Full Description
The meaning of Paul's comments about the new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 6:15 has long been obscured. Debate has raged for years, with some arguing that the phrase "new creation" solely refers to the inward transformation believers have experienced through faith in Jesus Christ, and others that this phrase should be understood cosmologically and linked with Isaiah's "new heavens and new earth". Still more advocate an ecclesiological interpretation of this phrase that centres Paul in the new community formed around Jesus Christ. In As It Was in the Beginning, Mark Owens argues that the concept of "new creation" should be understood within the realm of Paul's anthropology, cosmology, and ecclesiology. Paul's understanding of new creation belongs within an Urzeit-Endzeit typological framework, especially within 2 Corinthians 5-6 and Ephesians 1-2. Owens's reading of "new creation" gives due weight to the use of Isaianic traditions in Paul's letters, and to demonstrate that the vision of new creation in 2 Corinthians and Galatians is in striking harmony with that of Ephesians.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1 Introduction and Method
2 New Creation in the Prophecy of Isaiah
3 New Creation and Restoration in the Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism
4 New Creation in Galatians and 2 Corinthians
5 New Creation in Ephesians 1-2
6 Conclusion
Appendix One: The Use of ANE Temple-building Traditions outside of Isaiah's Prophecy
Appendix Two: Isaiah's New Exodus in the Writings of Second Temple Judaism
Bibliography
Index of Authors
Scripture Index
Ancient Document Index
