»In Christ« in Paul

Nearing thirty-five years ago, E. P. Sanders famously stated that the center of thought within Paul's theology is participatory in nature - which, of course, caused no small debate within broad strands of Pauline scholarship. Sanders also suggested that we have no modern conception of what this thought might mean for us today. These two axioms of Sanders loosely organize the essays in this volume which seek to explore the complex notions of union and participation within Pauline theology through exegesis, highlights in reception history, and theological reflection. This collection of essays aims at teasing out the complex web of meaning conveyed through Paul's theological vision of union and participation - both in their relationship and in their distinction with one another. Taken as a whole, this edited volume constitutes a multi-disciplinary reflection and exploration of Paul's theological vision of participation and union. But it is precisely as a multi-disciplinary exploration that this volume hopes to chart new ground and make new connections within Pauline thought with the hope that further research might contest and/or clarify its findings.Kevin J. Vanhoozer: From »Blessed in Christ« (Eph 1:3) to »Being in Christ«: The State of the Union and the Place of Participation in Paul's Discourse, New Testament Exegesis, and Systematic Theology Today Part One: Pauline Theology and Exegesis Douglas A. Campbell: Participation and Faith in Paul - Constantine R. Campbell: Metaphor, Reality, and Union with Christ - Grant Macaskill: Incarnational Ontology and the Theology of Participation in Paul - Susan Eastman: Oneself in Another: Participation and the Spirit in Romans 8 - Matthew Croasmun: »Real Participation«: The Body of Christ & the Body of Sin in Evolutionary Perspective - Isaac Augustine Morales, O.P.: Baptism and Union with Christ - Michael J. Gorman: Paul's Corporate, Cruciform, Missional Theosis in 2 Corinthians - Michael J. Thate: Paul and the Anxieties of (Imperial?) Succession: Galatians and the Politics of Neglect - Joshua W. Jipp: Sharing the Heavenly Rule of Christ the King: Paul's Royal Participatory Language in Ephesians - Michael J. Thate: Paul, Φρόνησις, and Participation: The Shape of Space and the Reconfiguration of Place in Paul's Letter to the Philippians Part Two: Some Highlights from Reception History Ben C. Blackwell: Two Early Perspectives on Participation in Paul: Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria - Darren Sarisky: Augustine and Participation: Some Reflections on His Exegesis of Romans - Stephen Chester: Union with Christ: Martin Luther - Julie Canlis: The Fatherhood of God & Union with Christ in Calvin - T. Robert Baylor: »One with Him in Spirit«: Mystical Union and the Humanity of Christ in the Theology of John Owen - Keith L. Johnson: Karl Barth's Reading of Paul's Union with Christ Part Three: Theological Reflection Ashish Varma: Fitting Participation: From the Holy Trinity to Christian Virtue - Mary Patton Baker: Participating in the Body and Blood of Christ: Christian Kοινωνία and the Lord's Supper - Devin P. Singh: Until We Are One? Biopolitics and the United Body