Abstract:
Kok (2014:15) omskryf dit soos volg: ‘The term οἰκοδομέω as verb denotes the act of building or edifying and as noun (οἰκοδομὴ) it
denotes physical buildings like the temple or figurative buildings like the community of faith as God’s οἰκοδομὴ. In the later tradition
of Paul and Peter for instance, we see that office bearers should be like stewards serving the community and building forth on and
protecting the mysteries that have been received from the apostles. In the NT, the action of the “up-building” or edification seems
to be directed towards those on the inside, i.e. it seems to have a sentripetal focus towards the insiders. But, what about the rest of
the world? Do we find any evidence that this “up-building” also has a focus towards outsiders? The answer is yes! The early Christfollowers
had a radical focus towards those on the inside ánd also towards the up-building and restoration of those outside the
community of faith’.
Description:
This article represents a
theological reflection on the
Faculty Research Theme (FRT)
of the Faculty of Theology,
University of Pretoria, entitled
‘Ecodomy – Life in its fullness’.
The theme is portrayed from
the perspective of various
theological disciplines.
A conference on this theme
was held on 27–28 October
2014.
