Page History

SCANNED PDF

One thing that much impressed me as a result of Marxsen's lectures and the discussions that followed them is how close we are in our understandings of the essential content of Christian faith. In his understanding, as in mine, through Jesus we are brought to faith in God, in that we are offered eschatological communion with God without any prior conditions and, therefore, are given to live as God's children, as children of the Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus as well as of one another.

...

Or, again, I, too, could say that what faith means is that those who are reconciled live reconciliation. In the name of Jesus, those who are reconciled say to others that they, too, can live as persons reconciled to God. Thus others are made an offer on behalf of, or in the place of, Jesus. If, on the authority of Jesus's word (and only on it), they risk living as reconciled persons by themselves enacting reconciliation, then (but only _ then) they discover that they, too, are reconciled, that they, too, can be what Jesus promised them:  _ that as reconciled persons, they can bring reconciliation to others; that as forgiven, they can forgive; that as children of God, they can live with all persons as their brothers and sisters; that as those who live in peace with God, they can be peacemakers (43).