The convergence of the Church, its Gospel and the World has become a critical area of New Testament Biblical Studies. This significance revolves around the ‘relevance and impact ‘ of the Church and her kerygmatic message in an increasingly secular and sceptic world. The secularization and scepticism is mainly driven by the dawning of a ‘post-modern’ twenty first century which has also ushered in an era of unprecedented technological and scientific advancement. This new-world, which is being advanced through the ‘global village’ phenomenon, and the broadening democratization and entrenchment of individual human rights in developing countries, seems to have discarded all ‘absolutes’, and only values that which can be verified empirically. All this has left many individuals questioning the relevance of the Church and her message. Many seem to have designated the Church and her message as ‘past the expiry date’. It is thus no longer uncommon for previously Christian societies to be described as Post-Christian societies. The convergence of Church, Gospel and World has thus become very significant. The critical question is whether the Church is to close the door on the world and adopt an isolationist stance, or whether the Church is to fulfill her missiological and prophetic role by engaging and penetrating our twenty first century world with the message of the Gospel. This short dissertation will consider selected aspects of Pauline Ecclesiological and Soteriological perspectives in a social context, and the Social conditions of the Pauline World. We will then consider how the three components – Church; Gospel and World – ought to converge in the missiological task of the Church. / Prof. J.A. du Rand

This study examines the nature, function, and implications of Paul's Temple metaphors (1 Cor 3.16-17, 6.19-20; 2 Cor 6.14-7.1) and asks whether these metaphors indicate that the Jerusalem Temple has been superseded by the Christian community. Answers to this question have often relied upon the prioritization of particular backgrounds for Paul's language and the implementation of ideologically biased, interpretive models such as spiritualization. Issues arise in both these procedures due to the hermeneutical ambiguities involved in identifying metaphorical meaning. Our approach to Paul's Temple metaphors utilizes the analytical tools provided by Conceptual Metaphor Theory and calls for an awareness of these metaphors' early effective-history. Metaphors do not contain meaning but rather provide a conceptual structure that generates meaning through a hermeneutical act. Thus, in order to understand Paul's metaphors we must recognize not only their conceptual structures, but also how these structures have generated meanings and, as a result, how these meanings have shaped our interpretations of Paul himself. The historical setting of Paul's Temple metaphors is examined first in order to establish a set of assumptions and anticipations of meaning for when we encounter this type of language in this period. The public behaviour of the majority of Jews towards the Temple, as well as the presence of cultic criticisms, and conceptualizations in the Second Temple period demonstrate a widespread adherence to and support for the Temple. Turning to Paul's metaphors, we see how the Temple provides a conceptual model with which Paul can structure and reason about the status of both the community and body as indwelt and holy. While these metaphors do not suggest a deviation from Temple adherence, we demonstrate how they offer a set of conceptual and linguistic tools open to various interpretations and applications. We then examine a series of texts which highlight aspects of these metaphors' early effective-history: Ephesians 2.11-22, 1 Peter 2.4-10, Hebrews, and the Epistle of Barnabas. Through actualizing Paul's metaphors or by being associated with them, we observe how subsequent texts interpret, extend, and apply these metaphors to address their own particular questions. Awareness of this early effective-history reveals the semantic potential of these texts and allows us to reflect on the origins of some of our own interpretive tendencies, particularly those which lead us to supersessionist interpretations of Paul. Thus we conclude that a supersession of the Temple and its cult is not demonstrable from Paul's Temple metaphors as this is not the question these texts seek to answer. However, the conceptual framework provided by these metaphors places no observable hermeneutical constraints such that these texts could not be utilized in different historical circumstances to address the question of the validity of the Temple in relation to the Christian community. Observing how these metaphors provide conceptual structure and generate meaning enhances our understanding not only of Paul's texts, but also of ourselves as interpreters of Paul.

D.Phil. et Litt. / The interaction between law and love in Pauline writing has been an interesting topic, where we have discovered that the law of God cannot be separated from his agape love, which has followed mankind from creation and eventually leads him to eternity. We discovered that the law of God reveals God's character and that is his love. The Law of God and His Love are one and cannot be separated from each other. God gives the law to prove to man that he loves him deeply and eternally. When Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, He died because of the love for his created beings and the law that was broken and could not be altered or changed without the shedding of blood. The redemption of the sinner had to be made possible through the shedding of blood by the one who had not broken God's law. The love and death of Jesus can only be understood through the plan of salvation, which is the interaction between law and love as exposed in Pauline writings. This is a mystery of the wonderful love of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is wonderful to discover the way Paul blends the law and love in a way that it makes it hard to separate the two. If not carefully studied, one would not be able to see this fact in Pauline writings. The Law of God is actually the expression of His love to us. He would like. us to love Him by keeping the first four commandments and loving our fellow man by keeping the last six of the Ten Commandments. We need to have a positive outlook on the law, so that we may love to do God's will and honour Him because He loved us dearly and did not spare His own son for our redemption. The plan of redemption was born out of the eternal love of God towards humanity that could not be measured by anything on earth and in Heaven. In chapter one and two, we look at the overview of law and love in Pauline writings. The Pauline framework, its theology and the ethics of law and love. The whole plan of salvation for all humanity and how God loves all His creation. Although God had a chosen people through Abraham, He only wanted to make His love known throughout the world and all generations. God had always had His special people through whom He made His love and care known although they sometimes failed to is do His will. Like the children of Israel failed him throughout the ages and He has always been patient with them until they killed Jesus on the Cross.