"J am under obligation," said Paul, "so I am eager to preach the
Pauline Motives for the Christian Mission 81
aware that his own apostolic mission was to be Christ's servant in building a church through whom "the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known": a "household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets" which was to be "a dwelling place of God in the Spirit" (Boh <3 105 2519; f.).
But how was this apostolic mission to be carried out? Paul frequently associates with his calling as an apostle the words "slave"
(SofAos) and "servant" or "minister" (Siéxovos) (Rom. 1:1; Phil.
te teoeor451 Galt 10: Eph. 3:7 ff.). Since Jesus was a Serv-
ant, the Church's ministry is to be the channel through which he
may still serve the world. This service is the expression of Christ's
love for the world. "For the love of Christ controls us," Paul wrote.
This is not love for Christ, but rather the love Christ had for the
world which led him to die in order to "reconcile" men to God by
bringing them into a "new creation" (2 Cor. 5:14 ff.). The "min-
istry of reconciliation" is now "given" to the Church. Christ, who
loved and still loves the world, is now expressing his love to men
through the service of the Church. "So we are ambassadors for
ehrist] (2: Cor5:20):
The Church's service is to express the passion of the Servant. Paul boldly stresses this by rejoicing in his sufferings; for, said he, "in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church... . Him we proclaim... that we may present every man mature in Christ. For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me"
(Col. 1:24 ff.). And he summons the Church to have the servant "mind" which "'you have in Christ Jesus, who . . . emptied himself, taking the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:5 ff.). The Church is never more the Church than when it is the servant of the Suffering Servant, in "the sustained, determined act of announcing the good news" of his suffering love, until every knee bows and every tongue — confesses that he is Lord.
3. The Church is involved in mission also as "debtor" to all men. "J am under obligation," said Paul, "so I am eager to preach the
gospel" (Rom. 1:14 f.). The obligation did not stem from anything which those to whom he preached had given him. He was not paying back a debt, but passing on to them something which ~ God had given him for them. As a servant of Christ Paul was a "steward of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. 4:1). A steward was one who handled that which did not belong to him, the resources