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The Gospel and Our Culture
Becoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and Mission (The Gospel and Our Culture Series
The first detailed exegetical treatment of Paul’s letters from the emerging discipline of missional hermeneutics, Michael Gorman’s Becoming the Gospel argues that Paul’s letters invite Christian communities both then and now to not merely believe the gospel but to become the gospel and, in doing so, to participate in the life and mission of God.
Showing that Pauline churches were active public participants in and witnesses to the gospel, Gorman reveals the missional significance of various themes in Paul’s letters. He also identifies select contemporary examples of mission in the spirit of Paul, inviting all Christians to practice Paul-inspired imagination in their own contexts.
Showing that Pauline churches were active public participants in and witnesses to the gospel, Gorman reveals the missional significance of various themes in Paul’s letters. He also identifies select contemporary examples of mission in the spirit of Paul, inviting all Christians to practice Paul-inspired imagination in their own contexts.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2015
139 people are currently reading
298 people want to read
About the author
Michael J. Gorman
53 books84 followersMichael J. Gorman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar. He is the Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University. From 1995 to 2012 he was dean of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.
Gorman specializes especially in the letters, theology, and spirituality of the apostle Paul. He is associated with the "participationist perspective" on Paul's theology. His additional specialties are the book of Revelation, theological and missional interpretation of Scripture, the gospel of John, and early Christian ethics. Gorman was born and raised in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, graduating from Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in French from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. He received the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy cum laude in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was also a teaching fellow in New Testament and an instructor in New Testament Greek. He has also been a visiting professor at Duke Divinity School, Regent College, Carey Baptist College (New Zealand), Wesley Theological Seminary, and two theological schools in Africa. Gorman has led several study trips to Greece/Turkey/Rome and to France/Switzerland. A United Methodist, Gorman is an active layperson and a popular teacher at colleges, seminaries, churches, and conferences representing many traditions. In the mid-2010s, despite still being a Methodist, Gorman began teaching in a Roman Catholic context. His older son, Rev. Dr. Mark Gorman, is a pastor and theologian who is also on the faculty of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.
Gorman is the author of nearly twenty books and more than sixty articles on Biblical interpretation and on ethics.
Gorman specializes especially in the letters, theology, and spirituality of the apostle Paul. He is associated with the "participationist perspective" on Paul's theology. His additional specialties are the book of Revelation, theological and missional interpretation of Scripture, the gospel of John, and early Christian ethics. Gorman was born and raised in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, graduating from Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in French from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. He received the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy cum laude in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was also a teaching fellow in New Testament and an instructor in New Testament Greek. He has also been a visiting professor at Duke Divinity School, Regent College, Carey Baptist College (New Zealand), Wesley Theological Seminary, and two theological schools in Africa. Gorman has led several study trips to Greece/Turkey/Rome and to France/Switzerland. A United Methodist, Gorman is an active layperson and a popular teacher at colleges, seminaries, churches, and conferences representing many traditions. In the mid-2010s, despite still being a Methodist, Gorman began teaching in a Roman Catholic context. His older son, Rev. Dr. Mark Gorman, is a pastor and theologian who is also on the faculty of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.
Gorman is the author of nearly twenty books and more than sixty articles on Biblical interpretation and on ethics.
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August 7, 2022
“To put it simply: the cross of Christ reveals a missional, justifying, justice-making God and creates a missional, justified, justice-making people.”, p. 9
August 27, 2016
Michael Gorman’s 2015 book, Becoming the Gospel, takes an illuminating look at Paul’s perspective on the Church’s participation in the mission of God (missio Dei). It forms the final entry in what Gorman calls a “partly accidental” trilogy—the first book being Cruciformity (2001) and the second Inhabiting the Cruciform God (2009) (pp.2-3). In Cruciformity, Gorman argued that the cruciform, self-giving love of Christ found in Paul’s writings, and especially expressed in the Philippian Christ Hymn (Phil. 2:6-11), formed the center of both Paul’s theology and spirituality.
Inhabiting the Cruciform God extended the main argument of Cruciformity by seeking to show that, “For Paul, to be one with Christ is to be one with God; to be like Christ is to be like God,” meaning that “for Paul cruciformity… is really theoformity, or theosis” (Inhabiting the Cruciform God, p.4). Starting from this premise, he developed a reading of Paul’s letters that weaved together the (sometimes) seemingly opposed frameworks of legal/forensic and participatory understandings of justification and salvation, arguing that far from being opposed to one another, these forensic and participatory categories are more like two sides of the same coin. Therefore, one can say that justification in Paul can also be understood as the beginning of “an experience of participating in Christ’s resurrection life that is effected by co-crucifixion with him” (Inhabiting the Cruciform God, p.40).
Gorman suggested that this reality of transformation through participation in the “character of God through Spirit-enabled conformity to the incarnate, crucified, and resurrected/glorified Christ” can be appropriately described with the traditionally Orthodox language of theosis (Inhabiting the Cruciform God, p.162). Now, in the pages of Becoming the Gospel, he uses the interpretative framework developed throughout the first two volumes of his trilogy to read Paul’s letters with a missional hermeneutic, attempting to show that “because Paul expects the church to embody the gospel… its very identity is inherently missional” (p.18).
Participating in the Missio Dei
Essentially, Gorman argues that Paul wanted his readers “not merely to believe the gospel but to become the gospel, and in so doing to participate in the very life and mission of God” (p.2). Hence, he argues that even as early as the first century, the Church was already being called to be a “living exegesis” of the gospel (p.43). This vocation flows out of the Church’s participation in the mission of God:
[T]he cross of Christ reveals a missional, justifying, justice-making God and creates a missional, justified, justice-making people. Because the cross reveals a missional God, the church saved and shaped by the cross will be a missional people. (p.9)
Gorman finds Paul’s perspective on the role of the Church in the missio Dei to be quite similar to that of British theologian John Colwell, who writes that, “Through its service and being as witness, the Church is a rendering of the gospel to the world” (Living the Christian Story, p.85). What does it look like to read Paul missionally? It means approaching the text with questions like, “How do we read Paul for what he says about the missio Dei and about our participation in it?” (p.12). For those of us who embrace Paul’s writings as Scripture, it also entails asking, “How does God expect us who read Paul’s letters to participate in the missio Dei?” (p.58).
What did Paul think about the mission of God in the world? Gorman thinks the answer to this is actually quite clear: for Paul, the mission of God was to bring forgiveness and salvation to the world, and to liberate humanity and the rest of the cosmos from the power of Sin and Death (Rom. 1:16; Rom. 8:2) (pp.23-24). As we have noted before, Gorman believes that salvation in Paul has an important participatory nature; he finds the concept of “union with Christ” to be important. One of the ways in which he supports this assertion is by pointing out Pauline passages (like 2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21; and Rom. 12:1-2), which speak of those “in Christ” being transformed into the image of Christ through the work of the Spirit.
Gorman shows that these themes of “participation, new creation, and transformation” all come together when Paul tells the Corinthians first that “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17, NRSV) and secondly, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2. Cor. 5:21, NRSV) (p.32). He explains, “Participation in God’s new creation means, once again, transformation… To become the righteousness/justice of God is to be transformed into the image of God, which is to become like Christ by being in Christ” (p.32). This language can come across to some, unfortunately, as being overly “vertical,” more concerned with inner transformation than with witnessing to the surrounding world. Gorman pushes back against this sentiment, asserting that, “‘Participation’ doesn’t mean a ‘holy huddle'” (p.35).
One of the debates within the world of Pauline studies is about whether or not (or to what extent) Paul expected his readers to also engage in missions (p.36). Gorman argues that Paul did indeed want his communities to do this:
[W]hat Paul wants… in all his churches is a “salvific intentionality” that expresses the mind, or mindset of Christ… This is to be the fundamental similarity between Paul and all those in Christ: a mindset that issues inevitably in loving, cruciform inward-focused (i.e., community-focused, or centripetal) and outward-focused (i.e., centrifugal) praxis. Both express and further the missio Dei. (pp.39-40)
Of course, Gorman would also suggest that “inward-focused” and “outward-focused” activities are intimately connected together in a healthy community of believers. Given the importance of Philippians in Gorman’s work on Paul, it only seems right that we turn to his perspective on the missional implications of the Christ Hymn in Phil. 2:6-11 before closing with a few final thoughts on the book.
The Christ Hymn and Living Missionally
The poetic narrative found in Phil. 2:6-11 has figured prominently in Gorman’s writings for a long time. Back when he wrote Cruciformity, it was foundational for his understanding of Paul’s “narrative spirituality.” Now, in Becoming the Gospel, he again affirms that this passage is the “theological centerpiece” of the letter (p.108). What are some of the implications of these verses for the internal and external missional life of the Church? That is what Gorman wants to explore here.
In other places, he has called the Phil 2:6-11 Paul’s “master story”—it sits close to the heart of Paul’s conception of the gospel. This passage builds up the faith of Paul’s readers by bringing before them once gain the content of the master story for which they live and (sometimes) suffer (p.121). Of course, truly embracing the life of cruciform love recounted in Phil 2:6-11 will include both inward-focused and outward-focused beliefs and practices for the Philippian Christians. For me at least, it is here that the missional implications of Gorman’s understanding of Pauline theology are easiest to see. He writes:
Just as Paul loved and loves the Philippians (1:1-8, 24), so also the Philippians can live worthily of the gospel only if they love the world sufficiently to bear witness to it. Just as John 3:16—”God so loved the world”—has missional implications for the church to love the world, so also “Christ emptied himself and humbled himself in love” has missional implications for the church to love the world in incarnational and cruciform ways. (p.125)
In addition to Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Gorman also works through 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and Romans. His section on Romans is especially in depth because in it he attempts to demonstrate the need for adding participation/theosis to the list of other traditionally important themes recognized in the letter (like justification, the righteousness of God, the obedience of faith etc.) (pp.261, 268). For Gorman, the overarching idea of being conformed into the cruciform image of Christ by participation in the empowering work of the Spirit is an important way of thinking about the long haul of growing up in Christ, even if one avoids using the language of theosis/Christosis to describe it.
Conclusion
Near the beginning of Becoming the Gospel, Gorman tells readers that part of the inspiration for writing this book came from a critique of his previous book, Inhabiting the Cruciform God (pp.3-4). One reviewer of that book expressed concern regarding the place of missions in Gorman’s interpretation of Pauline theology. “He contended that my understanding of theosis implicitly separated being and act, union with God and mission,” going on to add that he doubted that Gorman actually wanted to separate these things (pp.3-4). In response, Gorman writes:
The thesis of the present book is precisely the opposite: theosis—Spirit-enabled transformative participation in the life and character of God revealed in the crucified and resurrected Messiah Jesus—is the starting point of mission and is, in fact, its proper theological framework… being and act, life and mission, belong together both for God and for the church. (pp.4-5).
So now, as we reach the end of this review, we can step back and reflect on how Gorman has fleshed out his response to these concerns. The basic thesis of the book—that Paul wanted his readers to “embody” the gospel not just to “believe” it—is not in itself too controversial. It doesn’t seem to me that difficult to get people to agree that believers shouldn’t merely give intellectual assent to the gospel but should embrace it with both mind, hand, and heart (one hears echoes of Vanhoozer here). The second leap in his argument is to show that “embodying” the gospel is inherently missional.
It seems to me that Gorman’s strongest move is in showing that this language of “embodying the gospel”, just like Paul’s language of being “baptized with Christ,” “crucified with Christ,” and “clothed with Christ” has an inherent participatory dimension. That doesn’t mean that legal/forensic understandings of justification/salvation must now be marginalized—far from it. However, I suggest that it shows the inadequacy of those who interpret Paul using only a forensic lens. Paul used both legal and participatory metaphors for justification and salvation, and both are needed.
Becoming the Gospel persuasively supports his overall argument regarding the importance of participation in Paul, and does much to flesh out how these themes relate to the world of missional hermeneutics. Even for those who disagree with him, reading Gorman is a deepening experience of wrestling with the meaning of Paul’s letters in conversation with a theologian who deeply loves them. I definitely recommend it.
*Disclosure: I received this book free from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. for review purposes. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.
**More theology book reviews can be found at Tabletalktheology.com
Inhabiting the Cruciform God extended the main argument of Cruciformity by seeking to show that, “For Paul, to be one with Christ is to be one with God; to be like Christ is to be like God,” meaning that “for Paul cruciformity… is really theoformity, or theosis” (Inhabiting the Cruciform God, p.4). Starting from this premise, he developed a reading of Paul’s letters that weaved together the (sometimes) seemingly opposed frameworks of legal/forensic and participatory understandings of justification and salvation, arguing that far from being opposed to one another, these forensic and participatory categories are more like two sides of the same coin. Therefore, one can say that justification in Paul can also be understood as the beginning of “an experience of participating in Christ’s resurrection life that is effected by co-crucifixion with him” (Inhabiting the Cruciform God, p.40).
Gorman suggested that this reality of transformation through participation in the “character of God through Spirit-enabled conformity to the incarnate, crucified, and resurrected/glorified Christ” can be appropriately described with the traditionally Orthodox language of theosis (Inhabiting the Cruciform God, p.162). Now, in the pages of Becoming the Gospel, he uses the interpretative framework developed throughout the first two volumes of his trilogy to read Paul’s letters with a missional hermeneutic, attempting to show that “because Paul expects the church to embody the gospel… its very identity is inherently missional” (p.18).
Participating in the Missio Dei
Essentially, Gorman argues that Paul wanted his readers “not merely to believe the gospel but to become the gospel, and in so doing to participate in the very life and mission of God” (p.2). Hence, he argues that even as early as the first century, the Church was already being called to be a “living exegesis” of the gospel (p.43). This vocation flows out of the Church’s participation in the mission of God:
[T]he cross of Christ reveals a missional, justifying, justice-making God and creates a missional, justified, justice-making people. Because the cross reveals a missional God, the church saved and shaped by the cross will be a missional people. (p.9)
Gorman finds Paul’s perspective on the role of the Church in the missio Dei to be quite similar to that of British theologian John Colwell, who writes that, “Through its service and being as witness, the Church is a rendering of the gospel to the world” (Living the Christian Story, p.85). What does it look like to read Paul missionally? It means approaching the text with questions like, “How do we read Paul for what he says about the missio Dei and about our participation in it?” (p.12). For those of us who embrace Paul’s writings as Scripture, it also entails asking, “How does God expect us who read Paul’s letters to participate in the missio Dei?” (p.58).
What did Paul think about the mission of God in the world? Gorman thinks the answer to this is actually quite clear: for Paul, the mission of God was to bring forgiveness and salvation to the world, and to liberate humanity and the rest of the cosmos from the power of Sin and Death (Rom. 1:16; Rom. 8:2) (pp.23-24). As we have noted before, Gorman believes that salvation in Paul has an important participatory nature; he finds the concept of “union with Christ” to be important. One of the ways in which he supports this assertion is by pointing out Pauline passages (like 2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21; and Rom. 12:1-2), which speak of those “in Christ” being transformed into the image of Christ through the work of the Spirit.
Gorman shows that these themes of “participation, new creation, and transformation” all come together when Paul tells the Corinthians first that “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17, NRSV) and secondly, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2. Cor. 5:21, NRSV) (p.32). He explains, “Participation in God’s new creation means, once again, transformation… To become the righteousness/justice of God is to be transformed into the image of God, which is to become like Christ by being in Christ” (p.32). This language can come across to some, unfortunately, as being overly “vertical,” more concerned with inner transformation than with witnessing to the surrounding world. Gorman pushes back against this sentiment, asserting that, “‘Participation’ doesn’t mean a ‘holy huddle'” (p.35).
One of the debates within the world of Pauline studies is about whether or not (or to what extent) Paul expected his readers to also engage in missions (p.36). Gorman argues that Paul did indeed want his communities to do this:
[W]hat Paul wants… in all his churches is a “salvific intentionality” that expresses the mind, or mindset of Christ… This is to be the fundamental similarity between Paul and all those in Christ: a mindset that issues inevitably in loving, cruciform inward-focused (i.e., community-focused, or centripetal) and outward-focused (i.e., centrifugal) praxis. Both express and further the missio Dei. (pp.39-40)
Of course, Gorman would also suggest that “inward-focused” and “outward-focused” activities are intimately connected together in a healthy community of believers. Given the importance of Philippians in Gorman’s work on Paul, it only seems right that we turn to his perspective on the missional implications of the Christ Hymn in Phil. 2:6-11 before closing with a few final thoughts on the book.
The Christ Hymn and Living Missionally
The poetic narrative found in Phil. 2:6-11 has figured prominently in Gorman’s writings for a long time. Back when he wrote Cruciformity, it was foundational for his understanding of Paul’s “narrative spirituality.” Now, in Becoming the Gospel, he again affirms that this passage is the “theological centerpiece” of the letter (p.108). What are some of the implications of these verses for the internal and external missional life of the Church? That is what Gorman wants to explore here.
In other places, he has called the Phil 2:6-11 Paul’s “master story”—it sits close to the heart of Paul’s conception of the gospel. This passage builds up the faith of Paul’s readers by bringing before them once gain the content of the master story for which they live and (sometimes) suffer (p.121). Of course, truly embracing the life of cruciform love recounted in Phil 2:6-11 will include both inward-focused and outward-focused beliefs and practices for the Philippian Christians. For me at least, it is here that the missional implications of Gorman’s understanding of Pauline theology are easiest to see. He writes:
Just as Paul loved and loves the Philippians (1:1-8, 24), so also the Philippians can live worthily of the gospel only if they love the world sufficiently to bear witness to it. Just as John 3:16—”God so loved the world”—has missional implications for the church to love the world, so also “Christ emptied himself and humbled himself in love” has missional implications for the church to love the world in incarnational and cruciform ways. (p.125)
In addition to Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Gorman also works through 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and Romans. His section on Romans is especially in depth because in it he attempts to demonstrate the need for adding participation/theosis to the list of other traditionally important themes recognized in the letter (like justification, the righteousness of God, the obedience of faith etc.) (pp.261, 268). For Gorman, the overarching idea of being conformed into the cruciform image of Christ by participation in the empowering work of the Spirit is an important way of thinking about the long haul of growing up in Christ, even if one avoids using the language of theosis/Christosis to describe it.
Conclusion
Near the beginning of Becoming the Gospel, Gorman tells readers that part of the inspiration for writing this book came from a critique of his previous book, Inhabiting the Cruciform God (pp.3-4). One reviewer of that book expressed concern regarding the place of missions in Gorman’s interpretation of Pauline theology. “He contended that my understanding of theosis implicitly separated being and act, union with God and mission,” going on to add that he doubted that Gorman actually wanted to separate these things (pp.3-4). In response, Gorman writes:
The thesis of the present book is precisely the opposite: theosis—Spirit-enabled transformative participation in the life and character of God revealed in the crucified and resurrected Messiah Jesus—is the starting point of mission and is, in fact, its proper theological framework… being and act, life and mission, belong together both for God and for the church. (pp.4-5).
So now, as we reach the end of this review, we can step back and reflect on how Gorman has fleshed out his response to these concerns. The basic thesis of the book—that Paul wanted his readers to “embody” the gospel not just to “believe” it—is not in itself too controversial. It doesn’t seem to me that difficult to get people to agree that believers shouldn’t merely give intellectual assent to the gospel but should embrace it with both mind, hand, and heart (one hears echoes of Vanhoozer here). The second leap in his argument is to show that “embodying” the gospel is inherently missional.
It seems to me that Gorman’s strongest move is in showing that this language of “embodying the gospel”, just like Paul’s language of being “baptized with Christ,” “crucified with Christ,” and “clothed with Christ” has an inherent participatory dimension. That doesn’t mean that legal/forensic understandings of justification/salvation must now be marginalized—far from it. However, I suggest that it shows the inadequacy of those who interpret Paul using only a forensic lens. Paul used both legal and participatory metaphors for justification and salvation, and both are needed.
Becoming the Gospel persuasively supports his overall argument regarding the importance of participation in Paul, and does much to flesh out how these themes relate to the world of missional hermeneutics. Even for those who disagree with him, reading Gorman is a deepening experience of wrestling with the meaning of Paul’s letters in conversation with a theologian who deeply loves them. I definitely recommend it.
*Disclosure: I received this book free from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. for review purposes. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.
**More theology book reviews can be found at Tabletalktheology.com
June 18, 2025
This is a very, very good book! Fairly intellectual/commentaryesque at times, but the holistic nature of his writing throughout is something I deeply appreciated. In this book, Gorman walks through various Pauline Epistles and unpacks a robust understanding of the gospel of the Kingdom that naturally finds its overflow in the lives of those who are a part of that Kingdom. This book was a beautiful articulation of gospel and mission, and also had excellent forays into topics such as men and women in the household code texts, environmental stewardship and creation care, pacifism and nonviolence, and theosis. I’ll definitely circle back to this book, especially when studying any of the Epistles he specifically covered here (1 Thessalonians, Philippians, Ephesians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and Romans).
April 1, 2019
Michael Gorman's books are significant. Had very high expectations for this third book in his trilogy on Paul. The first book, Cruciformity, is one of the most challenging and profound treatments of Christianity I've ever read. This book fell flat, though still full of helpful insights. Particularly the idea that faith is more than just intellectual assent to certain theological truths. Rather, it is participation. Believing the gospel leads to becoming the gospel.
June 11, 2021
There are many interesting ideas contained within, often communicated very well. However, I often found myself tangled in a mire of jargon, and drifting as I read. When I did come back for air, I often liked what I found.
September 11, 2019
Добра, научна, ясно написана и в същото време неуспяваща да ме грабне - точно както останалите книги на Гормън. Не зная защо така.
November 30, 2017
In general I like the writings of Michael Gorman. I got this book because of reviews I read mentioning theosis and peace. I think the 2 chapters in the book focusing on peace (chapters 5 & 6) are 5 star excellent. I was less taken by other parts of the book, partially because I think he is writing an apology to Protestants for some things we Orthodox naturally accept, and writing about other things which simply are not our questions and issues.
August 12, 2015
I have read with appreciation some of Gorman's previous work on Paul. He writes clearly and well. You know where he stands. This book is described as an effort in the budding field of "missional hermeneutics." Basically the author is saying that Paul is concerned that the churches with whom he is involved should be living as God's people for God's purposes in the world, that is, as followers of Jesus who is the Christ, missional people. Gorman explains in detail how what Paul writes to the churches is encouragement, correction and instruction on how one participates in Christ and in so doing becomes the gospel (good news) for the world. This is a good book especially for those who might read Paul without a thought of mission in their minds. It seems amazing to me that it's taken this long for NT scholars to get to a "missional hermeneutic." I suppose it's a forest and trees kind of thing. What other gorillas are walking around in scripture, invisible to us, because of our perceptual blindness? I'd like to give this book 4.5 stars. Wish the star rating system were not so blunt a tool.
April 22, 2021
It was a challenge get into it smoothly at first, but halfway through reading it I just devoured every page and hungered for more it. I am astounded by how clearly and wonderfully Dr. Gorman explained the missio Dei, and how our anticipatory participation in the life and work of God through Jesus Christ as living exegesis of the gospel is how God has intended for the new humanity to come about to share his glory. This book is just so packed with so much good stuff that I highly recommend it to those looking to better understand or deepen their theological understanding of mission and the gospel.
June 9, 2015
I think this is a very import follow-up to his two fantastic books, Cruciformity and Inhabiting the Cruciform God. Gorman challenges commonly held understandings of Pauline theology and helps the reader better understand the terms and ideas Paul is using to encourage the church to live faithfully in light of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Terms like righteousness/justice and peace are reshaped by their historical and biblical usage and become far more important to the church in trying to embody the gospel. I am thankful for Gorman and his research.
December 29, 2015
Gorman's work is remarkable for its fleshing out of theosis and the nature of participation and union with Christ. He does overwrite at times, uses too many block quotes, and the chapters are not even in strength, but the ideas here are central to Christian identity and practice. At least they should be.
December 20, 2016
I underlined a lot of this fascinating look at Paul's call to mission in his letters. That call is an encouragement to the church and to followers of Christ today. "Already in the first Christian century the apostle Paul wanted the communities he addressed not merely to believe the gospel but to become the gospel, and in so doing to participate in the very life and mission of God."
July 2, 2020
Intellectual pithy study of Pauline texts.
Not for the faint-hearted. At times this can become very cumbersome in its repetition and overuse of language. I read the first couple of chapters with zeal and energy but began to flag towards the end. Put away the dictionary and write from your heart, sir.
Not for the faint-hearted. At times this can become very cumbersome in its repetition and overuse of language. I read the first couple of chapters with zeal and energy but began to flag towards the end. Put away the dictionary and write from your heart, sir.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews