Put On the Lord Jesus Christ, Put on the Last Adam : The Background of Paul's Ethical Instructions in Romans 13 : 11-14 Conspectus : The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary, Volume 4, Issue 09, Sep 2007, p. 1 - 22

Abstract

The background of Paul's ethical instructions in Rom 13 : 11-14, that, in view of the imminent return of Christ, Christians should eschew sinful behaviour and instead live righteously, have been assumed by several commentators to have derived from a cluster of disparate images. This approach however results in an irregular and unsatisfactory appreciation of the powerful rhetorical effects of the passage. In this paper, by exploring elements of Paul's doctrine of the ""Last Adam"" and its associations, especially the ""Divine Warrior"" motif, I propose that the images in the passage are derived from this Last Adam doctrine. Christians must be motivated to live godly lives because they will imminently inherit the incorruptible and glorious nature of the Last Adam by sharing in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.