Christ Absent and Present: A Study in Pauline Christology

269 Pages·2014·1.8 MB·English

by  Peter Orr

Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen
zum Neuen Testament · 2.Reihe
Herausgeber / Editor
Jörg Frey (Zürich)
Mitherausgeber / Associate Editors
Markus Bockmuehl (Oxford)
James A. Kelhoffer (Uppsala)
Hans-Josef Klauck (Chicago, IL)
Tobias Nicklas (Regensburg)
354

Peter Orr
Christ Absent and Present
A Study in Pauline Christology
Mohr Siebeck
Peter Orr: born 1972; 2004–2007 BDiv at Moore College, Sydney; 2008–2011 PhD in Theo-
logy and Religion at Durham University, UK; since 2011 New Testament Lecturer at Mel-
bourne School of Theology.
e-ISBN PDF 978-3-16-152884-2
ISBN 978-3-16-152883-5
ISSN 0340-9570 (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2.Reihe)
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliogra-
phie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2014 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. www.mohr.de
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Printed in Germany.
Preface
There are many people to whom I am very thankful for their help and sup-
port during the writing of this monograph. As this is a revision of my
Ph.D. thesis, my first thanks must go to my supervisor, Professor Francis
Watson. I am very grateful for his generosity, wise guidance, enthusiasm
and good humour. His unfailingly insightful contributions consistently
helped me deepen my understanding and sharpen my expression. I am also
very thankful to my examiners Dr Jane Heath and Dr Edward Adams
whose input was very gratefully received. I would also like to thank Pro-
fessor Jörg Frey and the editors at WUNT for accepting this thesis for pub-
lication, and to Dr Henning Ziebritzki and the very helpful team at Mohr
Siebeck for their help. Particular thanks to Ilse König for her help in pro-
ducing the manuscript and to Professor James Kelhoffer for his very help-
ful input on an earlier draft of this work.
A number of friends have directly or indirectly contributed to this the-
sis. I am very thankful for various helpful conversations and general en-
couragement from Paul and Caroline Ritchie, Steve and Dawn Orange,
Noel and Heather Purdy, Tim and Rosie Curtis, Russ and Aimee Grinter,
Dave and Amanda Clancey, Andrew and Kath Bruce, Geoff and Liz Rob-
son, Jonny and Jackie Gibson, Pete and Sarah Sholl, Will and Rachael Ru-
bie, Hamish and Marije Sneddon, Duncan and Laura Woods, Reuben and
Louisa Hunter, Chris Thomson, Pete and Katelyn Tong, Andrew and Jenny
Moody and Ross and Megan Walker.
This monograph started life in Durham and was completed in Mel-
bourne. Three couples deserve special mention for their support and
friendship. Leo and Vicky Davison made Durham a very special place for
our family and made it incredibly difficult to leave. We miss them greatly.
In Melbourne, Andrew and Michelle Price and David and Carole de Vil-
liers have become very close friends in a relatively short space of time. As
we anticipate an imminent move to Sydney, our excitement is tinged with
real sadness at leaving such good friends behind.
Everyone in the study room at 37 N Bailey in Durham was a great
source of help – whether providing clarity on exegetical points, challeng-
ing my theological presuppositions or unfolding the mysterious world of
American politics. So thank you to Dave Briones, Jono Linebaugh, Wes
VI Preface
Hill, Ben Blackwell, Orrey McFarland, John Goodrich, Jon Parker and
Todd Brewer. Special thanks to Ben Dunson, Matt Crawford and Lionel
Windsor who were not only great friends and helpful partners in the pro-
duction of this monograph, but exceptional examples of godly, Christian
scholarship.
Thanks to the church families at Christchurch Durham and Holy Trinity
Doncaster and to the Revs. Tony Jones and Andrew Reid for their friend-
ship and support.
Thanks to the faculty of Melbourne School of Theology for the encour-
agement to complete the revisions on this monograph – particularly Greg
Forbes, Andrew Brown, Scott Harrower and Peter Riddell.
My introduction to formal theological study came at Moore Theological
College in Sydney and I am very grateful to Mark Thompson and Peter
O’Brien for their continued friendship and support. Both took the time to
visit us in Durham and are models of rigorous scholarship combined with
exemplary Christian lives.
Finally, special thanks must go to my family. To my sister Susannah for
her support – especially when we were living in Durham. My parents, Phil-
ip and Kay, were exceptionally generous in supporting us through my
Ph.D. study. Our time in Durham would have been impossible without
them and so I am incredibly thankful to them both. To my sons Ben, Ollie,
Jonny and Daniel, I am grateful for keeping my feet firmly on the ground
(as well as every other part of me as they have wrestled me to the floor).
But most of all my thanks go to my closest companion and the delight
of my life – my wife Emma. To her this work is lovingly and gratefully
dedicated.

Soli Deo gloria!
Peter Orr
Melbourne, 2013
Table of Contents
Preface ......................................................................................................... V
Abbreviations ................................................................................................ X

Chapter 1: The Absence and Presence of Christ. An Introduction .................. 1
1. Presence and Absence ................................................................................ 1
2. Outline ....................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 2: Entry Point: Schweitzer and Käsemann on the Exalted Christ ....... 6
1. Schweitzer on the Exalted Christ ................................................................ 7
1.1 Christ in Heaven ....................................................................................... 7
1.1.1 The Mystical Union of Christ with Believers ............................................. 9
1.1.2 Christ and the Lord’s Supper ............................................................... 14
1.2 Christ’s Agency from Heaven .................................................................... 16
1.2.1 Paul and the Revelation of the Exalted Christ .......................................... 17
1.2.2 The Soteriological Activity of the Exalted Christ ..................................... 18
1.3 Summary .............................................................................................. 20
2. Käsemann on the Exalted Christ ............................................................... 22
2.1 Christ on Earth ....................................................................................... 22
2.1.1 Christ and the Believer ...................................................................... 23
2.1.2 Christ and the Church ........................................................................ 25
2.2 Christ’s Agency on Earth .......................................................................... 32
2.3 Summary .............................................................................................. 37
3. Summary and Conclusion ........................................................................ 38
Chapter 3: The Absence of Christ ................................................................ 42
1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 42
2. Christian Experience and the Absence of Christ (Phil 1:21–26) ................ 43
3. The Parousia and the Absence of Christ (1 Thess 4:15–17) ...................... 51
4. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 58
Chapter 4: The Nature of the Exalted Body of Christ ................................... 60
1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 60
VIII Table of Contents
2. Christ’s Heavenly Body (1 Cor 15:25–41) ................................................ 62
3. Christ’s Spiritual Body (1 Cor 15:42–44) ................................................. 67
3.1 Dale Martin: A Lighter Body ..................................................................... 68
3.2 Troels Engberg-Pedersen: A Body Composed of the Material Spirit .................... 72
3.3 Litwa: A Deified Body ............................................................................. 81
3.4 Conclusion: A Body Transformed by the Spirit............................................... 85
4. Christ’s Human Body (1 Cor 15:45–49) ................................................... 86
5. Christ’s Discrete Body (Rom 8:29) .......................................................... 91
6. Christ’s Located Humanity (Rom 8:34) .................................................... 95
7. Conclusion ............................................................................................. 100
Chapter 5: The Bodily Absence of Christ ................................................... 102
1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 102
2. Christ’s Current Bodily Absence (2 Cor 5:6–8) ...................................... 102
3. Christ’s Future Bodily Coming (Phil 3:20–21) ....................................... 110
4. Conclusion ............................................................................................. 113
Chapter 6: The Epiphanic Presence of Christ ............................................. 115
1. The Presence of Christ: Introduction ...................................................... 115
2. The Epiphanic Presence of Christ: Introduction ...................................... 118
3. The Aroma of Christ (2 Cor 2:14–17)..................................................... 121
3.1 Background to Aroma Imagery ................................................................. 123
3.2 Paul’s Apostolic Preaching and Existence ................................................... 126
3.3 Paul, the Aromatic Presence of Christ ........................................................ 127
4. The Letter of Christ (2 Cor 3:1–3) .......................................................... 128
5. The Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor 3:4–17) ..................................................... 134
5.1 An Absolute Identity between Christ and Spirit ............................................ 135
5.2 A Dynamic Identity between Christ and Spirit .............................................. 136
5.3 Identifying the Lord of 2 Corinthians 3:17 ................................................... 138
6. The Glory of Christ (2 Cor 3:18) ............................................................ 142
7. The Face of Christ (2 Cor 4:1–6) ............................................................ 147
8. The Life of Jesus (2 Cor 4:7–12) ............................................................ 152
9. Summary and Conclusion ...................................................................... 159
Chapter 7: The Dynamic Presence of Christ............................................... 161
1. Introduction: Christ as Agent ................................................................. 161
2. Personal Mediation: Revelation (Rom 15:18–19; 2 Cor 13:1–4) ............. 161
2.1 Christ Working through Paul (Rom 15:18–19).............................................. 165
2.2 Christ Speaking through Paul (2 Cor 13:1–4) ............................................... 169
3. Impersonal Mediation: Discipline (1 Cor 11:27–34) ............................... 174
4. Summary and Conclusion ...................................................................... 180
IX
Table of Contents
Chapter 8: The Bodily Presence of Christ .................................................. 182
1. Introduction: Christ’s Bodily Presence ................................................... 182
2. Christ and the Ecclesial Body (1 Cor 12:1–31) ....................................... 183
2.1 Christ Embodied in the World by the Church (Käsemann et al) ........................ 184
2.2 Christ Embodied in the Church as the Spirit (Engberg-Pedersen) ...................... 186
2.3 Christ Present to the Church by the Mediation of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:1–31) ........ 189
2.3.1 1 Corinthians 12:1–11 ..................................................................... 189
2.3.2 1 Corinthians 12:12–31 .................................................................... 192
2.4 Conclusion: The Absent Christ and his Present Spirit. .................................... 197
3. Christ and the Individual Body (Rom 8:9–10) ........................................ 199
3.1 Christ Experienced by the Believer as the Spirit (Dunn) .................................. 199
3.2 Christ Localised in the Believer by the Spirit (Barth) ..................................... 200
3.3 Christ Present to the Believer by the Mediation of the Spirit (Rom 8:9–10) ......... 201
3.3.1 The Hypostatic Spirit ...................................................................... 202
3.3.2 The Personal Intercession of the Spirit ................................................. 204
3.3.3 The Inter-dependence but Non-identity of Christ and Spirit ...................... 208
4. Christ and the Eucharistic Body (1 Cor 10:1–16).................................... 212
4.1 Christ’s Embodied Presence ..................................................................... 213
4.1.1 Physical Embodiment ...................................................................... 213
4.1.2 Spiritual Embodiment ...................................................................... 215
4.2 Christ’s Mediated Presence ...................................................................... 216
5. Summary and Conclusion ...................................................................... 218
Chapter 9: Conclusion ............................................................................... 219

Bibliography .............................................................................................. 225
Index of Ancient Sources ........................................................................... 241
Index of Modern Authors ........................................................................... 252
Index of Subjects ....................................................................................... 256