Faithful to Save: Pannenberg on God's Reconciling Action (T&T Clark Studies In Systematic Theology, 10)

253 Pages·2011·1.17 MB·English

by  Kent Eilers

T&T Clark Studies in
Systematic Theology
Edited by
John Webster
Ian A. McFarland
Ivor Davidson
Volume 10
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FAITHFUL TO SAVE
Pannenberg on God’s
Reconciling Action
Kent Eilers
Published by T&T Clark International
A Continuum Imprint
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704, New York, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Copyright © Kent Eilers, 2011
Kent Eilers has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act,
1988, to be identifi ed as the Author of this work.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 13: 978-0-567-44911-5
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Great Britain
For my parents, Don and Sue
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contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 The Anticipation of Reconciliation 16
1. The Presence of Salvation and the Concept of Reconciliation 19
2. Representation as the Form of the Salvation Event 28
3. The Triune God as Reconciler of the World 40
2 The Actualization of Reconciliation 71
1. Three Hallmarks of Pannenberg’s Doctrine of the Spirit 73
2. The Spirit’s Activity in Creation and Reconciliation 82
3. The Spirit and the Proclaimed Gospel 104
4. Conclusion 116
3 The Proclamation of the Reconciled Community 121
1. Justifi cation as Participation in Christ 125
2. The Church’s Ecstatic Participation in God’s
Reconciling Activity 137
3. Conclusion 154
4 The Completion of Reconciliation 158
1. The Promise of God’s Faithfulness 162
2. The Spirit as the Agent of Consummation 173
3. The Harmony of Human Totality 181
4. Faithfulness, Time, and the Trinity 203
Conclusion 207
Bibliography 217
Scripture Index 231
Subject and Author Index 233
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acknowledgments
This book starts with a celebration of debts.
My extended conversation with the theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg
took shape in the supportive and stimulating environment of King’s College,
University of Aberdeen, and from that work the present book was born.
Don Wood’s ability to suggest timely (and at times infuriating) questions
was matched only by his capacity for humanizing a process that could
have been oppressive and sterile. The research carried out under his patient
companionship was richer and fuller for it. Offering me time they could
not spare, John Webster and Philip Ziegler each took a valuable and con-
structive interest in my work as well, and for their mentoring in theological
discernment I am forever indebted.
I would be wrong to suppose that whatever truth the present work
contains was gained without the insights and support of others. Seasoned
readers of Pannenberg were important to me throughout my research and
writing, and from several in particular I gained fresh, wise perspective.
Christiaan Mostert was generous in the way he read a preliminary version
of my discussion of Pannenberg’s view of the Spirit and offered extensive
comments which helped in its development. I am thankful also for the
insightful, spirited interaction offered by my doctoral examiner Timothy
Bradshaw; he is a model of irenic theological engagement of the fi rst order.
F. LeRon Shults was consistently quick to respond to inquiries, and his
encouragement was a boon to my motivation on more than one occasion.
I have debts to those who inspired me to love theology. It was in the home
I grew up in that I learned to love talking and thinking about the Christian
faith and everything else in light of it. My parents modeled the best kind of
theological wisdom, and it is to them that this book is dedicated. There were
other mentors and one deserves special mention. Matt Heard’s extended
investment in my life has had the effect of providing vision for how the sub-
stance and robustness of the Gospel fi nds breath in the life of the Church,
how faith seeking understanding springs out from then turns back toward
worship. Then there are those friends who, in overabundance, invited me
into their worlds; far beyond their comments and suggestions their company
was a gift to me beyond measure. My dear friends Kyle Strobel, Mark
McDowell, and James Merrick were and continue to be best described,
like those to whom Paul sends his greetings in Romans 16, as “my beloved”
(a)gaphto&n mou).
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