Romans with Douglas Moo's commentary, Introduction (day 11 of 14)

(pp. 27-28)

   There are so many sources of good quotes on these two pages of the commentary by Moo on Romans that I certainly must recommend them highly.  This is especially true if you are involved in the discussion of the various interpretations of the letter that are circulating, to the effect that Paul's main concern is a very human, horizontal concern, how Jews and Gentiles should relate, rather than the vertical concern, how a human being can relate to God, whatever race or races.

   "The bulk of Romans focuses on how God has acted in Christ ...."  Amen.  This is the "reality" part.  As it refers to the Jews / Gentiles, this is referring to God's actions that addressed the different status of real people that are either part of, or not part of, the covenant God had made to the Jews.  This is the "what," the "what God did" part.

   Also, there is the "meaning of" part.  When discussing what the law and gospel mean, that is where the relationship between the concepts, where the discussion of continuity and consistency and advancement and difference and dissimilarity come about.  Can we understand the meaning of what God did, and understand its relationship to the meaning of what God already had done?  That is the "meaning of what God did" part.

   In this second area, the commentary (p. 28) does well to bring out 3:31 and 8:4.  In the area of meaning, Christianity establishes the law, and in the area of reality, Christ fulfills the law.