We have seen that in the Old Testament God is the Father of a People, whose King is His son in a special way. Ancient Judaism held this in a such a way, that it was predestined from creation for all the world to see. Some of Paul’s contemporaries held to universal Fatherhood of God with a special relationship between Him and His people Israel. The Romans held that Rome would be the father of all peoples and that the Emperor would be the Father of the Fatherland, as its savior and founder. Paul takes these things and revolutionizes them after encountering the Risen Christ. Through the Resurrection, the identity of God the Father is revealed to Paul, as He who raises Jesus from the dead. This implies that God the Father’s Identity is centered on His Son, and giving life to Him. This manifests itself in time through the sacramental nature of the Paschal Mystery and in eternity through the begetting of the Son. This fulfills and transcends the notions of Divine Paternity in all cultures, especially those which would have influenced Paul. It also reveals that the very Identity of God the Father is centered on Christ and the Paschal
We have seen that in the Old Testament God is the Father of a People, whose King is His son in a special way. Ancient Judaism held this in a such a way, that it was predestined from creation for all the world to see. Some of Paul’s contemporaries held to universal Fatherhood of God with a special relationship between Him and His people Israel. The Romans held that Rome would be the father of all peoples and that the Emperor would be the Father of the Fatherland, as its savior and founder. Paul takes these things and revolutionizes them after encountering the Risen Christ. Through the Resurrection, the identity of God the Father is revealed to Paul, as He who raises Jesus from the dead. This implies that God the Father’s Identity is centered on His Son, and giving life to Him. This manifests itself in time through the sacramental nature of the Paschal Mystery and in eternity through the begetting of the Son. This fulfills and transcends the notions of Divine Paternity in all cultures, especially those which would have influenced Paul. It also reveals that the very Identity of God the Father is centered on Christ and the Paschal