Christ Absent and Present

In his letters, the Apostle Paul can express both the confidence that Christ dwells in the believer (Rom. 8:10) and the longing for Christ to return so that believers can finally be united with him (1 Thess. 4:17). Peter Orr develops the case that this under-explored relationship between the presence and absence of Christ sheds important light on Paul's Christology. In the first part of this book he examines how two of the 20th century's leading Pauline scholars (Albert Schweitzer and Ernst Käsemann) express almost precisely opposite views regarding the nature of this relationship. Using their polarity as an entry-point, he then turns to examine Paul's letters. Firstly, he considers Paul's expression of the absence of Christ, particularly in relationship to the body of Christ. Finally, Orr looks at different modes of Christ's presence across Paul's letters and how these relate to his absence.