August 1, 2018

Dear Church of the Apostles,

Over the last several weeks during our Sunday Eucharistic celebrations we have been considering Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. I am very grateful for men and women who have done the godly work of thinking and praying through Scripture.

Last week I mentioned a book by Richard B. Hays entitled The Moral Vision of the New Testament. Hays suggests three “focal images as guidelines for reflection about the New Testament canon.” I have found these images to be very helpful. Each is rich with theological thought, so boiling them down to a few sentences is tricky. However, I pray that they will encourage you nonetheless.

1. Community (1 Corinthians 1:2-3, Romans 12:1-2):
“The church is a countercultural community of discipleship, and this community is the primary addressee of God’s imperatives. The biblical story focuses on God’s design for forming a covenant people. Thus, the primary sphere of moral concern is not the character of the individual but the corporate obedience of the church.”

2. Cross (1 Corinthians 2:2, Philippians 3:10, 2 Corinthians 4:11):
“Jesus’ death on the cross is the paradigm for faithfulness to God in this world… Jesus’ death is consistently interpreted in the New Testament as an act of self-giving love, and the community is consistently called to take up the cross and follow the way that his death defines.”

3. New Creation (1 Corinthians 15, Romans 8:22-23)
“The church embodies the power of the resurrection in the midst of a not-yet-redeemed world. In the present time, new creation already appears, but only proleptically [in a state of anticipation]; consequently, we hang in suspense between Jesus’ resurrection and parousia [second coming].”

I look forward to continuing our sermon series through 1 Corinthians this Sunday. See you there!

Peace,
Brian+