Full Description
Amidst the steady increase of studies on believers as sons of God in Paul's letters, Colossians' important development of this concept has been unexplored.
Redressing the neglect of Colossians, this study investigates the character and function of believers' sonship in the letter, particularly as that is related to Christ's own filial identity and shaped by the Old Testament hope for Israel's redemption and creation's renewal.
Following a survey of sonship to God in the Old Testament and Judaism, Peter Christian Moore examines Christ's sonship in the opening thanksgiving of Colossians, the poetic praise of 1:15-20, and the reference to circumcision in 2:11. Building on this filial Christology, Moore traces the letter's development of believers' sonship to God, showing how Colossians routinely ties their sonship to Christ, the Son, conditions it by a similar complex of Old Testament promises, and employs it for believers' protection and perseverance.
Contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Sonship to God in the Old Testament
2. Sonship to God in Judaism
3. Preliminaries to the Study of Sonship in Colossians: Authorship, Aims, and Use of the Old Testament
4. The Sonship of Christ in Colossians 1:3, 9, and 13: The Beloved Son, Messianic and Divine
5. The Sonship of Christ in Colossians 1:15-20: The Image and Firstborn
6. The Sonship of Christ in Colossians 2:11: The Circumcised Son
7. The Sonship of Believers in Colossians 1: 1:1-3, 12-14, and 15-20: Filial Status and Inheritance
8. The Sonship of Believers in Colossians 2:11; 3:10, 17, and 24: Filial Transformation and Obligation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
