Identity and Human Agency in Galatians 5-6
"You were called to freedom brethren, do not use your freedom as an opportunity for Flesh, but through love, enslave yourselves to each other" (Gal 5:13). Christian identity is a primary theological emphasis in Galatians and, Paul argues, is a major purpose of God's work in Christ (Ga...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[publisher not identified]
[2020]
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| In: |
Australian biblical review
Year: 2020, Volume: 68, Pages: 54-66 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Galaterbrief 5-6
/ Identity
/ Paul Apostle
/ Group identity
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament |
| Summary: | "You were called to freedom brethren, do not use your freedom as an opportunity for Flesh, but through love, enslave yourselves to each other" (Gal 5:13). Christian identity is a primary theological emphasis in Galatians and, Paul argues, is a major purpose of God's work in Christ (Gal 4:5). According to Galatians 3:26 and 4:4-5, the result of Christ's coming is the establishment of a new community of children of God. This new community, however, is not merely a relocation of the self or community under a new controlling regime. For Paul, it consists no longer of slaves controlled under the enslaving regime of Sin/Flesh; instead it is a community born in freedom through faith into the eschatological realm of the Spirit. In this new community, those in Christ and 'of' the Spirit are to actively choose to live differently, as God's children, towards others. Accordingly, the work of Christ and the Spirit-transformation of the believer, carries with it the recognition of the place of human agency in the way they live out their new identity. This human agency is evident throughout Gal 5-6 where Paul's language and argumentation places the responsibility of living as God's children clearly with believers. In these chapters, the Galatian believers are challenged to act or not, and respond or not, in light of their new identity. This paper explores Paul's use of imperative and hortatory subjunctive verbs in Galatians 5-6 and considers how these verbs help shape a vision of appropriate praxis and human agency, indicative of the new identity of the children of God already articulated in Galatians 1-4. |
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| ISSN: | 0045-0308 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Australian biblical review
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