With its soaring affirmations and profound statements of salvation in Christ, Romans 8 is a high point in Pauline theology. But what does Paul mean when in 8:29 he speaks of being "conformed to the image of his Son"? Remarkably, there has been little scholarly attention awarded to this Pauline statement of the goal of salvation. And yet in Christian piety, preaching, and theology, this is a treasured phrase. Surprisingly, its meaning has been variously and ambiguously expressed. Is it a moral or spiritual or sanctifying conformity to Christ, or to his suffering, or does it point to an eschatological transformation into radiant glory? In Conformed to the Image of His Son, Haley Goranson Jacob probes and reopens a text perhaps too familiar and a meaning too often assumed. If conformity to the image of the Son is the goal of salvation, a proper understanding is paramount. Jacob points out that the key lies in the meaning of "glory" in Paul's biblical-theological perspective and in how he uses the language of glory in Romans. For this investigation of glory alone, her study would be valuable for the fresh understanding she brings to Paul's narrative of glory. But in introducing a new and compelling reading of Romans 8:29, this is a study that makes a strong bid to reorient our understanding of Paul's classic statement of the goal of salvation.
Industry Reviews
"The letters of Paul are notoriously complex. However exciting and stimulating the subject matter, there always seems to be more going on than meets the eye of the casual reader, even of the Christian reader used to hearing sermons and other expositions of well-known texts. It is therefore always worthwhile investigating even the most familiar passages to be sure they have yielded up their secrets. This is what Haley Jacob has done in this remarkable work, and the results are striking. If she is right-and I am convinced that she is-then the standard assumptions about a central Pauline passage will need to be revised. After a lifetime of study and teaching on Romans, I was not expecting to be confronted at my age with a fresh understanding of its central chapter, requiring a radical rethink of many familiar landmarks both exegetical and theological. But that is what Dr. Jacob has achieved. Not everyone will agree with all segments of her argument. But both in its parts and as a whole it has, to my mind, compelling force. I urge all students of Paul and of Romans to work carefully through the step-by-step presentation of the case."