{"id":6448,"date":"2009-12-31T00:00:37","date_gmt":"2009-12-31T05:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/31\/the-new-testament-and-universalism\/"},"modified":"2009-12-31T00:00:37","modified_gmt":"2009-12-31T05:00:37","slug":"the-new-testament-and-universalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/31\/the-new-testament-and-universalism\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Testament and Universalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"GregMacd.jpg\"Robin Parry\u2019s major focus, in his book\u00a0The Evangelical Universalist<\/a>\"\"\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0, is a biblical case for universalism. He has a take on the Old Testament and then turns to macroscopic themes in the New Testament.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Here are his themes:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Jesus fulfills Israel\u2019s calling in his own person.<\/div>\n
Jesus\u2019 death climaxes Israel\u2019s exile.<\/div>\n
Jesus\u2019 resurrection climaxes Israel\u2019s return from exile.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Jesus is the Second Adam.<\/div>\n
Jesus reverses Adam\u2019s curse in his death and resurrection and enables the restoration of humanity (Adamic humanity).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This restoration focuses on the church, but the church is a foretaste of the universal redemption to come. Thus, \u201call Israel will be saved\u201d and the nations will flock to worship the Lamb on the throne.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

A good example of these themes, a Second Adam text, is Romans 5:18-21:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

5:18<\/span>\u00a0Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people.\u00a0<\/b>5:19<\/span>For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous.\u00a05:20<\/span>\u00a0Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more,\u00a05:21<\/span>\u00a0so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n
As the First Adam brought sin \u201cfor all people\u201d so the New Adam brought righteousness \u201cfor all people\u201d (5:18). Thus, \u201cChrist\u2019s redemption is as wide as sin\u2019s corruption\u201d (79).\u00a0<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Parry takes on the common view that the \u201call\u201d who are justified are those who have faith and those who are in Christ and those who are the \u201cmany.\u201d While I think \u201cmany\u201d can be seen as \u201call\u201d (it\u2019s a Hebraism), Parry\u2019s argument that the need for faith or in Christ refers to what may be the case for all someday is harder to show here. I\u2019m with NT Wright here who says the \u201call people\u201d refers to \u201cJews and Gentiles\u201d but Parry argues that it also refers to each person in particular. I\u2019m with him in seeing the universal redemptive impact of Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection; his work undoes Adam\u2019s work. Faith is necessary and Parry has to posit a post-mortem exercise of faith for his case to work.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Which also brings up the similar ideas in 1 Corinthians 15:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

15:20<\/span>\u00a0But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.\u00a015:21<\/span>\u00a0For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.\u00a015:22<\/span>\u00a0For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive<\/b>.\u00a015:23<\/span>\u00a0But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him.\u00a015:24<\/span>\u00a0Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power.\u00a015:25<\/span>For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.\u00a015:26<\/span>\u00a0The last enemy to be eliminated is death.\u00a015:27<\/span>\u00a0For\u00a0he has put everything in subjection under his feet. But when it says \u201ceverything\u201d has been put in subjection, it is clear that this does not include the one who put everything in subjection to him.\u00a015:28<\/span>\u00a0And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

What also needs to be observed here is that both sin and death are annihilated in this text. He closes this chp with extensive study of Rom 9\u201311 (\u201call Israel will be saved\u201d means national Israel, though he is unconvinced this means every one in particular) and then the \u201cevery knee shall bow\u201d text in Philippians. There he thinks we have another instance of redemptive universalism.<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robin Parry\u2019s major focus, in his book\u00a0The Evangelical Universalist\u00a0\u00a0, is a biblical case for universalism. He has a take on the Old Testament and then turns to macroscopic themes in the New Testament. Here are his themes: Jesus fulfills Israel\u2019s calling in his own person. Jesus\u2019 death climaxes Israel\u2019s exile. Jesus\u2019 resurrection climaxes Israel\u2019s return […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1783],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-universalism"],"yoast_head":"\nThe New Testament and Universalism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Robin Parry's major focus, in his book The Evangelical Universalist  , is a biblical case for universalism. 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