Abstract:
This article aims to apply the model of change agent to the interpretation of Colossians.
Presuming a continuity between Jesus and Paul, the article introduces the concept of ‘by faith
alone’ from the Pauline letters. By this expression is meant an undivided fidelity to an inclusive
approach to understanding God’s work, with concrete historical roots in Jesus’ crossing of
gender, ethnic and cultural boundaries. Living in this manner requires reformation,
transformation and change. The study spells out in fuller detail what is understood ‘by faith
alone’ by discussing the meaning of ‘faith’ within its semantic domain embedded in the codes
of 1st-century Mediterranean culture. Living in faith is both a change of one’s inner convictions
and about a life in faith.
Description:
This research is part of the
research project, ‘Biblical
Theology and Hermeneutics’,
directed by Prof. Dr Andries
van Aarde, professor
emeritus and senior fellow in
the Unit for Advancement of
Scholarship at the Faculty of
Theology of the University of
Pretoria, South Africa.
