New Creation in Paul’s Letters: A Study of the Historical and Social Setting of a Pauline Concept

Ryan Jackson explores the apostle Paul’s conception of new creation in the light of a fresh consideration of its historical and social contexts. This work seeks to understand how Paul innovatively applied his theological convictions in his letters to three communities - in Galatia, in Corinth, and in Rome. The discussion contributes to the ongoing debate concerning the degree to which Paul’s soteriology should be viewed in continuity or discontinuity with the Old Testament. It also offers a further example of how Roman imperial ideology may be employed in the study of the reception of Paul’s letters. The thesis proposes that Paul’s concept of new creation is an expression of his eschatologically infused soteriology which involves the individual, the community, and the cosmos, and which is inaugurated in the death and resurrection of Christ.