Union with Christ in the New Testament

by Grant Macaskill

This book is a study of the union between God and those he has redeemed, as it is represented in the New Testament. In conversation with historical and systematic theology, Grant Macaskill argues that the union between God and his people is consistently represented by the New Testament authors as covenantal, with the participation of believers in the life of God specifically mediated by Jesus, the covenant hence, it involves union with Christ. Christ's mediation of divine presence is grounded in the ontology of the Incarnation, the real divinity and real humanity of his person, and by the full divine personhood of the Holy Spirit, who unites believers to him in faith. His personal narrative of death and resurrection is understood in relation to the covenant by which God's dealings with humanity are ordered. In their union with him, believers are transformed both morally and noetically, so that the union has an epistemic dimension, strongly affirmed by the theological
tradition but sometimes confused by scholars with Platonism.

This account is developed in close engagement with the New Testament texts, read against Jewish backgrounds, and allowed to inform one another as context. As a "participatory" understanding of New Testament soteriology, it is advanced in distinction to other participatory approaches that are here considered to be deficient, particularly the so-called "apocalyptic" approach that is popular in Pauline scholarship, and those attempts to read New Testament soteriology in terms of theosis , elements of which are nevertheless affirmed.

353 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Simon Voth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hat zwei große Teile: 1. Vorder- und Hintergründe zu Einheit mit Christus
2. Einheit mit Christus im NT.
Die Studie zeichnet sich zum einen darin aus, dass Macaskill sich traut, im gesamten NT zu arbeiten, ohne dabei diachrone und synchrone Elemente zu missachten. Zum anderen befindet er sich steht's in sehr Gewinnbringenden Gesprächen mit der orthodoxen, der lutherischen und reformierten Tradition aber insbes. auch mit den griechischen Vätern (denen er auch ein ganzes Kapitel gibt).
Ich fand auch die Betonung des bundestheologischen Rahmens von Einheit mit Christus sehr nice, worin er relationale und forensische Aspekte sehr gut zusammengebracht hat.
Seine Ergebnisse sind durch die Weite der Arbeit entsprechend nicht immer endgültig, die Synthese am Ende ist aber sehr hilfreich und gibt nochmal ne gute Richtung.

[Darryl Burling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid academic work, which makes a good contribution in several areas. Perhaps the most helpful aspect is the first half surveying other contributions on the subject.