Overview
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 Messiah: 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.
Full Product Details
Author: Grant Macaskill (Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies, University of St Andrews, Scotland.)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 16.20cm
, Height: 2.90cm
, Length: 23.80cm
Weight: 0.718kg
ISBN: 9780199684298
ISBN 10: 0199684294
Pages: 364
Publication Date: 07 November 2013
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
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Reviews
Macaskill's book is, quite frankly, brilliant. The payoff for the reader is enormous. Rohintan Mody, Churchman
This is a wide-ranging and rich study, which draws insights from various strands of Christian theology and biblical scholarship. Paul Foster, The Expository Times Macaskill has given scholarship and the church a gift ... Union with Christ in the NT is a wonderful addition to biblical studies related to participation and theosis. I hope many will read Macaskill's work and NT union passages with new and refreshing insights ... Not only will biblical studies students find Macaskill's text refreshing, but so will pastors and students of Second Temple Judaism, patristics, and Reformed and Lutheran theology Shawn J. Wilhite, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society To say that I recommend the book is to put it too weakly. Instead, I recommend that students and scholars of the NT not only read it, but also take its methods to heart Bobby Jamieson, Themelios Macaskill's book is, quite frankly, brilliant. The payoff for the reader is enormous. Rohintan Mody, Churchman
Author Information
Grant Macaskill is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University of St Andrews.
