Glory in Romans and the Unified Purpose of God in Redemptive History

Berry

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781498230445
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Eschatological glory is a significant motif in Romans that has failed to garner the attention it deserves. Donald Berry argues that glory lies at the heart of Paul's redemptive historical framework and is an integral part of the gospel Paul proclaims in Romans. For Paul, eschatological glory is the realization of God's purpose for Adam and for Israel to see and to show forth the glory of God. This divine purpose finds fulfillment in Christ and in the new humanity he creates, those who now have "hope of the glory of God" (Rom 5:2). Paul's letter to the Romans provides stunning glimpses into the nature of this eschatological glory and the hope that believers have in Christ. Through careful and compelling exegesis, Berry brings to light Paul's conception of glory and its place at the center of God's purposes in redemptive history. While providing crucial insights into Romans, this study also contributes more broadly to Pauline theology and to the field of biblical theology. It highlights Paul's understanding of a unified divine purpose that runs through creation and redemption--God's desire to display his nature and character in all of creation through image-bearers who share in and reflect his glory.

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Introduction to Eschatological Glory in Romans

Paul’s Epistle to the Romans has received considerable attention in biblical scholarship, and rightly so. In the subtitle to Introducing Romans (2011), Richard Longenecker aptly refers to the epistle as “Paul’s Most Famous Letter,”1 and N. T. Wright calls it “one of the intellectual masterworks of the ancient world.”2 The letter has been thoroughly mined and has yielded many riches.

There are treasures, though, that remain unearthed. James Dunn considers glory a leitmotif of Romans that forms a consistent thread through the main section of the letter.3 Given the scholarly attention Romans has commanded, it is remarkable that this glory motif has been left largely unexplored.4 This is all the more remarkable when we consider the recent renaissance in the field of biblical theology.5 From scholarship to preaching and reaching even into children’s literature, there is considerable interest being given to understanding the overarching narrative of the Bible—the unified story that runs through redemptive history.6

Paul’s letter to the Romans, perhaps more than any other of his writings, is pertinent to this recent focus. Here we find some of the clearest vistas into the apostle’s own understanding of God’s purposes in redemptive history—purposes that run from Adam to Abraham to the people of Israel right up through Jesus the Messiah and the new humanity he establishes. At the heart of Paul’s redemptive-historical focus lies the theme of God’s glory restored to and through humanity. There are riches here yet to uncover. I have written this book with the aim of bringing to light the splendor of the glory theme in Romans with its many implications.

Paul’s Use of Glory in Relation to Christ and Believers

Glory (δόξα)7 has a prominent place in Paul’s writings. The δόξα word group occurs ninety-six times in the letters traditionally attributed to him.8 Paul frequently uses δόξα language in relation to Christ, an association which “borders on outright identification.”9 According to Paul, Jesus “was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father” (ἠγέρθη Χριστὸς ἐκ νεκρῶν διὰ τῆς δόξης τοῦ πατρός, Rom 6:4).10 His ascension was in glory (ἀνελήμφθη ἐν δόξη, “he was taken up in glory,” 1 Tim 3:16). He is “the Lord of glory” (τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης, 1 Cor 2:8). The “blessed hope” for which believers are waiting is “the appearing of the glory of . . . Jesus Christ” (ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης . . . Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, Tit 2:13). What believers behold in the New Covenant is the glory of Jesus (ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενοι, “with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord,” 2 Cor 3:18; cf. 2 Cor 4:4). The gospel is defined with reference to the glory of Christ (τὸν φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ Χριστοῦ, “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,” 2 Cor 4:4), and the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ (φωτισμὸν τῆς γνώσεως τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” 2 Cor 4:6). Jesus’ resurrected body is described as “his body of glory” (τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ, Phil 3:21). Paul speaks of “the glory of [Christ’s] might” (ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ, 2 Thess 1:9). And “God’s riches in glory” are “in Christ Jesus” (κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος αὐτοῦ ἐν δόξῃ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, Phil 4:19). It is apparent that δόξα is an important Christological term for Paul.

But interestingly, Paul also uses the δόξα word group in relation to believers. Believers “boast in hope of the glory of God” (καυχώμεθα ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ, Rom 5:2), and they have “the hope of glory” as a result of Christ being in them (Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης, “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Col 1:27). God has “prepared beforehand vessels of mercy for glory” (σκεύη ἐλέους ἃ προητοίμασεν εἰς δόξαν, Rom 9:23).11 Paul proclaims wisdom from God “which God predestined before the ages for our glory” (προώρισεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων εἰς δόξαν ἡμῶν, 1 Cor 2:7). God calls believers “into his own kingdom and glory” (εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείαν καὶ δόξαν, 1 Thess 2:12). Believers will “obtain the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ” (εἰς περιποίησιν δόξης τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, 2 Thess 2:14). They “will appear with him in glory” (ὑμεῖς σὺν αὐτῷ φανερωθήσεσθε ἐν δόξῃ, Col 3:4). The name of Jesus will be glorified in believers, and they also will be glorified in him (ὅπως ἐνδοξασθῇ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν αὐτῷ, “so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him,” 2 Thess 1:12). The salvation that is in Christ Jesus comes “with eternal glory” (σωτηρίας . . . μετὰ δόξης αἰωνίου, 2 Tim 2:10). By beholding Jesus’ glory, believers are being “transformed from glory to glory” (μεταμορφούμεθα ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, 2 Cor 3:18). Believers will be transformed to have a “body of glory” like Jesus (σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ, “in conformity with his body of glory,” Phil 3:21). They will be “co-glorified” (συνδοξασθῶμεν) with Christ (Rom 8:17; cf. Rom 8:30, τούτους καὶ ἐδόξασεν, “these he also glorified”). The sufferings of the present time cannot compare with “the glory that will be revealed in [believers]” (τὴν μέλλουσαν δόξαν ἀποκαλυφθῆναι εἰς ἡμᾶς, Rom 8:18). Creation longs for “the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῆς δόξης τῶν τέκνων τοῦ θεοῦ, Rom 8:21; cf. Rom 8:19). Paul’s suffering results in believers participating in glory (ταῖς θλίψεσίν μου ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, ἥτις ἐστὶν δόξα ὑμῶν, “my afflictions on your behalf, which are your glory,” Eph 3:13).12 And the present afflictions of believers are producing a “far surpassing eternal weight of glory” (καθ᾽ ὑπερβολὴν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν αἰώνιον βάρος δόξης, 2 Cor 4:18). This brief survey demonstrates that Paul clearly anticipates glory for the people of God.13

Thesis

Why does Paul so closely connect believers with glory? And what is the nature of this glory? I hope to answer these questions by examining Paul’s use of the δόξα word group in Romans. Of the ninety-six occurrences of δόξα in Pauline writings, twenty-two are found in Romans.14 Six times in Romans Paul uses a verbal form.15 The objects of the verb (the ones being glorified) include God (1:21; 15:6, 9), Christ (8:17), believers (8:17, 30), and Paul’s ministry (11:13). The nominal form (δόξα) occurs sixteen times.16 Half of the sixteen occurrences refer either to glory that humanity once had but exchanged (1:23) and so is currently lacking (3:23), or to future glory in which redeemed humanity will participate (2:7, 10; 5:2; 8:18, 21; 9:23).17 The glory theme in Romans spans the entirety of redemptive history and provides key insights into Paul’s understanding of why we were created and where God’s unfolding plan of redemption is headed.

The reason δόξα is one of the most prominent terms Paul uses to characterize the eschatological life of believers, I argue, is because of the central place glory has in Paul’s redemptive-historical framework. Glory lies at the heart of Paul’s understanding of a unified purpose of God that runs through both creation and redemption and provides the framework for understanding Paul’s gospel ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Introduction to Eschatological Glory in Romans
• Chapter 2: Glory in Romans 1–4, Part 1
• Chapter 3: Glory in Romans 1–4, Part 2
• Chapter 4: Glory in Romans 1–4, Part 3
• Chapter 4: Glory in Romans 5:1—8:16, Part 1
• Chapter 6: Glory in Romans 5:1—8:16, Part 2
• Chapter 7: Glory in Romans 8:17–30, Part 1
• Chapter 8: Glory in Romans 8:17–30, Part 2
• Chapter 9: Glory in Romans 9–11
• Chapter 10: Romans 12–16: Present Life in the Body in Light of Future Glory
• Chapter 11: Conclusions and Implications
• Bibliography
• Appendix A: The Image of God in the Old Testament and Its Relation to Glory
• Appendix B: Dual Implications of Glory in Romans: God’s Ultimate Purpose and Humanity’s Ultimate End