Just as we cannot approach Paul’s presentations of
“justification” in the isolation of individual verse, but must look to
Galatians, Philippians, and Ephesians in order to ascertain the
all-peoples-inclusive language that is the bedrock of justification, while also
looking to the stories in Acts to aid us in coming to terms with the
development of Paul’s theological, soteriological, ecclesiastical, and
eschatological positions, so also we do not consider what can be discovered in
the eighth chapter of Romans, as it is a vital interpretation of the work of
God in Christ and the ongoing story of Israel, in isolation as if it is an
isolated occurrence. In that spirit, we cast a net upon the waters of
Paul’s letters that we might be able to see that Paul’s position on display in
the eighth chapter of Romans, with its connection to the broader narrative of
Israel’s history and its being foundational for the call and purpose of the
church to live as the community of Resurrection, is most assuredly not
isolated.
Where might we look to find an echo of the prominent themes
of the latter half of chapter eight of Romans (glory, renewal/redemption,
groaning, and the affirmation of the goodness of God’s physical
creation)? Though these themes can be found littered throughout the Pauline
literature, we find them rather tightly packed in the second letter to the
Corinthians. Now, while it is quite possible that what we have in the New
Testament as the second Corinthian letter is actually a conglomeration of
multiple letters, there can be little doubt that the section at which we will
be looking, which comes to us as the end of chapter four and the beginning of
chapter five (according to the chapter divisions introduced into the text in
the thirteenth century) is from the same letter.
We read: “But since we have the same spirit of faith as that
shown in what has been written, ‘I believed, therefore I spoke,’” as Paul
includes (adopts?) the Gentile Corinthians as recipients of and participants in
Israel’s Scripture and its story, “we also believe, therefore we also
speak. We do so because we know that the one who raised up Jesus will
also raise us up with Jesus and will bring us with you into His presence”
(4:13-14). This fits nicely alongside “And if children, then heirs (namely
heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)---if indeed we suffer with him
so we may also be glorified with Him” (8:17).
Of course, this also causes us to back up just a bit so as
to incorporate some very Israel’s-exodus-story-like-but-now-transformed-by-Jesus-Gentile-believer-inclusive
language of suffering and glorification that is found in “We are experiencing
trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed but not driven to
despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not
destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the
life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body” (4:8-10), which, for Paul,
is the body of believers as a microcosm of the whole of the covenant people of
God, just as Israel, both the people and the land, were a microcosm of the
redeemed covenant people of all nations and the redeemed creation.
Continuing with that thought: “For we who are alive are
constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of
Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body. As a result, death is
at work in us, but life is at work in you” (4:11-12). Returning then to
Romans in our comparison, we read “For I consider that our present sufferings
cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us” (8:18).
Back to Corinthians: “For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace
that is including more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase to
the glory of God” (4:15). To Romans:
“For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility---not willingly but because of God
who subjected it---in hope that the creation itself will also be set free from
the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children”
(8:19-21). To Corinth: “Therefore we do not despair, but even if our
physical body is wearing away, or inner person is being renewed day by
day. For our momentary light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight
of glory far beyond all comparison” (4:16-17).
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