Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Concordia Seminary Scholarship 6-1-2013 Promissio Spei God's Eschatological Action in the Church Richard Aaron Davenport Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/phd Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Davenport, Richard Aaron, "Promissio Spei God's Eschatological Action in the Church" (2013). Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. 44. https://scholar.csl.edu/phd/44 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 2013 by Richard Aaron Davenport. All rights reserved. To my parents and to my: wife, Laurie. But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day: The saints triumphant rise in bright array; The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia! William W. How, For All the Saints (Stanza 7), Lutheran Service Book (St. Louis: Concordia, 2006), 677. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii ABBREVIATIONS viii ABSTRACT ix Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1 The Thesis 2 The Current Status of Eschatology 5 The Dissertation in the Context of Current Scholarship 35 The Methodological Procedure to Be Employed 41 The Outcome Anticipated 42 2. CHRISTIAN HOPE 44 Christians Have Hope in God's Promises 47 The Christian Hope is Active in the Present Day 63 Christians Participate in the Future Kingdom 75 3. SACRAMENTS AND HOPE 80 The Sacraments Bring the Present Day Church into the Kingdom 82 The Sacraments Begin the Eschatological Restoration in the Present Day 98 4. LITURGY AND HOPE 108 Liturgy Reveals the Reality of God and of the Kingdom 110 Liturgy is the Church Living the Restoration of the Kingdom 120 5. RESTORATION AND CHRISTIAN LIFE 136 The Divine Origin of Hope 139 Restoration Living in the Church 142 Living out Hope through Christian Vocation 159 The Restoration of All Creation 165 Reclaiming the World for Christ's Kingdom 169 6. APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION 184 Conclusion 198 BIBLIOGRAPHY 209 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and guidance of the faculty at Concordia Seminary. Their humble wisdom has helped me grow as a Christian and theologian. Amongst the faculty, I wish to especially thank Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs, and Dr. Robert Weise, both of whom have served as mentors and friends. Without their encouragement I would not have made it this far. I wish to also thank my doctoral adviser, Dr. Kent Burreson. His willingness to be an active part in my studies and to help in shaping the course of my research has been invaluable. His wealth of liturgical and sacramental knowledge have broadened my awareness and given me insights that have affected my whole theological outlook. His ability to help me refine my thoughts is what brought this work to fruition and for that I offer my sincerest thanks. I must also acknowledge the ongoing support of my parents, whose continued prayers have given me the strength and patience I needed to stay the course. Finally, I must also thank my wife, Laurie. Her love has supported me through the writing process. She has sympathetically shared in our mutual doctoral struggles and rejoiced in our successes, and for that I am eternally grateful. vii ABBREVIATIONS AC Augsburg Confession Ap Apology of the Augsburg Confession viii ABSTRACT Davenport, Richard A. "Promissio Spei: God's Eschatological Action in the Church." Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2012. 213 pp. This dissertation, a work in systematic theology, examines the nature of Christian hope in the context of current scholarship in systematic theology. Its goal is to assess the way in which Christian hope is rooted in God's word of promise and the extent to which that promise affects Christian life. The eschatological outlook presented in Scripture shows that God's promises, and the hope that they offer, are presented to all of creation. This dissertation investigates the process by which the communication of hope from God's word to creation takes place, as well as the implications of that hope for all who come in contact with it. The dissertation conducts an investigation of the places where God's word enters into creation to see how hope is created by it. In a hope-filled eschatology, God's word is found not only in the direct, proclaimed word, but also in the sacraments that form the foundation for Christian life. This promise of God directs Christians toward the future that he is creating and calls them to be a part of that future. The sacraments form a connecting point between the present world and the future that God is creating. This enables Christians to interact with that future and experience it. This further allows their hope in God's promises to take shape as they see for themselves what God is creating. The liturgy of the worship service that surrounds the sacraments helps Christians to understand what it is they are experiencing by connecting Christian eschatology to their everyday life. It also turns their attention to the world outside the church that is in need of the hope given by God. The liturgy sets them on the path to carry that hope out into the world through their lives. The eschatological Christian hope is not intended only for humanity, but all of creation. One way that creation experiences this hope is in the work Christians do in the world. The act of caring for creation and for the world brings a piece of the future back into the present and gives concrete form to God's promises. ix CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Within the past century, many theologians have examined the subject of eschatology. Plumbing the depths of this extensive field, they have presented systematic formulations regarding the purpose of the Last Day and how it relates to contemporary Christians. In some cases, theologians will try and follow eschatology back to its source, looking at the activity of God that brings it about. Other theologians focus more on how eschatology intersects the modern church and the effects that it has on it. In order to broaden the Christian understanding of how eschatology connects to the lives of modern Christians, both the eschatological activity of God and the effect it has on the church must be investigated. With an understanding of how God acts to bring about his Kingdom and the assurance that he offers to his people that they will be a part of it, the church is given hope. This hope for the future Kingdom is not only the beginning of the restoration of the people within the church, but also the tool the church can use to help restore the world.' Sadly, the connection between hope and the church, particularly as hope enters into the life of the church in the worship service, is relatively unknown. It is increasingly evident in the church, particularly in America, that Christians have lost sight of the purpose of liturgy and the divine action contained within it. That there is a drive in various denominations that seek to As the eschatology presented will contend. Christ's return will usher in a restoration of all creation, not just of his people. This understanding of restoration will be the basis for the usage of the word throughout this dissertation. Analysis of the eschatological restoration will be a major focus for this dissertation. 1 make the liturgy more meaningful or relevant to believers and non-believers alike is a testament to this.' Without understanding what God is doing through the liturgy and what effect this has upon the assembled congregation, these movements become mired in fads and questionable theology. Orthodoxy, WW1 864a, becomes subjugated to the desire to make the liturgy connect with peoples' lives to the exclusion of God's already-present action in the liturgy; an action that is not only continually relevant, but also continually seeking to recreate them into a people who have hope in the face of every evil. The Thesis This dissertation will argue that the Christian hope for the future is only properly sure and certain hope when God's Word of promise for the future instills hope in the Christian through the baptismal and Eucharistic life of the church, and that the liturgy that surrounds the sacramental activity of the church directs the Christian to live out that hope in the rest of their lives as they confront the brokenness of creation. This dissertation will primarily be looking at God's Word and how that Word creates hope. It will assert that the Word is the foundation to hope. Hope, as this dissertation will use it, is defined as the assurance of a better future. Christian hope, specifically, is the assurance of the future promised by God. This Christian hope focuses on the promise of the Kingdom that God offers. The eschatological kingdom of God is not a theological concept that stands monolithically on its own as a feature of apocalyptic writings. The future Kingdom is intimately integrated into the chief articles of the Christian faith alongside the belief in the Trinity and the death and resurrection of Christ and forms the foundation for the place of 2 Thomas Fisch, ed., Liturgy and Tradition: Theological Reflections of Alexander Schmemann (Crestwood: St. 2 the church in the world and the hope that it has. Hope, then, is the ability to look for that future in spite of the brokenness of the world around it.