Proces doczesnego upodabniania się wiernych do Chrystusa według świętego Pawła

Abstract

The analysis presented in the above paper refers to a well known ascetic category “tranfiguration in Christ”, which also belongs to important ideas of the Pauline theology. The Apostle often mentions the moment of beginning life in Christ through Baptism as well as the final stage of entering blessed eternity, but almost occasionally he speaks about the process in between. The fact of gradual transformation into the image of Christ constitutes the topic of the following article. The subject has been treated in three aspects. First, the transformation of a human being is God's design (cf. Rom 8:28-30), which is being developed in time as the life according to the Spirit. Secondly, the process of achieving resemblance to Christ is shown by St. Paul not as a mere ascetic effort, but as the work consciously inspired and stimulated by the Persons of the Triune God, who are present and active in the soul since Baptism (cf. Rom 8:28.30; 2Cor 13:5; Col 1:27; Ga 2:20; Eph 3:17). The process aims not only at acquiring Christ's image (cf. Rom 8:29), but at sharing the form of Christ σύμμορφος – symmorphos, which is being shaped gradually until Parousia owing to the life-giving seed of the word of the Gospel. At last we can see the importance of Christ's Paschal Mystery, particularly of the power and influence of resurrection in appropriate participation in Christ’s life (e.g. ICor 1:30; 2Cor 5:21; Eph 4:13). As the most illustrative quotation the Author regards 2Cor 3:18, which proves that this is the Holy Spirit who is the most responsible for Christian’s resemblance to Christ. That spiritual transfiguration as the Trinitarian act upon a Christian is not a matter of gnosis (contemplation), but of existential salvific change permeated by eschatology.