This book appears as the author's third volume in a “partly deliberate, partly accidental” (2) trilogy on Paul, following Cruciformity: Paul's Narrative Spirituality of the Cross (2009) and Inhabiting the Cruciform God: Kenosis, Justification, and Theosis in Paul's Narrative Soteriology (2013). Building on his previous work, Michael J. Gorman identifies his central claim as follows: Paul desired the communities he addressed “not merely to believe the gospel but to become the gospel, and in so doing to participate in the very life and mission of God” (2). A missional, justice-making God “creates a missional, justified, justice-making people” (9). The book involves the intersection of Pauline studies, hermeneutics, and missiology and is intended for, and accessible to, scholars, pastors, and lay church leaders (10). Gorman employs a “missional hermeneutic” to explore aspects of what it means to “become” or “embody” the gospel according to Paul's letters.
Chapter 1 provides a framework for the book and explores two ways of reading Paul missionally: historically—for Paul's vision of God's mission and his and the churches’ role in that mission—and scripturally—for modern Christian readers to discover their role in God's mission today. For Gorman the historical and exegetical work of Paul rightly provides a foundation for understanding Paul's voice to contemporary Christian mission. In chapter 2 he proposes “missional hermeneutics”—reading the biblical text “as witness to God's purposes in the world and as invitation—even as summons—to participate in that divine activity” (52).
In chapters 3 through 8, Gorman addresses key aspects of participation in Paul's letters. For each letter addressed, he presents his analysis in light of historical context and Paul's audience, missionary journey, and purpose for writing. He then concludes each chapter with summary comments and modern examples of how such themes and concepts are being modeled in contemporary Christian communities. Thus, Gorman effectively integrates a historical and scriptural missional analysis to comment on what “becoming the gospel” meant for Paul and what it means for the church today.
Chapter 3 explores missional virtues of faith (or faithfulness), love, and hope in 1 Thessalonians—a letter sent to strengthen them to endure in living out the gospel as a missional community. In chapter 4, Gorman analyzes Paul's “master story” in Philippians 2:6–11; Paul encourages his audience to continue to “proclaim the gospel with their lives and their lips … despite persecution” (113). The community is to be a “living exegesis” of the gospel. Chapter 5 provides an overview of the “peace of God” and “God of peace” in Paul, and chapter 6 provides a closer analysis of peace in Ephesians. Gorman identifies peace and peacemaking as a “constituent element” of Paul's gospel that may engender opposition, but are to extend from the church to home, community, nation, and world. Chapter 7 explores justice in Paul's letters to the Corinthians and the crucial role it plays in Paul's missional theology and practice. In opposition to the idea that for Paul “justification” is about personal status before God, Gorman argues for a “more robust” Pauline understanding of justification that is “participatory and transformative” and inherently missional. Justification results in an ordering of relationships, reconciliation, and participation in the justice of God in the world. Chapter 8 explores “missional theosis” in Romans, which, for Paul, is Christological, political, and missional.
In his final reflections, Gorman summarizes key aspects of Paul's missional theology and praxis. He concludes that Paul's letters assume that the churches have been living the gospel in the public square, address consequences of doing so (or not), and call on churches to continue to do so. Becoming the Gospel presents a clearly articulated, comprehensive, and challenging missional exegesis of Paul that both effectively integrates historical analysis and draws out implications for how churches may live as missional communities today. It would be well at home in the hands of scholar, pastor, church leader, and seminary or graduate student and conveys a needed missional message for many contemporary Christian communities and readers of Paul.
