The symbol of a ruling monarchy governed by constitution exercising dominion, authority, power, victory, commerce, rule of law, order and financial legitimacy. Revelation 3:7, 11 7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David (House of David), he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. TRANSITION FROM SONS TO HEIRS TO JOINT-HEIRS Galatians 4:4-7 4 When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Romans 8:15-17 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children (sons) , then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ… Ephesians 2:4-6 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 1:20-21 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: Hebrews 1:2-3 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Pauline scholarship has typically downplayed Paul's ethnic language, masked it as something else, or juxtaposed ethnic particularity with a universal faith in Christ. This chapter offers an examination of Paul's “us/them” language and shows how ethnicity, far from being invisible or irrelevant in Paul's thinking, organizes his religious categories. Paul employs oppositional ethnic construction (a phrase borrowed from Jonathan Hall) to contrast the plight of the gentiles (before Christ) with the Jews. This juxtaposition highlights the primary problem he seeks to address: gentile alienation from the God of Israel. The chapter concludes with a survey of Paul's ethnic terminology, which is often presented in the form of oppositional pairs: Jew/gentile, Jew/Greek, circumcised/foreskinned, etc. These pairings highlight the “otherness” of non-Jews on Paul's ethnic map.
In Galatians 2:7–9, Paul lays out the parameters for the spread of the gospel for himself and his Judiean colleagues: all agreed that ?We should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised? (Gal 2:9). This division of labor is crucial for understanding Paul: his task involves an intentional crossing of ethnic boundaries. Ethnicity determined the organization of the mission and Paul was responsible for the ethnic and religious "other."Here I explore Paul's construction of his identity as a Judean teacher of gentiles. Drawing on recent work in anthropology and critical race theory, I propose an approach which understands identity as flexible and multiplicative. Two principles operate within this dynamic model: 1) people shift identities according to specific circumstances and 2) people prioritize their various identities, ranking some higher than others.This model helps us understand Paul, who describes himself in a variety of ways: Judean by birth, born of the tribe of Benjamin, seed of Abraham, apostle to the gentiles, in Christ. These multiple identities as Paul shifts among them and sometimes ranks one over others serve his argument in strategic ways. He is willing, for example, to forego certain practices of the law (an important part of his Judean identity) in order to interact with gentiles (and he rebukes his colleagues for refusing to do so [Gal 2:11–14]). Yet other aspects of his identity are more important and also less flexible: his "in-Christness" (which he shares with gentiles) and his birth as a Judean (which he does not share with gentiles). In closing, I consider the implications this reading has for the identities of the members of his audience, who are simultaneously gentiles, in Christ, and adopted sons of God.
This introductory chapter lays the groundwork for the rest of the study by articulating the thesis of the book and then addressing several key issues. The book argues for a new way to read kinship and ethnic language in Paul that dismantles the contrast between a universal, “non-ethnic” Christianity and an ethnic, particular Judaism. Paul uses the discourses of kinship and ethnicity to construct a myth of origins for gentile Christ-followers and relies on the logic of patrilineal descent to create a new lineage for the gentiles, a lineage which links gentiles through Christ to the founding ancestor, Abraham. The chapter reviews scholarship on Paul, distinguishing between traditional readings and various strands of the “new perspective”. It addresses the issue of the audience of the letters, discusses the translation of Ioudaioi as “Jews“ or “Judeans”, and outlines a specific theoretical position which treats kinship and ethnicity as social constructs that nevertheless carry authority in defining collective identity.
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