of 1 Cor 6:11, it can also be considered “through or by the name; the effect brought about by the name is caused by its utterance.” In other words, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the means through which they are washed, sanctified and justified. Jesus is the reference as the complete pure, holy and just One, causing the believers to be the like. There are various views on the exact interpretation and understanding of this phrase, but what is clear is that the baptism is and should be administered in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord—He gives it its significance. What Christ has done94—his life, passion, death, resurrection, and exaltation—and what He signifies in the present serve as basis for the baptism.95 The baptism was also done in the Spirit of our God ( 2 # " ! " 0# ). The preposition can once again either be understood as indicating means or instrument by or as “a marker of a position defined as being in a location.”96 However, when it is considered that they were washed, sanctified and justified 2 # " ! " 0# , it would be more appropriate to read as instrumental. Although there are images that depict the Spirit as a liquid (12:13), which would then make sense to be washed “in the Spirit,” it would not really make sense to be sanctified and justified “in the Spirit” understood in locative sense. Therefore, the Spirit of God is thus the means by which they are washed, made holy and righteous; it mediates and effects the purification. According to Hartman,97 in this context (6:17, 19) “the Spirit represents God’s activity among people and is a manifestation of God’s power experienced in the present.” It has nothing to do with the gift of the Spirit (as in 12:13), but the Spirit is here the conveyer of the baptism.98 Horn99 mentions that the Spirit of God was primarily 90 So also Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 40. Wolff, Korinther, 122. 92 Schrage, Korinther, 434, correctly guards against this as the sole understanding of the phrase 2 3 )# " % % 4 "5 " in this instance. He argues for an instrumental understanding, in conjunction with 2 # "! " 0# , and interprets 8 # as the “presence” of Christ. 93 BDAG, s.v. 8 # 1d . 94 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 126. 95 Hartman, Into the Name, 65. 96 BDAG, s.v. 1 and 5; BDF, §195(1e) and §219. Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 136, also concedes for both an instrumental and spatial meaning. 97 Hartman, Into the Name, 65. 98 So also Schrage, Korinther, 428, and Conzelmann, Korinther, 137. Wolff, Korinther, 122, however, states that the bestowal of the Spirit (“Geistverleihung”) is implied in this text. Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 42, also argues that the gift of the Spirit can not be separated from the work of the Spirit. 91 21 understood in the Palestinian Jewish circles as the “Kraft endzeitlichen Verhaltenis,” but the Hellenistic Jews understood it primarily as the “Substanz neuen Seins.” In this verse, we find both. What Paul makes clear is that the Spirit, as the power of God,100 is present and active at the baptism of the believers placing them in the correct status and relationship to God, so that they might inherit the eschatological kingdom of God. And accordingly for Conzelmann101 the baptism is an act of new creation. As mentioned above, the verbs are all in the passive voice which makes it clear that the believers did not do anything themselves, but all that occurred was done to them. This passivity on behalf of the believer indicates the divine activity of God, because He is the only One who can wash away all impurities and sins, who can sanctify and justify them. Also in other instances Paul states that God performs the act that brings people into his church.102 God is the active agent, who purifies them in their baptism which is done in reference of the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ—for it is only because of Him that this is indeed possible—and God does this all through his Spirit. Digression: Spirit The word used for Spirit ( "# )103 originally denotes “wind,” “air in movement” or “breath.”104 In the OT the Spirit of God is not depicted as an independent godly being but indicates the presence of God.105 It is invisible yet active, incomprehensible yet omnipresent, totally free but goal-orientated, seemingly nothing but vital.106 Rosenau107 describes Spirit in the following manner, “Als Geist Gottes bzw. Jesu Christi ist Geist im Sinne der ursprüngliche Wortbedeutung von Wind, Hauch oder Atem eine unverfügbare Schöpfer- und Lebenskraft, die als solche nicht dinghaft-substantiell, sondern als relationales Geschehen zu beschreiben ist, in dem sich Gott bzw. Christus als Grund des (neuen) Lebens vergegenwärtigt, wirksam mitteilt und an seinem 99 Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 25. Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 60. 101 Conzelmann, Korinther, 137. 102 Hartman, Into the Name, 64. Cf. 1 Cor 1:6; 7:17-24; Rom 8:30; Gal 1:6; 1 Thess 2:12. 103 In the LXX "# is used for the Hebrew <; 9:. 104 BDAG, s.v. 1 and 2. 105 Oeming, “Geist/Heiliger Geist”, 3:565: “Der G. Gottes wird im AT nicht zu einem verselbständigten ‘göttlichen Wese’ hypostasiert; diese Vorstellung begegnet erst in Qumran.” Schäffer, “Geist/Heiliger Geist”, 3:575, illustrates that “Holy Spirit” on the other hand is not to be understood as “subjekidentisch” with God nor a “hypostatis” different from God, but as a means of revelation from God. 106 Oeming, “Geist/Heiliger Geist”, 3:565. 107 Rosenau, “Geist”, 3:562. 100 22 Leben gegen alles Lebenswidrige auch über den Tod hinaus Anteil gibt.” Horn108 however, acknowledges a substantial understanding of the Spirit when he states that in the contemporary Jewish thought of Paul’s day and age, there were two different mainline conceptions of the Spirit of God: a) the Palestinian Jewish concept of the Spirit mainly as “Kraft endzeitlichen Verhaltens” and b) the Hellenistic Jewish concept of the Spirit as “Substanz neuen Seins.” Both these concepts influenced Paul in his understanding of the Spirit and various nuances are seen in Paul’s letters. For Paul the Spirit marks the start of the Christian life (Gal 3:5) and is the gift of the new aeon.109 The various understandings of the Spirit are seen in both 6:11—the working power and presence of God—and 12:11-13. Horn110 ascribes 6:11 to the Jewish Christian baptism-tradition, where righteousness is brought about by the powerful presence of the Spirit of God and the Spirit is the means of righteousness as well as the strength of believers until the second coming of Christ. In 12:13 the Spirit is understood as that which is given at the baptism—the gift of the Spirit—as well as causing the believer to be placed in the sphere of Christ and the Christian community. Even in 12:11-13 alone, a functional understanding of the Spirit is found in v.11— the Spirit as the cause of a particular ability—while in v. 13 the Spirit is conceived as a substance.111 Barth112 notes that here the Spirit is not portrayed as the act of God that brings a person to faith (cf. 1 Cor 2:10-16), but instead it is portrayed that those who already believe now receive the gift of the Spirit to do exceptional things as signs of the eschaton. 1 Cor 12:12-13 The text of 1 Cor 12:12-13, where Paul clearly writes on the influence of baptism, is part of the section 1 Cor 12:1-14:40, where the question regarding spiritual gifts is addressed. Paul places the focus on the one Spirit that is active among the community of Corinth. It is apparent that the community had an amount of spiritual pride (4:6, 18-20; 5:2; 8:1) which was ungrounded. The pride of some of the community members caused disunity as they possibly considered themselves to be superior to their 108 Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 25, 60. While he acknowledges that these mainline thoughts were present, they should and cannot be completely separated since both influenced one another and in reality there existed—and still does—manifold nuanced interpretations and understandings of the Spirit of God within these main lines which is also reflected in Paul’s letters. 109 Dunn, “Geist/Heiliger Geist”, 3:566. 110 Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 175. 111 Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 66. 112 Barth, Die Taufe, 62. 23 fellow brothers and sisters in faith.113 In order to prevent this spiritual pride Paul calls them to acknowledge and honour the Spirit who gave those gifts,114 instead of merely focussing on their spiritual gifts, which indeed had been given in divine favour (4:7). In 1 Cor 12, Paul starts by describing the work of the Spirit. Verses 1-3 state that it is only by means of the Spirit that one can confess Jesus is Lord and then in vv. 4-11 he indicates what gifts (+* # 115 ) the Spirit gives to believers, emphasising the aspect that these gifts are graciously given on God’s initiative.116 These gifts are visible in the lives of believers and attest to the working of the Spirit. Paul then illustrates the various gifts that are conveyed by the Spirit, thus indicating the differences that are present in the community of believers. The differences are there, because the Spirit gives these differences according to His will. The Spirit is the distributor of the various divine gifts which are simultaneously “the power and the problem of the church.”117 “These are not natural propensities that people posses from birth or from heredity but gifts that are suitable for the particular life of the church and that the Spirit bestows for the advantages of the church.”118 This we see in v. 7, “and to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,” and v. 11 summarises it, “the one and the same Spirit produces all these things distributing to each on his own just as He wishes.” While acknowledging the variety and diversity in the church, which is not only based on human differences (as seen in v.13) but also caused by the various gifts given by the Spirit, Paul makes it clear that this is not a reason for schism and individuality, but instead are to be used at all times for the common good of the community. For the Spirit is firstly not characterised by its substantial reference to itself and the believer, but it is characterised by its relational reference to God and Christ as the source of all life and therefore the Spirit works creatively in building community.119 113 Hartman, Into the Name, 66. Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 283. 115 BDAG, s.v.: “that which is freely and graciously given, favour bestowed, gift” and in this instance it is used of “spiritual gifts in a special sense.” In v.1 Paul mentions %# ) , which according to BDAG, s.v., in general refers to “having to do with the (divine) spirit, caused or filled with the (divine) spirit, pert./corresponding to the (divine) spirit.” In this particular instance it is interpreted as a substantive, meaning “spiritual gifts” or “those who possess spiritual gifts.” Therefore the word %# ) refers to spiritual aspects in general, but as Choi, Geist und christliche Existenz, 124, notes the neuter form of %# ) indicates the gifts—not the people who possess spiritual gifts. These gifts have been graciously bestowed on believers by the Spirit (v. 4) and are therefore also rendered +* # . 116 Choi, Geist und christliche Existenz, 124. 117 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 281. 118 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 281. 119 Rosenau, “Geist”, 3:562: “Entgegen allem elitären vermeintlichen G.-Besitz ist es dabei jedoch ein Kennzeichen oder Kriterium des G., daß er nicht (substantiell) auf sich selbst und seine “Träger”, sondern (relational) auf Gott in Jesus Christus als den Grund allen Lebens verweist und somit gemeinschaftsstiftend, fördernd und kreativ entwickelnd wirkt.” 114 24 As Schrage120 writes, the unity and diversity of the congregation is the central topic and their “notwendigen Wechselseitigkeit und Verflochtenkeit” are now illustrated. Although there are many various and different gifts, all are conveyed by only one and the same Spirit and Paul emphasises the unifying power of the Spirit in vv. 12-13: the central remark in the section 1 Cor 12:4-31a.121 In the preceding verses (4-11) the various gifts of the Spirit are discussed and in the verses that follow (14-31) Paul continues to elaborate on how the differences are to be handled and understood. However, the diversity can only truly be appreciated and effective when the unity as expressed in vv. 12-13 is not ignored. 12 = !* 8 / > # ? # , B ? ! # , / @+ , * #C5 4 % , ) · 13 / F D " A / #- " 1# # * ! 0# , , * / E E # "# ! # .122 12 Because just as the body is one and has many members, and all the limbs of the body being many are one body, so also Christ. 13For also in/through one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body—whether Jew or Greek whether slave or free—and all were given to drink the one (and the same) Spirit. Verse 12 serves as reason for everything that preceded this verse as indicated by the 6 . A comparison is drawn through the use of !* ... B . . . Here Paul compares a human body and its many members to Christ. Firstly, he states that the body is one single entity and at the same time the body has many members. This is the reality of a body and common knowledge—that it is one entity, consisting of many parts. Then there is a change of subject, from body to members, and through use of chiasm ( > # ? #- /, / #- emphasised. The concessive particle 8 . . . / 8 ? # ) the previous idea is is used and states that although the members of the body are indeed many, the body is still only one entity. Having clearly stated the unity of the body and recognising the diversity within the body, Paul then completes the comparison. 120 Schrage, Korinther, 206. Also Choi, Geist und christliche Existenz, 124. Wolff, Korinther, 297. 122 According to Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 474, vv.12-14 form a unit disregarding the paragraphing in NA27. 121 25 However, instead of comparing the body to the community directly, he states that Christ123 is to be understood in this exact same manner. It should be noted that comparing a community with a body is found in Greek literature of the time,124 but Paul developed this line of thought further when he identified the body as Christ.125 In general this comparison of a group of people with a single organism, such as a body, “provides a kind of ideal or norm by which members of a society are urged or advised to act in harmony with one another.”126 Here Christ is this norm. Christ is one single entity, like a body, and He possesses many members and consists of many members, but all the time remains one. One is reminded of Paul’s statement in 1:13 that Christ cannot be divided.127 And by comparing the body with Christ the exceptional character of this # -comparison is seen and serves as foundation for vv. 12-31.128 In this manner he addresses the problems of the congregation in a Christological way129 and it becomes visible how closely he connects Christ with the community of believers. As Hartman130 states, “the conditions which have been established by Christ provide a Christ-life, which is damaged when the unity of the church is impaired.” Now that the comparison has been stated in v. 12 and the similarity is clear, Paul explains in v. 13 why he used this comparison. He argues from the basis of the baptism. * * E "# ! # E (v. 13) are basically parallel statements131 ( * # ! # ... + E + acc + aorist passive 1st plural) creating an inclusio which strengthen the thought that they “all” are passive subjects brought into “unity” of the one body and this is achieved in the one Spirit ( D # ). The differences that Paul mentions with regards to ethnic and social differences are enclosed within the two sentences which indicate unity. Thus the differences are taken up within the unity of the one body made possible by the one Spirit. The emphasis of unity is also seen through the several uses of E (one) and variables. 123 See Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 477, and Schrage, Korinther, 211. Unlike Wolff, Korinther, 298, who states that it is to be read as “so also where Christ is active.” 124 There exist various explanations regarding the background of the figurative use of # . As Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 475-476, concludes the origin for Paul’s use thereof most likely derives from the Greek philosophical use which describes the state or civil society as a political body. See also Schrage, Korinther, 206; Conzelmann, Korinther, 257, and Stowers, “A ‘debate’ over Freedom”, 65. 125 According to Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 475, the idea of the describing the Christian church as the body of Christ is a concept that Paul only developed later, since it is not present in his earliest letters (Gal, 1 Thess, Phil). 126 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 285. 127 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 75: “The one norm by which Paul judges almost every problem in the Corinthian church is its relationship to Christ Jesus, who is for him not only the content of the gospel that he preaches or the motivation of his exhortations, but also the norm of conduct for all individual Christians and of the activity of the community as a whole.” 128 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 139. 129 Schrage, Korinther, 212. 130 Hartman, Into the Name, 67. 131 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 303, divides v. 13 into four phrases that are arranged a b b a; the a-phrases sound similar, while the b-phrases are characterised by anaphora. 26 All of them have been baptised ( # ). The phrase D ! # ) into one body ( # E # ) by/in the one Spirit ( D is used at the start of the sentence for emphasis: the one Spirit which is repeatedly mentioned in vv. 4-11 is now once again referred to and its significance emphasised. “The one Spirit is the effective force which, in the act of baptism, brings this body to experiential reality.”132 The use of can either be understood as indicating means or instrument by which the baptism occurs or as “a marker of a position defined as being in a location.”133 When read in relation with 1 Cor 6:11, where the Spirit is described as active in the baptism,134 D # is interpreted as instrument.135 Through means of this one Spirit, they have all been baptised into one body, this body being Christ (v. 12). As Barth136 indicates, the Spirit and baptism have always been closely associated with one another in the early Christian tradition and accordingly, the Spirit and the baptism are the crucial elements necessary to make one a member of the body which is Christ. In this comparison of the community of believers with Christ as body, it is not easy to exactly describe the specific nature of the union of Christian with Christ,137 but it is clear that the governing ideal is given and maintained by the one Spirit.138 The Spirit and Christ are the two foundational aspects of the church, because it is the Spirit which causes them to confess that “Jesus is the Lord” (v. 3) and this confession is what characterises the congregation.139 When taking a closer look at the verb dip in or under water,” 140 it is seen that it has several possible meanings, i.e. “to “immerse in water,”141 or “to plunge, dip, wash, baptize.”142 The English translation “baptise” draws the direct connection with the Christian sacrament of baptism and here Paul evidently refers to the baptism which each believer received. Although Dunn143 states that this reference to baptism is merely to be understood as a metaphor, it is more correct when acknowledging 132 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 285. (Italics his). BDAG, s.v. 1 and 5; BDF, §195(1e) and §219. 134 In accordance with Hartman, Into the Name, 67, who notes, “speaking of the Spirit means speaking of the work and active power of God who is present and at work in and among humans.” 135 Schrage, Korinther, 216, and Ferguson, Baptism, 153. Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 173, concedes the instrumental use, but mentions that the Spirit is also conceived as substance in this instance, which makes the integration into the body possible. 136 Barth, Die Taufe, 55. This is seen as one of the main distinctions between the baptism administered by John the Baptist and the Christian baptism. 137 Schrage, Korinther, 206, also mentions that even though the image of “Leib Christi” is the main focus it gives no clear indication whether it is to be understood as “realiter oder metaphorisch.” 138 As Hartman, Into the Name, 67, states Paul is addressing the issue of spiritual gifts and therefore his attention is more specifically on the Spirit. 139 Choi, Geist und christliche Existenz, 126. 140 LSJ, s.v. 1. 141 Friberg, Analytical Lexicon, s.v. 142 BDAG, s.v. 2 and 3. 143 Dunn, “‘Baptized’ as Metaphor,” 294. 133 27 that the metaphorical significance is based on the experiential reality144 and this reality—the baptism act—is indeed referred to in this verse.145 As Fitzmyer146 states, this verse is the expressed affirmation of the equation between baptism and the reception of the Spirit in Paul’s letters. Thus with explicit reference to their physical baptism Paul states that they are “baptised into one body” ( E # ! # ) and he develops the train of thought in a figurative sense. At the moment of their baptism of water, they were also “plunged into one body.” The use of 147 is understood in a locative sense, indicating motion into a thing, even abstract aspects, and can therefore be understood as being baptised into the abstract body that is Christ.148 In accordance with Fitzmyer,149 Paul first identifies the members of the congregation as “Christ” (v. 12) and only later in v. 27 as the “body of Christ.” Christ is the body (v. 12) and when stated they are baptised into the body (v. 13), then they are baptised into Christ. The use of E # ! # possibly draws a parallel with Paul’s other texts on baptism, Rom 6:3 and Gal 3:27, where he states ! # 5 > . The physical act of the baptism caused believers on a transcendental level to become part of Christ, who is the one body.150 Schrage151 states “die Gemeinde wird also weder nur mit einem Leib verglichen noch dazu aufgerufen, Christi Leib zu werden oder zu sein. Sie ist es. Sie repräsentiert als Leib Christi den Christus in der Welt.” The body is the sphere in which the various members operate152 and since they are the body of Christ, they should live accordingly. It is because of the baptism and the Spirit that believers are made part of the body of Christ, the church. Christ is present in the church and the church is the space in which the crucified and glorified Christ is active,153 or rather where Christ is, there also is the church. Paul merely 144 Cross, “Spirit- and Water-Baptism,” 129. Hartman, Into the Name, 66, also indicates that Paul often resorts to ideas on baptism when he addresses church unity (1 Cor 1:13-17; Gal 3:28) and other passages on unity also refer to the baptism (Col 3:11; Eph. 4:4-6). 146 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 478, and also Barth, Die Taufe, 63. Hartman, Into the Name, 67, guards against this interpretation, though he does not negate or exclude it. 147 BDAG, s.v. 1 and 4e. 148 As Schrage, Korinther, 216, and Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 173. Unlike Weiß, Korintherbrief, 303, and Wolff, Korinther, 298, who vouches for a “final”-understanding of . 149 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 474. See also Weiß, Korintherbrief, 303. Conzelmann, Korinther, 257, however, states that the meaning “body of Christ” is already present in this verse. Despite the slight variations, the main thought that is to be conveyed is unity in Christ. 150 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 284, warn “It is advisable, however, to guard against the idea of incorporation into the body of Christ by sacramental means. It is more to the point to speak of ‘corporate personality.’ The context is concerned with the operation of the Spirit.” One cannot ignore that in v. 12 Christ has just been compared to one body and therefore it is reasonable to consider Christ as the ‘one body’ in v. 13. 151 Schrage, Korinther, 212. Also Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 139, states that the community not only stands in close relation to the body of Christ, but indeed is the body of Christ. 152 Conzelman, Theologie, 295. 153 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 140. 145 28 used the metaphor of the body to illustrate and explain the already present ecclesiological reality,154 for it adequately illustrates the community’s relationship to Christ, as well as with one another. It remains a point of debate, how one should exactly understand the relationship and union of the Christian with Christ when stated that they are “baptised into the body.” The view of Conzelmann155 seems the more appropriate view, that Christ is the body, already existing and present and that believers become members of His body by being plunged into ( read as locative156) the body by means of the baptism. The question may arise: is this the crucified or exalted body of Christ? Seeing that # can be translated as meaning either “dead body” or “living body” the question is quite relevant. For Paul both Christ as crucified (Rom 7:4) and as glorified (Phil 3:21) has a separate body.157 When one regards Rom 6:3, where Paul states that they have been baptised into Christ’s death ( " > !* ! # ) then it is safe to assume that he refers to Christ’s crucified body in v. 13 as well. Believers are made to identify with Christ in his death and therefore become a part of his crucified body or partake in his crucified body (1 Cor 10:16-17).158 Conversely as Friedrich159 adequately writes, when Paul “von Christus spricht, so hat er den ganzen Christus vor Augen. . . Der Auferstandene und Erhöhte ist von dem Irdischen nicht zu trennen. …Wie das Bekenntnis “Kyrios Jesus” (12,3) und die Abendmahlsworte zeigen, gehören der irdische Jesus und der erhöhte Kyrios zusammen.” We also see that the earthly Jesus and the exalted Lord belong together in this instance as Paul moves from the body of the crucified in v. 13 to the body of the glorified and exalted Christ in the subsequent verses. As Paul continues his argument in 1 Cor 12:14-31, he mentions actions and functions of the body and its various members. This indicates life and activity. This implies the meaning of a living body and consequently refers to the living, exalted body of Christ, which is actively functioning and present in the world in and through the church. The community of believers, as body of Christ, are alive and active in his body. Therefore # first implies the crucified body of Christ and then the exalted body of Christ. Believers are baptised into the crucified body, they are described as identifying with Christ in his death and crucifixion and are consequently enabled to partake in the glorified resurrected body as the church, which is now living and active as well. 154 Conzelmann, Korinther, 258; Schrage, Korinther, 212, and Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 139. Conzelmann, Korinther, 258. See also Schrage, Korinther, 216. 156 Also Schrage, Korinther, 210. 157 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 140. 158 Conzelmann, Theologie, 299. 159 Friedrich, “Christus, Einheit und Norm,” 170. 155 29 Nevertheless, as Wolff160 illustrates, in this specific context Paul’s focus is not on describing the relationship that is now established between Christ and Christians, but instead his main thought is to indicate the unity of the congregation which is grounded in Christ and achieved by the Spirit at the baptism into his body. Paul makes it clear that they all (0# , * ) who are baptised, are part of the one body. The baptism serves as initiation rite by means of which the believer is now made a member of the eschatological “Heilsgemeinde.”161 He then goes on to describe who exactly this ‘all’ entails. With the use of the disjunctive particle he states that whether they are Jews or Greeks, referring to ethnic and religious differences, or whether slaves or freemen, with reference to social status, they are all considered part of the one body (single entity) having been baptised in the one Spirit. Although 1 Cor 12-14 focuses primarily on the various gifts (+* # ) of the Spirit that are present among the community, Paul takes care in mentioning these physical differences as well. For neither spiritual, nor physical, nor social distinctions leads to the disunity of the community who finds its unity in Christ and the one Spirit. These religious and social conventions that were self-evident in the social context of their time, did not exclude them from being baptised. “Der Leib Christi umfaßt weder nur die heilsgeschichtlich oder gesellschaftlich Privilegierten noch nur deren Antipoden.”162 No matter what the background or heritage of the person, all are allowed to be baptised and after their baptism, they are part of the single body of Christ. The distinction made between 4 % , and F appears several times in the Pauline epistles (1 Cor 1:22, 24; Gal 3:28; Rom 1:16; 2:9-10) and is described by Fitzmyer163 to be a Jewish way of speaking as division for humanity. The differences entailed are with regards to ethnicity and race, as well as with regards to religious thought,164 where “Jews” designate monotheists and “Greeks” polytheists. Danker165 states that while the expression 4 % , F “clearly indicates Israel’s advantages from a Judean perspective, it embraces a broad range of nationalities, with F focusing on the polytheistic aspect.” The monotheistic Jews of the Diaspora usually separated themselves from their polytheistic Hellenistic surroundings and contemporaries. This was in keeping 160 Wolff, Korinther, 301-305. Barth, Die Taufe, 34. 162 Schrage, Korinther, 216. 163 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 158: “Greek and barbarian” was the Hellenistic manner to distinguish the sophisticated Greeks from those of other ethnic backgrounds. 164 Delling, Frühjudentum, 139, states that the word 4 % , had a religious connotation for the Jews, for one only became a Jew by being circumcised and accepting the Mosaic law. Also BDAG, s.v. 2. 165 BDAG, s.v. F 2a. 161 30 with their scriptures (especially Deut 6:4) which demanded loyalty to the one and only God166 as opposed to serving many gods as the Greeks did, and the Mosaic law served as a wall that separated the Jews from the other nations.167 In terms of their ethnicity and religion they considered themselves superior to the Greeks since they were the chosen people of the one and only true God. The Greeks most possibly considered themselves as the culturally rich and sophisticated race.168 This could have lead to ethnic superiority complexes from the Hellenistic believers as well. Paul acknowledges that this congregation of Corinth, a city filled with people from all walks of life, is comprised of these various people and that this can be a cause for disunity, along with their group quarrels as mentioned in 1:1013. In mentioning these religious and social differences, Paul addresses the superiority- and inferiority complexes that the various members of the congregation might have had and indicates that this should not be the case. In Gal 3:28, another passage regarding the baptism, there is a somewhat parallel169 construction as in 1 Cor 12:13. However, in Gal 3:28, Paul does not write “whether . . . or . . .” ( but instead he writes “there is no . . . nor . . .” ( ) as in 1 Cor 12:13, @ ). In Galatians, the differences that divided them are no longer relevant. In the Corinthian passage, Paul claims that each and everyone is allowed to be baptised and the differences are accepted and taken up in the single entity of Christ’s body. “The unity of the body does not eliminate the differences among the parts.”170 This is also seen in 1 Cor 7:18-24, where Paul writes that each person is to remain in the state that they were called. Whether called as one circumcised or not—referring to Jew or Greek—or called as a slave or freeman, each must remain in the condition which they were called. Paul wishes to illustrate that despite the differences which remain171 the unity is achieved and made possible by the one Spirit. In the light of v. 14, it is clear that there cannot only be one member, for then the body would not exist. The differences are important in themselves and add value to the body as a whole, but it always remains one body and unity is of cardinal importance. 166 Delling, Frühjudentum, 127-128. Conzelmann, Heiden – Juden – Christen, 21-22. 168 Delling, Frühjudentum, 352. 169 In Gal 3:28 “masculine and feminine” is also mentioned. There are various opinions why this phrase is absent in 1 Cor 12:13 and no clear consensus. Wolff, Korinther, 299, ascribes it to the fact that Paul did not want to encourage the already enthusiastic women of Corinth (11:2-14). 170 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 285. 171 See Wolff, Korinther, 299, and Schrage, Korinther, 217. Unlike Conzelmann, Korinther, 258, who, however, states that being made part of the body of Christ leads to the eschatological elimination of human differences (as seen in Gal 3:28). 167 31 Paul ends v. 13 with the inclusio, to reinforce the idea already expressed. The idea of various members being in the body is also conveyed by the structure of v. 13172—the differences that exist are accepted and integrated within the unity. The last clause states that once again all ( * ( ! # ) of the one and the same Spirit. The verb ) were made to drink means to “make it possible for someone or something to drink.”173 With regards to plants it means “to irrigate or water,”174 while with humans it is “to give to drink”, or in the passive, “to be given to drink” with the accusative of what is given—in this instance the Spirit.175 The Spirit is conceived as a substance—liquid—which brings the believer into a new existence.176 The use of once again reminds of water and unmistakably also refers to the baptism act. At one single moment, as indicated by the aorist indicative,177 they were given the one Spirit to drink and “it is as though drinking from a common source of life-giving water had bound them in that life.”178 Although can also be understood to mean “to water or pour” (3:6),179 it does not necessarily refer to the manner in which the baptism act was performed,180 but the main focus is that they indeed received the Spirit. Wolff181 states that the prophecy of receiving the Spirit (Ezek 36:25-27; Zech 12:10) is indeed hinted at but not the main focus. When in D # (v. 13a) is read as “a marker of a position defined as being in a location/marker of close association within a limit”182 then the believers are described to have been 172 According to Schrage, Korinther, 210: “Die Aussage über die Einheit des Leibes in V 12a und 12b umrahmt dabei die über die Vielheit der Glieder in V12a und 12b .” 173 BDAG, s.v. 1a. 174 BDAG, s.v. 1c. 175 Marshall, Marshall, “‘Baptize’,” 14-16, convincingly illustrates that although Spirit is naturally conceived as “wind,” there are several instances in the OT and NT where the Spirit is conceived and presented as liquid; also Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 284. Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 174, correlates this phrase to the Eucharist. Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 479, clarifies that it is unlikely that “to drink the one Spirit” refers to the Eucharist as some have stated (Calvin, Luther, Augustine), because nowhere in the NT is the Spirit said to be conveyed by the Eucharist. The aorist form also indicates a single occurrence and not something repeated. 176 Horn, Angeld de Geistes, 175. 177 Also Wolff, Korinther, 299. Unlike Choi, Geist und christliche Existenz, 155, who leaves the probability open that the aorist does not necessarily refer to the baptism. 178 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 285. 179 Ferguson, Baptism, 153, is in favour of this interpretation and states that it is a “metaphorical description of receiving the Spirit as land receives water.” He also acknowledges that to see in this interpretation a reference to the way baptism was administered, is stretching the metaphor too far. 180 Marshall, “‘Baptize’,” 22-23, indicates that the verb “does not so much draw attention to the mode of drenching . . . as to the fact of the drenching and cleansing which it conveys.” “. . . the reference is not so much the mode of the action but to the result.” Hartman, Into the Name, 67, considers that it might indicate how baptism was practised which draws a closer relation to the baptismal rite and gift of the Spirit, but this is not the main focus. 181 Wolff, Korinther, 299. 182 BDAG, s.v. 1 and 4. Weiß, Korintherbrief, 303, is in favour of a local understanding of and also relates this to E "# ! # . 32 baptised “in the one Spirit.”183 But they are also given the Spirit to drink, and then not only are they in the Spirit, but the Spirit is in them.184 The Spirit fills their whole being and existence and remains with them as divine presence. “Christians not only are the subject of the work of God’s Spirit but also share in this divine power, the Spirit.”185 In the baptism the Spirit is fully present and plays a significant part. Therefore in accordance with Fitzmyer186 it can be stated that “there is no ‘early Christian tradition’ for a baptism in the Spirit as distinct from water baptism.” As Barth187 states, only a reminder to that which was acknowledged and accepted by all believers—namely that they all received the Spirit in the baptism and in so doing were made part of the community—makes this argument convincing. Everyone, no matter who they are, are baptised in the one Spirit and also receives the Spirit in the baptism. It is this one Spirit, whom they received at their baptism, which is the cause of unity. Therefore it is clear each and everyone, irrespective of their differences, who has been baptised were baptised into one body, which is Christ, through the one Spirit. It is acknowledged that there are many various members with different functions in this body of Christ, but He always remains one single entity. In what follows (vv.14-31) Paul continues to indicate the importance of the various members and their different abilities as necessary for the body (community of believers) to function sufficiently. Paul does not argue for the “Gleichartigkeit” of the members but their “Gleichwertigkeit.”188 The comparison of the body is effective in illustrating the relationships that are inherent among the various group members to one another and to the whole. The differences are visible in the gifts given by the Spirit as well as the various backgrounds of the members. The differences are to be acknowledged and appreciated. Choi189 calls it the “Demokratisierung der Glieder innerhalb der Gemeinde.” Their race and social position— which was set at their birth—as well as their spiritual gift—only received later—have been so ordained by God (12:18). Each has his/her own specific function and should serve the body accordingly, because the effectiveness of the body also relies on the diversity of its members, but this should not lead to disunity. The differences are to be acknowledged and appreciated, but always in light of the fact that 183 As Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 478, notes that this expression is not to be understood as “baptism in the Holy Spirit” as is often used by modern Pentecostalists to describe an occurrence distinct from the water baptism act. 184 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 304, and Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 479. 185 Hartman, Into the Name, 68. He also then draws a close association with 2 Cor 1:22. 186 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 478; also Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 126, and Barth, Die Taufe, 57. 187 Barth, Die Taufe, 64. 188 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 140. 189 Choi, Geist und christliche Existenz, 159. 33 the community still remains a unity—one body. This unity is made possible through the baptism and the work of the one Spirit. In the context of the congregation, it is obvious that this analogy is very effective. Where the threat of schism, caused by party quarrels and class rivalries, exist and various queries regarding religious background and spiritual practices are present, the call for unity is immense. Without disregarding the diversity of the congregation, Paul reminds them of their unity which is solely achieved by the Spirit and it is the Spirit “which gives significance to the parts in relationship.”190 It is their experience of the one Spirit which Paul uses as foundation for his appeal to the Corinthians for the right and proper exercise of their various spiritual gifts. These divine gifts and ministries that are bestowed on believers by the Spirit are diverse and various and cause differentiation on a human level, but nevertheless all are to be used for the glory of the Lord.191 The important role of the Spirit is repeatedly emphasised and highlighted in 12:1-14:40, but what is to be noted in 12:12-13, is that this one unifying Spirit was received at the baptism. The baptism serves as unifying moment of all the various groups, since it was conveyed by the Spirit, as well as conveyer of the Spirit. The role of baptism Why does Paul use the baptism as foundation for his argument? As Wolff192 states, no other Pauline epistle has so many references to baptism as the letter to the Corinthians (1:13-17; 6:11; 10:1-2; 12:13; 15:29). He relates the several references to baptism to the specific situation of the Corinthian church, stating “sie ist bestimmt von einem eigenwilligen Taufverständnis, das mit einem enthusiastischen Geistverständnis verbunden ist.” Paul uses the Corinthians’ high regard of the baptism as starting point for his solutions to the problems that the church faced. “In korrigierender Weise betont er zu Beginn des Briefes die Bedeutung der in der Taufe gründenden Gemeinschaft mit dem für uns gekreuzigten Christus (1,13), und gegen Ende des Schreibens (15,29) erinnert der Apostel an die Verbindung, die die Taufe mit dem leiblich auferstandenen Christus schenkt. Die komplementär christologische gefüllten Taufaussagen umrahmen also den Ersten Korintherbrief.”193 190 Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 286. Orr and Walther, 1 Corinthians, 281. 192 Wolff, Korinther, 7-8. 193 Wolff, Korinther, 7-8. (Italics his). 191 34 That the baptism was of central importance to the Corinthian community and to Paul is made quite clear and in these two passages Paul’s use of the baptism has much to say about the individual and the community—about who they are and how they should act. For a community, which consisted of men and women from various classes, statuses, ethnic groups etc., it was necessary to construct a new collectivistic identity, and consequently ethics, to bind them as group and for this Paul used the reference to the baptism into Christ. The main role of baptism in 6:11 is to indicate a change of status. Their pagan past is confronted with their soteriologically influenced present.194 The Corinthians believers who once were unjust and nonbelievers, revelling in various sins and vices, are these things no longer. On the contrary ( 6), at their baptism they have been washed of their sins and iniquities and they are now clean and pure. In addition, they have been sanctified and made acceptable to God. While every believer is sanctified, they are also accepted into the community of saints—the community of all those who have been sanctified by God and are to be holy in his sight. Moreover, they have been pronounced and are treated as righteous by God at their baptism. They can no longer be unjust or unrighteous and nor can they do things that the unrighteous do—be sexually immoral, be abusive, steal or rob others, be greedy—for they are now righteous and just and should act accordingly. It is of utmost importance to realise that this change of status is only achieved through the workings of the Triune God.195 God is the active agent who does all that occurs in the baptism. God washes and cleanses the believer; God consecrates the believer and makes him/her part of the community of saints; God deems the believer as righteous and just. God does this in recognition and in reference to Jesus Christ, who has always been pure, holy and righteous. The name of Christ is called upon, pronounced and acknowledged for it is only in Christ and in recognition of what He has done that God justifies those who believe in Christ. God does this through his Spirit, who is present at the baptism and the means by which the purity is attained. Paul mentions the baptism, not only as reminder and admonition, but to help and assist the believers196 so that they might know that their righteous life is not something achieved out of own strength but through the work of God, Christ and the Spirit. Moreover, the 194 Schrage, Korinther, 432. Though Paul never explicitly mentions a theology of the Trinity, this text indeed has a Trinitarian structure. Hahn, Theologie, 2:289, states that no texts in the NT are “trinitarisch” but are read as triadic formulations and have an implicit Trinitarian structure. See Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 258, while Conzelmann, Korinther, 136, also mentions the triadic formula of 6. 196 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 154. 195 35 believers are made subject to, or put under control of Christ and the Spirit,197 and live a life in response and obedience to their Lord. The Spirit’s continuous work in the believer makes it possible for him/her to live a righteous life.198 Through the baptism “the entrance into the church of God meant that the Christian was delivered from the power of sin and entered a realm where God’s creative Spirit held sway.”199 Knowing this to be true, believers as holy, righteous and just have a new ethical imperative and those practices or vices that characterise the unjust cannot characterise them. “Such a calling summons Corinthian Christians to a mode of life that cannot be marked by trivial lawsuits or other questionable conduct.”200 Instead they are to live clean, holy and righteous lives in accordance with who they are. Paul wishes to encourage them to thankful worship and praise and to a new sense of responsibility.201 This might also include suffering injustice at the hands of others (6:7), for a Christian’s conduct must be governed by love which enables one to put up with injustice.202 They are to glorify God in their body and spirit (6:21) by living morally good lives. Moreover there is an eschatological perspective added. For as Paul has stated the unjust, who commit these sins, will not inherit the kingdom of God; they will not have part in reigning with God. But those who have been baptised, having been made righteous and just in their baptism, now have the hope and certainty that they will indeed partake in God’s reign that is to come, given that they act appropriately to their new identity. As Schrage203 writes “Die Taufe stellt nicht in das Reicht Gottes, das Christen vielmehr erst ererben werden, aber sie stellt auf den Weg, und dieser Weg in Gehorsam und Anfectung verläuft auf dem Grund und im Horizont der ‘neue Schöpfung’.” The baptism, affected by God through his Spirit and in the name of Jesus, is therefore the event where the believers’ identity is changed from unjust, impure sinners to that of pure, holy, and righteous men and women. The change of identity leads to ethical consequences that differentiate the new identity from the old, but even more it brings with it the eschatological hope of God’s coming kingdom and taking part in his reign. Their eschatological awareness in regards with the baptism, also serves as basis for the indicative and consequent imperative.204 197 Schrage, Korinther, 434. Wolff, Korinther, 122. 199 Hartman, Into the Name, 64. 200 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 249. 201 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 156. 202 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 249. 203 Schrage, Korinther, 434. 204 Conzelmann, Korinther, 137: “Wenn jetzt zur eschatologischen Begründung der Mahnung die sakramentale tritt, so ist die Voraussetzung wieder die Relation von Indikativ and Imperativ, Heiligkeit und aktiver Heiligung.” 198 36 In 12:12-13, by means of the analogy of the body, Paul wishes to illustrate that at the baptism a believer is made part of a community. It is only in the context of this community—Christian church— that this baptism is practised. “Baptism brings people into the Christ-community which has been created by Christ, is carried by him, and receives its life from him.”205 A community made up of people from different backgrounds and with different gifts. A community that is diverse in many aspects, but despite its diversity is one single entity and is characterised by its complete unity. The unity of the community of believers has Christ as its central reference point. For at the baptism believers have been baptised into the one body that is Christ (v. 12). This has been achieved through the one Spirit, who was present at the baptism and who is given to every believer that is baptised206 and therefore it can be stated that the baptism is the unifying sacrament of the Christian church.207 The Spirit fills the believer completely at their baptism and from this moment onwards unites the believer with all other believers who have been baptised. “Christliches Leben gilt als durch den Geist bestimmt, und da der Beginn christlicher Existenz normalerweise mit der Taufe zusammenfällt, so werden auch Taufe und Geistempfang zusammengesehen.”208 The unity of the community of believers is a fact; it is an indicative. All who are baptised are unified in Christ through the Spirit and as church they should act accordingly, upholding the unity and working together as one. This is the first and most important imperative that Paul implies from the indicative: you are one, unified in Christ and the Spirit, therefore act as one. However, in light of this unity, Paul not only recognizes and grants their previous and present differences, he endorses them. He wishes to illustrate that who they were and who they are now after their baptism is still relevant but should not be a cause for disunity. Each and every person, from any background, can be baptised. The baptism is open to all. After having been baptised, it is true that they should first acknowledge their unity with other believers, but they should not lose their uniqueness. Every person in the Christian community, in the body of Christ, has a special and significant role to play. Each person has a specific heritage, situation, and certain characteristics and has even received various spiritual gifts from the Spirit which define him/her. These gifts come from the same source, the one and the same Spirit, and since they come from the same source there can be no pride among the 205 Hartman, Into the Name, 68. Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 125, indicates that the baptism and the gift of the Spirit are directly connected with one another, that the Spirit is given at the baptism and is the work of the Spirit. 207 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 141. 208 Barth, Die Taufe, 65. 206 37 members. They should appreciate one another’s gifts, talents and uniqueness, because everyone has a place in the community. All their talents and gifts must always be used for the advantage of the whole of the community and to the glory of the Lord. The identity of every Christian and that of the church is determined by Christ and given by the Spirit. It is the experience of this life-giving Spirit, which separates people from their previous lives and religious way of conduct.209 The existence of the church, for Paul, is the existence in the Spirit and the church is also the area in which the Spirit works.210 It can be described by the motto: unity in diversity or “unity behind the diversity.”211 The identity of the believer is first of all characterised by Christ, because they have been baptised into the body of Christ but their identity is also expressed within the community of believers that are unified by the Spirit. “Paul’s corporate thinking, also in terms of believers’ relationship to the Spirit, in no way eclipses the individual and vice versa.”212 Now, by knowing their identity and having received the Spirit, believers can serve one another as members of the same body, supporting one another to achieve more and sharing in each other’s pain and joy (12:26)—just like a body. Moreover, they are called to be present, active and living as the living body of Christ in the world using their gifts, which has been given by the Spirit, and only the Spirit makes it possible to achieve that which is aimed for. 209 Dunn, “Geist/Heiliger Geist”, 3:566. Choi, Geist und christliche Existenz, 131. 211 Hartman, Into the Name, 67. 212 Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 138. 210 38 Baptism in Galatians The letter to the Galatians is addressed to , G H . Although there is no consensus whether this designation refers to the ethnic descendants of the Gallic tribes (northern hypothesis)213 or the inhabitants of the Roman province of Galatia (southern hypothesis),214 it is quite clear that the majority of the addressees were Gentiles.215 Paul opposes a Jewish group of believers (possibly missionaries) who urged the Galatian believers to be circumcised (6:12-13) and who preached a gospel that varied from the gospel that Paul preached (1:6). The letter starts with the usual greeting (1:1-5) and is followed by Paul’s defence of the truth of the gospel that he preached to the Galatians as well as his position as apostle of Christ Jesus (1:6-2:10). Lategan216 indicates that the main concern of this passage is not the defence of Paul’s apostolic authority but rather the truth and nature of the gospel that Paul had proclaimed to the Galatians and “the theological basis on which it rests.” He states, “The prescript is used to introduce topics which are to be expanded later in the letter, giving evidence of a remarkable unity of composition.”217 Paul goes on and mentions that one is only justified by faith and not through the works of the law (2:11-2:21). He explains this statement in his theological argument218 (3:1-4:31) as he bases it on two references to Abraham.219 According to Lategan,220 Paul uses examples from real life—that of Peter, himself, Abraham, Sara—to illustrate the truth of the gospel and the experiences that the Galatians felt. These experiences which the Galatians experienced, as well as Paul’s conversion, only occurred because of the working of the Spirit (3:2) and thus Betz221 describes Paul’s defence of the gospel as defending the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit and these experiences are closely connected, as Paul illustrates in Gal 3:6-29 and it is clear that the Spirit has a central role in Paul’s argument throughout his letter.222 213 Betz, Galatians, 12. Breytenbach, Paulus und Barnabas, 172, and Dunn, Galatians, 19. 215 Dunn, Galatians, 6. 216 Lategan, “Paul Defending,” 411, 417. 217 Lategan, “Paul Defending,” 415. 218 Betz, Galatians, 128, describes this as the probatio which plays a significant role in the entire letter, for it gives the various proofs and leads to successful acceptance of everything written. 219 Dunn, Galatians, 11, states that these Jewish-Christian missionaries wanted to integrate the Galatian believers fully into heirs of Abraham and his blessing through circumcision. 220 Lategan, “Paul Defending,” 425. 221 Betz, Galatians, 28. 222 Dunn, Galatians, 151. 214 39 Lategan223 also mentions that Paul’s close association with Christ and his death as expressed in 2:19-20 connects with the preceding and following sections of the letter and has “existential consequences for Paul and the individual believer.” These consequences are carefully illustrated in his argument (chapters 3 and 4) and he then exhorts the Galatians in the ethical paranesis (5:1-6:18) to live in an appropriate way in accordance with the freedom that they now have through faith in Christ and the Spirit. He closes the letter with a last few directives to serve and help one another as one who lives as a new creation in Christ (6:1-18). The central role of Christ in the entire letter is expressed in 2:19-20 and in the rest of the letter Paul illustrates how Christ’s “cross not only makes the new existence of the believer soteriologically possible, but at the same time demonstrates the ethical content of the gospel by the style of this existence as selfless giving.”224 As has been previously mentioned, Gal 3:1-4:31 is considered the argumentative part of the entire letter. This section starts with Gal 3:1-5 as the first argument in Paul’s probatio which focuses on the Galatians’ experience of the Spirit.225 Here by use of several rhetorical questions directed at the Galatians, Paul asks how is it possible that they, who have heard the gospel clearly (v. 1), received the Spirit (v. 2) and experienced so many miracles among them (v. 5), can be fooled to believe that this all occurred because of the law. The Galatians’ own experience of the Spirit serves as Paul’s “trump card”226 as an event that Paul expected them to vividly remember and it is the introduction to the arguments that follows. Gal 3:6-4:7 Paul’s second argument of the probatio is set out in vv. 6-14, which focuses on God’s promise to Abraham. In the rhetorical questions in vv. 2-5, Paul contrasts G )# % (works of the law) with (hearing of faith). In vv. 6-9 he indicates the consequences of includes being blessed ( works of the law @ 227 , which - ). In direct opposition he states in v. 10 that those who rely on the are under a curse ( / @ 223 )# % ,I > * ). Blessing can Lategan, “Paul Defending,” 428. Lategan, “Paul Defending,” 430. 225 Betz, Galatians, 128. 226 Dunn, Galatians, 151. 227 According to BDAG, s.v. # 10, @ )# % denotes “a close relationship”/ “to rely on” which can be directly translated “they are/live because of the works of the law” for their existence is characterised by doing the works required by the law and thus it is stated that they rely on the works of the law. There exists intense discussion on the phrase @ )# %. Räisanen, Paul and the Law, 259, refers to the “works of the law” as “ritual requirements” which created a wall between 224 40 be described “as a performative utterance, the effective activity of pronouncing and bringing about good for someone. It may be the resultant favor or enablement itself,”228 while curse is the direct opposite as it is used in biblical thought. This contrast is also seen in Paul’s quotation of Gen 12:2-3 (LXX) in v. 8, where God says to Abraham, “I will make you a great nation and bless ( $ ) you and make your name great and you will be blessed, and I will bless those who bless you and those who curse you, I will curse ( * # ) and all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in you.” We also see this opposition of blessings and curse in Deut. 27-30.229 When Paul thus writes in v. 9 that “those who believe are blessed” ( J ) and in v. 10 that “those who rely on the works of the " law are under a curse,” then consequently the contrast between @ )# % and is emphasised. In what follows, Paul’s argument aims to indicate the prominence of faith and that redemption can only be received through faith. Paul begins his argument in v. 6 with reference to Abraham as the first example of one who believed. In light of the fact that the gospel “is under attack,”230 one is bound to agree with Hays231 that Paul used Scripture references to “show that his proclamation of the gospel was grounded in the witness of Israel’s sacred texts.” In light of the Judaizing opponents it was of cardinal importance for Paul to indicate the validity of his argument as supported by the Jewish Scriptures.232 In this passage Paul incorporates many Septuagint (LXX) references233 to strengthen his argument and here the first is used, namely LXX Gen. 15:6 “he believed in God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” ( 2 ! 2, ! 2 % ). It was thus because of Abraham’s faith that he was Gentile and Jewish Christians. Dunn, Jesus, Paul and the Law, 219-220, discusses the various opinions: “service of the law” (Lohmeyer); “covenantal nominism” (Sanders); “identity and boundary markers of Judaism” which specifically refer to the circumcision and food laws as social function of the law (Dunn). According to Dunn, The New Perspective, 120, 130, Paul is addressing these “boundary markers” in which the devout Jews are boasting in their claim to righteousness as distinct from the gentiles. This false attitude of what the law requires is what causes them to be under a curse (3:10), for it is at odds with Abraham’s faith (3:11-12). Bachmann, Antijudaismus, 14, 55, interprets @ )# % as Halakhot, which are specific instructions of the Tora and not human conduct. Both Dunn and Bachmann correlate Galatians with 4QMMT where “works of the law” as well as its correspondence with curse and blessing is drawn. Frey, Paulus, 41, however, indicates that the instructions of the law cannot be separated from the observance of these rules. Schnelle, Paulus, 304-307, also discusses the various opinions and disagrees with Dunn, saying that Paul refers to the whole law and not only to certain aspects. According to him, Paul wishes to indicate that Jews who do the works of the law are still considered sinners just as the Gentiles. From all these opinions it is clear that what Paul illustrates is that the “works of the law” does not elevate the Jew above the Gentile, nor should it cause any more separation among the groups. 228 Urbrock, “Blessings and Curses,” 1:755. Dunn, Galatians, 165, describes “bless” as “bestow grace and peace, sustain and prosper.” 229 Dunn, The New Perspective, 335. 230 Lategan, “Paul Defending,” 426. 231 Hays, Echoes, 2. 232 Dunn, Galatians, 160. 233 Hays, Echoes, xi, indicates that Paul’s “citations characteristically follow the Septuagint (LXX) . . . which was in common use in Hellenistic synagogues during Paul’s lifetime.” 41 considered righteous. Abraham is given as example by use of a comparison, as !K indicates, and in v. 7 the comparison is completed. Just as they know it to be true of Abraham who believed, consequently ( , L ) they may know that those who believe are children of Abraham. ( %J M 1 J *#). Verse 7 serves as thematic statement which is elaborated on in the rest of the argument: because Abraham believed the promise that he would have a son and innumerable descendants, thus the link is made between promise, faith and children of Abraham.234 235 In the phrase J the preposition serves as marker to indicate origin from a specific group or community and would literally translate, “those from faith” meaning “those who have faith” or “people of faith.”236 Paul uses this expression to continue the link with the rest of the passage where the phrase is used several times. Children of Abraham—a title normally used to refer to Jews and which they considered a matter of pride237—Paul had now attributed to those who believe: Gentiles and Jews alike. The following section of vv. 8-13, as according to Betz,238 “includes a set of five Scripture proofs which are intended as evidence for the thesis in 3:7.” The quotations do not always follow the LXXtext exactly and some instances (v. 11) seem closer to the Hebrew text. Hays,239 however, ascribes this to various LXX translations. Nevertheless, Paul quotes Scripture in such a way that it serves his particular line of thought in order to strengthen his argument.240 In v. 8 Paul elaborates on who these people of faith are by referring to what is written in Scripture. He writes that Scripture actually saw beforehand ( because of faith ( N " A0 OP) that God vindicates the nations C ! Q ). God would consider the nations to be , / @! righteous just like Abraham (v. 6) and this is solely because of their faith. Having seen this beforehand, the Scriptures proclaimed the good news to Abraham in advance, that “in him all the nations will be 234 Dunn, Galatians, 162. As Betz, Galatians, 141, notes Paul only uses this phrase in this section and is used as contrast to the phrase @ )# %. 236 BDAG, s.v. 3b and s.v. 2d . 237 Dunn, Galatians, 160. 238 Betz, Galatians, 138. 239 Hays, Echoes, xi, states “rarely do Paul’s quotations agree with the Masoretic Hebrew text (MT) against the LXX; even the few cases of apparent agreement with the Hebrew can be explained as evidence of variant LXX text forms that have been subjected to ‘hebraizing revisions.’” See also Koch, Schrift als Zeuge, 52-53, 58-59. 240 Koch, Schrift als Zeuge, 22, 101: “Je starker Paulus sich veranlasst sieht, seine eigene Position theologisch zu klären, desto intensiver wird zugleich auch die Beschäftigung mit der Schrift und ihre Verwendung in seinen Briefen.” It is also possible “den Wortlaut eines Zitats mit der jeweiligen Textvorlage (die nicht in allen Fällen mit dem überlieferten LXXWortlaut übereinstimmen muß!) zu vergleichen und nach den Veränderungen durch Paulus zu fragen.” 235 42 blessed” ( % !$ * / @! ).241 In this instance Scripture is personified as an active agent242 who saw God’s action of justification and proclaimed the good news that God would bless the nations in Abraham.243 From the very beginning the nations—thus Jews and also Gentiles— were in view when God blessed Abraham.244 According to Hays,245 “the role ascribed to Scripture in Gal 3:8 illuminates Paul’s use of Scripture throughout the letter;” and Paul “intends to show that it is the real meaning of Scripture, God’s ultimate purpose to which Scripture has pointed all along.” It is thus true that the nations would be blessed in Abraham. Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith and it is for this reason (R ) given by the Scriptures that the nations will also be considered righteous because of faith. Moreover, they will also be blessed as Abraham was and being blessed meant that “the nations would share in the benefits, the well-being and wholeness, individually and socially, which was the consequence of Abraham’s positive relationship with God.”246 Verse 9 indicates that those of the nations, who believe in Jesus, do not need to become observers of the Law in order to be blessed. For Paul argues that “Scripture already proclaims and authorizes a Law-free community of God’s people, that is, a church in which Jews and Gentiles stand on common ground,”247 as Paul also clearly expresses in v. 28. It is evident that the nations are considered righteous because of their faith, just like Abraham, but Paul’s focus in v. 9 is specifically on the fact that they are blessed ( 241 - ) since it serves as antonym The quotation Paul gives is a mixture of the Gen 12:3 and 18:18 of the LXX. Gen 12:3 is stated directly to Abraham with the words . However, the word J O% is used to designate the “nations/tribes.” In Gen 18:18 the statement is not said to Abraham, but about him and thus 2 is used. Here, nevertheless * / @! is used. Paul therefore combines the two verses in his quotation, in order to maintain the personal address, while simultaneously keeping the direct association with in / @! in v. 8a. See also Hays, Echoes, 106. According to Koch, Schrift als Zeuge, 124, the omission of G G in v. 8 is an indication that with the words / @! Paul denotes “Gentiles” and not “nations.” However, when / @! is used to denote “nations” then Gentiles are included and does not diminish Paul’s argumentation. See also Dunn, Galatians, 159 (note 1). 242 Betz, Galatians, 138, indicates that “Scripture” as God’s active agent in the first proof (vv. 8-9) correlates with “Christ” in the last proof of this section, who is also God’s active agent. Dunn, Galatians, 164, states, “Typical of the high view then common of the divine inspiration and authority of the sacred text is the personification of scripture.” Scripture is conceived as the “immediate expression of the divine will.” 243 Hays, Echoes, 105, states “Scripture speaks not only to the church but also about it.” According to Hays, Paul’s use of Scripture is “ecclesiocentric” in nature and he employs the Scripture references to indicate how the church of God should function. 244 Dunn, Galatians, 163. 245 Hays, Echoes, 105. 246 Dunn, Galatians, 165. 247 Hays, Echoes, 105. 43 of * (curse) in the following verses.248 From the very beginning the blessing of Abraham was connected to him having offspring (Gen 12:1-2, 7; 17:4-8; 18:18) which was part of the covenant which God made with Abraham and his offspring (Gen 17:7-14; 18:19). The covenant includes both that Abraham would have many offspring, and that he would be blessed and the nations of the earth would be blessed in him. Paul draws on this and concludes that those who believe (people of faith) are the ones who are blessed together with the believing Abraham ( J 2M " S 2 *#). Now Paul claims that those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse.249 Paul’s reference to curses makes sense in this context since blessings and curses are prominent in God’s covenant with Israel.250 Paul’s Scripture references also reminds of the curses and blessings written in Deut. 27-30 and Lev. 26, which follow the ordinances of the law (Deut 5-26) and the Holiness Code (Lev. 17-26) respectively. As Harrelson251 notes, with reference to Jews (Israel), “the basic curse that befell Israel was the curse of sin and disobedience.” Dunn252 on the other hand, reads the text with regards to the Gentile believers and states that it was the law of the Jews—which clearly distinguished them from the law-less Gentiles—that prevented the blessing of Abraham to reach the Gentiles and that in this passages Paul aims to switch “emphasis from the thought of Gentile cursing to that of Gentile blessing.”253 Thus the curse of the law is applied to both the Jews and the Gentiles, albeit in a different way. Consequently, the blessing is also applicable to both groups. In the biblical view the main authority behind every curse or blessing is God and the blessing or curse’s efficacy is determined by God’s will.254 Thus stating that they are under a curse is a bold statement and Paul elucidates how this is possible and how it should be understood, with several references of what is written ( - ) in the scriptures.255 The first quotation256 reads, “Cursed is everyone who does not 248 Dunn, Galatians, 169, states that Paul’s use of blessing “provides a bracket for the paragraph” with the mention of curse within this bracket. 249 According to Dunn, Galatians, 172, this phrase refers to those who “were putting too much weight on the distinctiveness of Jews from Gentiles, and on the special laws which formed the boundary markers between them.” (See note 227). 250 Urbrock, “Blessings and Curses,” 1:757. 251 Harrelson, “Blessings and Cursings,” 1:447. 252 Dunn, Galatians, 169. 253 Dunn, The New Perspective, 336. This emphasis on blessings and curses are also found in 4QMMT with reference to the Qumran community and Israel. 254 Urbrock, “Blessings and Curses,” 1:755. 255 As previously mentioned Paul uses the various Scripture citations as proof for his argumentation. According to Koch, Schrift als Zeuge, 118-121, 268, the citations in. vv. 10-13 are examples where Paul left out certain words in order to accentuate the meaning and to indicate the close connection of the various texts (Deut 27:26a.b; Lev 18:5c; Deut 21:23c) 44 abide by everything that is written in the book of the law, in order to do them.” ( ##- ' , ##- 2 U " )# % " G * ' T *). This means that all who aim to live according to everything that is written in the law, but do not succeed in keeping every law, are cursed. Noth257 aims to show that when Paul quotes Deut. 27:26 he correctly understands it, for he writes that “von diesem Gesetz aus gibt es nur eine menschliche Möglichkeit eigenen, unabhängigen Handelns; das ist Übertretung, Abfall und damit Fluch und Gericht. Und so stehen die, die mit des Gesetzes Werken umgehen, in der Tat unter dem Fluch.” From this point of view it is clear that none who try to abide by the law succeed in keeping every written law—one cannot fulfil the law258—and therefore they all are under a curse, which means that they are excluded from God’s blessings. However, according to Stanton259 among others, Paul illustrates in v. 10 that the problem of the law is not that it cannot be kept, but instead that the law forces people to do things (emphasis on ). These things include the circumcision and food laws, “boundary and identity markers”260 of the Jewish community. For as Dunn261 then states this understanding of the law “inevitably puts too much weight on physical and national factors, on outward and visible enactments, and gives too little weight to the Spirit, to faith and love from the heart,” and it is indeed this perception that Paul aims to change in the rest of the passage. Paul continues to illustrate in the following verses that it is not the doing of the law that leads to righteousness (2:16) or the blessing, but only through faith. The use of V introduces a topic which connects to what has been previously stated and indicates that vv. 10 and 11 are considered parallel.262 The fact that no one is pronounced righteous because of the law is based on Scripture. In Hab 2:4 it is written, “the righteous will live because of faith” (C $ ).263 Since it is clear ( G ) from this quotation that the righteous lives by faith with one another. “Sie sind in Gal 3,10-13 eng aufeinander bezogen und sollen gerade so das Gegenüber von und @ )# % im Sinne des sich grundsätzlich ausschließenden Gegensatzes von Segen und Fluch interpretieren.” 256 This quotation is predominantly Deut. 27:26, with slight variations indicating association with Deut. 28:58; 29:19; 30:10. See also Koch, Schrift als Zeuge, 164. 257 Noth, “Gesetzes Werken,” 171. Also Räisänen, Paul and the Law, 124: “On the basis of this law there is only one possibility for man of having his own independent activity: that is transgression, defection, followed by curse and judgment. And so, indeed, ‘all those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse’.” Dunn, Galatians, 171, opposes this view. 258 Also Räisänen, Paul and the Law, 94. 259 Stanton, “The Law of Moses,” 111. Also Betz, Galatians, 147, and Dunn, Jesus, Paul, 226-227. 260 Dunn, Jesus, Paul, 220. 261 Dunn, Jesus, Paul, 227. 262 Betz, Galatians, 146. 263 The LXX version of Hab 2:4 reads C A 1 # % $ which would translate “the righteous will live because of my faithfulness” according to BDAG, s.v. 2d . However, Paul’s citation is written without # % and the 45 (v. 11b), it now follows in v. 11a that ( God because of the law ( A ) no one is vindicated or pronounced righteous in the sight of )#U " / 2 ! 2), as is also expressed in 2:16. In vv. 11-13 the opposition of faith and law is set forth, with every remark strengthened with more quotations from scripture. In v. 11a he uses )#U most likely to continue the train of thought of v. 10 of those who persevere in the things written in the law.264 The preposition marker of cause or reason, like expressed by @ can indeed also be a , that translates “because of” and thus maintains the thought also )# %.265 Instead of being justified because of the law, they have been vindicated and pronounced righteous because of faith (v. 8); therefore they are called righteous and will continue to live as righteous people because of their faith. Paul concludes his final statement of the law versus faith in v. 12, stating clearly that the law does not exist on the basis of faith (C A )# ), but was given until the faith in Christ @ came (v. 23-25). “The law is not identical with the basic faith relationship . . . it is additional to the ‘from faith’; it is built upon the more fundamental relationship based on and sustained through faith.”266 Paul writes that he who does what is written in the law ( ##- and 267 *), will live in the law. These 6 and ##- , refer back to v.10 , are the various commands and special conditions that are written in the law, which every righteous Jew aims to keep. These include such things as the circumcision and the Jewish food laws.268 However, as Paul indicated in Gal 2, keeping these laws and living according to them does not lead to righteousness, only faith in Christ does (2:16). It is evident here that Paul not only argues “against Judaism in general, but also against the Galatians’ expectation, introduced by the anti-Pauline opposition, that ‘doing’ of the Torah is the genitive should be read as object genitive, especially when considering that the Hebrew text WX<X YZ[Y\]^ _X`aY translates as “the righteous will live because of his faith,” which renders Paul’s interpretation as valid and serves the purpose of his argument. Also Koch, Schrift als Zeuge, 127-128. Dunn, Galatians, 168, 174, maintains that the ambiguity of the phrase “the righteous from faith will live” should be retained, for one is righteous because of faith and faith also characterises the life of the righteous; “‘from faith’ characterizes and constitutes his relationship with God from the beginning to end.” 264 With reference to 2 U " )# % and in some manuscripts also ##' , ##. 265 So also Dunn, Galatians, 174. 266 Dunn, Galatians, 175. 267 Lev. 18:5 268 Dunn, Jesus, Paul, 217-219, illustrates that these two regulations, circumcision and food laws, were central to Israel’s identity and their understanding of keeping the law; their “boundary markers.” 46 prerequisite for becoming partakers in the salvation to be had through Christ.”269 Thus trying to do the in both vv. 11 and 12 emphasises the contrast270 and law is equal to live in the law. The use of $ brings to a close the argument which states that those who live by the law will continue to be under the curse as opposed to those who live by faith and are blessed. Paul continues his line of thought with regards to curse in vv. 13-14, as he asyndetically discloses the important role of Christ and how He caused those who live according to the law271 to be freed from the curse. As is true of the tradition a curse need not come to pass inevitably since countermeasures can be taken272 and in this case Christ is the countermeasure. Christ delivered them from the curse of the law when He became “cursed in their behalf”273 (5 )# I A 0# * > 0#' ) G * " )# % ). To be cursed in their behalf, possibly denotes that He took the curse that was upon them and intended for them on him and He did this at his crucifixion. Paul illustrates this with another quotation from scripture which states that “cursed is everyone who hangs on wood”274 ( * ' C %). The quotation once again neither follows the LXX nor #*# Hebrew text exactly. The words * ' + relative clause (as found in v. 10 as well) clearly links the two verses. This is done in order to indicate that they, who do not abide in everything in the law, are cursed and indeed Christ was also cursed as He was crucified. According to Dunn275 in saying that the crucified Jesus was cursed by God is equal to saying that he was put outside the people of God and that “God’s resurrection of Jesus signified God’s acceptance of the ‘outsider’, the cursed lawbreaker, the Gentile sinner.” It is specifically the crucifixion of Christ that frees them from the curse of the law and now makes it possible that the blessing of Abraham—the blessing bestowed by God on Abraham—would come 269 Betz, Galatians, 147. Dunn, New Perspective, 39, writes “‘those of works of the law’ took their religious identity too narrowly from the ‘life’ of Lev. 18:5 (3:12), whereas ‘those of (Abraham’s) faith’ took their religious identity from the ‘life’ of Hab. 2:4 (3:11).” 271 As Betz, Galatians, 144, 148, illustrates those who are @ )# % include “Jews and also those Jewish Christians who, as Paul’s opponents do, regard the observation of the Torah as a condition for salvation. It would include also the Galatians if they would carry out their present plans to come under the Torah.” “The Galatian Gentile Christians were not under this curse, because before they converted to Christianity they were not ‘under the Torah’ but ‘under the ‘elements of the world’.’ Paul assumes, however, that being under the Torah is only another way of being ‘under the ‘elements of the world’.’” Also Dunn, Galatians, 176. 272 Urbrock, “Blessings and Curses,” 1:756. 273 BDAG, s.v. 1a : “in behalf of;” or 1c: “in place of.” It is not clear exactly how this phrase is to be understood as indicated by Betz, Galatians, 150-151. He ascribes it to a “pre-Pauline interpretation of Jesus’ death as a self-sacrifice and atonement.” 274 Deut 21:23; 27:26a. 275 Dunn, Galatians, 178. 270 47 among/to276 all the nations277 in Christ Jesus (b / @! 0 "M /# - 5 2 "). “Christ is the mechanism by which the blessing came to effect.”278 The second b -clause 4 presupposes the first which indicates that this all happened for the final purpose that they might receive the promise of the Spirit—the Spirit as promise—through faith (b * # / G & " # ). The blessing of Abraham thus brings with it the promise of the Spirit and this is solely because of faith,279 which answers v. 2. Thus the integration of the Galatians’ experience of the Spirit (vv. 2-5) and the proofs from Scripture (vv. 6-13) “clinches the matter”280 for Paul. Throughout this passage Paul addresses his readers at times in the 1st person plural and then at times in the 2nd person plural. Räisänen281 indicates that Paul’s oscillation between the various pronouns in vv. 13-14 and 23-26 is not to be considered as careless phrasing. “When Paul spoke of redemption from the curse of the law or of liberation from the power of the law, he did not always imply that the situation of the Gentiles was any different from that of the Jews.” Thus, despite the altering pronouns, the Galatians believers are kept in mind as the ones addressed, whether they be Jew or Gentile. One can conclude the following from this section (vv.6-14): The blessing which was granted to Abraham because of his faith and guaranteed to the nations (vv. 6-9), was unable to be given by the law (vv. 10-12), but was fulfilled and made available to the nations through Christ and it brought with it the promise of the Spirit, which can only be received through faith (vv. 13-14). When the Galatians received the Spirit it was the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham.282 The two b –clauses of v. 14 presuppose something that has not been mentioned yet, for although they now know that they have received the Spirit through faith (v. 2) the question arises: when did they receive the promise of the Spirit? Paul only answers this later in his argumentation. 276 The phrase / @! carries with it a few uncertainties. Both BDF, §207, and Moulton, Grammar, 3:253, mention that the use of might be substituted with the dative or more correctly with the genitive of possession. However, translated as “to”, “into” or “among” as designation involving a goal is appropriate enough. 277 Many translations render / @! as indicating only “Gentiles”, however when read in the light of vv. 8-9 where / @! refers to all the nations, it is sufficient to translate it here as “nations” as well. When the blessing is for all the nations, then naturally the Gentiles are also included, as well as the Jews who were originally under the curse of the law. 278 Dunn, Galatians, 178. 279 As Dunn, Galatians, 179, states that faith is “given the climatic place of emphasis” and it “reasserts once again the fundamental character of faith.” 280 Dunn, Galatians, 164. 281 Räisänen, Paul and the Law, 21. 282 Betz, Galatians, 153. 48 In v. 15 Paul now addresses the readers as O which serves as indication of a new part in the argument283 and to focus their attention on what is to follow. To say something / ! (literally “according to man”) means to say something that is part of everyday human life—something known to humans and not an abstract concept. Thus he uses an example that can easily be grasped to explain the relationship of the law of Moses and promise of Abraham to one another (vv. 17-18) and according to Dunn284 Paul was aware that his illustration of a human will was only a limitedly adequate parallel to God’s covenant with Abraham. His example however begins with a peculiar use of the word # .285 There is no consensus regarding the correct translation but neither possibility deducts from the context of what is to be said and therefore both are acceptable. The comparison with v. 17 is not lost if # is translated as misplaced “nevertheless,” since there is no word of comparison used in v. 17. The comparison is conveyed with the two introductory lines and !$ / ! - and " and the use of similar words ( % ) A - ) in the various verses. Paul uses an example from the practice of law and explains that no one annuls or adds to a ratified will of a man ( ! 1 % % #- !$ ! ,c * ). The word !$ can be translated “will” or “testament” as “disposition of property by will” or as “covenant” which is “an arrangement between two parties.”286 Both English translations suffice in both v. 15 and v. 17, since “will” or “testament” corresponds with the idea of descendant ( v. 18) and heir ( )# - # v. 16), inheritance ( # Gal 4:1), and the “covenant” of God with Abraham also encapsulates all these thoughts and terms. However, in v. 15 as indicated by / ! - the reference is more specifically to a testament, which Paul then draws parallel to the covenant made between God and Abraham.287 Whatever the exact translation is, what Paul wishes to bring across is that no one can add a codicil or cancel a testament once it has been ratified. 283 As Betz, Galatians, 154, indicates this is considered the third argument in Paul’s probatio. Dunn, Galatians, 181. 285 BDAG, s.v. # , BDF, §450(2), and Moulton, Grammar, 3:337. It is normally translated as “nevertheless” and in this instance, as well as in 1 Cor 14:7, considered by some to be a case of hyperbation or displacement and would then translate “although only a man’s will, nevertheless no one annuls it . . .” ( # ! ,). But when this phrase is considered to be compared to v.17, then the position of # is taken as correct and would be translated as “likewise.” According to Moulton, Grammar, 4:85 it should actually then be accented C# , while Blass, §450(2), merely states that it is an earlier used form of # . 286 LSJ, s.v. !$ ; see Fuhrmann, Vergeben, 137-150. 287 Fuhrmann, Vergeben, 146, also attributes this use of !$ in v. 17 to the covenant of God with Abraham and that of v. 15 to a testament which cannot be altered. See also Dunn, Galatians, 180. Betz, Galatians, 154, renders both as “testament” and maintains that the same word should be used in both verses. 284 49 Before continuing the comparison, Paul writes the details of this testament in v. 16. What is more, in v. 16 Paul also formulates the presupposition for his argument in vv. 26-28, where he links the promise of the Spirit to the Galatians. The concept of promise ( ) was first encountered in v. 14 and here Paul names the recipients of the promise, which now becomes the central motif of the rest of the argument.288 The promises—the promise given by God—was said to Abraham and his descendant ( 2 AM /# -! J 2 - # ".) Paul takes care in writing - # in the singular, as it is written in Gen 12:8 and 13:15, as he then explains further for whom the promise was meant. The omission of the subject with - represents the subsequent phrases as something that is not from scripture, followed by that which indeed is. With the use of chiasm Paul emphasises that this descendant is only one person, as indicated by the use of the singular, and therefore not many descendants. On the basis of the singular Paul rejects the traditional view that the promise was given to many.289 For it is not written that the promise is for descendants, as if implying many ( - # , d , ). No, it is only for one descendant and he illustrates this with scripture references (Gen 13:15; 17:8; 24:7). His conclusion drawn is rather unexpected and new when he states that this one descendant of Abraham to whom the promise was given is Christ290 ( 5 ) ). The promise of the Spirit is given to Christ, but in v. 14 it is written that “we might receive the promise of the Spirit in faith.” It becomes evident that Paul and those who believe can receive this promise which was given to Christ solely on the basis of their faith in Christ. Paul’s whole argument is to show they who believe ( J ), who are blessed together with Abraham (v. 9) because of their faith in Christ, are consequently also heirs of the covenant and of the promise. In v. 17 Paul sets the comparison forth started in v. 15. He gave an example from human perspective in v. 15 and now makes it applicable to the law and the covenant given by God to Abraham. This testament that had been ratified by God beforehand ( !$ % #- " ! ") is I > evidently more binding than a normal human testament (v. 15) and consequently neither can it be annulled nor can anything be added to it. Hence, the Mosaic law, which only came 430 years after the covenant, cannot make the covenant void (C # / 288 ) * @ e )# Dunn, Galatians, 183, states the “sons of Abraham” as expressed in 3:7 with “promise” is now the central motif of the main argument up to 4:31. 289 Betz, Galatians, 157. Cf. Ps 105:8-11; Rom 4:16-17; 9:4. 290 Dunn, Galatians, 184, illustrates that though there is no other rabbinic literature that identifies Abraham’s descendant with the Messiah, a link can easily be drawn between the seed of Abraham and the seed of David—from which the Messiah would come (cf. Ps 89:3-4)—and thus identifying the descendant as the Messiah. 50 % ,) resulting in the promise being nullified ( > G & ). The law can neither nullify the covenant nor the promise. # )291 is received because of the law, then it is no longer He concludes that if the inheritance ( received because of the promise ( / # , )# % 0 ). This is in fact - not the case, since Paul has proven in v. 17 that the law cannot nullify the promise, thus it is clear that the inheritance is indeed received because of the promise as has always been the case. They received the inheritance because it was promised by God, not because they kept the law which was only given afterwards. Moreover, God gave it graciously to Abraham through the promise ( 2 A M +* /# f C ! ) ). Thus the inheritance is only given on account of the promise and on God’s divine initiative.292 According to Blass293 the perfect of + # is possibly a case of the extensive perfect where it “denotes a continuing effect on subject or object” and “with reference to an OT event can mean that this event still retains its (exemplary) meaning.” Therefore, even today, God grants graciously to believers through the promise. According to Dunn,294 reference to the Spirit in early Christianity was regarded the beginning of the Christian inheritance (4:7; 5:21) and so doing Paul recalls their experience of the Spirit (vv. 2-5) yet again. Paul clearly distinguishes between the covenant ( ( ). 295 !$ ), the promise ( ), and the blessing The covenant is God’s agreement with Abraham, which holds the promise of the Spirit (v. 14) for Abraham and his descendant (v. 16). The covenant also consists of the blessing granted to Abraham which the nations will also receive through faith (v. 9). And when they have received the blessing in Christ—who is the descendant (v. 16)—then they also receive the promise of the Spirit. Now it seems from what Paul has written that the Mosaic law is irrelevant when regarded in relation to the promise. As Betz296 states vv. 19-25 serve as ‘digression’ in Paul’s argument, for it “does not add a new argument to the defense, but prevents a wrong conclusion the readers might reach on the basis of 291 According to Betz, Galatians, 159, the term ‘inheritance’ plays a significant role in the continuation of the argument and signifies “all the benefits of God’s work of salvation.” 292 As Dunn, Galatians, 186, states the idea of inheritance strengthens the thought of God’s divine initiative “since the disposition of an inheritance is wholly in the hands of the testator.” 293 BDF, §342(5). According to Betz, Galatians, 160: “the term + # (‘make a gift’) correlates the promise made to Abraham with God’s present work of salvation and, through it, with the salvation of the Galatians.” 294 Dunn, Galatians, 186. 295 Betz, Galatians, 156, however writes that “for the Apostle, the promises made to Abraham are identical with the blessing of Abraham.” However, the promise clearly follows the blessing (v. 14). 296 Betz, Galatians, 163. 51 the preceding.” Therefore in a rhetorical question, he states the question which is probably on everyone’s mind in v. 19, “Why then the law?”297 ( g C )# ;). Why does the law exist or what is the use of the law? The answer: the law was added on account of the transgressions ( -! ). +* +* * serves as a preposition denoting “for the sake of, on account of”298 and is followed by the genitive as object. Therefore, since transgressions exist, the law was added to the promise to make the transgressions known. This was the main reason why the law was given. In what follows in vv. 19-25 Paul explains the function and purpose of the law, when the law was added (v. 19) and how the law was given (v. 20). The law was interim and given for a specific time, namely until the one descendant came to whom was promised ( + L @ !h > - # i ). $ The law clearly came before the one descendant and thereby the idea is accentuated that the one descendant is indeed Christ for whom the promise was intended (v. 16) and not Isaac, who came before the law. In v. 21 the question arises whether the law opposes the promise, but Paul vehemently refutes this (#& - )—and states that the law most certainly does not oppose the promise. Rather than opposing the promise, the law serves the purpose of the promise (v. 22). It served the purpose that the promise through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe (b 5 " 299 !j , % ). The genitive 4 "5 0 4 " " is translated as an object genitive with : “through faith in Jesus Christ.” Therefore, the promise that was intended for Christ (v. 19), through faith in Christ, is now granted to those who believe. The argument of vv. 6-18 is then once again summed up in v. 22.300 In v. 23 Paul continues to explain the role of the law. Once again he refers to a temporal aspect of the law (before the coming of faith) and then describes the role of the law as a guardian (v. 24)—this imagery creates a link with the imagery used in Gal 4:2. Hence, having described the role of the law— serving the purpose of the promise and faith until faith came—Paul writes in v. 25 that since faith had come, they are no longer under control of the guardian, i.e. the law ( ! 297 A G - BDF, §480(5), this is an example of “ellipsis proper of the formulaic (conventional) type”, where “[a]ll sort of verbs are omitted in formulae and proverbs which tend to be expressed in a laconic form.” 298 BDAG, s.v. a. 299 BDF, §163, states the object genitive is occasionally used for dative expressions with and conveys the same meaning as + + dative. See also BDAG, s.v. 2b . 300 Betz, Galatians, 175, 179. 52 I > # ). According to Betz301 Paul explains that living under the law as guardian ) “equals ‘slavery’ ‘under the ‘elements of the world’’ and amounts to ‘imprisonment,’ absence of ‘freedom’ and ‘maturity.’ Thus the situation comes to the very opposite of the Christian existence.” For only “‘faith in Jesus Christ’ is the constitutive basis for Christian existence.” Therefore the law has now served its purpose. Christ had already come, consequently also the teaching of faith in Christ had come and justification, righteousness, and freedom are now possible because of this faith. Having thus explained the importance of faith (vv. 6-14) and now the role and purpose of the law as an aside (vv. 19-25), Paul continues his main argument in vv. 26-28 using the baptism as basis. Baptism in Paul’s argument 26 k* / %J , 5 ! , ! 5 26 ", ! " / G ! . 28 > @ "M 5 @ !G %· * /# - # -, 2 4 4 % , / I# , "· 27 A F l 5 / , @ 24 ". 29 5 " > A A I# , )# . f For all are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, baptised into Christ, have been clothed in Christ. 28 27 because as many as have been There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is no masculine and feminine, because all are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are of Christ, then you are the descendant of Abraham, heirs according to the promise. According to Betz302 these verses can be considered as a saying which was probably used in early Christian pre-Pauline baptismal liturgies and serves as a reminder of the ritual. These verses form an inclusio with the parallel statements and words * 6 in v. 26 and v. 28d, while the final conclusive statement in v. 29 joins it to the preceding and following lines of thought. The 6 in v. 26 indicates that it serves as reason for the preceding argument as well its conclusion.303 These statements 301 Betz, Galatians, 178. Betz, Galatians, 181, 184. Also Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 59; Lohse, Paulus, 138, and Hartman, Into the Name, 86-88, acknowledges that Paul draws on tradition. Dunn, Galatians, 201, states that this is unlikely. 303 Dunn, Galatians, 201. 302 53 in vv. 26-29 are very radical and provide the actual foundation and application304 of all that has already been said, serving as the centre of Paul’s entire probatio section (Gal 3:1-4:31).305 Verse 26 is a radical bold statement and is the culmination of Paul’s argument, where he defines the status of believers before God: all are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus ( * ! " 306 / G 5 24 / %J "). Up to now, believers have been described as children of Abraham (v. 7), but here they are now considered children of God. The present tense of # indicates that they indeed already are children of God. The event which made this possible is past and Paul is merely reminding them of this event. In the OT (Ex. 4:22-23; Deut 14:1; Isa 43:6; Jer 31:9, 20; Hos 11:1) the designation as “children of God” was mostly used of Israel, specifying a special affiliation and solidarity between them and God, since they were his chosen people. As “children of God” Israel could lay claim to the covenant, the law and the promise.307 Paul thus transfers the honorary title given to Israel,308 Jews, and applies it to the Gentiles who now believe in Christ, along with the Jews who believe in Christ. Where Gentiles had once been alienated from God, they are now suddenly also considered children of God.309 Being a child of God is the highest honour and privilege and it is only possible through faith in Christ Jesus.310 This is true because it is only Christ, as the Son of God, who makes the adoption as children of God possible through his Spirit (4:5-6). Then in v. 27 a significant declaration is given explaining why they are now children of God and connects the entire composition, and thereby the letter as a whole, with the baptismal ritual. Since Paul’s primary appeal had been to their experience of the Spirit (3:2)311 a correlation is seen between 304 Hartman, Into the Name, 55. Ferguson, Baptism, 147, also states that this passage on baptism occurs at a crucial state in the argument of the letter. 306 The change from the 1st person plural in vv. 6-25 to the 2nd person plural in vv. 26-29 Betz, Galatians, 185, attributes to the fact that Paul has been speaking of himself and Jewish Christians and their situation under the law in vv. 6-25 and now he turns to the Galatian Gentile Christians. 307 Müller, “Gottes Kinder,” 150-152. 308 As Dunn, Galatians, 202, states when Paul speaks of “children of God” he has the monotheistic Jewish standpoint in view and not the Hellenistic (more specifically Stoic) concept which indicates “likeness or relatedness” to the gods. 309 Hodge, If Sons, 4. 310 When the phrases / G 5 24 " and 4 "5 " (v. 22) are regarded, though they appear different they most likely convey the same meaning. Both / and can be interpreted to mean “of effective/efficient cause.” See BDAG, s.v. / 3d and 3d. The genitive 4 "5 " is to be considered a genitive of object which is sometimes used for dative expressions along with (BDF, §163 & §187(6)). Thus + genitive and + + dative express the same concept. Dunn, Galatians, 202, however separates / G and 5 2 4 " from one another and regards them as two separate factors, where “in Christ” already denotes a new context and sphere. 311 Dunn, Galatians, 204. However, Dunn does not regard Paul’s mention of “baptised into Christ” as necessarily denoting the baptism ritual but rather baptism as metaphor. 305 54 the baptism and their experience of the Spirit. For as many312 as have been baptised into Christ, they have been clothed with Christ ( / 5 > ! ,5 > ! ). Verses 26-27 brings the notion “sonship of God” into association with the baptism, which is also seen in the Synoptic Gospels313 and Paul reminds them that it is by means of the baptism and through faith that they are now children of God. This is a new identity which results from the communion with Christ314 achieved through faith and baptism, which are closely connected.315 “To be the son of God means to have one’s life from him, to depend on him, to live at his service in his work among human beings.”316 The translation of 5 Q causes difficulty and according to Betz317 even Paul interprets is “to dip in or under water,”318 it in different ways. The secular meaning of the word “immerse,”319 “to plunge,”320 or “to drench”321 and when read with it makes sense to plunge or dip something “into” something else, but as Hartman322 states to be “dipped or plunged into Christ” would have “sounded strange to a Greek ear.” Therefore according to Danker323 to be baptised 5 Q is considered a short-hand description of “being baptised in or with respect to the name of” Christ. This can certainly be the case, however, when 5 > is read in this particular context (and in relation to other Pauline texts on baptism, e.g. 1 Cor 12:13 and Rom 6:3)324 it is probable that with this phrase Paul indeed also implies to be baptised “into Christ” and as Ferguson325 states should be given its full force. For as Hartman326 explains baptism “into Christ” brought the believers “into” the filial relationship of God and Christ. Therefore believers are now children of God. 312 As Betz, Galatians, 186, rightly notes the use of does not limit the * used in v. 26, but clarifies the “all.” Every single Christian, whether Jew or Greek (v. 28), are included for they have all been baptised. 313 Matt 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22 314 Hartman, Into the Name, 88. 315 Cross, “Spirit- and Water-Baptism,” 146, indicates the close relationship of faith and baptism throughout the NT. 316 Hartman, Into the Name, 88. 317 Betz, Galatians, 186. Cf. Rom 6:3-4; 1 Cor 1:13-17; 12:12-13. 318 LSJ, s.v. 1. 319 Friberg, Analytical Lexicon, s.v 320 BDAG, s.v. 2 & 3. 321 Hartman, Into the Name, 1. 322 Hartman, Into the Name, 1. 323 BDAG, s.v. 2c, referring to > 8 # . Hartman, Into the Name, 43-44, 56 explains how this interpretation can be deducted and that it is indeed derived from the baptismal formula “into the name…”, which calls to mind everything associated with it: “the name refers to a deity which is the presupposition of the rite; its deeds and power, its promises or obligations to its adherents, its precepts or its blessings belong to the referential frame which dictates the meaning of the rite.” 324 In accordance with Hartman, Into the Name, 54, that though there is considerable difficulty in constructing a Pauline theology on baptism and though each passage addresses a specific historical context, there seems to be a fundamental coherency among the various texts. Unlike Betz, Galatians, 187, who is of the opinion that there are considerable theological differences concerning the various Pauline passages on baptism and that they should not be harmonized. 325 Ferguson, Baptism, 148. 326 Hartman, Into the Name, 56. 55 In this instance Paul explains being baptised into Christ in this manner: to be baptised into Christ 327 ). ! is read as a passive and means to be “clothed in Christ” (5 Q correlates with the passive use of which emphasises the idea expressed. Having been baptised ! “into Christ” leads to being “in Christ”328 (vv. 27-28) and Christ is the garment which one now wears.329 It is accentuated that they are in Christ, having been baptised into and clothed in Christ. They are now part of Christ and Christ surrounds them in every possible manner. To be metaphorically clothed in another means “taking on of the characteristics, virtues, intentions”330 of that person or “to assume the person of”331 the one being clothed in. Through the baptism they have assumed the person of Christ and just as Christ is the Son of God, so are they now considered to be children of God. Here Paul connects the line of thought with that stated in v. 16. They have been baptised into Christ—He who is the one heir of Abraham to whom the promise was given—therefore they are the heirs and also now receive this promise of the Spirit (v. 14).332 However, to take on Christ’s characteristics and virtues also has ethical consequences for the individual and faith community and is more than just the figurative imagery; it suggests “an event of divine transformation.”333 To be baptised into Christ and clothed in Christ entails that differentiation with regards to religion, race, status or gender be made void as stated in v. 28. According to Betz334 these statements have social and political implications. Paul begins the phrase with @ 335 # ) which means “to be in a place,” it is only found in the negative with @ . @ properly stands for @ (or 336 In the NT or “to be or exist in a certain context, there is.” , which indicates that something does not exist in a specific 327 LSJ, s.v., also states that can denote “to enter” or “press into” or “sink into.” If read in this manner v. 27b is simply a repetition of v. 27a. However, the clothing imagery is widely accepted. 328 Hartman, Into the Name, 56, and Dunn, Galatians, 203. 329 Schlier, Galater, 173-174, correctly states that this presupposes the concept that Christ is the heavenly garment. Christ as heavenly garment enfolds the Christian and transforms him/her into a new creation (Gal 6:15) which enters a new aeon. 330 BDAG, s.v. 2b: “Alexander the Great liked to put on the J / !G of the gods, and so became Ammon, Artemis, Hermes, Heracles; see Apuleius, Metamorph. 11 and also MDibelius, Die Isisweihe, Botschaft u. Geschichte 2, 1956, 30-79)” 331 LSJ, s.v. . Dionysus Halicarnassensis 11, 5, Antiquitates Romanae, ed. C. Jacoby, Leipzig (T.) 1885-1905. 332 As Schnelle, Paulus, 155, states the coming of the Spirit and the baptism act are closely connected. Also Betz, Galatians, 181. Cross, “Spirit- and Water-Baptism,” 139-140, 144, however, understands the use of “baptism” in this passage as synecdoche (“using a word to stand for the whole of which the literal referent is only a part”), where “baptism” represents “the whole of the conversion-initiation.” For he distinguishes between Spirit- and Water-baptism—that the one does not directly imply the other—and are two separate occurrences in the “conversion-initiation.” 333 Betz, Galatians, 187. 334 Betz, Galatians, 190. 335 LSJ, s.v. It can also mean “to be possible.” (Italics original). 336 BDAG, s.v. and BDF, §98. (Italics original). 56 sphere. In this passage the context where these distinctions do not exist is “in Christ” (v. 28). According to Betz337 these statements have social and political implications, specifically within the sphere of being “in Christ.” There is neither Jew nor Greek ( @ 4 % , ), A F designating the ideal where religious as well as racial differences are no longer present. Paul states this, since the intimate relationship of the Galatians with God—achieved by the Spirit—“had been put at risk by their being caught up in questions of ethnic identity.”338 Those differences, such as the circumcision and Jewish dining laws, which kept Peter and other Jewish Christians from fellowship with the Gentile Christians (Gal 2:11-15) are not relevant any longer. These differences have been made obsolete; they are neither to be considered, nor should they lead to disunity. The following statements, although considered superfluous to Paul’s main argument in Gal 3—not addressing the main issue of the situation between the Jewish and Gentiles Christian339—states valuable insights into the Christian community. There is neither slave340 nor freeman ( A ! @ " ). Social classes and differences with regards to status are eliminated. Here, Paul eradicates the institution of slavery in the Christian church and shows that no distinction should be made to class whatsoever. Since these distinctions are no longer relevant, believers should no longer treat each other differently, whether they are wealthy, freeborn Greeks or Jewish slaves. This differs somewhat from 1 Cor 7 where Paul states that believers are to remain in the state that they had been called. In Galatians Paul calls for a radical re-evaluation of people’s status and identity as determined in Christ. A parallel phrase to v. 28 is also found in 1 Cor 12:13, but in Galatians Paul adds one more—there is not masculine or feminine ( @ !G %). It is significant to note that both and !G % are neutral forms, emphasising the fact that there is no differentiation between genders at all.341 This statement is exceptional, as it is the first doctrine to propagate the abolition of sexual distinction in the 337 Betz, Galatians, 190. Dunn, Galatians, 158. 339 Hartman, Into the Name, 87, and Betz, Galatians, 181. Dunn, Galatians, 206, however, sees correlations between the last two phrases and the first. 340 According to Dunn, Galatians, 206, this statement can possibly be connected with Paul’s metaphor of slavery as analogy to being “under the law” in chapter 4. Thus by stating that there are no slaves is equal to stating “no one is under the law.” 341 According to Betz, Galatians, 195, the neuter form “indicates that not only the social differences between man and woman (‘roles’) are involved but the biological distinctions.” Whether Paul indeed intended biological distinctions as well cannot be stated for certain, but it is evident that gender discrimination and distinction is to be avoided. 338 57 ancient world.342 The social emancipation of women is in view to some extent, for just as slaves should be treated no different than freemen, nor should women and men be treated differently “in Christ.” Thus all differences that lead to discrimination, inequality and disunity are abolished. These statements are expressed as already valid facts, not some ideals that still need to be achieved. This was a revolutionary statement, because for the Christian believers these boundaries and distinctions, which regulated behaviour and characterised their day and age, “in many cases, such distinctions were even regarded as the elements, which gave the world a dependable structure” 343 were not applicable any more. “It implies a radically reshaped social world as viewed from a Christian perspective.”344 The reason being that now they are all one in Christ Jesus ( * / I# , l 5 24 ")— they are unified in Christ. Thus submitting to the baptism brings the believer into this larger group, where the said differences are irrelevant. As Hartman345 states this is an “‘ecclesiastical’ aspect of baptism.” In v. 28 it is directly stated that they are all one in Christ ( l 5 completing the thought of v. 27, while also emphasising that it is all of them ( * ), as stated in v. 2 4 "), 26. Betz346 describes their unity in Christ as “oneness” in Christ, which corresponds to the “oneness of Christ” as expressed in v. 16. Christ’s central importance is repeated again and again. They are all equal and children of God, because of their faith in Christ, having been baptised into Christ, clothed in Christ and are unified in Christ. Paul has thus shown that they are one in Christ and also considers them to be of Christ, as genitive of reference ( A I# , 5 ").347 This he has revealed to be true and therefore can conclude "),348 then certainly they are the descendant of in v. 29 that if they are of Christ ( A I# , 5 Abraham ( -)—just as Christ is (v. 16). As a unity in and of Christ, they "M /# - # are the one descendant, and it is given as if to one (d Of D ) ). They have been baptised into Christ and have been clothed in Christ. This unity with Christ through the baptism causes them to be that which Christ already is, namely the seed of Abraham (v. 16) and therefore those who are baptised are 342 See Betz, Galatians, 196-197. He indicates that although there were some Jewish traditions and Greco-Roman philosophical schools that leaned toward equality of women, this was never as expressly propagated nor achieved. 343 Tolmie, “Liberty,” 250; also Betz, Galatians, 189. 344 Dunn, Galatians, 207. 345 Hartman, Into the Name, 2. 346 Betz, Galatians, 200. He also mentions that being “one in Christ” can be inferred from Rom 10:4 to denote that they are the “body of Christ” although it is not directly mentioned anywhere in Galatians. As well as when read in regards to 1 Cor 12:12-13. 347 Ferguson, Baptism, 148, and Hartman, Auf den Namen, 8, consider this to be a genitive case that indicates either possession or belonging to the group derived from Christ. 348 The verb # which is present in the apodosis of the conditional sentence is supplied for the protasis from the context. 58 also heirs in accordance with the promise ( )# ) and they receive the f inheritance of the promise (v. 18). The reference to Abraham, the promise and heir in v. 29 connects vv. 26-29 with the rest of the chapter and indicates that it is all possible and true because of the baptism. The baptism unites them in Christ, making all differences invalid (ecclesiological perspective), causing them all to be children of God through faith as well as heirs of the promise given to Abraham (eschatological perspective349). The promise of the Spirit is fulfilled in the believer at the baptism, because it is the expression of their faith in Christ. Having now written that they indeed are heirs due to their baptism in Christ, Paul clarifies the temporal aspect ( Of + ) ) regarding their position as heirs. Once again he makes use of a well known example from everyday life, specifically the practice of law,350 in Gal 4:1-2, thereby relating it to Gal 3:15-18. As Hodge351 notes, “The metaphor of the household captures the dramatic change in status which accompanies the reception of the Spirit.” As long as an heir is a minor, he differs in no respect from a slave even though he is supposedly the master of everything ( Of , $ ) A O- % * + ) C )# m ). The participle m is read as concessive, for as heir he is indeed master of everything, but since he is not yet of age he has no authority or say in the matter, and is thus considered equal to the slave. As Betz352 states both the minor and slave lack selfdetermination. Instead of ruling the household, he is under the supervision and control of guardians353 and managers until the appointed time set by the father ( + G ! # " /I > ) % )# % ) ). Since Paul addresses time, while also using words that indicate the care of guardians, it immediately links with Gal 3:23-25, where the law is also mentioned as guardian. It is clear that Paul wishes to indicate that the time of guardianship comes to an end at an appointed time. At this point the thought addressed is intensified with reference to the position of slave ( " ). Paul states in vv. 3-5 that the example given in vv. 1-2 is true in the same manner for them ( B 0# , ). When they were minors, they were enslaved under the principles of the world ( I > / + , " ) # % n# ! % #- .# $ , ). They were not merely governed by someone other than the Father, but they were enslaved, held captive by the principles of the world. 349 Hartman, Into the Name, 2. Betz, Galatians, 154-155. 351 Hodge, If Sons, 69. 352 Betz, Galatians, 203. 353 L&N, s.v. b, and BDAG, s.v. 2, translate as “guardian” as well as the word ). Though there are slight differences in meaning and origins of meaning, the translations are indeed correct and thereby indicate a link between Gal 4:2 and Gal 3:24-25 reminding the reader that the law served as guardian. 350 59 The meaning of the phrase / + , (always used in plural " ) # % is very much disputed in Gal 4:3. The word + , + , in the NT) can mean “basic principles”, “elements” or “rudiments,”354 but is sometimes also understood as “transcendent powers”, “elemental spirits” or “supernatural powers” as in Col. 2:8.355 In this particular context, where Paul has constantly referred to the Mosaic law—which serves as basic principles for Jewish religion—as well the already mentioned link between Gal 3:23-25 and Gal 4:1-5, it would make the association of the law and / ) # % with one another quite probable. But why then does Paul not merely state I > )# + , " as before in Gal 3:23? The best probable explanation would be that Paul is not only addressing the Jewish aspect, and misinterpretation of the Mosaic law, but he is addressing all Christians (seen in the use of the first person plural)—since there is neither Jew nor Greek (Gal 3:28) anymore. The Jews have thus been slaves of the Mosaic law—the basic principles of their faith—and the Greeks or Gentiles have been slaves of their basic principles. Therefore Paul accuses them all of having been slaves of the basic principles and thoughts of the world. “‘Slavery’ is nothing but the scrupulous observation of cultic requirements,”356 and Paul’s prerogative in the letter is to indicate that everyone is set free from these cultic requirements through faith in Christ. Paul continues the comparison in v. 4 stating that when the fullness of the time came ( $ - C! > > %J> "). The description of the Son of God is written in two parallel statements. This Son of God was born of a woman357 and born and existed under the law ( % ), > " + ) %), which is comparable with “the time appointed by the father” (v. 2), God sent his # Son ( A. ! )# I > )# ). The repetition of )# # , which indicates the parallel, emphasises the fact that Christ, the Son of God, was completely human and subjected to human realities just like them. In Gal 3:13 Paul expresses the importance of Christ’s crucifixion, which delivered them from under the curse of the law. Now he states that it’s Christ’s incarnation, his life under the law, which is considered important and brings deliverance.358 354 See BDAG, s.v. 1c, LSJ, s.v. 2 and 3, Friberg, Analytical Lexicon, s.v. 1 & 2, and L&N, s.v. 3. See BDAG, s.v. 2, and L&N, s.v. 2. 356 Betz, Galatians, 205. 357 According to Dunn, Galatians, 215, the phrase “born of a woman” is related to and contrasted with v. 5b “in order that we might receive the adoption.” This contrasts “the ordinary humanness of God’s Son in his mission, and the adoption of ordinary human beings to divine sonship.” 358 Betz, Galatians, 144 (note 57), notes this discrepancy and attributes it to two different pre-Pauline Christologies which Paul merely incorporated into his text without evening out the differences. Dunn, Galatians, 217, attributes both passages as referring to Christ’s death and not his incarnation at all. That Christ’s death is the more important aspect for Paul is quite clear, however, the reference to the incarnation cannot be ignored. 355 60 God sent his Son, as a first redemptive act, in order to deliver those under the law (b * h), with the final purpose that they might receive the adoption (b * S I > )# & 359 %J ! # ). There is close association between Gal 3:13-14 and 4:4-5360 as is seen in the consecutive b -clauses and when Paul writes that Christ delivers ( order that they might receive ( # * and # * * ) them from the [curse of the] law in ) the Spirit and the adoption respectively.361 The redemptive act of Christ’s incarnation and crucifixion delivers them from the control of the law and principles of the world and makes it possible for them to receive the Spirit and adoption. They accept this redemption through faith in the baptism and therefore “believers are sons and heirs only insofar as they participate by baptism (Gal 3:27) in the Son of God who was sent to redeem them (Gal 4:4-5).”362 It is also significant that the adoption of believers takes place at the baptism, for in the patrilineal societies children were adopted or accepted into a family through rituals of initiation.363 Thus the fullness of the time was the coming of Jesus as appointed by God and led to the minor heirs— believers—to be delivered from the care of the guardian, to become full and rightful heirs when they received the adoption at the baptism. The second of God’s redemptive acts is now mentioned, namely sending the Spirit into the hearts of those who believe. The of 4:6 has two possible interpretations. It can be interpreted as a causal , as it is often translated,364 which connects this verse to 3:26. After having received the adoption, they are now children of God. Now since they are children ( - %J ) through faith in Christ (v. 26) and their baptism into Christ (v. 27), God sent the Spirit of his Son into their hearts causing them to cry out, “Abba,365 Father.” ( C $ 366 - C! > > "# " %J " " / 0# ' · 367 ) God sends the Spirit after they have already received the adoption. 359 Scott, Adoption, 4, indicates that the word %J ! as used by Paul denotes “adoption as son” and not merely “sonship.” He shows that although a Hellenistic term is used (since the letter is written in Greek), the term in Gal 4:5 refers to an Old Testament/Jewish background as is seen in the broader context of Gal 3-4. In the NT it always describes the notion of being adopted as sons of God. 360 So also Dunn, Galatians, 216. 361 According to Betz, Galatians, 209, the notions of “Spirit” and “adoption” are one and the same and it is the notion of “adoption” that links the baptism with the Spirit, since “baptism” and “Spirit” are never mentioned together in Galatians. Dunn, Galatians, 217, also associates “adoption” with the “gift of the Spirit.” 362 Scott, Adoption, 268. 363 Hodge, If Sons, 76. 364 So also Betz, Galatians, 209. 365 According to Ashton, “Abba”, 1:7, the term Abba is a “form of the Aramaic word for ‘father’ . . . alongside the Greek ho pat r as an address to God. NT writers saw abba as a determinative form.” 366 Hodge, If Sons, 29-30, states that in Roman adoption law pater was used to designate the socially recognized father, as opposed to the genitor—the biological father. “Inheritance and legal status passed form the pater to the adopted son who, in turn, gave up all rights to his original family, and had to commit himself to the responsibilities required of him as the son in his adopted family.” 61 The other possible interpretation reads the instead as serving as ellipsis for which translates as “why?” in either direct or indirect questions.368 The verse would then read, “And why is it that you are sons? God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.” Here the order is turned around and it is because God has already sent the Spirit that the adoption is now possible—the Spirit is then the prerequisite for the adoption. When comparing v. 6 with Rom 8:14-16 such a distinct temporal differentiation is difficult to attest and it would be more appropriate to understand the possession of the Spirit and the sonship as coterminous.369 Paul explains that the Spirit and the adoption go hand in hand: they are children of God, through the adoption and having received the Spirit. They know that they have received the Spirit having experienced the Spirit (3:1-5), then it is true that they are indeed children of God and they now live lives that are guided by the Spirit (5:25). A radical change of status occurs—from slave to son— with the reception of the Spirit, for the Spirit “inaugurates a new kinship and a new standing before the God of Israel.”370 It is the Spirit of God’s Son that allows and urges them to call out to God as Father in response to the adoption, just as his Son had done. This instance is where the Spirit “als Kraft Gottes funktional für die Glaubenden etwas bewirkt,” according to Horn.371 And it should be noted as Dunn states that “the reception of the Spirit was not simply a single event in the past, but had been the beginning of a continuing relationship with God sustained by him through the Spirit”372 This relationship with God is seen in the expression “Abba, Father.” “Abba” as personal address to God is seen here for the first time for it was never used in pre-Christian Judaism in personal prayers.373 Ashton374 writes that “the single attribution of the term to Jesus (in the prayer in Gethsemane) lends plausibility to the suggestion that Christian usage was prompted by an authentic tradition of Jesus’ own prayer.” This enhances Paul’s argument that just like Jesus, the Son of God, addressed God in the same manner believers, who are also children of God, now address God being prompted by the Spirit.375 “The evidential value for Paul’s argument in Gal 4:6 is that the inspired acclamation ‘Abba! Father!’ 367 Ferguson, Baptism, 147, is in favour of this interpretation, for he states, “because they are children they receive the Spirit. They become chidren because they are in Christ, the Son. And they enter into Christ at baptism.” 368 BDF, §300. 369 Dunn, Galatians, 219. 370 Hodge, If Sons, 76. 371 Horn, Angeld des Geistes, 60. 372 Dunn, Galatians, 158. 373 Ashton, “Abba”, 1:7. 374 Ashton, “Abba”, 1:7. 375 As Dunn, Galatians, 222, states “the Spirit of the Son prays the prayer of the Son and so attests the sonship of those who thus pray.” 62 shows both the inspiration of those who pray and their self-understanding as sons by those who address him ‘Father.’”376 As is stated in Gal 3:14 the Spirit only follows that which has been achieved and made possible by Christ first377—by both his incarnation and crucifixion (3:13; 4:4). In the Pauline expression the “Spirit of his Son” denotes the “present reality of Christ”378 which is now active in the believer. The Spirit comes as promise from God because of faith in Christ (Gal 3:14, 26) and is sent by God to those who are His children (Gal 3:26, 4:6). Paul’s argument in 3:6-29 is “underpinned at both ends (iii.1-5 and iv.1-7) by the appeal to the reality and vitality of their shared experience”379—receiving the Spirit at the baptism. Paul concludes shortly and succinctly in v. 7 addressing the Galatians very personally by using the 2nd person singular of # —which is inferred in the whole verse—and calls to mind Christ as single descendant and heir (3:16) and their unity in Him (3:28). This conclusion links up with 3:29 and therefore with 3:1-28. He declares, “You are no longer a slave ( other principles as a minor heir (v. 3)] but you are indeed a child ( you are a child, you also are an heir through God.” ( A %J) , - o " ) [of the law or any / %J) ) [of God (3:26)]. And if )# / ! "). The end / ! " indicates the active agency of God and throughout the whole argument and letter380 it is evident that God is the one who acts first. God is the active subject in the process of redemption. It is God who gives the blessing, the covenant, the promise, his Son and the Spirit and the only way to receive all these things is through faith ( / G also a “Gottes Handeln.” / ) with its culmination in the baptism which is 381 376 Betz, Galatians, 211. Schneiders, The Revelatory Text, 73, acknowledges this as she states “And down through the history of the Church the rites of initiation, administered individually to each new believer, constitute a recognition and confirmation of the gift of the Spirit to the individual by Jesus himself.” 378 Betz, Galatians, 210. 379 Dunn, Galatians, 222. 380 Cf. Gal 1:1, 3, 4, 15; 2:21; 3:6, 8, 17, 18; 4:4, 6, 9; 5:8; 6:16. 381 Lohse, Paulus, 139. 377 63 The role of baptism Paul uses the baptism as starting point to clarify the relationship between God’s act with people and the implications thereof for the actions of people.382 Paul describes how the believers are to understand their relationship to God. Just as Abraham’s relationship to God was characterised by faith (3:6-19), so also is that of the believer, through his/her faith in Christ. For Christ is the descendant of Abraham (3:16) and Christ’s incarnation (4:4) and his crucifixion (3:13) brought with it the blessing of Abraham to all who believe. Moreover, it made it possible for believers to receive the promise of the Spirit (3:14) and the adoption (4:5). Where they had once been under the curse of the law (3:10) or slaves under control of the basic principles of the world (4:3), believers are now children of God (3:26). This is solely because of faith in Christ Jesus and their change of status took place at the baptism. Having been baptised “into Christ” is described by Dunn383 as “the moment in which and action by means of which their lives and destinies and very identities became bound up with Christ.” They were donned in Christ (3:27) and received the Spirit and receiving the Spirit “was the decisive and determinative element in the event or process of conversion and initiation.”384 It is evident that faith and baptism are closely connected, for it is through faith that believers accept God’s redeeming act in the baptism. God’s first redeeming act of sending the Son is accepted in faith and expressed at the baptism, where God’s second redeeming act is experienced—receiving the Spirit of the Son. When Paul describes the Spirit as the “promise” in the context of the covenant to Abraham, it gives eschatological significance for one then also anticipates the blessing and inheritance. This inheritance signifies “all the benefits of God’s work of salvation.”385 The identity and status of believers are thus characterised by the fact that they are children of God, just like Christ, filled with his Spirit calling on Him as Father (4:6). The baptism does however imply more than just the change of status and identity in relation to God, for Betz386 states that in the baptismal liturgy “the saying would communicate information to the newly initiated, telling them of their eschatological status before God in anticipation of the Last Judgement and also informing them how this status affects, and in fact changes their social, cultural, and religious 382 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 152. Dunn, Galatians, 203. 384 Dunn, Galatians, 153. 385 Betz, Galatians, 159. 386 Betz, Galatians, 184. 383 64 self-understanding, as well as their responsibilities in the here-and-now.” Paul thus uses this reference to their baptism, as an objective basis of their Christian existence.387 Believers are no longer bound by the law and principles which bound them before there faith and baptism. These principles are no longer the guardians which claim how one should live and which rules should be followed. No, being a child of God was understood by Paul as liberty and maturity in the Spirit388 and brings with it a new ethical way of life, led by the Spirit in faith. For Paul considered the reception of the Spirit in the baptism “as essentially the ‘beginning’ of Christian discipleship.”389 This Christian existence does not merely function in the individual believer but has significance for the entire community of faith. The community of believers who have been baptised are now considered one (3:28) and this calls for a radical re-evaluation of there current perception on society and how they treat others. For in this community all must be treated equal, because the social, gender, and racial differences are now irrelevant. One who has been baptised thus lives without any discrimination towards one’s fellow believers and in unity with them, in hope and knowledge of the inheritance of salvation which is made possible through Christ. 387 Hartman, Into the Name, 66 (note 39). Dunn, Galatians, 157. 389 Dunn, Galatians, 156. 388 65 Baptism in Romans The Christian community in Rome comprised of both Jewish and Gentile believers390 and even though Paul addressed a letter to them, this community of believers was not founded by Paul himself. This is accepted as the reason why Paul gives such lengthy expositions on various different topics in this letter and Romans is described by some as the “Summe des Evangeliums”391 since it often mentions motives and thoughts that are found in the other letters of Paul. However, it is not just a mere repetition but incorporation and further development of the said notions. We also see this in regards to the baptism, where Paul uses similar language as in the other letters, but in Romans he intensifies the analogy with a new dimension regarding Christ’s death. It is widely accepted that Rom 1:16-17 expresses the theological theme of the letter and according to Cranfield392 this theme is then explained in the main doctrinal body of the text (1:18-8:39). Though there are manifold opinions on the division of this section, those set forth by Fitzmyer393 dividing it in two main divisions, 1:18-4:25 and 5:1-8:39 seem more probable, since chapters 5 and 8 form a clear ring composition.394 These chapters 1-4 and 5-8 respectively, each elaborate on a part of the theological theme of 1:17: the one who is righteous by faith (1:18-4:25), shall live (5:1-8:39).395 Our text, 6:1-14, is enclosed within the ring composition and is part of the section where Paul describes what the gospel means for the life of the believer—how the righteous shall live—a “life characterized by sanctification”396 that is free from the sin.397 When this main corpus is read, one is struck by the several instances (3:7-8; 6:1-2, 15; 7:7, 13) where it seems that Paul preaches a liberal attitude towards obedience of the law. His line of thought flows in such a way, that the readers can possibly conclude that he encourages them to sin: for when a person sins, it causes the goodness and grace of God to increase. It is as if the bad things lead to abundance of 390 Throughout the letter there are vast references to indicate that the Roman church comprised of both Gentile and Jewish believers, see Cranfield, Romans, 1:21. Fitzmyer, Romans, 33, and Lohse, Römer, 40, both argue for a Gentile-majority, although not neglecting the Jewish elements. 391 Lohse, Römer, 45. 392 Cranfield, Romans, 1:28. 393 Fitzmyer, Romans, 97, also Cranfield, Romans, 1:28. 394 See Eschner, “Hingabe des einzigen Sohnes,” 659-662. She refers to N. Dahl who indicated that chapter 8 elucidates on the themes already expressed in chapter 5. 395 Cranfield, Romans, 1:28, also Lohse, Römer, 54. 396 Cranfield, Romans, 1:28. 397 Lohse, Römer, 184, and Fitzmyer, Romans, 429. 66 the good and as a result the readers might assume to continue with their sinful practices.398 However, Paul anticipates that this assumption will probably be made and he strongly refutes it every time. It is not Paul’s intention to urge the readers to sin. On the contrary, he wishes for them to realise that although justification is not achieved through strict obedience to the law, it is most certainly not achieved by continuing in sin. They have been justified by faith (3:21-22) and having already been justified, it is not possible to continue in sin, because “justification has inescapable moral implications.”399 He uses several various points of view to address this matter and in Rom 6:1-14, he resorts to the analogy400 of baptism as starting point. Rom 5:20-6:14 20 So the law came in, in order that the transgression could increase. And where the sin increased, grace abounded more, 21 so that just as sin ruled in death, in this same manner grace would also rule through righteousness into eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 61What then shall we conclude? Should we persist in sin, in order that grace might increase? 2Definitely not! Whoever died to sin, how shall we still live in it? 3Or do you not know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 4 Accordingly we were buried with Him through the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory/power of the Father, so also we might walk in new life. 5For if we have been united with the likeness of his death, we shall certainly be (united with the likeness) of (his) resurrection. 6This we know, that our old self was jointly crucified, so that the body of sin might be abolished, in order that we no longer serve sin. 7 For he who has died, is freed from sin. 8Then if we died with Christ, we trust that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, He never again dies; death no longer rules over Him. 10 Because the death He died, he died to sin once and for all, and the life He lives, He lives to God. 11In this manner you also reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies, so that you obey its passions, 13and do not place your limbs as tools/weapons of wickedness at sin’s disposal, rather place yourselves in the sight of God, like those living from the dead, and your limbs as 398 As Fitzmyer, Romans, 429, states, “Why not do evil so that good may come of it?” Cranfield, Romans, 1:295. 400 Fitzmyer, Romans, 92. 399 67 tools/weapons of righteousness at God’s disposal. 14For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law, but under grace. In the preceding passage of Rom 5:12-20, Paul indicates the difference between sin (7# God’s favour401 (+* ). He states that through Adam sin and transgressions ( * ) and # ) came into the world leading unto death, because all had sinned. But through Christ, God’s gift was given to all who sinned and His favour leads to justification and life. As Lohse402 notes, Paul ends his train of thought in v. 19 and having explained how justification is received—which clearly is not by means of the law—he now refers to the position and role of the Mosaic Law (cf. Gal 3:19). He states in v. 20 that the Mosaic law came in as a side issue, so that the transgressions403 might increase ( )# G ! ,b * h > * # ). Then he writes that in the situation where sin increased, there favour abounds even more than sin404 ( L A Paul juxtaposes ) A with I ) % ,I 0 7# % 0 +* ). , showing that God’s divine favour always surpasses human sin.405 This notion of God’s abounding favour, according to Breytenbach,406 has it roots in Jewish thought of God’s abundant mercy towards sinners. God’s mercy always supersedes the endless human sin and this is of cardinal importance to Paul’s argument. Sin and favour are sketched as two opposing forces, contrasted with one another. Sin had ruled, with its reign ending in death ( % 2 ! * U).407 But as has always been true of God’s 0 7# mercy and compassion which supersedes sin, once again this is the reason for the increase of favour, because just as sin had once ruled, now the favour might rule more abundantly into eternal life through righteousness (b . . . 0 +* h / & 401 1 ). This reign of God’s Breytenbach, “‘Charis’ and ‘eleos’”, 259, gives a detailed exposition to indicate that Paul’s use of +* in Romans 5:156:2 is to be translated as “favour” that God bestows upon humans. Also BDAG, s.v. 2a: “a beneficient disposition toward someone.” 402 Lohse, Römer, 182. 403 BDAG, s.v. * # , states that in this instance, although written in the singular, it is understood collectively as indicating all trespasses and sin. 404 Although the term * # is more specifically associated as a transgression of the law )# , while 7# is considered as power in opposition to grace +* , the use of both * # and 7# with * indicate that the two phrases are used interchangeably in this instance. According to Lohse, Römer, 183, the increase of * # leads to the reign and increase of 7# as ruling power. 405 Breytenbach, “‘Charis’ and ‘eleos’”, 260. 406 Breytenbach, “‘Charis’ and ‘eleos’”, 265. 407 The phrase 2 ! * U, the can be read as “marker of a state or condition” (BDAG, s.v. 2) indicating that death (!* ) was an ever-present condition as 7# reigned. Or could be a “marker of extension toward a goal that is understood to be within an area or condition, into” (BDAG, s.v. 3) meaning that sin’s reign ends in death. This would be the more correct translation when considered with and contrasted to v. 21b h... & 1 ; although in this instance is used instead of . 68 favour is made possible by the personal divine agency of Jesus Christ our Lord ( / 4 % % 0# "5 " " ). However, what Paul has stated in this passage can be interpreted as an excuse to sin. He realises this and in Rom 6 by asserting a new understanding and transformation of the “self,”408 he clears up possible misinterpretations. He does this by equating justification as sanctification409 and according to Schnelle,410 an exposition of the baptism as basis is the logical and necessary way to support the previous claims. In Rom 6:1 he starts with a short turn of phrase to catch the readers’ or listeners’ attention, “What then are we to conclude?” referring to everything that has been stated above. This is indicated by the g “denoting that what it introduces is the result of or an inference from what precedes.”411 He gives a possible answer or consideration through means of another question. Taking what has previously been stated (5:20b) into account one can thus argue that one should persist in sin, as has been the case up to now, with the aim of having God’s favour increase. The idea of continuous perseverance in sin is accentuated by the use of the present subjunctive of #- . It seems that in order to have favour increase they should continue in sin, since more sin is equal to even more favour. This would be a logical conclusion to be drawn from Rom 5:20-21 and even today it is often still the case in Christian circles.412 It seems that Paul is promoting “cheap grace” 413 but he vehemently refutes this in v. 2. He goes on and vv. 2-11 serve the purpose of justifying his negation of this false assumption.414 These above mentioned conclusions, stated in questions, as often used in the diatribe style of Paul are rebutted with the exclamation #& - “May it not be so!” This is followed by another rhetorical question, where Paul asks how is it possible to still live in sin when they have already died with regards to sin. Though stated as a question, this is the decisive statement415 in answer to v. 1, for it is an 408 Fitzmyer, Romans, 429. Lohse, Römer, 183. 410 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 75. According to Fitzmyer, Romans, 430, the baptism only serves as secondary topic in Paul’s answer to the question of death to sin and life under grace. 411 BDAG, s.v. g 1. 412 As Cranfield, Romans, 1:298, notes that one cannot regard this question with complacent detachment. “For of how much ostensibly Christian living is the thought behind this question the real if unacknowledged presupposition!” 413 Bonhoeffer, Nachfolge, 5. 414 Cranfield, Romans, 1:296. According to Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 75, Paul goes on to show the impossibility of v. 1 and the reality of v.2 in the rest of ch. 6. 415 Lohse, Römer, 186. 409 69 ontological statement defining a new “Sein” for believers.416 They have died and the dative of 7# with ! p indicates that this death separated them from sin. It was a single occurrence as indicated by the aorist of ! p . Paul states this matter-of-factly and continues by asking, how they will continue to live in sin (the feminine $ referring back to 7# ). The is read as living “under the influence or control”417 of sin. For when it is taken into consideration that Paul often thinks of sin as “a destructive evil power” and in “almost personal terms as a ruling power that invades the world”418 then it is appropriately interpreted as “living under the control of sin.” What Paul exactly meant with the phrase “dying to sin” has manifold interpretations, for it is evident from the imperatives of 6:12-13 and from 7:14-25 that Paul did not imply that it is impossible for true believers to sin. According to Cranfield419 there are four different senses which Paul implies when he states that one has died to sin (and the accompanying sense of being raised up): the juridical, baptismal, moral and eschatological sense. All these senses should be distinguished but still understood in close relation to one another, since Paul liberally moves from one sense to the other in this passage. In accordance with Cranfield, all these senses are addressed in the passage, but that Paul mainly had the juridical sense in mind in v. 2 assumes too much. Instead the baptismal sense is the one linking the various other senses with one another and serves as starting point for Paul’s entire argument. The question makes it obvious that they have died to sin at one single occurrence; they are therefore separated from sin and can not continue living in sin, as if being under its control. Nevertheless, the question would arise in the readers mind: “But when and how did we die to sin?” Paul anticipates this unspoken question by first indicating that a death has indeed occurred (vv. 3-5) and specifically with regards to sin (vv. 6-14).420 He answers this implicit question, with yet another rhetorical question in v. 3, where he relies and draws on their present knowledge, early Christian 416 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 75. BDAG, s.v. 2 and 4c. 418 BDAG, s.v. 7# 3a. 419 Cranfield, Romans, 1:299-300. He distinguishes between the (i) Juridical sense: justified believers died in the sight of God at the actual cross of Jesus as well as being resurrected with Him. This was God’s decision and Christ’s sinless life is the representative of their lives. (ii) Baptismal sense: they died and were raised up in their baptism. This is the decision of the individual to accept Christ’s death and resurrection as their own as response to God’s decision and it is God’s seal on them personally. (iii) Moral sense: to consciously die daily to sin and daily be resurrected in living in new life in obedience to God, striving to be that who they already are because of God’s justification. (iv) Eschatological sense: when they truly die, they will completely die to sin and be raised up to eternal life with Christ. 420 Hartman, Into the Name, 70. 417 70 baptismal tradition,421 while simultaneously developing this tradition in a careful exposition. Paul resorts to what they know by stating “Or do you not know that . . . ?” (c , ). There is a change from 1st person to 2nd person plural in this statement, for Paul indeed does know that which is to follow, while the Romans do not. They all know that they have been baptised and now Paul supplements their knowledge by stating what this exactly entails. Paul describes their baptism as “baptised into Christ” which is a somewhat odd expression and needs is “to plunge or wash,”422 “to dip in or under further clarification. The original meaning of water,”423 “to immerse,”424 or “to drench.”425 When followed by the preposition , which is understood in local-sense,426 it is read “plunged or dipped into” something or, in this instance, someone. The construction 5 > 4 that they are baptised into his death ( > !* " becomes clearer when read in relation to v. 3b stating > !* " ! # ). Here the use of in implies “into,” with regards to abstract aspects, and in this case “death.” Though it might sound strange to be “dipped into someone,” what Paul wishes to illustrate is that their baptism was a total identification with Christ, especially with his death, and therefore it is expressed as being baptised “into Christ Jesus.”427 They are placed into the person that is Christ. As is often the case, Paul is speaking in metaphor and by stating that they are “dipped into Christ” he transfers the imagery of being dipped into water at the baptism to being dipped into Christ. Their physical experience serves as reminder and basis for their present reality and state. Hartman428 states it as “baptised into the Christcommunion” with special emphasis on Christ’s death and for Cranfield429 the baptism into Christ is the start of a decisive personal relationship with Christ. 421 Cranfield, Romans, 1:300; Fitzmyer, Romans, 431, and Lohse, Römer, 45. BDAG, s.v. 423 LSJ, s.v. 1. 424 Friberg, Analytical Lexicon, s.v. 425 Hartman, Into the Name, 1. 426 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 76, 205, “bezeichnet das Hineingenommensein in den Raum der Heilswirkung des Todes Christi, d.h. es ist local zu verstehen.” 427 Not as BDAG, s.v. 2c, regards it as “baptized in or with respect to the name of someone” and is stated “more briefly 5 > .” Ferguson, Baptism, 156, and Hartman, Into the Name, 70, acknowledges that the phrase ! # 5 > 4 " has it’s origins in the baptismal formula “into the name of” but that it denotes more than just that; also Barth, Die Taufe, 92, accepts the reference to the formula, but that Paul used in a locative sense, where Christ is seen as the new Adam into which the believers are baptised. Cranfield, Romans, 1:301, does not place any significance on this particular phrase, stating that it merely serves to refer to the objective fact of the Christian baptism and is then followed by the further interpretation of this fact. Lohse, Römer, 87, interprets as having final meaning, expressing the change from sin as master of believers to Christ as their ruler. 428 Hartman, Into the Name, 71. 429 Cranfield, Romans, 1:301. 422 71 Building on the fact that they have indeed been baptised into Christ as expressed at there baptism, Paul declares the new information: in this act of being baptised into Christ, they have indeed been baptised into Christ’s death. The baptism as a single historical event in the life of a believer is related to the unique historical event of God’s saving act in Christ’s passion430 and this tangible and physical association with Christ’s death serves as a reminder.431 “Paul presupposes an understanding of what death and resurrection meant for Christ himself”432 and now relates it to the believer. This is seen from the parallel line of thought in 2 Cor 5:14 (NRSV): “one has died for all; therefore all have died.” Believers are not only associated with Christ who conquered sin, but they are identified with the very act through which Christ assured the victory over sin.433 This mention of being baptised into Christ’s death creates the first link to v. 2 where it is mentioned that one “has died to sin.” In the rhetorical question Paul thus states that all who have been baptised into Christ have been baptised into his death. This is something that the readers should now comprehend and Paul elaborates in vv. 4-5. It is to be noted that there are different ways of understanding the Christian’s identification with Christ’s death and resurrection and Paul takes care in explaining and distinguishing each.434 Having been baptised into Christ’s death means that they have been buried with Christ ( % . . 2). This has been achieved “through the baptism into death” ( / " )435 and here the substantive takes up the train of thought as expressed in v.3 ( !* " . *O # # > > !* ! # ). This mention of the burial of Jesus reminds of the early confession of 1 Cor 15:3-5 where Christ’s burial is also explicitly mentioned436 and by stating that they are buried with 430 This and various other reasons (see Cranfield, Romans, 1:301-303, and Fitzmyer, Romans, 431) indicate that Paul’s understanding of baptism was not derived from those rituals of contemporary pagan mystery cults. Lohse, Römer, 188-189, accepts that the early Hellenistic Christian congregation was indeed influenced in their understanding of the baptism by the mystery religions’ rituals of dying and rising with the gods, but states that Paul, in his further exposition of the baptism, criticises this syncretistic thinking and sets forth a new understanding of the baptism in Christ’s death. 431 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 76: “Der Tod Jesu auf Golgatha und das sakramentale Nacherleben des Todes Jesu mit der Folge des eigenen Todes in der Taufe sind nicht identisch, wohl aber ist nur die Taufe der Ort, wo die Heilsbedeutung des Todes Jesu für den Christen Wirklichkeit wird.” 432 Fitzmyer, Romans, 433. 433 Fitzmyer, Romans, 433. Ferguson, Baptism, 149, also indicates how Christ’s crucifixion and the baptism are closely paralleled in Paul’s thought as expressed in 1 Cor 1:13: “Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” 434 Cranfield, Romans, 1:296. He distinguishes a past, present and future understanding of both dying and being raised with Christ. However, it is more evident that the believer has died with Christ (past) and will be raised as Christ (future), but both carry implications regarding the present and future. 435 According to BDF, §272, and Moulton, Grammar, 1:83, this is an accepted case of the omission of the article in the case of prepositional attributives in post-position. Instead of reading v. 4 % *O # 2... > !* as “we were buried with Him . . . into death,” the phrase / " # > !* should be understood as one single concept “baptism into death.” 436 Lohse, Römer, 187. 72 Christ, Paul unequivocally expresses their death with Christ, since burial is the “seal set to the fact of death.”437 The purpose438 of being buried with Christ is explained with means of a comparison (R ... B . .). The first part of the comparison is that Christ has been raised from the dead (q - ! 5 439 . > ). For Paul Christ has been transformed (cf. 1 Cor 15:35-49, 51-52). He was made alive from his dead physical body, which has now become obsolete, and he was raised in a spiritual body. The use of the passive of indicates that Christ was raised by Someone else and this has been achieved by ) ). Here the “thought of power and might”440 is also the glory of the Father ( / G ) present with regards to the ) by means of which Christ was raised from the dead (1 Cor 15:43). " ) clearly refers to God, the Father. God is the active agent who raised Christ and He did this " by means of his glory and power, for “God’s use of His power is always glorious, and His use of it to raise the dead is a specially clear manifestation of His glory.”441 The second aspect compared is that they are now also able to walk in newness of life ( ) G $ 0# , # ); they are identified with the glorified Christ. As Zimmermann442 indicates, this life follows the metaphorical death of the believer (having been baptised into Christ’s death), but the new life is not merely metaphorical, but an actual new life—a new reality. The use of 0# , serves to emphasise that “all who were baptised” ( expectation. - is understood figuratively as how one lives or conducts oneself or as “walk of life.” Used with the preposition be characterized by that sphere.” life ( ! # ) have this hope and it indicates “the sphere in which one lives or ought to live, so as to 443 This particular sphere is something new ( P), reading the genitive as a genitive of quality. 444 445 the life the righteous shall live as promised in 1:17. 437 ) ) with regards to This newness of life is the moral aspect of This is seen in the aorist subjunctive use of Cranfield, Romans, 1:304. Also Hartman, Into the Name, 71. Cranfield, Romans, 1:304, reads the b as referring to God’s purpose in baptism. 439 BDAG, s.v. 1: “marker denoting separation, from, out of, away from” and s.v. B.1: “one who is no longer physically alive, dead person, a dead body, a corpse” According to Fitzmyer, Romans, 434, this expression is formulaic, see also v. 9. 440 BDAG, s.v. ) 1b. 441 Cranfield, Romans, 1:304. 442 Zimmermann, “Leben aus dem Tod,” 503. 443 BDAG, s.v. - 2a . 444 Moulton, Grammar, 3:213, discloses that due to “Hebrew influence the Biblical Greek genitive often provides an attribute which normally would be supplied by an adjective.” 445 Cranfield, Romans, 1:305. 438 73 - , which expresses “the coming about of conduct which contrasts with prior conduct.”446 It makes it clear that this new life of believers stands in direct opposition to their previous way of life before their baptism. The tense of the verb indicates present reality and obligation but the use of the ) also conveys a sense of eschatological hope.447 The believers have not yet been resurrected with Christ, but in view of Christ’s own resurrection and the hope of their future resurrection, they are to live a new life.448 Although the Spirit is not expressly mentioned in this passage, it is clear that for Paul the Spirit was conveyed at the baptism (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-13). This Spirit, who raised Christ from the dead, now lives in the believers (Rom 8:11) and leads them to the new life. As Zimmermann449 writes, the Spirit “gewährleistet das präsentische neue Leben und ist als solcher die Voraussetzung für das zukünftige Lebendiggemachtwerden der sterblichen Körper. Der Geist ist präsentischer und eschatologischer Lebensspender.” This life is now characterised by the Spirit and exemplifies the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). The interpretation is clear: Christ, who was separated from his old, dead body by the glory of the Father and the Spirit at the resurrection, has been transformed and now lives in a new way of life. Just like He does, so should the believers and this is also made possible through the Spirit that now dwells in them (Rom 8:11). This is the purpose of their identification with Christ in baptism: their death in baptism leads to a new moral life that is achieved through the live-giving Spirit (2 Cor 3:6) whom they received at the baptism. Christ’s resurrection was made possible through the glorious power of the Father and just as Christ was raised it is now possible for believers to walk in a new life through the glory of the Father. Although / G ) " ) is not clearly repeated, it is probable to read this phrase in both parts of the comparison. God’s active agency of the resurrection of Christ is acknowledged and it is also to be acknowledged when the believer is called to a new way of life at the baptism. 446 BDF, §337(1). Cranfield, Romans, 1:305, illustrates that ) and its variables in the NT are particularly associated with the eschatological hope. Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 77, understands ) G $ # as “ethisch-futurisch.” “Paulus bestimmt das gegenwärtige und zukünftige Sein der Christen mit der Wendung ) G $ # ethisch-futurisch.” 448 Lohse, Römer, 188. 449 Zimmermann, “Leben aus dem Tod,” 513. 447 74 Despite the lack of baptism-terminology from v. 5 and onwards, the baptism as foundation remains in view.450 In v. 5 the concept stated in v. 4 is supported and developed further, adding a future expectancy.451 Verse 5 reads: “For if we have been united with the likeness of his death, we shall certainly be (united with the likeness) of the resurrection.” ( "! * % ", / G * / #O% ) # 2 C# 1# )# ! ). Paul states it as a fulfilled452 condition, where v. 5a is the reality that ensures the future hope of v. 5b. The translation of this verse, however, is not without difficulty. #O% as adjective “pertains to being associated in a related experience (‘grown together’)”453 as literal meaning. Although it is used figuratively in this instance and translates as “identified or united with,”454 according to Spicq455 the idea of growth must not be neglected. Through the baptism into Christ, the literal and figurative meanings of #O% are conveyed. For not only did believers identify with the likeness of his death, but by being baptised into Christ, the concept of growing together with Him in his death also remains present. As Ferguson456 suggests, these strong statements suggest an actual participation in Christ’s death, and not a mere reference to it. “In Zusammenhang der -Aussagen 6,1-11 hebt #O% das Moment der unlösbaren, bleibend gültigen und gleichsam organischen Zusammenfügung der Glaubenden mit dem Heilsgeschehen in Christus hervor.”457 The reality of the condition is that they have “united/identified with” ( C# 1# ) 458 of his death ( " ! * % #O% ) the “likeness” ( 2 "). This was achieved at the baptism into his death (v. 3) and this action is already completed as indicated by the use of the perfect of # . It should be noted that the “likeness of Christ’s death” does not denote the manner in which baptism is administered. As 450 Lohse, Römer, 190. As according to Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 81, Paul now shows that in ) G $ # there is a relation to the resurrection of Christ as well as the eschatological resurrection. 452 Abbott, Greek Grammar, 47. This is seen by the use of the indicative in both the protasis and apodosis. The “indicative of reality” as according to BDF, §371-372, where the condition denotes a real case. 453 BDAG, s.v. 454 BDAG, s.v. Also according to LSJ, s.v. #O% , means “literally planted together, grown together; figuratively united with, closely identified with, one with.” 455 See Spicq, s.v. “ #O% .” 456 Ferguson, Baptism, 156. 457 EWNT, s.v. 3:695. 458 As stated above #O% as adjective conveys the literal meaning of ‘growing together’, but here it is perceived figuratively and thus denotes “identified/united with”. Compound words with S take the associative dative, and with the genitive of that which one possesses (see BDF, §194(2)). Therefore 2 C# 1# (the likeness) as associative dative with the genitive " ! * % " would clearly fit. Thus it would read: “having been united with the likeness of his death.” However, according to BDF §194(2), this instance is doubtful, and the dative could be understood as instrumental with #O% taking the genitive, thus reading “having been united with his death by means of its likeness;” so also Fitzmyer, Romans, 435. Nevertheless, when regarding Paul’s other uses of C# 1# (Rom 1:23; 5:14; 8:3; Phil 2:7) it is always followed by the genitive and to take the genitive with the direct preceding word is more natural. Therefore the first translation would be considered the more correct one; also Lohse, Römer, 191. 451 75 Marshall459 indicates, Paul’s language is not concerned about the rite of immersion, but the historical facts of Christ’s passion. Lohse460 states: “In der Taufe ist der ein für allemal geschehene Tod Christi gegenwärtig, aber in einer vom Kreuz auf Golgotha unterschiedenen Weise.” If this condition is true, as Paul has already indicated it is, then surely they will also be united with Christ in future in the likeness of his resurrection ( G and the words #O% 2 C# 1# 461 and * )# ! ). Verse 5b is very elliptical " should also be read in this apodosis. Just as they have not died exactly as Christ has, but through the baptism indeed undergo death “in likeness” of Christ’s,462 neither will they be raised exactly like He had been raised by the Spirit but indeed in similar fashion. However, to be united in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection will only occur in the future.463 In v. 4 they are already now called to walk in a new way of life which is governed and made possible by the Spirit that dwells in them (Rom 8:11) and consequently changing their way of conduct here and now. But alongside this present reality v. 5 gives hope for the future of also being raised as Christ was. For Hartman464 it is this eschatological hope that serves as reason for their duty to live a new life. Paul then continues his argument, stating once again what should already be common knowledge to the Romans. Their “old self has been crucified with” (C Q not only indicates “old,” in opposition to > 0# ) ! % % 1! ) Christ. “new” (v. 4), but “obsolete” indicating total irrelevance and uselessness; something that should completely be done away with. Here the use of ! is understood in terms of “person” or “self,” and Cranfield465 describes it as “fallen human nature, the whole self in its fallenness.” The moral obligation of distancing oneself from this fallen nature is visible in the contrast of v. 4 and v. 6: “walking in a new life” as opposed to “the old self” being crucified with Christ.466 The literal meaning of % 459 % ) is “to crucify together with”467 and is Marshall, “‘Baptize’,” 22. Lohse, Römer, 191. Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 83, also states that the “Tauf- und Christusgeschehen” are closely related to one another, but are not identical. 461 That 2 C# 1# as associative dative should also be interpreted here in 5b has been indicated in (67) taking the genitive G * of that which it possesses. 462 As Lohse, Römer, 190, notes that with this statement Paul does not wish to convey how the baptism was administered, as being dipped in and rising from the water, but merely that in the baptism they “died with Christ” (v. 8). Ferguson, Baptism, 157, however, is more inclined to acknowledge the possibility of the connection between the analogy and the actual act of immersion. 463 As Lohse, Römer, 191; Zimmermann, “Leben aus dem Tod,” 518, and Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 83. Opposed to Fitzmyer, Romans, 435, who takes the future as gnomic, which “expresses a logical sequence to the first part of the verse . . . it describes a share in the risen life of Christ that the justified Christian already enjoys, as a result of the Christ-event.” 464 Hartman, Into the Name, 73. Ferguson, Baptism, 157, also states that the “future resurrection requires a present resurrection in manner of life.” 465 Cranfield, Romans, 1:309. 466 Fitzmyer, Romans, 436, considers this as part of the early Christian baptismal liturgy. 460 76 said of the brigands who were crucified alongside Jesus (Matt 27:44; Mark 15:32; John 19:32). Paul’s use of % % ) calls the literal crucifixion to mind and serves as a harsh reminder of Jesus’ terrible death, since at this point in time the cross had not been romanticised by centuries of Christian thought. Since they have not literally been crucified it is understood figuratively, yet Paul wishes to articulate the austerity of the matter. Just as criminals were cast out from society by being crucified, the old nature of believers has been cast out of their identity.468 Here, the juridical sense as expressed by Cranfield,469 where at Christ’s crucifixion all have died to sin in God’s sight, is combined with the baptism which serves as sign and acknowledgement of this occurrence. Yet again Paul wishes to convey that they as believers identify with the death of Christ in every aspect: first his burial and resurrection (vv. 4-5), and now especially with his crucifixion. Paul continues the thought of identifying with Christ’s crucifixion, stating that it was done in order that the body of sin might be abolished; made useless (b genitive G 7# !j > # G 7# ). Here the is considered a genitive of quality,470 an example of Hebrew influence where a genitive of an abstract is used to supply an attribute instead of an adjective of quality and it is often used with > # . Thus # is understood as the body as it is determined by sin. According to Danker471 the mortal human body is “subject to sin” and sin as “personal principle dwells in the flesh.” This body, ruled and qualified by sin, has now been done away with, because the old self has been crucified. Paul does not only refer to the physical human body, but to a person as a whole.472 For this first b –clause is a continuation of the thought expressed in v. 6a, “since crucifixion and the resulting death are not really just one event; for a man was not immediately killed by being crucified, but was indeed crucified in order that he might die—hours, even days, later.”473 The “old self” and “body of sin” are thus identical, both pertaining to the fallen nature of humanity, which was crucified in order that it might die. 467 BDAG, s.v. 1. Hartman, Into the Name, 76. 469 Cranfield, Romans, 1:299. 470 Moulton, Grammar, 3:213, and BDF, §165. 471 BDAG s.v. # 1b, 7# 3a. 472 Fitzmyer, Romans, 436; Cranfield, Romans, 1:310, and Conzelmann, Theologie, 195-196, also indicate that 7# refers to the fallen state of man and that # is not only a body which one has, but one is # . 473 Cranfield, Romans, 1:310. 468 77 # G This has been done for the final purpose ( " + infinitive474) that believers no longer serve sin ( " # - % 0#' r). Once again that which is experienced at the baptism serves the j 7# purpose of and is manifested in the moral life of the believer. The control of sin is broken in the lives of believers and they are now liberated from this master—sin. The use of # - instead of V indicates that this is a conception developed, not a fact (see v. 9) and it is the ideal for which they are aiming: no longer will they serve sin as slaves; no longer will they answer to the commands and requests of sin. It should be stated that Paul does not think that believers cannot and do not sin, but new life conditions and power structures, which had not existed before, are present475 making it possible for believers to no longer dance to sin’s tune. In vv. 3-6, starting with the baptism, Paul explained exactly how they should understand the identification with Christ’s death: “buried with” ( % !* with” ( % ), “united with” ( #O% ), and “crucified % ) ). The unwritten question generated by v. 2 (when and how did we die to sin?), as well as the written rhetorical question in v. 2 (how can we who have died to sin still live in sin?) has been answered partially in vv. 3-6. They died to sin when they were baptised, being baptised into Christ’s death and identifying with his death in every aspect at the baptism. Therefore, having died to sin it does not make sense to continue living in sin. Now instead they can conduct a new way of life, have hope of a future resurrection like Christ’s, knowing that their bodies of sin are abolished and they no longer serve sin. Taking all this into consideration, in v. 7 Paul states a conclusive reason as answer to v. 2. He who has ! K ) with regards to sin,476 as has just been explained, is freed from sin ( died (C ). The word G 7# Danker 477 ) > in this instance is interpreted in two various ways. According to in this instance it means “to be released from personal or institutional claims that are no longer to be considered pertinent or valid.” When read in relation with v. 6 it translates as being “freed from sin” where sin is considered a ruling power, which they no longer serve. They have been thus 474 Moulton, Grammar, 1:218, considers this instance to not necessarily indicate final purpose but that it would be “natural to recognise result as purpose—the main purpose is expressed by a clause with b . . . and the " c. infin. comes in to expound what is involved in the purpose stated.” Thus it is rather considered a consecutive clause. Also see BDF, §400(8). However, when read with vv. 7, 12, 14, " # % 0#' j 7# r can easily be read as final purpose, for according to Abbott, Greek Grammar, 30, # - can indicate either a final clause or consecutive clause “with the infinitive of natural consequence.” 475 Hartman, Into the Name, 73. 476 The phrase > G 7# can also be read in the relative clause C ! K since this then connects with v. 2. For according to BDAG, s.v. ! p 1b , death as separation from something can either be expressed ! p + dative (v. 2) or ! p + Q + genitive (v. 7). 477 BDAG, s.v. ) 3. 78 freed from the slavery of sin. This interpretation is related to a Rabbinic legal principle which states that a person who dies is freed from the obligation of the law and its precepts.478 Although this interpretation can be considered valid, in Rom 6:18, 22 Paul explicitly uses %! ) > G as expression to denote freedom from slavery of sin. Therefore the idea of justification in the 7# true Pauline sense seems the more correct.479 Although Lohse480 argues in favour of the first interpretation, he indicates a close correlation between Paul’s thoughts regarding baptism and his thoughts regarding justification, adding incentive for the second interpretation. The use of ) surely denotes being “justified” from sin in relating to the rest of the Pauline literature where justification plays a significant role. At the baptism believers appropriate God’s justification that was achieved at the cross of Christ and are therefore acquitted from their sin. The juridical sense is related to the baptismal sense of the death of Christ. However, the two views are not mutually exclusive since God’s act of justification at the cross of Christ makes it possible for the believer, who has died with Christ through means of his baptism, to be justified from sin as one acquitted, as well as free from the bondage of sin in his daily life. As Schnelle481 states, “Gerechtigkeit ist die Folge der Befreiung von der Sünde.” A change of status in the life of the believer has ensued. A change of focus becomes visible in the next section. In vv. 3-7 Paul’s main focus was on what it means to be dead to sin (v. 2a), although also mentioning what that entails for life. In vv. 8-11 Paul shifts his focus towards living with and in Christ, as opposed to living in sin (v. 2b). The use of in v. 8, can either be read as “if” or “since.”482 Paul has already indicated the supposition taken in the preceding verses, namely that they have indeed died with Christ. Because this condition indeed applies and is a reality, they now trust that they will also live with Him ( % $ # # 2). The repetitive use of s once again emphasises their identification with Christ. Just as in v. 5, here it is clear that they have already died with Christ (aorist of but to be resurrected with and to live with Him is a future expectation 478 483 ! p ) as past action, (future of % * ). The phrase Lohse, Römer, 192, and Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 83 support this view. Fitzmyer, Romans, 437, and Cranfield, Romans, 311, argue for this interpretation. 480 Lohse, Römer, 194. 481 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 75. 482 BDAG, s.v. 3. Also L&N s.v. . 483 In accordance with Lohse, Römer, 192, but opposed to Cranfield, Romans, 1:312, who regards this to refer primarily to the present life by reading it in close association with v. 11. However, in v. 8 it is stated of living “with Christ” and v. 11 states it as living “in Christ”, which suggests two different existence. Therefore, living “with Christ” is a future hope, while living “in Christ” is a present state of being in relation to Christ. EWNT, s.v. s , 3:698, states that “with Christ” is always used in future sense.” Also Conzelmann, Theologie, 299. 479 79 S 5 2 “meint also primär nicht das tätige Leben “in” oder “durch” Christus, sondern die zukünftige Christusgemeinschaft.”484 According to Kuss485, here Paul specifically has the individual and his/her intimate fellowship with Christ in mind and “with Christ” denotes “die aus dem Taufgeschehen hervorgehende eschatologische ‘Lebensgemeinschaft’ mit Christus.” Here Paul’s eschatology of ‘now’ and ‘then’ is evident as the baptism is an open-ended occurrence.486 Their belief and trust that they will live with Christ, is based on that which they know ( v. 9) with regards to ) Christ. The soteriological statement of v. 8 is based on the christological knowledge of the believers.487 As Fitzmyer488 correctly states, “Future life with Christ is the object of faith, whereas the resurrection of Christ is the object of Christian knowledge.” They know that Christ has been raised from the dead (5 > ! ), but Paul goes on to explain the nature of Christ’s resurrection. Here the aorist participle of can serve as both temporal and causal clause, for it is only after Christ’s resurrection and because of his resurrection that the following is true: He “no longer dies”, or rather, he can no longer die thus “never dies again” ( % ! p ) and equally, death no longer has dominion over Him (!* " - ). Unlike Lazarus who was raised to a prolonging of normal human life, Christ was raised to eternal life that never again succumbs to death.489 In this instance death as abstract noun is personified as a ruling power, like sin (v. 14). The repetition of - emphasises the finality—the situation is no longer as it had previously been—and it also indicates this as factual, in contrast to v. 6 where # - indicates a conception derived from other information. The reality is that after Christ’s death and resurrection death no longer has dominion over Him. In v. 10, Paul’s focus remains on Christ, thus continuing the thought of v. 9 with two explicitly contrasting sentences to highlight the differences. Here he gives the Christological basis for the passage.490 The neuter accusative relative pronoun used in both v. 10a and v. 10b “is to be understood as an object accusative and gains its content from what immediately follows.”491 Therefore, v. 10a would be translated “the physical death which He died, He died to sin once and for all” (T / 484 EWNT, s.v. s , 3:698. Kuss, Der Römerbrief, 2:321, 323. 486 Hahn, Theologie des Neuen Testaments, 2:515. 487 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 84. As opposed to Cranfield, Romans, 1:313, who reads it simply as a further consideration following v.8 rather than serving as basis for v.8. 488 Fitzmyer, Romans, 437. 489 Cranfield, Romans, 1:313, and Fitzmyer, Romans, 438. 490 Fitzmyer, Romans, 438. 491 BDAG, s.v. , t, 1g . 485 80 -! , j 7# r which also takes up -! O* ). It is past and was a once-off action as expressed by O* , - mentioned in v. 9. Since death no longer has dominion over Him at all; He lives and the life He lives, He lives to God (T A j, j 2 ! 2)—He lives a theocentric life.492 Both these cases of the dative j 7# r and 2 ! 2 do not necessarily represent the dative of advantage, as would normally be considered, but rather indicate the possessor, and the dative is used “when the object possessed is to be stressed.”493 It is clear that sin and God as ruling powers and possessors of death and life respectively, are contrasted, but the main focus is on Christ’s death that is past and the life He now currently lives. The emphasis is also enhanced by the position and use of the relative pronoun . Throughout the whole passage, Paul wishes to focus their attention on the death of Christ and also the life of Christ after his resurrection, as it serves as example for the believers. They have identified with Christ in his death at their baptism, now they must also identify with his life. Verse 10a clearly links with v. 2b ( ! p + j 7# r) and v. 10b announces the contrast in order to indicate what it presently means when one has died to sin. This is “to live to God.” The difference in subjects (v. 2—believers, v. 10—Christ) is addressed in v. 11 and is the climax of this exposition. For Christ’s death to sin, makes it possible for all people to die to sin. Verse 11 starts with B and in this case refers to what precedes. Since the believers know (v. 9) all that has been said about Christ (vv. 9-10), they should now consider themselves in the same manner ( B I# , ! D % s ) to be dead to sin ([ o ]494 S #A j 7# r). # entails a well calculated evaluation, which Paul has supported with the necessary information. As Schnelle495 states, it is “nicht nur bloße Aufforderung, sondern Mahnung zur rechten Einschätzung der Situation.” It should be noted, as Du Toit496 states “The present imperative ! which follows on the impressive cluster of preceding indicatives in the aorist, entails much more than a mere cognitive activity. It is a directive to continually and actively appropriate their union with Christ as a lifedetermining reality.” As is true of Christ, and since they have identified with Him in his death through the baptism, they must reckon themselves as dead to sin. As with v. 10, the dative j 7# r (as well as 2 ! 2) in v. 11 is more likely read as indicating the possessor rather than the dative of advantage, 492 Fitzmyer, Romans, 438. BDF, §188-189. Also BDAG, s.v. ! ) 3g . 494 BDF, §406: “The infinitive with a subject accusative identical with that of the governing verb is frequent in the NT, especially when a nominal predicate is introduced. In the way well known from Latin . . . the reflexive pronoun going with the infinitive takes the acc. and the predicate follows suit.” This explains the use of both D % " and ) in the accusative. As well as the accusative participle of * in v. 11b. See also Moulton, Grammar, 3:137, 147-148. 495 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 85. 496 Du Toit, “Christian Lifestyle,” 177. 493 81 although the concept of disadvantage and advantage is not completely absent.497 They are dead to sin as Christ is, therefore sin does not possess them anymore and this is to the disadvantage of sin. But this is not all that is stated, more importantly should they consider themselves to be living to God in Christ Jesus ( A 2! 2 5 24 "). This contrast, already encountered in v. 10, is enhanced by #A . . . V and another aspect is added: not only are believers expected be alive to God as Christ is, but they now live in a new sphere of life—in Christ Jesus ( 5 24 "). This phrase is particularly Christian, more specifically Pauline and very difficult to interpret its exact meaning.498 The is read as locative and applied metaphorically.499 Danker500 states it is used to “designate a close personal relation in which the referent of the -term is viewed as the controlling influence . . . In Paul the relation of the individual to Christ is very often expressed by such phrases” and in this instance a new life principle as “life in [close association with] Christ.”501 It is also described as “the mystical conception of being in Christ, inside a new sphere of experience and spiritual existence.”502 Elliger503 however states, that it does not denote “das mystische Einwohnen in Christus, vielmehr dient es . . . zur Kennzeichnung eines eigenen Seinsbereichs, der dem weltliche Bereich ( “im Fleisch”) oft gegenübergestellt wird.” Du Toit504 also mentions that it should not be narrowed down to indicating only a relationship between the believer and Christ, but that also has a qualitative function, which confers the meaning of “being in the realm determined by Christ.” Consequently, to live in Christ is the new sphere and new life context within which the believer lives the new life (v. 4). The baptism into Christ ( ) connotes “the initial movement of introduction or incorporation by which one is born to life ‘in Christ.’”505 After having been baptised into Christ it is now possible to also live in Christ. This brings Paul’s whole argument together and serves as final answer to the question in v. 2.506 Instead of living in sin ( * [ j 7# who have been baptised into Christ must now live to God in Christ Jesus ( 24 497 5 r]), those "). Believers BDAG, s.v. ) 2a and ! ) 3g , and BDF, §189. Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 130, 132, specifically associates this phrase with Pauline mysticism and states that its interpretation is “beset with problems.” 499 Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 132. 500 BDAG, s.v. 4. 501 BDAG, s.v. 4. 502 Moulton, Grammar, 3:264. 503 Elliger in EWNT s.v. , 1:1095. Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 134, also indicates that where believers had been portrayed as being “in the flesh” (Rom 7:5; 8:3, 8-9) and being determined by this reality, they have now been transferred “into Christ” (Rom 6:3) and exist within the realm of Christ. 504 Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 132. 505 Fitzmyer, Romans, 433. 506 As Hartman, Into the Name, 74, states ‘in Christ Jesus’ “mark out the foundation of Paul’s argument, in other words that the Christian is connected with Christ in a real, decisive way. At the entrance into that Christ-communion baptism played an important role as a symbolic action and an effective sign.” 498 82 have been taken out of the realm of sin, and are now living in the realm as determined by Christ.507 Fitzmyer states, “Ontologically united with Christ through faith and baptism, Christians must deepen their faith continually to become more and more psychologically aware of that union. Thus consciously oriented to Christ, Christians can never again consider sin without a rupture of that union.”508 This 5 24 " “deals with the indicative of being a Christian.”509 The total identification with Christ, which is indicated by the repetition of S ,510 culminates in living in ( ) Him already here and now. Paul’s use of “with Christ” also expresses the intimate relationship with Christ and “enthüllt sich als ein pneumatisches Miteinander und—ohne Vermischung—als ein Ineinander.”511 However, the eschatological understanding of “with Christ” remains present and it conveys the hope of living with ( S ) Him in the future (v. 8). As Kuss512 states, “In dem Mit-Christus steckt grundsätzlich mehr oder weniger immer auch ein kausales Element, in dem ‘mit ihm’ ein ‘durch ihn’, in dem ‘wie er, so auch wir’ immer auch ein ‘weil er, deshalb auch wir’.” Evidently, Paul has answered the question “Those of us who died to sin, how will we still live in it?” very thoroughly and concisely, using the baptism as foundation for his argument. They are dead to sin, but sin as power is not yet dead and can still tempt believers,513 and consequently the need remains for Paul to instruct the believers. Now in vv. 12-14, by use of paranetic statements, he resumes and sums up the train of thought of vv. 2-11 while relating it all to v. 1 and Rom 5:20-21. His exhortations are sustained by the truth of his preceding indicative declarations.514 Knowing all this that Paul has declared to them he sets forth the consequences of their baptism: “they are under obligation to stop allowing sin to reign unopposed over their lives and to revolt in the name of their rightful ruler, God, against sin’s usurping rule.”515 507 Kuss, Der Römerbrief, 306. Fitzmyer, Romans, 438. 509 Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 135. 510 Kuss, Der Römerbrief, 1:320, states that the various “with Christ”-phrases in Pauline literature can be divided into three groups: a) those which indicate the parousia and the eschatological hope of being with Christ (derived from the apocalyptical Jewish thought of his time); b) those that are determined by the “geschehnishaften sakramentalen Charakter” of the baptism; c) those that refer to the ethical life of the believers as those who have identified with Christ in his death and resurrection. As EWNT, s.v. s , 3:699, notes in this instance the phrases that denote “with Christ” refer to the “Teilhabe an Tod und Auferstehung Christi.” 511 Kuss, Der Römerbrief, 2:328. 512 Kuss, Der Römerbrief, 2:321. 513 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 85. 514 Fitzmyer, Romans, 444. 515 Cranfield, Romans, 1:297. 508 83 Firstly he orders them to not let sin reign in their mortal bodies (#& I# 1# %- 0 7# 2! 2 ) and this takes up the thought as expressed in v. 6—the body of sin has been abolished in order that they no longer serve sin. Once again it is not only their physical bodies referred to but the whole fallen being of humanity.516 The durative force of the present of is manifested, but with #P as negative prohibition it indicates that this ruling force, which already exists, is called to stop.517 He orders the Romans to no longer do that which they have been doing up to now, namely to let sin reign in their mortal bodies causing them to obey the desires of their mortal bodies ( I , > ")518. He is aware of the fact that even as baptised believers that sin can !%# still entice them and therefore urges them to not give in to sin’s allure by obeying their desires. is understood in a negative sense as indicating “inappropriate or inordinate desire,” which !%# evidently not only refers to physical desires, but all the wrong desires that people experience in their fallen state. Hence, the consequence of being ruled by sin is that they will give in to almost any and every inappropriate desire—as helpless slaves of their master’s whims. In v. 13 Paul continues his preceding prohibition as # V indicates. He exhorts them to stop another practice which they have been doing up to this point (again indicated by the present imperative of # ). As transitive verb # (“cause to be present,” “put at someone’s disposal” or “place beside”519) in this instance is followed by two accusative cases—one as object / #predicate —and a dative of advantage j 7# members at sin’s disposal as instruments/weapons j 7# r). Cranfield 521 520 r. They are called to stop placing their of wickedness (# A * 522 takes as a genitive of purpose 523 wickedness) as opposed to a genitive of quality and one as / #- I# (for the doing of (wicked weapons). Both interpretations are valid, for neither should their bodies be characterised as being wicked (quality), nor should it bring about 516 Cranfield, Romans, 1:317. BDF, §336(3). 518 According to BDAG, s.v. 4e, where is used with a substantive infinitive it indicates a purpose or result clause and is translated in this particular verse as “so that.” This renders the meaning: “sin reigns in their mortal bodies, causing them to be obedient to their desires.” However, BDF, §402, states that there are also instances (Jam 1:19) where > + infinitive is treated completely as a substantive and the translation here would then read “sin reigns in their mortal bodies in the obedience to their desires.” This meaning states that the reign of sin is seen in the fact that they follow the desire of their mortal bodies; it is not merely the consequence of sin. Most commentators accept the first. 519 BDAG, s.v. # 1a. 520 Both translations are considered correct. In other Pauline passages (Rom 13:12; 2 Cor 6:7, 10:4) the military context is evident and thus translates as “weapons,” see Fitzmyer, Romans, 446, and Lohse, Römer, 196. However, this does not render the translation “instrument” incorrect since it easily relates to the image of a servant using tools and instruments to serve his master. See also BDAG, s.v. 1 and 2. Cranfield, Romans, 1:318, favours the latter. 521 Cranfield, Romans, 1:318. 522 BDF, §166. 523 Michel, Römerbrief, 209; BDAG, s.v. 2 and BDF, §165. 517 84 unrighteousness (purpose).524 It is made clear that they are called to not serve sin with their physical bodies in any way any longer.525 For sin finds expression in the physical things that people do. These prohibitions with the words and !%# wicked in 1:18-32, who by their wickedness ( lust ( recalls what Paul stated about the ungodly and ) suppressed the truth (1:18) and who serve the !%# ) of their hearts (1:24). Before their baptism, these were the traits that characterised them: “They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die.” (Rom 1:29-32a, NRSV). But now they are commanded to put all these practices behind them. Paul urges them instead to place themselves at God’s disposal as those alive from the dead ( $ D % S ). This metaphor implies being made alive by 2! 2d the life-giving Spirit from their metaphorically dead fallen nature.526 To be transformed just like Christ (vv. 4, 9), and living in Christ (v. 11), for that is indeed who they already are as Paul has just described. As mentioned before the aorist imperative of the verb expresses “the coming about of new conduct which contrasts with prior conduct,”527 indicating a complete change and new start which occurs as a “single momentary act,”528 doubtless referring to the baptism once again. The direct contrast to v. 13a is clear and emphasised in the almost parallel phrase of v. 13c, where they are encouraged to place their members at God’s disposal as instruments/weapons of righteousness ( $ ... / #- 2 ! 2). As in vv. 10-11, God and sin are directly contrasted, as well as I# (quality justice/righteousness of 529 injustice/unrighteousness) and (quality of ). Thus having been justified or received justice from God (v. 7), their bodies 524 Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 331, allows for both interpretations (discerning between an objective and subjective understanding of the genitive), but accentuates the first possibility in this context. Fitzmyer, Romans, 446-447, also accepts both when he writes “weapons for the promotion of wrongdoing” and later “weapons in God’s service, not in that of evil and sin.” 525 The use of the present imperative prohibitions, commanding the readers to discontinue their present conduct, relates to the use of # - in v. 6 and - in v. 9—no longer should they act in this manner. 526 Zimmermann, “Leben aus dem Tod,” 515. 527 BDF, §337(1). 528 Abbott, Greek Grammar, 20. 529 In BDAG, s.v., the word-play between and renders with the meaning of “quality or state of juridical correctness with focus on redemptive action,” ( 2) but simultaneously can be read as “the characteristic of upright behavior.” ( 3a). 85 should be used to bring about justice as well as being used in a righteous manner.530 They need not fear death as those who deserve to die, because having died, death no longer rules over them. Instead they can now hope for eternal life. Finally, Paul concludes his argument in v. 14 giving final reasons and support for the previous commands. He assures them that sin will not rule over them (7# I# ) as if they are % helplessly subjected to its power—which has been made quite clear indeed—and therefore they are capable of asserting those imperatives stated in vv. 12-13. Their death to sin (v. 2) verifies the encouragement that sin will not rule over them (v. 14), which makes it possible for them to not allow sin to rule over them (v. 12). The indicative substantiates the imperative. This assurance is based on the fact that they are not under (the power of) the law, but under grace ( +* * I > )# /I > ), namely under God’s gracious favour.531 The preposition I Q is here used as “marker of that which is in a controlling position, under, under the control of, under obligation in ref. to power, rule”532 and continues the thought of ruling authority expressed by % (v. 12). The ruling subjects mentioned, however, are )# 533 and +* (v. 14) and standing in direct opposition to one another and recall 5:20-6:1, which brings the argument full circle. The law was added so that sin might increase, but they are not under the law anymore. Instead, they are under +* as good will and favour of God and God’s favour rules over them. Since they are under God’s favour, they are justified from sin (v. 7). They already enjoy God’s abounding favour and benevolence and should not sin to experience it. The normal response to being under God’s gracious favour and good will is righteous behaviour and thus they cannot remain in sin. Although Paul has thus plainly stated that they should not continue to sin, he senses another possible rebuttal with regards to favour and sin. This time he describes what it means to live under God’s favour (6:15-23) using the imagery of slavery as reference point.534 Where they had once been slaves of sin, which they obviously no longer are (6:6), they are now slaves of God, serving Him in righteousness. As 530 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 86, writes that the expressed in v. 13 is a “Forderung an den Menschen, dem erfahrbaren Handeln Gottes in der Taufe zu entsprechen.” 531 Breytenbach, “‘Charis’ and ‘eleos’”, 265, and Cranfield, Romans, 1:297. 532 BDAG, s.v. I > 2. 533 According to Moulton, Grammar, 3:177, the anarthrous use of )# could be translated to mean “any law”. However, the point of view of BDAG, s.v. 2b, which reads this instance of )# as still pertaining to the Mosaic law, while considering it as power but not as undefined, is more appropriate. The use of anarthrous abstract nouns is common in Pauline literature where he regards the noun “as power.” See also BDF, §258(2). 534 According to Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 214, the whole chapter 6 can only be understood correctly in light of the baptism, not merely vv. 1-14. 86 has previously been stated, Paul maintains that they are justified and made righteous and equally they are sanctified and should act accordingly: freedom from sin (6:1-14) implies simultaneously freedom to obedience (6:15-23).535 Or as Schnelle536 states freedom just like bondage is subject to obedience, for freedom from the law does not mean lawlessness. He settles his appeal by stating, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (6:23, NRSV). The role of baptism In Gal 3 Paul constructs his argument in such a way that the significant role of baptism is only mentioned at the end. The baptism serves as basis for his argument, but he builds up his argumentation to the climatic point where he then introduces the baptism as the event where everything that he has previously stated became a reality. As opposed to Galatians, in Romans 6 Paul opens his argument by referring to the baptism. As according to Schnelle,537 vv. 1-2 indicate the structure of the whole chapter 6 where Paul then aims to indicate the impossibility of v. 1 (persisting in sin) and the reality of v. 2 (having died to sin). He does this with reference to the baptism because here, as in Galatians, the baptism serves as foundation for the case that Paul wishes to bring across. All the believers had been baptised when they came to faith in Christ.538 That baptism is preceded by faith can be inferred from the fact that the formula of faith expressed in 1 Cor 15:3-8 is presupposed by Paul in his argument in Rom 6:1-4. Though they know of their baptism and certain teachings and thoughts that accompanied their baptism, Paul now expresses another. At the moment that they were baptised, they were baptised into the death of Christ and this was the moment that they died to sin (v. 2). As he relates their baptism with Christ’s death and resurrection, Paul strengthens his argument and consequently their faith. Both of these occurrences, Christ’s passion as well as their baptism, are events that really took place. It is because of the reality of these events that Paul can deduce and construe his various statements and claims, calling believers to a new understanding of their identity and consequently their ethical way of life. 535 Lohse, Römer, 184. Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 87. 537 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 75. 538 Fitzmyer, Romans, 430, 437, notes that Paul never mentions faith in this passage and # in v. 8 is the closest that Paul comes to expressing the relationship between faith and baptism. However, Paul “takes it for granted that Christians who put their faith in Christ undergo baptism.” 536 87 Firstly, Paul indicates that the act of baptism is a complete and utter identification with the death of Christ. The thought of change of identity, which is also seen in Gal 3, is now intensified as believers are identified with Christ’s death.539 The identity of the believer is no longer characterised by him/herself, nor by sin as a ruling power, instead it is now characterised by the identity of the risen Christ. For those who were baptised were baptised into Christ (v. 3) and therefore now live in Christ (v. 11). The identity of Christ exemplifies the identity of the believer. Being “in Christ” is the ontological reality of the Christian. This is due to the baptism, that every believer received, which reminds them in every aspect of their identification with Christ’s death and resurrection. Where a believer had once been living in sin and under the control of sin that leads unto death, after their baptism this is no longer the case. The reason: at the baptism they identified and united themselves with Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection, and in so doing, died to sin as Christ had. The baptism is the moment of separation from the control of sin in the lives of believers and hence, they cannot persist in sin (6:1). As has been previously stated Rom 6:1-14 forms part of the section 5:1-8:39 which elaborates on how the righteous shall live (1:17). Here it is evident that the baptism, where the believer first identifies with Christ’s death and is thus made righteous (6:7), then serves as basis for the life that the believers should now live. Paul then expresses this life in the paranetic section of the letter (12:1-15:13) where they are called to live as “living sacrifices.” The separation from sin and their old sinful self (v. 6) has far reaching consequences for the here-andnow,540 as well as creating a future hope and expectancy, as Paul writes in vv. 4-5. Already in this present reality believers are called to walk in a new way of life. This new way of life is characterised by the Spirit541 (7:6) and is expressed in the paranetic statements of vv. 12-14, where they are called to place their physical bodies at God’s disposal as tools of righteousness. Where they had once given in to the desires and lusts of their mortal, sinful nature leading unto unrighteousness and wickedness as servants of sin, this has now changed. The reality of the new life is living as one justified by God and 539 Hartman, Into the Name, 71, 77: “Their new identity, determined as it is by Christ, is radically new, for the life-and-death contrast underlines that.” 540 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 83, indicates that in v. 6 the ethical dimension of the baptism is already emphasised. “In der Taufe und durch die Taufe ist der > ! überwunden, der Sündenleib vernichtet, was positive die Befreiung von den Sünden bedeutet, die sich in der Zukunft als ein Nichtdienen der Sünde realisiert.” 541 As is the case in Gal 3 and 1 Cor 12, the baptism in Rom 6 plays a pivotal role in the theological basis of the Christian’s moral obligation. Where both in Galatians and Corinthians the Spirit is mentioned in association with the baptism (especially Corinthians), there is no mention of the Spirit in Rom 6. This is presumably due to the fact that Paul writes a whole section on the work of the Spirit in chapters 7 and 8. Thus when considering the section 5:1-8:39 as a whole, the relation is apparent. 88 freed from sin (v. 7), which leads to righteous acts in themselves and acting as a righteous person towards others as well. Neither sin nor death reigns over the lives of believers after they had experienced death and resurrection in their baptism, but instead they are now living in the sight of and to the advantage and pleasure of God as those who have been separated from their dead obsolete old selves. The ethical imperative that Paul exhorts them towards is not only one of spiritual piety, but it is also visible in their physical bodies. Paul refers both to the inner self and nature (old self/person in v. 6) that has been crucified with Christ so that their bodies of sin might be done away with, as well as placing their physical bodies at God’s disposal to serve Him in righteousness (v. 13). The ethical implications of the baptism are plain to see. Paul’s ethical instruction to live as righteous is an exhortation to believers to reply to God’s act of righteousness as has been accepted in the baptism.542 In so doing, Paul has stated the ethical responsibility of the believer, as had been necessitated by v. 1, as well as clarifying God’s righteous act towards humans, which had been necessitated by v. 2.543 Living in the sight of God in righteousness is only attained in Christ, where the life of every believer is governed by their relationship to Christ as having been baptised into Him and now living in Him. Paul “contrasts the indicative (you are a Christian!) with the imperative (become the Christian that you have been enabled to become!): you have died to sin, so put to death the old self!”544 Paul illustrates the relationship of Christology and ethics.545 Being in Christ, God has rescued them through Christ from the body of death (7:24-25) in this present reality. This present way of life and the implications thereof for their ethics, however, is not governed by the law anymore. Paul makes this clear in v. 14 stating that they are not “under the law but under favour.” Hence, they do not need to turn to the law in order to know how they should live, for the law only causes sin to abound and increase (5:20). Instead their way of life is governed by God’s favour in Christ, which always abounds more than sin (5:21) and does not lead to the increase of sin. Yet the significance of baptism also entails the future eschatological hope of believers. For just as Christ had been resurrected, through their identification with his death and resurrection in baptism, 542 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 86: “Die ethische Weisung ist bei Paulus . . . Forderung an den Menschen, dem Handeln Gottes an ihm zu entsprechen.” 543 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 75: “Dabei erfordert V. 1 den unbedingten Hinweis auf das ethische Verhalten des Christen (den Imperativ) und V. 2 den unbedingten Erweis des göttlichen Handelns am Menschen (den Indikativ).” 544 Fitzmyer, Romans, 430. 545 Lohse, Römer, 190. 89 believers now have the hope of also being resurrected like Christ. They now have the hope of eternal life and this hope is based on the knowledge of everything that they experienced at the baptism, for here the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection are applied to each individual believer. 90 Conclusion Paul writes in 1 Cor 1:17 (NRSV): “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel.” Proclaiming the gospel of Christ was Paul’s first priority, as he himself states. Nevertheless, after having read these various texts, it is clear that Paul never diminishes the baptism. For Paul the baptism is also very important and central to the Christian faith and community. As Schnelle546 states “Die Taufe ist für die Tradition und für Paulus der Ort des erfahrbaren, heilschaffenden Handelns Gottes, das hier noch nicht zu seinem Ende kommt, aber einen realen, unüberbietbaren Anfang setzt.” Because of its significance he uses it as basis in his arguments when proclaiming the gospel of Christ and the life that is lived through faith in Christ. In none of Paul’s epistles does he write to his readers that they should be baptised or even how they should be baptised. The reason being that Paul is writing to congregations of believers—those who believe in Christ and have consequently already been baptised—thus there is no need to exhort them to baptism or to explain the exact administration thereof. Instead, Paul wishes to express something about the identity of the believers. Assuming that they have all been baptised serves as Paul’s starting point for using the baptism in the various texts: every person who reads or hears this text has already been baptised and since the argument and its conclusions is based on the baptism, everything written is applicable to every person that has been baptised; applicable to every Christian. Since he regards baptism as a well-known and acknowledged ritual in the Christian community,547 he uses baptism as a foundation which he associates with his soteriology, righteousness, ecclesiology and new life in the Spirit.548 By referring to their baptism Paul reminds them of what they experienced at that point in time and what that now implies for their lives here and now, as well as for their future expectation and hope. The strength of Paul’s argument and the consequences thereof is rooted in the actual experience and event of the believers’ baptism. By recalling one’s baptism and what that means for one’s life leads to it that, as according to Weiß549 “man besann sich auf sein bessers Ich, ließ die Erinnerung an die große Stunde wieder aufleben, erweckte das Gefühl himmlischer Kräfte von neuem.” Thus by reminding them of 546 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 44. Benoît and Munier, Die Taufe in der Alten Kirche, XV. 548 Schnelle, “Taufe II,” 668-669. 549 Weiß, Korintherbrief, 154. 547 91 their baptism, Paul wishes to inform and remind them of the manifold consequences of what they experienced at the baptism and everything that the baptism means to those who are baptised. The baptism validates and establishes their identity as the community of faith, as well as the identity of the individuals in the community of faith. Paul’s overall notion of baptism What then is Paul’s overall notion of baptism that is applicable to every Christian? In every letter Paul addresses another issue and therefore he emphasises different aspects of the baptism by using different metaphors regarding the baptism. Nevertheless, when regarding these various concepts there remain similarities as well and when combining these, an overall notion of what Paul understood baptism to mean is construed. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul uses the baptism to address the specific issues and problems that the church faced such as court cases, their unjust behaviour towards one another, disunity and spiritual pride. In Galatians Paul opposes the Judaising influences by stating that all believers—Gentiles and Jews—already stand in the right relationship to God because of their faith and baptism and nothing else is needed. Then to the Romans, a congregation that had not been found by Paul, he explains to them what the baptism entails for their life as believers in Christ with regards to sin and grace and how they as justified and righteous people should live a life to God. For Paul, the baptism has “Geschehnischarakter, sie bringt—zusammen mit dem Glauben—die entscheidende Beziehung zwischen dem Einzelnen und dem Heilswerk Jesu Christi zustande.”550 In every text it is clear that Paul advocates a total and radical change of identity which is rooted in the baptism. Who a person was before their baptism and who they are after their baptism are two totally different identities and this “notion of effective transformation through union with Christ is fundamental to Paul’s theological ethics.”551 Before their baptism they had been unjust and unrighteous committing all sorts of sins (1 Cor 6:9-10), they had discriminated against one another because of their social, racial, sexual and spiritual differences (1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:28), they had been under the curse of the law (Gal 3:10), slaves under control of the basic principles of the world (Gal 4:3), they had been living in sin (Rom 6:2), had been slaves of sin (Rom 6:6), and giving in to the desires of their sinful natures (Rom 6:12). But this all changed when they were baptised and received the Spirit. For now after the baptism believers are cleansed, holy, righteous (1 Cor 6:11), they are unified in Christ (1 Cor 550 551 Kuss, Der Römerbrief, 2:324. Hays, The Moral Vision, 38. 92 12:13; Gal 3:28), descendants of Abraham (Gal 3:29), heirs (Gal 4:7), children of God (Gal 3:26), freed from sin (Rom 6:7), dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom 6:11). These are the things that characterises the identity of one who has been baptised. But this radical change of status and identity does not occur merely because of the baptism, it occurs because it is a baptism “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 6:11) and baptism “into Christ” (1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:27; Rom 6:3) in which the believer completely and utterly identifies with Christ in and through the baptism. Paul uses different metaphors to describe this identification with Christ. First he states that they are baptised into the body that is Christ (1 Cor 12:12-13). They are baptised into Christ’s crucified body, thereby identifying with Christ’s death and crucifixion as is also stated in Rom 6:3 that they are baptised into Christ’s death. Through baptism into Christ’s death everything that God has done through Christ’s passion and resurrection is made applicable to the believer who has been baptised. “Die Taufe bleibt für [Paulus] die Zueignung des an den Namen Christi gebundenen Heilsgeschehens.”552 Having identified with Christ’s death, crucifixion and burial (Rom 6:3-6) they also identify with Christ’s resurrection, and are therefore called to live to God in Christ Jesus now (Rom 6:11) as well as having eschatological hope of living with Christ (Rom 6:8). As Paul continues in 1 Cor 12:14-31 it is also clear that having been baptised into Christ’s crucified body, they also identify with Christ’s exalted body and as church now live and function as Christ’s living body on earth, by living to God. Paul also states that being baptised into Christ means being clothed in Christ (Gal 3:27) and so doing taking on the characteristics of Christ and should consequently be the embodiment of Christ on earth. By being baptised into Christ’s body and death and being clothed in Christ shows that Christ designates the believer. The believer is now “in Christ.” Having identified with Christ the identity of the believer is characterised by Christ’s identity. It is for this reason that Paul can state that just like Christ, believers are holy, righteous, descendants of Abraham, heirs, children of God, freed from sin, dead to sin, and alive to God. Living and being in Christ means that the believer now lives in a new sphere of life and a new realm that is characterised by Christ; where Christ is the ruling authority and not sin (Rom 6:11). It is “the constant experience of the abiding presence and influence of Christ.”553 Christ is now the point of reference for the lives of believers. To live “in Christ” describes the Christian 552 553 Barth, Die Taufe, 66. Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 144. 93 existence and in trying to express exactly what that means will always fall short for as Du Toit554 states, “the rich dynamic of Christian existence cannot be compressed into neatly delineated mental categories.” Paul does not only write that believers are now “in Christ” but also that they are unified (one) in Christ. When Paul writes that they are one in Christ (1 Cor 12:12; Gal 3:28) it has ecclesiological relevance grounded in Christ’s passion and resurrection. According to Delling555, “Die Taufe erscheint also als konstitutiv für die christliche Gemeinde, und das Kreuz erscheint als grundlegend für das Taufgeschehen.” Paul expresses the unity of the community of believers, the church, and how this unity is to be understood by referring to the baptism. The community of believers comprise of those from different backgrounds. As Orr556 writes, the believers were previously “from the ranks of the most scandalous sinners. The glory of the church is the willingness of its God to receive just such persons.” All were sinners, but all have been washed, sanctified and justified (1 Cor 6:11) and are now part of the community of saints (1 Cor 6:1). Therefore, no matter the background or history of the person, all who believe in Christ are accepted into the church and accordingly there are differences in regards to ethnicity, status and gender within the church. Paul acknowledges the fact that each person is unique within the church and this is the reality of the church. Hence, when he states that they are baptised into one body that is Christ (1 Cor 12:13) and that the church is the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27) he affirms that these differences are present and needed in the body of Christ (the church) but should not and cannot lead to disunity in the one body of Christ. For when they are all one in Christ, their differences in gender, race and status are not relevant in Christ (Gal 3:28). In addition to the identification with Christ at the baptism and now living in Christ, Paul closely associates the baptism with the Spirit. The baptism is where the Spirit is received (1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:2; 4:6) and the baptism occurs in/through the Spirit (1 Cor 6:11; 12:13). By stating that the baptism occurs through the Spirit it refers to the Spirit as the working and active power of God, which is active in the baptism and brings about the change of identity in the believer. However, the Spirit does not merely start or cause this change of status, but enables the believer to remain in this new identity and to live the righteous life in the Spirit (Rom 8:4, 11) which follows their baptism in the Spirit.557 The Spirit is the conveyor of the baptism, but the Spirit is also conveyed at the baptism. At the baptism the gift of 554 Du Toit, Focusing on Paul, 140. Delling, Die Taufe, 115. 556 Orr and Walther, Corinthians, 201. 557 So also Ferguson, Baptism, 164. 555 94 the Spirit is given for it is sent into believers’ hearts, placing them in the filial relationship with God (Gal 4:6) and by receiving the Spirit, believers also receive various spiritual gifts (+* # ) that should be used for the common good (1 Cor 12:7) and God’s glory. Being “in Christ” serves as the indicative of the Christian identity, which subsequently leads to the imperative of how Christians should act according to their new identity and this is made possible through/in the Spirit. For Paul the baptism also has eschatological significance. Paul indicates that with Christ “the time has come when God’s promises of future salvation are fulfilled (Gal 3:24-25; 4:4-7).”558 Christ has inaugurated the final aeon with his coming. Believers, by receiving the Spirit, become children of God and heirs of the promise to Abraham through their faith and baptism, and now have the hope of the inheritance (Gal 3:18), the kingdom/reign of God (1 Cor 6:9) being resurrected like Christ (Rom 6:5) and living with Christ (Rom 6:8). Everything that occurs at the baptism and which Paul associates with the baptism occurs on God’s initiative. It is “God who does everything and a person nothing in baptism and the new life that God gives to faith begins at baptism.”559 Paul makes it clear that God is the active agent at the baptism. God is the One who cleanses and sanctifies believers (1 Cor 6:11) making them part of the community of saints. God sends his Spirit into the heart of believers (Gal 4:6) who makes them part of Christ’s body (1 Cor 12:13; 27) and bestows them with spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:4-6). God justifies believers (1 Cor 6:11; Rom 6:7) and frees them from the bondage of sin. God gives the believers the blessing and promise (Gal 3:14) and his abounding favour (Rom 5:21; 6:14). By means of God’s power and glory, it is possible to live in newness of life (Rom 6:4) in Christ and the Spirit and to trust and hope to also live with Christ and inherit God’s kingdom. It is therefore evident that for Paul the baptism plays a significant role in the Christian faith and he relates the baptism to his eschatology, Christology, ecclesiology and pneumatology. Paul reminds believers of the single event of the baptism but illustrates that it has far reaching consequences, for as Schnelle state, “Die Taufe hat eine andauernde Wirkung, nicht, weil sie eine wesensmäßige Veränderung des Menschen erwirkt, sondern durch die Geistverleihung die Anteilnahme am 558 559 Hartman, Into the Name, 79. Ferguson, Baptism, 164. 95 eschatologischen Heilshandeln Gottes bewirkt, das in der Vergangenheit begann, die Gegenwart bestimmt und in der Zukunft triumphieren wird.”560 Baptism as ritual and its significance for individual and social identity A ritual is understood as a transformative process or occurrence. With regards to rites of passage, three phases can be differentiated: a separation, liminal, and aggregation phase.561 In the separation phase the person or group going through the ritual are separated from a previous state of being. This is seen in the baptism rite where those who are baptised are separated from their old selves and their bodies of sin (Rom 6:6), they are separated from their previous unjust lives that were characterised by various sins and vices (1 Cor 6:9-10), the curse of the law (Gal 3:10) and from the rule of sin (Rom 6:14). The liminal phase is an “in between” phase, where the participants are neither what they were nor what they will be and this is the moment of the baptism. This then leads into the final phase of aggregation, where those who have been baptised are accepted into the community as a new entity and new creation (2 Cor 5:17). This new creation and identity is characterised first of all by Christ and the Spirit. What they had previously been without Christ and the Spirit, they no longer are. Believers are now to walk in a new way of life (Rom 6:4), they are pure, holy and righteous (1 Cor 6:11), children of God (Gal 3:26) and living a life for God under grace (Rom 6:11, 14). Through the use of the different metaphors which Paul relates to the baptism and uses to describe what happened in the baptism, he indicates that this is what the baptism as ritual constitutes in the Christian faith. However, more that just being a Christian ritual, the baptism is clearly the initiation rite into the Christian community. It is where the individual who came to faith in Christ openly leaves his previous life and is incorporated into the community of faith. This concept is brought across when it is stated that they are one in Christ (Gal 3:28), that they have been baptised into the one body that is Christ (1 Cor 12:12-13), being made part of the body and consequently constitute the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27). Having been set apart for God and sanctified in the baptism (1 Cor 6:11) the believers are now part of the community of those who are sanctified and holy: the saints (1 Cor 6:1). It is evident that that which it applies to the community as a whole, accordingly applies to the individual and vice versa. The individual is not to be lost in the whole of the community, but each unique member plays an important role to serve the body of Christ. 560 561 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 125. Strecker, Die liminale Theologie des Paulus, 40, 42. 96 The baptism into Christ is constitutive of the identity of believers and binds them as group. The community and individual derive their identity from Christ, having been baptised into Christ and now living in Christ. It is living in Christ that designates how the individuals behave towards one another within the church and their conduct is guided by the one Spirit received in the one baptism. They are all to be treated the same within the church (1 Cor 12:25) with no discrimination with regards to race, social class or gender. These obvious differences will always exist in the world and the church, and while accepting the contributions that these differences and unique qualities add to the community and appreciating the value of the various talents and gifts of the members, whether spiritual or physical, everything must be done to build up the church (1 Cor 14:5) and to uphold the unity in Christ. The role of baptism in Pauline ethics In the four texts examined (1 Cor 6:11; 12:12-13; Gal 3:1-4:7 and Rom 5:20-6:1-14), only in Rom 6:12-13 does Paul exhort his readers to new actions by the use of imperative paranetic statements. Nevertheless, the baptism serves as a cornerstone for Pauline ethics. As has been mentioned time and again, the baptism into Christ leads to a change of identity for the person who has been baptised. It initiates a new identity for the individual, who is now in Christ, which also constitutes the identity of the church as a whole. As Hays562 states “there is a deep connection in Paul’s thought between Christology and ethics: to be in Christ is to have one’s life conformed to the self-giving love enacted in the cross.” The Christian existence is grounded in the faith and the baptism, for having been baptised into Christ and in the name of Christ, the individual believer and the church now live a life in Christ. In the baptism they have received the Spirit, having been baptised in and with the Spirit, and now live lives in the Spirit and are lead by the Spirit. This is the Christian indicative. However, Paul always uses the indicative to serve as reason and foundation for the imperative. Who you are, constitutes what you do and should do. Now since the baptism serves as foundation for the indicative and the indicative serves as foundation of the imperative, Paul consequently uses the baptism as basis for the Christian imperative. It should also be noted that the eschatological connotations associated with the baptism also serve as basis for the 562 Hays, The Moral Vision, 32. 97 indicative and consequent imperative.563 Because of faith in Christ one is in Christ and as a result one trusts and hopes in the life which is to come with Christ. It is in hope of this expectation that one lives a live that is fitting to the new identity. Thus the baptism plays an important role with regards to ethics. The significant role of baptism is also seen when its place in the letters or argument is regarded. For example, in Galatians Paul’s main argument stretches from 3:1-4:31, with the central statement being 3:26-29 relating everything to the baptism. The paranetic section of the letter is then derived from the main argument and consequently from the baptism. In Romans in the main body of text (Rom 1:188:39) Paul uses the analogy of the baptism as one of the ways to explain the life of the righteous, which then again serves as basis for the paranetic section found in Rom 12:1-15:6. Thus by use of his rhetoric and structure of his argument Paul uses baptism as cornerstone for expressing his ethical exhortations. As has been indicated, being baptised living 5 2 4 " and ( 2) Q and 5 # ( 2) # , leads to believers being and . Through the association of these phrases with the baptism, the imperative statements that are derived from the fact that the person is “in Christ” or “in Spirit” (Rom 8), can hence be understood as being derived from the baptism as well. Living in this new sphere as designated by Christ and the Spirit, calls for a new ethos. Paul relies on the references to baptism in order to illustrate “an die durch die Taufe geschaffene Wirklichkeit der definitiven und doch noch gefährdeten Lostrennung vom vorchristlichen, der Sünde verfallenen Leben zu appellieren, durch die die Adressaten grundlegend neu geworden und unter die gegenwärtige Herrschaft des Geistes und des Herrn gestellt worden sind.”564 Since those who have been baptised now have a completely new and changed identity, they should now act and behave in a manner that is fitting to their new identity. No longer are they to conduct themselves in unrighteous ways, doing unrighteous things (Rom 6:12), living as unjust, sexually immoral, idolaters, thieves (1 Cor 6:9-10). They should no longer be proud or prejudiced and discriminating against those who are different or considered inferior in some way or the other (1 Cor 12:13; Gal 3:28). They cannot continue living in sin and giving in to their sinful desires (Rom 6:2, 12). 563 Conzelmann, Korinther, 137: “Wenn jetzt zur eschatologischen Begründung der Mahnung die sakramentale tritt, so ist die Voraussetzung wieder die Relation von Indikativ and Imperativ, Heiligkeit und aktiver Heiligung.” 564 Schrage, Korinther, 1:434. 98 Instead they are to live as those who have been transformed, as those alive from the dead (Rom 6:13) who already live under God’s abounding favour and grace (Rom 6:14) and therefore do not need to sin to make grace abound (Rom 5:21). They are now to live a holy life, set apart for God, and as righteous (1 Cor 6:11) doing righteous acts and as servants of righteousness for God (Rom 6:13). This might also include suffering injustice at the hands of others (1 Cor 6:7), for a Christian’s conduct must be governed by love which enables one to put up with injustice.565 They are to glorify God in their body and spirit by living morally good lives. They are to live in harmony, unity and equality with fellow believers since all are one in Christ (Gal 3:28) which calls for a radical re-evaluation of there current perception on society and how they treat others. As Orr566 writes, “Paul’s stress on the spiritual nature of the gospel does not keep him from a tremendous concern about its application to all the personal and social relationships of life.” They are to use their gifts and talents to build up the unity of the church (1 Cor 14:4). Paul’s ethical instruction to live as righteous is an exhortation to believers to reply to God’s act of righteousness as has been accepted in the baptism.567 One can therefore conclude that the baptism into Christ and in the Spirit is the event which constitutes the start of the Christian life and gives believers a new identity in Christ and in the Spirit. The baptism is an acceptance and partaking in the salvation in Christ, is connected to the gift of the Spirit who makes it possible to truly acknowledge and understand this saving act of God.568 For as Schrage569 states the criterion and basis for Christian ethics “is God’s saving act in Jesus Christ. Ethics follows from this act and reflects it – is indeed implicit in it. ‘Indicative’ and ‘imperative’ should be understood “as a shorthand way of referring to substantial assurances of salvation and substantiated injunctions for action.” By accepting God’s salvation through faith and the baptism, believers are transformed to live a new life in the sight of God and being guided by the Spirit leads to a new ethos for the individual and the community of faith. As believers in Christ we can boldly proclaim, “This is who I am in Christ because I have been baptised into Christ. Since this is who I am, this is how I live to God guided by the Spirit!” 565 Fitzmyer, First Corinthians, 249. Orr, Corinthians, 198. 567 Schnelle, Gerechtigkeit, 86. 568 Barth, Die Taufe, 66. 569 Schrage, Ethics, 8, 167. 566 99 Bibliography Sources Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece. 27th ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993. Elliger, K., and Rudolph, W. eds. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. 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New York: United Bible societies, 1989. (L&N) Liddell, H. G., R. Scott, and H. S. Jones. A Greek-English Lexicon. 9th ed. with revised supplement. Oxford, 1996. (LSJ) Moulton, J. H., W. F. Howard, and N. Turner. A Grammar of New Testament Greek. 3d ed. with corrections and additions. 4 vols. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1906-1976. Schmoller, A. Pocket Concordance to the Greek New Testament. 8th ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1989. Spicq, C. Theological Lexicon of the New Testament. Translated and edited by James D. Ernest. 3 vols. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994. (TLNT) 100 Secondary literature Translations: New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (NRSV). Copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Commentaries: Betz, H. D. Galatians. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979. Cranfield, C. E. B. The Epistle to the Romans. 2 vols. ICC. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975. Conzelmann, H. 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