Please accept my humble Paulogy
borne out of love for his contribution to
and cruciform example of New Testament theology.
The Pauline corpus (his body of letters),
13 exhort us to live in light of the center:
Jesus Christ the Lord, the unveiled mystery-
climax and nexus of redemption history.
Each truth in his system orbits this true Son
and proceeds from a personal and vital union
to be by the Spirit lived out, walked in,
meaning that what we’re dealing with is not mere doctrine.
This, Paul’s theology, in all its vastness
stems from his world rending road to Damascus.
As kingdom or life are his colleagues’ stresses,
so old to new creation are to Paul so precious,
so all encompassing we can’t miss the emphasis.
The law, not church, was a parenthesis
that came in after promise till fulfillment,
the tributary en route from flesh to Spirit,
death to life, sin to righteousness and justification,
under grace and the Last Adam in new creation.
This two age dualism are two spheres of existence,
with roots in Judaism, but transformed by the presence
of end-time realities brought into the present.
How is that possible?
Just ask apostle Paul.
From the apostle’s lips
in Christ we see the apocalypse now,
in that He bore the wrath of God to come
and first experienced the last day resurrection,
thus those in Christ are new creation
(an already-not yet participation
in all that God promised to Abraham,
multiple seed, blessing and land).
This all comes to the individual by faith,
not works, or else grace is not grace,
but not until God sends the word.
Once the gospel of the glory of God is heard
He gives repentant faith to the elect
and gives His Spirit that we may stand erect,
justified, reconciled, adopted as sons,
baptized in and made to drink of the Spirit at once-
which ties into the rites of the body of Christ
(the bride for whom He laid down His life).
This salvation takes place now in a hidden way,
but await their physical, full orbed display.
With these truths foundationally lodged
all life is lived to the glory of God!
Whether we work, eat, drink, or sleep,
married or single we ourselves must keep
in step with the Spirit who directs our gaze
to the law of Christ (His Lordship and ways).
This is contra those who boast in the law-
a new creation, faith working through love,
keeping the commandments of God is what matters,
while ”the mutilation” and man of sin (their puppet master)
will join death on that Day of cosmic disaster, the rapture.
Now to God the Father, His Son and Spirit be glory,
and grace and peace be to the ones He’s made holy.
Amen.
