Chapter 12 The Letters of Paul Proclaiming Christ Crucified and Risen
Concept A The Perspective of Paul’s Epistles
A. Read pp. 265 to 267 Ans. Review pg. 267
B. Read The Perspectives of Paul’s Epistles
1. What questions lie behind the Christian methods mentioned in this section?
a.
b.
c.
2. What does Paul try to do in his letters?
3. What will this chapter do?
4. What are Paul’s main themes?
a.
b.
5. What experience of Paul forms the background for these two themes?
6. How does God save us?
7. List the various expressions Paul uses for the activity of God in the lives of people?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
8. Based on Paul’s experience of the risen Jesus, what did he grow to realize?
9. What does Church as Body of Christ mean?
C. Read Focus pg. 268 John: The Letters of John
10. On what do the letters of John focus?
11. What stance does the First letter take regarding the humanity and divinity of Jesus?
12. What is the striking statement in John’s first letter?
13. How is its powerful claim lived out?
Concept B Salvation Through Christ Crucified
A. Read pp. 269 to 273 Ans. Review pg. 273
B. Read the Introduction and Salvation and Sin pp. 269-271
14. For Paul, what did salvation have to do with?
15. What notion was incredibly freeing for Paul?
16. According to the story of Adam and Eve, how did evil enter the world?
17. What resulted from the desire of people to decide for themselves what is right and wrong?
18. Shortly after the story of Adam and Eve, on what does the Bible focus?
19. What happens in the rest of the OT?
20. Why were the Commandments provided?
21. How did the people feel about the Law?
22. What happened when people turned their backs on God and abandoned the Law?
23. What was the essence of sin?
24. What did Paul realize?
25. What theme dominates Paul’s writings?
26. Why does Paul call Jesus, “the New Adam”?
C. Read Salvation, the Law, and Love pg. 271
27. What trap did the Jews fall into when they started to believe that they could win God’s favor
by following every letter of the Law rigidly?
28. For whom did Paul have strong words?
29. Summarize Paul’s new understanding of the Law in light of his faith in Jesus?
30. Where did Paul recognize the love that was more important than the Law?
31. List some effects of sin for the Jews of Paul’s day
a
b
c
d
e
32. For what did the majority of people yearn?
33. What did Jesus do through his life, actions, his message, and especially through his death
and resurrection?
Concept C Salvation and Contemporary Culture
A. Read pp. 274 to 281 Ans. Review on pg. 281
B. Read Introduction and In Search of Meaning pg. 274
34. Briefly describe the following people’s situation
Nina
Justin
Geralyn
Chad
Angela
35. What may these people and characters like them be looking for?
36. How do we often experience the effects of sin on a personal or private level?
37. Are these feelings caused by our own sin?
38. What is the Christian conviction?
C. Read Jesus According to Paul: “The New Adam” pp. 276 to 277
39. What does it mean when Paul refers to Jesus as “The New Adam”?
40. What does Paul mean by “righteousness”?
D. Read Fools for Christ pp. 277-278
41. What is the meaning of the cross?
42. What does Jesus save us from?
43. What does it mean to be fully human in the way God intends us to be?
E. Read We Cannot Do It on Our Own pp. 279-281
44. What is Paul’s message regarding salvation?
45. What does Paul mean by the expression justification (being saved) by faith?
46. What flows from accepting God’s gift of grace?
Concept D The Church as the Body of Christ
A Read pp. 281 to 285 Ans. Review on pg. 285
B. Read the Introduction and Building on Jesus’ Own Words pp. 281 to 283
47. What did Paul see through his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus?
48. How has Paul challenged Christians throughout the ages to live out this vision?
49. What direct connection did Jesus see?
50. Just as the eucharistic bread and wine become Jesus’ body and blood, what are the
community of believers called to become?
51. How did Paul see the Body of Christ in pain?
52. What happened when members of a community worked and prayed together as one?
C. Read Focus The Church as the Body of Christ Throughout History pg. 286
53. What are the two interpretations of Paul’s notion of the Church as the Body of Christ ?
Briefly describe each
a.
b.
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