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The Sinful Flesh of the Son of God (Rom 8:3): A Key Image of Pauline Theology

VINCENT P . BRANICK
Department of Religious Studies University of Dayton Dayton, O H 45469-0001

CONTEMPORARY CHRISTOLOGY HAS SHOWN great interest in the humanity

of Jesus: his limits, his ignorance, his weaknessas seen through historical criticism of the gospels. For the most part, however, theology takes as its unquestioned presupposition the general NT insistence on Jesus as sinless.1 By working from this presupposition in an exclusive manner, however, theology neglects a dialectic within the NT and overlooks one of the key elements of Pauline christology and soteriology.2 Critical exegesis, on the other hand, requires accepting the relative autonomy of each biblical author and reading each in the context of his own conceptual system. Paul in fact gives us a picture of Christ that insists on his involvement with sin. As he introduces his most profound thoughts on salvation from sin

1 Pet 2 22, Heb 4 15, 7 26, 1 John 3 5 See also Matt 4 1-14, John 8 46, Acts 3 14 The tradition of a sinless Messiah appears also in Pss Sol 17 41 and Judah 24 1 2 By exception D Bonhoeffer spoke of Jesus "involved in the predicament of the whole flesh He is man as we are, he is tempted on all sides as we are, indeed far more dangerously than we are In his flesh, too, was the law that is contrary to God's will He was not the perfectly good man " Christ the Center (New York Harper & Row, 1966) 122 Similarly Barth wrote of an essential yet scandalous ambiguity about Jesus, the lack of any clear and unambiguous evidence concerning his sinlessness, see his The Epistle to the Romans (London Oxford Univer sity, 1933), 297-98 In his Dogmatics Barth also refers to rare nineteenth century reformed theologians pilloried for considering Christ as adopting a fallen nature, see Church Dogmatics (Edinburgh Clark, 1956) 1/2 153-55

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THE SINFUL FLESH OF THE SON OF GOD (ROM 8:3)

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through Christ, Paul declares, "God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh ( ) and for sin condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom 8:3). This is not an isolated text. It parallels Paul's identification of Jesus with "sin" in 2 Cor 5:21 and with the "curse" in Gal 3:13, as well as Paul's description of the crucifixion in Col 2:14 as the nailing to the cross of the debt that stood against us. Unfortunately these are among the most difficult texts in the NT. The discussion of these texts is rendered doubly difficult by an almost instantaneous reaction of the reader to harmonize them with the rest of the NT and thus safeguard the general thrust of christology through the cen turies. Our task, however, is to read Paul through Paul's eyes and thus better understand his sense of redemption. In our attempt to probe Paul's under standing of "the sinful flesh" of Christ, we will focus first on Rom 8:3, particularly its vocabulary and (Part I), then on Paul's descriptions of the earthly Jesus (Part II), and finally on Paul's general view of sin and redemption (Part III). I. Rom 8:3 We turn first to Rom 8:3 to look at the function and structure of this verse and then at the key words. A. Function and Structure Verse 3 is governed by the principal thesis proposed by Paul in 1: . Verse 2 explains: . Verse 3 in turn gives the basis () for 2. It begins with an anacoluthon: , . . . . This half verse thus situates the root of the trouble in "the flesh," not the Law. Verses 3b and 4 then describe in effect how God does the impossible: , . Walking according to the Spirit ( 4) shows the nature of the fulfillment of the Law. On the other hand, flesh in these verses as well as in the next three appears more and more clearly as a demonic, cosmic force, directly opposed to God. The statement about God sending his Son (vv 3b-4) appears as a modified 3 formula which Paul received. The formula appears in Gal 4:4: "God sent his

See W. Kramer, Christos Kyrios Gottessohn (ATANT 44; Zurich/Stuttgart: Zwingli,

248 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 47, 1985 son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that he might redeem those under the Law.. . ."We find the same formula also in 1 John 4:9: "God sent his only Son into the world in order that we might live through him." In extended form it appears in John 3:16-17: "God . . . gave his only Son in order that all who believe in him might not perish but have eternal life. God sent the Son into the world . . . in order that the world might be saved through him." 4 In all these instances we hear of God ( ) sending the Son ( ) followed by a purpose clause () expressing salvation in one form or another. Paul describes the resulting salvation as fulfillment of the of the Law or as a redemption. Even more striking and typically Pauline, as we see from the comparison with John, is the way Paul develops the sending concept with the idea of contamination or subjugation of the Son to the forces of the aeon. 5 The language is that of paradox. 6 Through this degrada tion unto death come salvation and life. B. Vocabulary The language of Rom 8:3-4 is difficult. The sense of these verses, how ever, depends greatly on two words: and . 1. . Paul speaks of Christ being sent of sinful flesh, translated usually as "in the likeness of" (RSV, NAB). For the under standing of this word in particular, the theological positions of the com mentators frequently play an influential role. Concerned with the sinlessness of Christ, commentators see the word expressing a difference between Christ and real sinful flesh, where expresses likeness in contrast to iden tity. Thus for C. H. Dodd, Paul here is saying, "Christ never was a slave or a prisoner, but as man He was exposed to the assaults of sin. He, the Son of God, was sent in the guise of sinful flesh.. . . Christ then came in all the glory of true humanity, in the guise of that flesh which in Adam is sinful."7 J. Schneider, in his article on the word in TDNT, states: "The [in this passage] thus indicates two things, first the likeness in appearance, and secondly the distinction in essence. . . . Paul is showing that for all the

1963) 110, von der Osten-Sacken, Romer 8 als Beispielpaulinischer Soteriologie (FRLANT 112, Gottingen Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1975) 144-45 4 The formula apparently stems from wisdom traditions See esp Wis 9 10, 9 17, Philo, On Husbandry 51 5 To understand the negative signification which this expression has for Paul in Gal 4 4, see Job 14 1, 15 14-16,25 4-6, 1 QH 13 13-14 6 Thus A Vanhoye, "La Mre du Fils de Dieu selon Ga 4,4," Mananum 40 (1978) 244-46 7 The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (MNTC, New York Harper & Row, 1959) 119-20

THE SINFUL FLESH OF THE SON OF GOD (ROM 8:3) 249 similarity between Christ's physical body and that of men there is an essen tial difference between Christ and m e n . . . . He became man without entering the nexus of human sin."8 For Lagrange, "The likeness of the flesh of sin is our flesh, but without the sin."9 Schlier concludes here that Paul is speaking about "a sinful flesh . . . which for the Son was not a sinful flesh."10 The motive for this interpretation by these commentators is always similar. Christ was sinless, as we know from the rest of the NT; hence, Paul could not be affirming any real sinfulness about Jesus.11 In his lengthy article examining the use of in the LXX and in Paul, Ugo Vanni clearly points out that the fundamental and constant signifi cation of the Greek word is "the perceptible expression of a reality."12 In the LXX the expression and the reality may be distinct from each other, e.g., the model or pattern of a tool ( ) and the tool to be forged (Sir 38:28). The expression and the reality may also be identical, e.g., in Ezekiel's "vision of the expression of the glory of the Lord ( )" (Ezek 2:1). Obviously it is the glory that is seen, although the expresses the direct object of the vision. Likewise 1 Mace 3:48 describes the Gentiles consulting of their idols. The seem ingly pleonastic use of in these texts stresses the perception or appearance of the reality itself. In fact, as Vanni concludes, never supposes any grade of resemblance or approximation between expression and the reality expressed.13 Several times in the LXX, expresses the very architectonic model of some reality (4 Kgs 16:10; Josh 22:28; Sir 38:28).
J. Schneider, "," TDNT5 (1968) 196. Saint Paul. ptre aux Romains (EBib; Paris: Gabalda, 1916) 193. 10 Der Rmerbrief (Freiburg: Herder, 1977) 241. For similar interpretations, see E. De Witt Burton, Spirit, Soul and Flesh (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1918) 195 n. 2; S. Lyonnet, Exegesis epistulae ad Romanos, Cap. V ad VIII (Rome: Biblical Institute, 1966) 161; M. H. Scharlemann, "In the Likeness of Sinful Flesh," CTM 32 (1961) 136; P. von der Osten-Sacken, Rmer 8, 230 n. 10; E. Ksemann, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980) 207; C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (ICC; 2 vols.; Edinburgh: Clark, 1975) 1. 380 and n. 1; C. H. Dodd, Romans, 119-20; W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (ICC; 2d ed.; Edinburgh: Clark, 1925) 193; T. Zahn, Der Brief des Paulus an die Rmer (3d ed.; Leipzig: Deichen, 1925) 382; J. Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963) 280. Thus also Ambrosiaster, Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Aquinas, Calvin, and Bengel. 11 Except for J. Weiss, Das Urchristentum (Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1917) 376-77, none of the major commentators see Paul expressing docetism here. See E. Pagels, The Gnostic Paul. Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975) 33, for the later docetistic use of this text. 12 "Homoima in Paolo (Rm 1,23; 5,14; 6,5; 8,3; Fil 2,7). Un' interpretazione esegeticoteologica alla luce dell' uso dei LXX," Greg 58 (1977) 339. 13 Ibid., 341.
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250 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 47, 1985 For this reason the LXX never speaks of a of God, even to forbid its making. The making of an of God is roundly prohibited, but the very thought of a of God is absurd. The is the ade quate expression. In Paul the term conserves its value as "the adequate and perceptible expression of some reality" (Rom 1:23; 5:14; 6:5; 8:3; Phil 2:7).14 In Phil 2:7 the term again describes Christ, this time . The sense of the word in Rom 8:3, therefore, by no means marks a distinction or a difference between Christ and sinful flesh. If Christ comes of sinful flesh, he comes as the full expression ofthat sinful flesh. He manifests it for what it is. Sinful flesh is fully visible in the flesh of Christ. 15 2. . In Rom 8:3 the manifestation of Christ of which Paul speaks is . 1 6 The literature on the Pauline notion of is voluminous. 17 We can agree with H. Schlier about this Pauline concept: "It is difficult to say, that is, almost impossible to grasp with one concept what sarx is." 1 8 J. D. G. Dunn, in his article on Rom 1:3-4, seems to give us the most valid approach to as Paul uses it. Dunn insists on two things: first, that has a whole gamut of meanings, from a more or less simple designation of physical, earthly existence to a thoroughly negative descrip-

Ibid , 468 This sense of as "perceptible expression" ties into Paul's repeated description of the crucifixion and the redemption as a form of manifestation The redemption is accom plished in Christ Jesus "whom God put forward (ov ) as an expiation to manifest ( ') his justice" (Rom 3 25-26) Before the Galatians' eyes (' ) Jesus Christ "was exhibited crucified ( )" (Gal 3 1) Nailing the debt against us to the cross, God "made a public show in openness ( )" (Col 2 14-15) With a surprisingly Johannine twist, Paul thus sees the pre-paschal humanity of Christ and the crosswhich he always keeps togetheras the great manifestation of God, first of God's justice but also of the negativity of sin 16 For this expression see 1 QS 11 9, 1 QM 4 3, 12 12 17 See E Brandenburger, Fleisch und Geist Paulus und die dualistische Weisheit (WMANT 29, Neukirchen-Vluyn Neukirchener V, 1968), R G Bratcher, "The meaning of sarx ('flesh') in Paul's letters," BT29 (1978) 212-18, E Burton, Spirit, E J Cooper, "Sarx and Sin in Pauline Theology," LTP 29 ('973) 243-55, J D G Dunn, "JesusFlesh and Spirit An Exposition of Romans 3-4," JTS 24 (1973) 40-63, R Jewett, Paul's Anthropological Terms A Study of Their Use in Conflict Settings (Leiden Brill, 1971), esp pp 49-166, R J Karris, "Flesh, Spirit, and Body in Paul," Bible Today 70 (1974) 1451-56, E Lohmeyer, "Sunde, Fleisch und Tod," ZNW 29 (1930) 1-59, J Robinson, The Body A Study in Pauline Theology (Philadelphia Westminster, 1977) 11-33, A Sand, Der Begriff "Fleisch" in den paulinischen Hauptbriefen (Biblische Untersuchungen 2, Regensburg Pustet, 1967), W Schauf, SARX Der Begriff "Fleisch" beim Apostel Paulus (NTAbh, Munster Aschendorff, 1924), E Schweizer, F Baumgartel, and R. Meyer, ", ," TDNTl (1971) 98-151 18 Romer brief 240 n 8
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THE SINFUL FLESH OF THE SON OF GOD (ROM 8:3) 251 tion of human perversity.19 Secondly, the more or less identifiable meanings within the whole gamut influence each other and echcreach other. 20 Thus, on the one hand, the designation of Christ indicates first of all Christ's earthly life, his descent from David, but at the same time echoes a negative aspect about Jesus before his resurrection. On the other hand, the more specifically Pauline descriptions of the flesh as the source of evil works in Gal 5:19-21 continue to evoke physical earthly existence, symbolized by the soft, vulnerable tissue of the human body. As for many of Paul's con cepts, the meaning of involves a simultaneous interpntration or overlay of meanings. Because of this overlay, nowhere in Paul do we find a purely neutral sense of , one without some theologically charged echo. 21 Two identifiable meanings or nuances of are of particular interest for our understanding of Rom 8:3. The first meaning is that of solidarity. As for the OT,22 for Paul expresses kinship and unity with other human beings, whether this relationship be based on race (Rom 9:3; 11:14; probably 4:1), sex (1 Cor 6:16; cf. Eph 5:31), or worldly order (Phlm 16; Col 3:22; cf. Eph 6:5). Exactly the opposite from being a principle of individuation, "flesh" for Paul is a basis of union and participation with others. 23 The "sinful flesh" of Christ thus expresses the solidarity of Christ with humanity. The second meaning or nuance of important for our understand ing of Rom 8:3 is that of a power or power sphere. For Paul is a reality in which people exist (Rom 7:5; 8:8); it makes demands and places others in its debt (Rom 8:12); it strives against spirit (Gal 5:17), has and (Gal 5:16,24), involves its own (Rom 13:14). Man sows in it and receives a harvest from it (Gal 6:8); it has works (Gal 5:19) and functions as a criterion for being, living, thinking, and acting (Rom 8:4,5,13; 2 Cor 1:17; 5:16; 10:2,3). "In the flesh" parallels "in Christ" and "in the Spirit" and expresses a similar type of relationship. 24 When Paul speaks of Christ's "sinful flesh," he is thus pointing to a dimension which is more "cosmic" than ethical, expressing especially the situation of Christ. Commentators continue to discuss the literary origins of this notion of flesh. This is not the typical Hellenistic concept of body or flesh as the tomb
J. D. G. Dunn, "Flesh and Spirit," 44-46; likewise J. A. T. Robinson, The Body, 17-26; R. G. Bratcher, "sarje," 213-18. 20 J. D. G. Dunn, "Flesh and Spirit," 48. 21 E. Brandenburger, Fleisch und Geist, 44. 22 This sense of , translating the Hebrew, bsr, is unparalleled in Greek literature. See E. Burton, Spirit, 69-70, 156. For examples in the OT see Gen 2:23-24; 29:14; 37:27; Lev 18:6, 12-13; 20:19; 2 Sam 5:1; 19:13; Isa 38:7. 23 Thus J. A. T. Robinson, The Body, 21. 24 Ibid., 22 n. 2, where J. A. T. Robinson cites E. Ksemann, Leib und Leib Christi (Tbingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1933) 103.
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252 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 47, 1985 of the soul, nor is it the OT view of flesh as the person himself. Close parallels to Paul appear in Qumran. 2 5 Brandenburger, however, describes parallels in Philo and suggests a dualistic wisdom tradition behind Paul. 26 We can prob ably best understand Paul as standing in the confluence of the OT notion of basar as weakness, proneness to sin, and of the apocalyptic notion of an evil aeon in which humanity exists and which explains the enormity and power of sin. In apocalyptic imagery, a person or a personal aspect may represent or manifest an aeonic force. In this way, Paul can view at once as a human mode of existence and as a cosmic, demonic force.27 The intensity of the anti-God aspect of in Romans 8 is clear: ( 6).. . . , , ( 7). This is the sinful flesh of which Christ is the full manifestation. This is the sinful flesh that unites him with humanity in its sinfulness.

II. 2 Cor 5:21 and the Pre-paschal Christ The difficulty with this understanding of these expressions, even within the Pauline context, the difficulty which leads most commentators to throw up their hands as in the face of ineffable paradox, is the description of Christ in 2 Cor 5:21 as , as "not knowing sin." 2 8 Commen tators almost unanimously see this expression as referring to the earthly life of Jesus. 29 Rejecting the position of H. Windisch, who saw here a description of the prexistent Son,30 the vast majority of commentators base their position on theological grounds. For P. Hughes, only as sinless "is Jesus qualified

1 QH 1 21-23,3 24-26,4 29-31, 12 24-26, 13 14-16, 1QM4 3, 12 11-12, 1 QS 11 9 But see E Brandenburgern discussion of these parallels, Fleisch und Geist, 86-106, also J D G Dunn, "Flesh and Spirit," 61-62, G Kuhn, "New Light on Temptation, Sin and Flesh in the New Testament," The Scrolls and the New Testament (ed Stendahl, New York Harper and Row, 1957) 101-7 26 Fleisch und Geist, 123-221 27 Thus R Jewett, Anthropological Terms, 113-16 J D G Dunn's objection to E Schweizern position, therefore, is not convincing Schweizer insists that m Paul represents a "sphere of influence" ("," 126-28) Dunn objects that it indicates a "mode of being " Rather, in Paul's symbolic mentality, where one image suggests another, the personal and the cosmic seem to interpenetrate 28 The expression has parallels in Rom 7 7-8 and in rabbinic literature, see Str-B 3 520 29 Thus - Allo, R Bultmann, C Barrett, Hughes, and R Strachen 30 Der zweite Korintherbrief (MeyerK, 9th ed , Gottingen Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1924) 197-98 Windisch comes to this conclusion by seeing the participial phrase as causal rather than concessive It is not clear why the causality Windisch sees here could not also apply to the earthly Jesus

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THE SINFUL FLESH OF THE SON OF GOD (ROM 8:3) 253 to effect an atonement for Man as man." 31 "It is only as sinless that Christ can bear the sins of others," states Barrett as he ties this concept into the current belief of Judaism that the merits of the righteous could be used for the benefit of the sinful.32 In this way, as Strachen states, Paul would be "safeguarding the character of Jesus . . . the complete moral supremacy and spotless purity of Him who knew temptation, but never yielded."33 Does this description of Christ not knowing sin, however, so clearly refer to the earthly Jesus? If with Windisch, we relate this text to Rom 8:3, the description would seem to depict Christ before he was sent as an expression of sinful flesh. Moreover, one wonders if the concern to safeguard the "moral supremacy and spotless purity" of Christ is not reading into the text a notion of sin different from that of Paul. Those who would see here a description of the earthly Jesus read the second phrase of the verse, "God made him to be sin" as referring to the crucifixion. Yet Paul never separates the crucifixion from the incarnation. For Paul, Christmas is the dawn of Good Friday. The separation of Christ's death from his becoming man, moreover, leads to a kind of four-fold schema of Jesus' career: (1) a prexistence in the form of God, (2) a sinless incarnation and earthly career, (3) a becoming "sin" and "curse" in the crucifixion, and (4) a vindication in the resurrection. In effect, however, Paul's christology falls into only three phases: Christ prexistent, Christ according to the flesh, and Christ according to the Spirit by the resurrection. We are thus led to examine Paul's understanding of Christ, the incarnate Christ before his resurrection, and to look particularly at those statements of Paul about Christ which seem to speak positively about his earthly career. The texts cited to demonstrate Paul's continuity with the NT theme of Jesus' sinlessness are Phil 2:5-8; Rom 5:18-19; 15:2-3; and 2 Cor 8:9. To this list we might with M. Hooker and J. Dunn add the texts where Jesus is described as Son of God, since the term was used in Jewish thought for those who were righteous and acknowledged by God as such.34

31 P. E. Hughes, Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962)212. 32 A Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (HNTC; New York: Harper & Row, 1973) 180. 33 The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (MNTC; London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935) 121. 34 Wis 2:16,18; 5:5; M. D. Hooker, "Interchange and Atonement," BJRL 60 (1978) 472 n. 2; J. D. G. Dunn, "Flesh and Spirit," 55. Dunn's attempt to see Paul teaching that the pre-paschal Christ was filled with the Spirit because of Paul's descriptions of the Spirit as "the Spirit of Christ" (Rom 8:9), "the Spirit of his Son" (Gal 4:6), and "the Spirit of Jesus Christ"

254 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 47, 1985 In Phil 2:5-8 Christ Jesus' mentality of selfless humility and obedience is presented as a model for the Philippians. This humility and obedience is moreover the cause of divine recompense (, 9). We note, however, that this paradigmatic picture of Christ involves his prexistence, not just his earthly career. Paul begins by presenting Christ existing in the form of God, who then empties himself by "taking on the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men." It is this shift from divine status to slave status that Paul presents as a model of humility. Even the description of Jesus' obedience unto death, which clearly alludes to his earthly career, cannot be isolated from this broader picture. This obedience appears again in Rom 5:19, where it redounds to the justification of humanity. Again this obedience certainly describes the earthly Jesus. Rom 15:3, presenting Christ as a model for the Romans, refers to him in a global way, not pleasing himself, but accepting the reproaches directed to others. In both texts the crucifixion is on Paul's mind, but so is the whole kensis of the Son becoming man. 2 Cor 8:9 describes Christ Jesus again as a model, who "being rich became poor for us." This text, however, clearly refers to the prexistent one, described as rich. Paul never refers to the earthly Jesus in this way. The texts thus far are clear about the obedience of Christ before his resurrection. This is the characteristic attitude of Jesus. Paul mentions it twice with emphasis. In Christ this attitude becomes the occasion for God's acquitting justice to be exercised (Rom 5:9) and is the attitude epitomizing Jesus' acceptance of death (Phil 2:8). For Paul obedience often seems to be synonymous with faith (cf. Rom 1:5; 10:16; 15:18; 16:29; and probably 16:19). It is the act especially of a slave (Rom 6:16). Beyond this attitude, however, Paul says little specifically about the positive attitudes and qualities of Christ . We turn now to the important text of 2 Cor 5:21. Given the three part structure of Paul's christology, we would expect 21a likewise to be an expression of the prexistent one. A look at the structure of the whole verse confirms this expectation. From its position in the text, the verse appears somewhat as a formula. J. F. Collange notes its weak link with the preceding development, a certain rhythm to the verse itself, and its function here as a kind of "seal
(Phil 1:19) seems weak. In this association of the Spirit with Christ, nothing appears to indicate that Paul was thinking specifically of the earthly Jesus. Likewise to see the of Col 1:19 as "a description of the Holy Spirit filling the earthly Jesus in a unique measure" is to go beyond the text. See also Dunn, Jesus, 58, citing G. Mnderlein, "Die Erwhlung durch das Pleroma: Bemerkungen zu Kol. i. 19," NTS 8 (1961-62) 272.

THE SINFUL FLESH OF THE SON OF GOD (ROM 8:3) 255 at the end of the letter."35 E. Ksemann suggests a fragment of a JudeoChristian tradition.36 As a possible formula 2 Cor 5:21 parallels in structure other statements of Paul and clarifies those other statements. The verse itself is composed of a participial phrase, , a main clause in the aorist, , and a purpose clause, . The same pattern describes the structure of 2 Cor 8:9, a participial phrase, the aorist main clause, and the clause. The corresponding parts of these texts can be illustrated by the following structural diagram: 2 Cor 5:21 , ' , . Phil 2:6-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In 2 Cor 8:9 and Phil 2:6 the participial phrase clearly describes Christ's prexistence. Thus we are led to see the participial phrase in 2 Cor 5:21 likewise as describing Christ's prexistence, not his earthly career.37 Whether in simple formula or in extended hymnic form, all three texts thus seem to express a faith in the kenotic incarnation of a glorious prexistent one and the positive results intended from that kensis. The Corinthian texts express the positive results for humanity. The Philippian text expresses the positive result for Christ. Concerning the second part of the verse of 2 Cor 5:21, , we note simply that the commentators are almost unani35

2 Cor 8:9

Enigme de la deuxime ptre de Paul aux Corinthiens. tude exgtique de 2 Cor 2:14-7:4 (SNTSMS 18; Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1972) 275. 36 "Erwgungen zum Stichwort 'Vershnungslehre im NT,*" Zeit und Geschichte. Dankesgabe an R. Bultmann (ed. E. Dinkier; Tbingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1964) 50. 37 Against C. K. Barrett, 2 Cor, 180; R Hughes, 2 Cor, 211-13; R. Strachen, 2 Cor, 121. Chrysostom, however, seems to see prexistence expressed in 2 Cor 2:21a, where he identified "not knowing sin" as "being righteousness itself; see his Homilies on 2 Cor, 11,3 (PG 61,478).

256 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 47, 1985 mous in taking the word in its full sense as "sin." 3 8 Since P. Bachmann's commentary early in the century,39 most now reject the reading, popular with many of the Fathers, 4 0 and more recently proposed by L. Sabourin,41 which sees in here a translation of the Hebrew, hattJt, as "sin offering." The principal reasons against this reading are summarized by Collange: (1) would not have two different meanings in this single sentence; (2) does not have the sense of "sin offering" in the rest of Paul or the entire NT; (3) the antithesis / argues against this sense; and (4) the parallel in Gal 3:13 does not admit of any such ambiguity.42 If this analysis of 2 Cor 5:21 is correct, then, again we see Paul very reticent about holding up the earthly Jesus as a symbol and model of good ness. 43 Rather, the earthly life of Jesus, telescoped into the crucifixion, is placed under the rubric of "sin." Whether Paul intends the title "Son of God" to express Jesus as the righteous, innocent man of the Spirit, as Dunn and Hooker suggest, is not clear. 44 The background for this title in Paul seems to be more the story of Isaac in Genesis than the description of the innocent, persecuted one in Wisdom. This title is consistently associated with Jesus' death (Rom 5:10; 8:32) and seems to reflect again the motif of Christ's obedience at the hands of his Father. It is precisely as Son that Jesus is sent as an expression of sinful flesh and born under the Law (Rom 8:3; Gal 4:4). By his use of the "Godsending-Son" formula, Paul in fact associates this title with the "sin" which is Christ. III. Sin, Death, and Redemption Our difficulty with the Pauline picture of Jesus still remains and stems principally from our ethical understanding of sin. For our theological per spective, we see sin as an action of the created person contradicting the law and love of God. We ask if such sin could be said of Christ, the incarnate

Thus F. Fallon, C. K. Barrett, A. Plummer, E.-B. Alio, F. Filson, P. Hughes, and H. Windisch. 39 Der zweite Brief des Paulus an die Korinther (Leipzig: Deichen, 1909). 40 Ambrose, Augustine, Ambrosiaster, and Cyril of Alexandria. 41 Rdemption sacrificielle. Une enqute exgtique (Bruges: Descle de Brouwer, 1961); but see the critique of L. Sabourin by J. F. Collange, Enigme, 176-78. 42 Enigme, 278. 43 Only at 1 Thess 1:6 does Paul speak about imitating "the Lord," referring most likely to the earthly Jesus. 44 J. D. G. Dunn, "Flesh and Spirit," 55; M. D. Hooker, "Interchange," 472 n. 2.

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THE SINFUL FLESH OF THE SON OF GOD (ROM 8:3) 257 Son of God, and we conclude with the rest of the NT that Jesus was absolutely sinless. Yet H. Ridderbos insists, "In approaching the Pauline doctrine of sin, we must not orient ourselves in the first place to the individual and personal, but to the redemptive-historical and collective points of view."45 For Paul sin is not first of all an individual act or condition. It is rather the supraindividual mode of existence in which one shares.46 Our understanding of Paul's kenotic christology of Jesus' sinful flesh thus requires an understand ing of Paul's notion of sin as more than ethical and personal. Paul stands in the apocalyptic current involving an intense pessimism about this world.47 Sin, Paul admits, comes into the world through human failing (Rom 5:12).48 But given its "entrance," sin for Paul takes on aeonic dimensions. With death it becomes an enslaving power.49 Sin becomes an alien power residing within the individual, denying him command of his own actions (Rom 7:17,20). All things are shut up "under sin" (Gal 3:22), with its "leaders" and "wisdom" (1 Cor 2:6), even its own "god" (2 Cor 4:4). Death, which enters the world with sin (Rom 5:12), is the place where sin reigns in a special way (Rom 5:21). "Death," "flesh," "this aeon" are the images Paul uses to describe the supra-personal, objective, almost palpable reality of sin. Sin does affect the individual, just as "flesh" is always seen in relationship to the individual. The individual must likewise undergo his or her own death. But flesh, sin, and death are more than the individual's personal problems. They reflect and are part of a cosmic or aeonic perversion. For Paul, the individual is affected as being part of this perversion. When we look more carefully at the connection Paul makes between sin and death, we obtain a more precise idea of the universality of sin and how it can be applied to Christ. As A. Feuillet points out, "Death for Paul is more than physical death. Death has a double sense, physical and spiritual. Physi cal death itself is a sign of and is inseparable from spiritual death."50 "Death,"

Paul. An Outline of His Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975) 91. Thus H. Ridderbos, Paul, 93; see also E. J. Cooper, "Sarx and Sin," 245-48. 47 This pessimism is found particularly in the Essene movement; see the radical insistence on general human sinfulness in 1 QU 16:11; 1 QS 11; CD 1. 48 4 Ezra 7:116-26 and 2 Apoc. Bar. 54:15-19 likewise trace the sinfulness of humanity back to Adam. 49 Paul describes both sin and death as active with such verbs as (Rom 6:14 [sin]; Rom 6:9 [death]) and (Rom 5:21; 6:12 [sin]; Rom 5:14,17 [death]). Conversely man becomes enslaved to this power of sin (Rom 6:6,16-17,20). He obeys (Rom 6:16) and is under (Rom 3:9; 7:14; Gal 3:22) sin. See E. Brandenburger, Fleisch und Geist, 55-57; J. A. T. Robinson, The Body, 36. 50 "L'Incorporation des chrtiens au Christ," Esprit et Vie 82 (1973) 289.
46

45

258 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 47, 1985 Feuillet continues, "for the Apostle is first of all a spiritual state, a deviation 51 from God provoked by the revolt from mankind's origins." Rom 5:12-14 makes an explicit connection between death and sin in its universality. This text is written in diatribe structure, where Paul debates with an imaginary interlocutor. In 12 Paul makes his basic assertion: * , , ' . Paul stresses the correspondence between death affect ing all human beings and all having sinned. Even the chiasm of 12, . . . . . . . . . , stresses the exact correspondence between sin and death, whether in the particular case of Adam or for all human beings. The dialogue then begins in 13. Paul makes a statement (13a), an objection is heard (13b), and Paul answers the objection (14). The pattern appears in the succession of the particles . . . . . . . 5 2 The statement of Paul in 13a is meant to develop the assertion in 12: . The objection arises: . The answer of Paul to this objection is important for our discussion about Christ and sin but unfortunately involves a grammati cal obscurity. Verse 14 reads: ' ', . Most commentators read ' as modifying , i.e., as meaning "not sinning as did Adam," viz., transgressing the Law. Problems arise with this interpretation. (1) This is an unusual sense of with the dative. For the sense of "as" or "like" we would expect with the accusative. (2) It involves a sudden reversal of Paul's thought. Up to this point he has been stressing the influence of Adam on present sin. (3) Paul does not otherwise talk about the of Adam as a breaking of the Law. Indeed for Paul the Law came only 430 years after Abraham (Gal 3:17). Thus, it seems more correct to read this phrase as modifying "death ruled." 5 3 with the dative here would carry the usual meaning of "on the basis of."54 Here, then, Paul is insisting on how Adam has influenced the universality of sin. Death rules from Adam to Moses on the basis of the ', the concrete perceptible expression of

Ibid., 289 n. 1. This pattern marks a similar dialogue in Gal 3:10-22; 4:27-29; 2 Cor 11:5-6. See U. Vanni, "Homoima," 440-41, esp. n. 20. 53 Thus U. Vanni, "Homoima," 436-45; see also Chrysostom, Homily 10 on Romans (PG 60,475). 54 BAG, 287: "of that upon which a state of being, an action, or a result is based."
52

51

THE SINFUL FLESH OF THE SON OF GOD (ROM 8:3)

259

Adam's transgression. This is Paul's explanation of how all have sinned even when there was no law to break. The expression, ' thus forms a parallel and a basis for the phrase in 12, ' . Both phrases explain why death affects all human beings. As answering the objection, "Sin cannot be taken into account where there is no law," 14 thus basically states that it can be taken into account wherever death rules. And death rules by the concrete expression of Adam's sin, presumably, mortal, sinful flesh. Those over whom death rules can be said to have sinned ( ), even those who in another sense have not sinned ( ), e.g., those who lived before the Law. Vanni paraphrases Paul's thought in this way: "If all die, all sin. They did not sin in the specific sense prevalent in the Jewish world (viz., a transgression of the Law).. . . They sinned by a more generic sin, but one not for all that less real, as the real raging of death demonstrates." 55 In the following chapter of Romans, writing about Christ, Paul states that death no longer rules over him ( , Rom 6:9). In effect he is saying that death did at one point rule over Christ. He is now raised from the dead and will never die again. But prior to his death and resurrection, Christ was under the reign of death and therefore under the reign of sin. If death rules over him, then he too could be classed with the universality of sinners. Hence, Paul can continue in Rom 6:10, , , , . The dative of both and is a dative of interest (dativus commodi).S6 The second dative ( ) is clear from the context; the first ( ) follows from the parallelism of the verse. Paul is making the point that Jesus was really subject to the power of sin and died "for its sake," "under its claim." Paul does not flinch with this breathtaking statement because he can say it hap pened (aorist) once and for all, and Jesus now lives (present) "for the sake of 57 God," "under the claim of God." It is the resurrection, then, that makes palatable the image of Christ as an expression of sinful flesh or as sin itself. The resurrection is the full transformation of the body of Christ, a transformation from , , , to , , (1 Cor 15:42-43). The resurrection is the transformation of Christ from being to being (1 Cor 1:30). The resurrection is in effect Christ's own redemption from sin.
55

"Homoima," 440. See M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek (Rome: Biblical Institute, 1963) #56; P. von der OstenSacken, Rmer 8, 178-79. Against BDF, #188, who see here a dative of possession. 57 Cf. the somewhat softer but parallel statement in 2 Cor 13:4, , .
56

260 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 47, 1985 In Christ Jesus and specifically in his "body of flesh" God's redemption 58 and reconciliation take place. God is the active agent in this redemption and reconciliation. It is God who reconciles the world to himself in Christ (2 Cor 5:18-19). It is God who sends his Son for our redemption (Gal 4:4). Christ here is not so much the agent of redemption but rather the place of redemption because he himself was redeemed from the curse and subjection to the Law.59 Thus Paul can insist, "If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins" (1 Cor 15:17). This concept of redemption, where Jesus functions as the primary bene ficiary, does not render him totally passive in this divine reconciliation. Paul insists, as we have seen, on the obedience of Christ as a key aspect of redemption (Rom 5:19). But the image of Jesus somehow meriting the redemp tion by the goodness of his life is not a real component of Paul's theology. In the same line, M. Hooker has shown that the of Rom 5:18 refers, not to Christ's "righteousness" by which all are saved, but to God's "acquittal" exercised on Christ by which all are saved.60 The stress of Paul in this key text of Romans is again on the grace of the Father. "Condemnation follows one transgression, but grace follows many transgressions unto acquit tal" (5:16). "Thus as through one transgression, condemnation comes to all men, so also through one acquittal, justice of life comes to all men" (5:18). The thought is so simple it seems wrong. God looks down on great sinfulness and exercises his gracious acquittal. All this could take place because one representative of sinful humanity stood in accepting obedience (5:19).

Conclusion It is not possible here to investigate the sources of Paul's idea of the redeemer in sinful flesh. Some parallels can be found in the gnostic language of the redeemed redeemer, for instance in the story of the young prince in the

See A. Feuillet, "Incorporation," 290: "'Le corps de chair' du Fils de Dieu est ainsi le lieu o s'accomplit la rconciliation parfaite des hommes avec Dieu"; P. von der Osten-Sacken, Rmer 8, 230: "Die Erlsung hat ihren Ort 'in Jesus Christus,' weil Gott in ihm urbildlich die Erlsung vollzogen hat." 59 C. F. D. Moule points out how the NT reflects a shift, rooted in the OT figures, from seeing Jesus as the one who receives vindication from God after being rejected to seeing Jesus as the one who delivers and acts on behalf of others; see his The Phenomenon of the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1967) 82-99. 60 "Interchange," 463-68. The main argument for this interpretation is the meaning of in 16 and the general thrust of the text, which contrasts Adam's sin with God's gift, not with Christ's just act.

58

THE SINFUL FLESH OF THE SON OF GOD (ROM 8:3) 261 Hymn of the Pearl.61 Such relatively late parallels suggest the possibility of earlier traditions existing at the time of Paul. In general, however, the theme of the redeemed redeemer is difficult to pin down.62 J. Hoad, on the other hand, points to some literary parallels of Paul's imagery in Isa 53:9b-ll. 63 Such a connection with Deutero-Isaiah could tie into the general develop ment of servant christology in the NT. Yet a purely literary background would not seem to have been enough to warrant the daring picture that Paul draws of the earthly Jesus. In the last analysis, the most plausible source of Paul's image of Christ lies in the Jesus traditions Paul received, traditions we can reconstruct from the Synop tic gospels. Through the theological overlays of the gospels, we do get a picture of a Jesus who ate and drank with sinners, who could qualify legally as a sinner for his transgressions of the letter of the Law, who as son of Mary was a scandal to his kinsmen, so common did his origins and life seem. Above all we see a Jesus who began his ministry by undergoing the rite of baptism.64 The beloved Son of the Father appears first of all in this ritual for sinners. He was not like the recognized pure and pious people of his day. Paul expresses and develops his faith in these scandalous traditions by describing Christ coming as an expression of sinful flesh. By choosing the word "flesh," Paul evokes Christ's solidarity with sinful humanity. He was one of us, even in our sinfulness. He was our very flesh. Reconciliation of the Pauline understanding with the rest of the NT hinges on the understanding of and in Paul. As related to Christ, the terms express above all the objective, larger-than-human, the corrupting, anti-God power-sphere of unredeemed existence. This objective power-sphere for Paul certainly involves the individual but perhaps also provides enough of a distance from a direct and immediate involvement of personal responsibility that he can apply these terms to Christ. This cosmic sense of and thus leaves room for the affirmation of Christ as sinless in an ethical, personal sense.
61 See Acts of Thomas in W. Foester, Gnosis. A Selection of Gnostic Texts (2 vols; Oxford: Clarendon, 1972-74). 1. 356-57. 62 See the reservations of W. Foester, Gnosis, 1.17. 63 "Some New Testament References to Isaiah 53," ExpTim 63 (1957) 254-55. 64 The dialogue in Matt 3:14-15 indicates an early Christian uneasiness with the baptism of Jesus. See also Matt 8:17, where the Servant's pattern of bearing iniquities (Isa 53:11) is softened to mean curing ills. In addition, early Christian difficulty with the baptism of Jesus shows up in the Gospel of the Ebionites (frag. 4), where John again asks Jesus to baptize him, and in the Gospel according to the Hebrews (frag. 2), where Jesus in a dialogue with his family protests that there is no need for him to be baptized because he has not sinned; see E. Hennecke, New Testament Apocrypha (2 vols; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1963-64), 1.146-47, 157.

262 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 47, 1985 Yet the Pauline picture of Christ warns us against a glib reading of the NT description of Jesus. As Karl Barth writes, "We stumble when we suppose that we can treat of Him, speak and hear of Himwithout being scandalized."65 The earthly Jesus did not appear as the paradigm of human virtue. He appeared as a sinner. Paul understood this. If contemporary christology intends to be biblical, it will have to wrestle as did Paul with the sinful flesh of God's Son.
65

Romans, 280.

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