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‘Simul sanctification' is a transformational program for sanctification derived from Karl Barth's radical appropriation of Luther's dictum simul iustus et peccator. Barth's simul establishes the Christological link of the Second Adam with every human being. From this emerges what I contend is a ‘Chalcedonian anthropology' built on a double-duality: the original Chalcedonian formulation gives rise to a second duality revealed within Christ's one human person—the duality of a true, iustus humanity and a corrupt, peccator humanity. In order to appreciate the benefits regarding Barth's Spirit-charged epistemological program for sanctification and conversion, it will be imperative to elucidate the comprehensive nature of Barth's actualism as a way of establishing Barth's view of humanity's dynamic and free iustitia in Christ. Central to assessing the threat of the peccatum determination will be an examination of Barth's theology of the cross, especially in regards to his single subject economy derived from the person of ‘Jesus Christ and him crucified.' Through Barth's assessment of the cross I exposit the similarities and the differences between Chalcedonian Christology and ‘Chalcedonian anthropology;' the latter duality is proven by resurrection revelation to be ultimately provisional in nature. From here I probe Barth's position regarding the annulment of the simul as well as its beginning. By investigating Barth's doctrine of creation I argue that Barth's simul is reflective of the original antithesis between God and nothingness, the darkness under which Christ first placed himself so that humans would know both his solidarity in the darkness and his victory over it. Christians continue to dwell in the overlap of the simul's two mutually exclusive determinations, but by looking through Barth's simul to our true, created and redeemed humanity in Christ we are equipped to interpret our lives and the world around us most hopefully.

This thesis provides a complete, chronological view of Barth’s concept of history throughout his theological career. The purpose of undertaking this hitherto unattempted task is to demonstrate that, ever since his full engagement with dogmatics in the mid-1920s, Barth has unequivocally affirmed the reality of the history which revelation becomes and is. Though he continues to insist upon the transcendence of revelation, he does so by way of an increasingly christocentric theology, so that both divine sovereignty and human dignity are firmly upheld. This is especially evident in his later theology, with his concentration on the history of Jesus Christ on the basis of the doctrine of election. This thesis thus rejects both the charge that Barth’s theology is ahistorical or anti-historical on the one hand, and the charge that it is excessively historical on the other.

The Swiss theologian Karl Barth’s (1886-1968) relation to the Danish thinker Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is one which has been touched upon repeatedly with regard to influence and parallels. It is an issue that has produced diverse conclusions ranging from that of T. F. Torrance, who believed Barth to have been influenced by Kierkegaard to an extent even unknown to himself, to the likes of Bruce McCormack who views the affinity as exaggerated. However, this intriguing relationship refuses a conclusive position regarding the extent to which Barth had been influenced by Kierkegaard; any attempt that seeks to resolve this question disregards both the complexity of Barth’s thought and the sheer range of thinkers who had contributed to his theological development. Moreover, Barth’s own comments on the influence of Kierkegaard on his development complicate the investigation into the relationship between the two. Whereas in 1922 Barth admits a dependence on Kierkegaard in the second edition of The Epistle to the Romans, by 1963 he has assumed a more cautious relation to Kierkegaard.

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The purpose of this thesis is to establish a theological basis for an ecclesiology which takes account of the claim which the Lordship of Jesus Christ asserts over his appointed servants and the appropriate response from the Christian community corporately and from the members of the community individually. The interpretation and application of Christian discipleship by liturgical acts of the community in which the individual members participate and are prepared, trained and nourished for the purpose of equipping them for their corporate and individual task of witness is based on the promise and command of Jesus Christ recorded in Acts 1:8. The theological interpretation of the key concepts of the promise of power in the Holy Spirit and the commission to witness in the world is based on the theology of Karl Barth. Chapter I outlines the immediate context of the doctrine of vocation and the sending of the Christian community and the wider context of the doctrine of reconciliation and its place in the whole of theology. Chapters II and III enlarge on the vocation of man and the sending of the Christian community in the power of the Holy Spirit as the two parts of the doctrine of reconciliation which have particular relevance for our interpretation of the great commission. Chapter IV is devoted to a hypothesis of a special ethic based on Barth's unfinished work and Appendix A to methodological outline. Appendix B considers the practicality of this hypothesis in the light of two contemporary ecumenical interpretations and applications of the great commission. A concluding critique recognises the problems of the hypothesis and the inevitable problems that arise from any attempt to formulate a system or to define in precise categories the unique event of God's free and gracious love poured out and given to us in his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.