No one can understand the Pauline doctrine of salvation who does not c«ncei\e it primarily as present union wilii the Divine and glorified Christ. Wli.it our Ix>rd haj* once done on the great theatre of the universe, that each individual Christian is to repeat on the le-^ser Bta;;eof his earthly life. He, too, must die to sin (Ito ti2) and rioe to ri;;hteousness (Ito (>^- «). He, too. nmst shan^ the sufferings of Christ (Col V^), and sit with Iliin in heavenly jilaees (ICph 2*'). The life whicli he lives is To be no longer his, hut that of the (!hrist who liveth in hiin(<:al 22ex Old things have passefi away, and all things are become new (2 Co .^ti7). Thus already hi-re and now the Christian antici- pates the blessings, whose full realizjilion remains for the Harousia. Nothing can separate him from the love of Christ — neither death nor life, nor angels nor priixupalities, nor things present nor things to come (Fio S^"*' ■-■'). If he die before the I'arousia. it matters not. Though to live he Christ, to die is gain, for dying means departing to he with Christ, which is very far better (Ph 123, cf. 2 Co 68 'absent from the bod.v, at home with the Lord ').
It is clear that from such a point of view the significance of the Parousia is very different from that which it has in Jewish- Christian thought. To St. Paul it is not necessary to watt until the Second Coming before one can enjoy the salvation of Christ. His greatest lllessing has been given already. The Spirit who shall one day quicken our mortal bodies already dwells within us as a transforming power (Ho 8"), and the redemption of the body for which we still groan (Ko 823) will onli,' give free play to spiritual forres, with the working of which we are already familiar. Thus we see that here also, OS well aa in his doctrine of righteousness hy faith, the teaching of the apostle is true to the new insight of the Master.
Two points still need brief mention before we leave the Pauline teaching. These are : (a) The emphasis which he lays on the social side of sal- vation ; (/3) his doctrine of a cosmic salvation.
(a) Nothing is more striking, in view of the intense personal independence of St. Paul, than the stress which he lays upon the social side of salvation. This comes out most clearly in his doctrine of the Church — a conce|iti<)n which takes the [ilace in his teaching of the juesent Kingdom of tlie parables. Through union with Christ a man is not only joined to his Master as an indi- vidual, but becomes a member of His body, the Church (Eph 1-'). The new Divine life whicli he enjoys is snared by his brothers and sisters of the Christian family. The gifts which lie receives are for the purpose of ministering to theirnccessitie*
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SALVATIOX, SAVIOUE
SALVATIOIs^ SAVIOUR
(Eph 4"- "). If he suffers, thev suffer with him (1 Co IS-") ; if he is honoured, they are partakers of his joy (1 Co 12-"). The end of all is the build- ing up of the Christian community in the know- ledge and love of Christ (Eph 4'3-'«), and the reward for which the apostle looks at the Parousia is the presence of his converts among the company of the redeemed, spiritually litted, because of his ministrj', to enter upon the enjoy- ment of the heavenly kingdom (1 Th 2'", cf. 1 Co 1").
It is not strange that, holding such views, we see the apostle looking u|>on all history as a training school for the Divine salvation (Ko 9-11), and hoping for the day when even his feUow- Israelites, who have thus far turned a deaf ear to the message of the Gospel, shall repent and become partakers of its blessings (Ro 11-*).
((3) But the apostle's view reaches out beyond tills earth, and takes in the universe as a whole. He sees the whole creation groaning and travail- ing together in pain until now, waiting till it be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God (Ro8'-'). He looks upon Christ as the mediator of a sal- vation truly cosmic, and declares that it is God's purpose ' through him to reconcile all things unto himself, whether things upon the earth or things in the heavens' (Col I**, cf. Eph 1"). Thus, according to St. Paul, the salvation in which we here share is only part of a great world process whose end shall be a universe redeemed (cf. 1 Co 15=«).
The teaching of St Paul had a profound influence upon his contemporaries. We see its effect most clearly in 1 Peter, which, in spite of the emphasis it lays upon the future (1 P l^), has the conception of salvation as a present experience (a'^i, cf. also 123 2*6 41). And yet it is easy to overestimate it. Other inlluences were at work in the early Church. The legal con- ception of religion which characterized the Jew was reinforced by similar conceptions which had their oriein on Gentile soil. The view of salvation as freedom from law through the posses- sion of a present spiritual life was not fully adopted even by many who in other respects were profoundly influenced by St. Paul. The letter to the Hebrews is a case in point- Here, as we have seen, the point of view is almost wholly eschatological. Salvation is conceived as a reward promised to those who remain faithful under their present trials, and faith, instead of being vital union with a present Christ, is simply the assurance that God will keep His word (He 111). In this respect the letter to the Hebrews is tj-pical of the fixture. Wten we study the Christianity of the Fathers we find the Gospel often presented as a new law, and salvation, which is wholly future, IS the reward promised by God to those who kepp it. The doctrine of a mystic union with Christ through faith tends more and more to fall into the background, only to be revived in a sacramentarian form, foreign to the Pauline teaching. This fact must be borne in mind if we would appreciate the full significance of the Johannine conception of salvation.