Pauls New Creation: Vision for a New World and Community

Was Paul a middleman for Gods new creation? In Pauls New Creation: Vision for a New World and Community, Sejong Chun suggests a surprising answer to this question through inter(con)textual readings of Pauls (new) creation passages from the perspective of the Korean immigrant church in America. Sejong points out that scholars have regarded Pauls new creation as if it were an abstract concept. The author focuses on its real character by proposing the ekklsia as a tangible embodiment of Gods new creation, emphasizing its cosmic dimension and ecclesiastical meaning. Sejong suggests Paul as a middleman with his Gentile churches who delivered Gods super-abundant grace to the marginalized urban poor in the Jerusalem church. Paul and the early Christians in central cities around the Mediterranean basin fulfilled the collective project of the Jerusalem collection. Pauls collection was an ultimate sign of independence from the Jerusalem church authority and a manifestation of a new and alternative economy against the exploitative and hierarchical structure of the Roman Empire.