Wolfhart Pannenberg

Chapter 14: Election and History   Pannenberg is now ready to explore the doctrine of election. While Jesus preached the future rule of God, the future is present by anticipation in the person of Jesus. People participate now in the future of divine rule by being in fellowship with Jesus. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs of that future rule, giving advance notice of the whole course of life of those to whom they apply. Participation is important here in order for us to bear the image of God and allow God to fashion us into the likeness of God. He proposes thinking of religion as the divine education of the human race. This education occurs in the context of cultural history. Important for inner formation is the medium of spontaneity, within which the image of the Son and his free relation to the Father take shape in human life. He refers at the natural level to the self-organization of the living creature. This natural occurrence also occurs at the level of the h...

Chapter 13: The Messianic Community and Individuals               Pannenberg begins with a discussion of the fellowship of individuals with Jesus Christ and the church as the fellowship of believers. The church aims its missionary message to the salvation of individuals. Jesus addressed his message of the imminent rule of God to individuals rather than the development of a political program. He will want to explore the relation between the fellowship of individuals with Jesus Christ and their gathering in the church. One, Pannenberg discusses the church as the fellowship of believers and the body of Christ. As the body of Christ, the image addresses the inseparable union of believers with Christ. We see this reality particularly in Word and Sacrament. The unity of the body is one we perceive only through faith. Two, he discusses the mediating of the fellowship of believers by the common confession. The confession of...