The History of Christian Theology

Lecture 3: Pauline Eschatology

return. The key expectation (that is, what is yet to be) is the resurrection of

all the dead in Christ. When Christ returns, the dead are raised, for Christ’s

own resurrection makes him “the ¿ rst fruits” of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15).

The picture is not of us going to heaven after we die, but of Christ coming

from heaven to earth, bringing life for the dead. Likewise, the picture is not

of our souls leaving our bodies behind, but of our mortal bodies “putting

on” immortality. Paul calls this a “spiritual body” and speaks of a heavenly

dwelling which will clothe us. “Heaven” in Pauline eschatology does not

mean the place to which we go but the place where Christ is, hidden from

our sight but having the power of eternal life,

with which we long to be clothed.

The life of believers (that is, what is already)

is in Christ, which is to say in his Body, the

Church, by the power of the Holy Spirit. As

at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is the source of

prophecy, teaching, and all sacred speech,

including “psalms and hymns and spiritual

songs” (Eph. 5:19). It is also the source of holy or righteous living, “walking

by the Spirit” and “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16, 22). Paul writes that

the Spirit of God dwells in the plural you, be you all, meaning ¿ rst of all

the community of believers, which he calls the Church (Rom. 8:9). Paul

describes the Church as the Body of Christ, one body made up of many

members. As head of the Body, Christ is “the beginning, ¿ rstborn from

the dead” (Col. 1:18) and “head of all things for the Church” (Eph. 1:22).

Baptism marks the inauguration of this new life, as well as the death of the

old self.

For Paul, both Gentiles and Jews are justi¿ ed by faith in Christ. The early

Christian movement was Jewish. They did not immediately know what to

do when Gentiles started believing in Jesus. Who was the Messiah after

all? King of the Jews! The crucial question was: Do Gentiles need to be

circumcised and become Jews to join the Body of Christ? Paul’s answer,

which came to be accepted by the whole church, was no: Gentiles were

justi¿ ed, set right with God, simply by believing in Jesus, without

converting to Judaism. Thus, Paul conceived of the Body of Christ as a

place of reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles. Paul’s famous doctrine

Pauline eschatology

is about life in Christ

between his exaltation

and his return.