Heralds and Community

Bo Young Kang

Description

This book is part of the ongoing debate about Paul’s understanding of the relationship between his own mission and the church’s. While this study endorses some previous scholarship on Paul’s silence about the church’s proactive evangelism in his letters, it argues that explanations for such silence cannot be adequately made from exegetical conclusions on related texts alone. Rather, this study suggests that constructing a plausible conception of mission as understood by Paul, influenced by the impact of the Jesus-tradition and Jewish restoration eschatology, is essential for explaining Paul’s thinking. Dr Kang proposes that Paul’s silence regarding congregational evangelism is due to his unique two-pronged conception of mission – one being the event of eschatological heralds, the other being the event of eschatological community.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 30 août 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781783680634
• Langue: English

Extrait

Christians have been commissioned by Jesus to “proclaim the good news” and to “make disciples of all nations.” But does that mean that every individual Christian is called to be an evangelist? That is very often the impression given in the church, and we are pointed to various verses in the Bible that are supposed to show that. Alternatively, do some Christians have that particular gift and calling, with others of us being called more simply to be salt and light in the world, witnessing to the Lord in that way? In this careful and scholarly study the Korean scholar Dr Bo Young Kang engages carefully with relevant texts in Paul’s letters, relating Paul’s teaching to that of Jesus, bringing out major themes, and helping us think constructively about what is still the great commission of the Lord to his church.
David Wenham, PhD
Associate Tutor in New Testament
Trinity College, Bristol, UK

Heralds and Community
An Enquiry into Paul’s Conception of Mission and Its Indebtedness to the Jesus-Tradition
Bo Young Kang

© 2016 by Bo Young Kang
Published 2016 by Langham Monographs
an imprint of Langham Creative Projects
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-901-9 Print
978-1-78368-062-7 Mobi
978-1-78368-063-4 ePub
978-1-78368-064-1 PDF
Bo Young Kang has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-901-9
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and a scholar’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth, and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

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Contents

Cover


Abstract


Acknowledgements


Abbreviations


1. General


2. Periodicals, Reference Works and Serials


3. OT Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Works


4. Classical, Hellenistic and Early Christian Writers and Sources


Chapter 1 General Introduction


1.1. Paul’s Conception of Mission and the Issue of His Missio-Ecclesial Understanding


1.2. Current Contour of the Debate


1.3. Objectives and Methodological Considerations


1.4. Summary


Chapter 2 Silence or Non-Silence? An Exegetical Study of Pauline Texts Having Possible Relevance to the Church’s Proactive Verbal Proclamation of the Gospel


2.1. Selecting the Relevant Pauline Passages


2.2. Paul’s Positive Recognition of the Church’s Proactive Gospel-Proclamation?


2.3. Paul’s Exhortation for Proactive Congregational Evangelism?


2.4. Texts from the Disputed Letters


2.5. Conclusion: Paul’s Consistent Silence about Congregational Evangelism


Chapter 3 Heralds and Community: Paul’s Conceptualization of Mission as a Bifurcated Eschatological Event


3.1. Paul’s Jewish Eschatology and His Conception of Mission


3.2. Paul’s Conception of Mission as an Inaugurated Eschatological Event


3.3. The Gospel Heralds as an Eschatological Event in Paul


3.4. The Community of the People of God as an Eschatological Event in Paul


3.5. Conclusion: Paul’s Conception of Mission as a Bifurcated Eschatological Event as the Primary Reason for His Silence about the Church’s Evangelism


Chapter 4 Paul’s Mission-Conception of the Eschatological Heralds and the Jesus-Tradition


4.1. Paul’s Conception of the Eschatological Heralds and the Jesus-Tradition of the Mission Discourse


4.2. The Jesus-Tradition as a Historical Corroboration of Paul’s Apostleship


4.3. Conclusion


Chapter 5 Paul’s Mission-Conception of the Eschatological Community and the Jesus-Tradition


5.1. The Question of the Influence of the Jesus-Tradition on Paul’s Missio-Ethical Understanding


5.2. Paul’s Dependence for His Missio-Ethical Understanding in Philippians 1:6–11 / 1:27–2:18 on the Jesus-Tradition in Matthew 5:14–16


5.3. Conclusion: The Influence of Jesus’ Missio-Ethical Teaching on Paul’s Conception of the Mission of the Eschatological Community


Chapter 6 Summary and Conclusions


6.1 Summary of Conclusions


6.2 Conclusion and Implications


Appendix A Paul’s Conception of Universal Evangelism?


A.1. “ Χριστὸς καταγγέλλεται ” in Philippians 1:18, a Theological Axiom of Unlimited Evangelism?


A.2. Conclusion


Appendix B The Origin of the Pauline (or Christian) Apostolate


B.1. Pre-Pauline Nature of Apostolate


B.2. ’Aπόστολος Χριστοῦ and Jesus’ שׁליחים


Appendix C The Scope of Apostles in Paul’s Thought


C.1. The Question of the Scope of Apostles in Paul’s Thought


C.2. Paul’s Use of the Appellation Apostle


C.3. Conclusion


Bibliography


1. Primary Sources


2. General Works


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Abstract
This study aims to explore the shape and nature of Paul’s conception of mission explaining his understanding of the church’s mission in relation to his understanding of his own mission as an apostle, and also to show the influence of the Jesus-tradition on the apostle’s conception. The thrust of the thesis is encapsulated in its title − Heralds and Community: An Enquiry into Paul’s Conception of Mission and Its Indebtedness to the Jesus-Tradition . This reflects a conviction that constructing a plausible conceptuality of mission as understood by Paul and considering influential factors, particularly the Jesus-tradition, are essential for understanding Paul’s ecclesial understanding and its relationship to his self-conception.
The findings and positions taken in this study are as follows: (1) Scholars have exaggerated the functional continuity between the apostle and the church in terms of evangelistic mission by using exegetically unsustainable arguments; in fact, Paul’s letters are silent about proactive verbal evangelism by the church qua the church. (2) Paul’s silence about congregational evangelism is due to his particular two-pronged (bifurcating) conception of mission, one prong being the event of eschatological heralds, the other prong being that of eschatological community. (3) In this conception of mission Paul maintains that God’s inaugurated and ongoing salvation is to be implemented by proactive proclamation of the gospel by the heralds on the one hand, and by ontological / ethical actualization of the gospel by the community of the people of God on the other hand. (4) Jewish scriptures and traditions are formative for Paul’s conception of mission, but Paul shows at various points his deep indebtedness to the Jesus-tradition, particularly to the context and contents of the synoptic mission discourse (for his concept of the heralds) and the Sermon on the Mount (for his concept of the community).
Acknowledgements
Several people have participated in the successful completion of this study. First I would like to give thanks to my teachers. My supervisor at Trinity College in Bristol, Rev Dr David Wenham, has been instrumental in guiding me throughout the entire research process, helping me grasp important ideas, providing many helpful comments, encouraging me to complete the project. Throughout my research, he was not just an academic expert but also a good Christian shepherd. I am also indebted to Rev Dr John Nolland, Rev Dr Pieter Lalleman, Dr Robert Dutch, Dr Stephen Travis and Rev Dr Steve Finamore. As I underwent upgrade examinations and the final viva they provided very useful comments. Rev Dr Christopher Wright, who was my principal at All Nations Christian College, has been a big influence on my biblical and missiological thoughts. He kindly read my dissertation and encouraged me to publish it.
I am also very grateful to those who helped me practically. I received help with English expressions and various practical helps from Dr John Gwyther and Mrs Julia Gwyther. They have always been good friends to my family and me. I also wish to thank the staff of Trinity College, Su Brown, Hazel Trapnell, Merry Carol Schoberg, Diana Dodson Lee and Sam Hands, and Vivian Doub at Langham Partnership International for their kind help regarding books, administration and all the publication process.
Last but not least, I want to express my love and thanks to my family. My wife Kyoungmi, and two children Sungeun and Dongwoo have been so good