Deeper Reflection
IN ROMANS, PAUL PUTS AS ANTITHESIS “THE WRATH OF God is revealed” against fallen humankind (Rom 1:18) and “the righteousness of God is revealed” in “the gospel…the power of God for salvation” to everyone who believes in Christ (Rom 1:16-17). We must get right with God, because there is no escape from “the wrath of God”. But we cannot get right with God, because to get right with God, we must have “the righteousness of God”, which is an impossibility. However, we can get right with God through “the gospel” – “the power of God for salvation”, “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ” (Rom 3:22-24a). The “salvation” through Christ that Paul speaks to the Thessalonians about is the eschatological salvation – “salvation” that remains as “hope” at the present (vv.8-9).1 Peter 1:3-12 and 2:1-3 give us in broad outline a full picture of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Like Paul, Peter’s understanding of salvation is eschatological. The word “salvation” (sōtēria) occurs four times with significance in 1 Peter (1:5, 9, 10; 2:2). Peter looks at salvation from three points of salvation history: past, present and future.The Past in Salvation History: The “prophets” in the Old Testament “prophesied” of “this salvation” (1 Pet 1:10). It is noteworthy that the pre-incarnate Christ was directive in this. It was “the Spirit of Christ within” the prophets who “predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (1 Pet 1:11). What followed was Christ disregarded “His equality with God” and “emptied Himself ” downward to “death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8). What glory of divine grace!