Friday, January 11, 2008

To Be Part of Something Bigger Than Yourself


"To be part of this fellowship is to know the sufferings of Christ and to be conformed to him in contrast to the surrounding culture, to be comforted and empowered by the Spirit, and to have the hope that the God of Israel, who is the Father of the Lord Jesus, will complete the new creation that has already begun. The church is the fellowship that speaks and lives that personal, communal and cosmic story." Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters, by Michael Gorman


This was one of the many great quotes from the chapter I was assigned to read in class. Here is another one.

"Love has a very specific meaning for Paul-conformity to the pattern of Christ's self-giving, sacrafical love on the cross.

...In fact, the love which he speaks overlaps with the Hebrew Scriptures' notion of justice: special, concrete attention to the weaker or needier members of the local or wider community. Furthermore, the love of God in Christ does not neglect outsiders and even enemies. After all, Christ's death was God's gift for those at enmity with God."


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