Becoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and Mission
Overview
The first detailed exegetical treatment of Paul’s letters from the emerging discipline of missional hermeneutics, Michael Gorman’s Becoming the Gospel argues that Paul’s letters invite Christian communities both then and now to not merely believe the gospel but to become the gospel and, in doing so, to participate in the life and mission of God. Showing that Pauline churches were active public participants in and witnesses to the gospel, Gorman reveals the missional significance of various themes in Paul’s letters. He also identifies select contemporary examples of mission in the spirit of Paul, inviting all Christians to practice Paul-inspired imagination in their own contexts.
Top Highlights
“This book lies at the intersection of three theological subdisciplines: Pauline studies, hermeneutics, and missiology.” (Page 10)
“The thesis of chapter one, and one major claim of this book, in a nutshell, was this: that Paul expected the salvation of God to spread throughout the world not only by means of his own gospel ministry (and that of his close colleagues), but also by means of the participation of his converts in the various house churches. They were, in essence, to become the gospel, not merely playing a supportive role by praying for and underwriting Paul’s work, but participating in the advance of the gospel through proclamation, praxis, and persecution (i.e., suffering). In a word, through witness: witness in word, in deed, and in the unpleasant consequences that often attend faithful witness.” (Page 61)
“To be in Christ is to be in mission; to participate in the gospel is to participate in the advance of the gospel.” (Page 62)
“The convergence of koinōnia with Jesus and koinōnia with one another in these texts from 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 is remarkable. Without reducing union with Christ to ecclesiology, Paul makes it clear that union with Christ apart from the community is impossible, and anything that destroys the community, the body of Christ, is an attack on Christ himself, the body of the Lord (esp. 11:29).” (Page 30)
“First, there is the language of baptism as dying and rising with Christ and as entering into Christ:” (Page 26)
- Title: Becoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and Mission
- Author: Michael J. Gorman
- Series: The Gospel and Our Culture Series
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Missions › Biblical teaching; Mission of the church › Biblical teaching
- ISBNs: 9780802868848, 0802868843
- Resource ID: LLS:BCMNGGSPLPRMSSN
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:09:03Z