New Testament

Col 3:11 in the Light of the Baptismal Formulas and Col 3:5–17

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This study seeks to unfold the meaning of Col 3:11, comparing it to Gal 3:28 and 1 Cor 12:13. Despite the recurring terms “Greek and Jew” or “slave and free”, the three texts cannot be proven to represent any fixed form of speech. All three lists should be interpreted within their own settings. Accordingly, within the context of the Epistle to the Colossians, and especially Col 3:5–17, it can be concluded that, in contrast to the catalogue of offences mentioned in vss.

Mysterious Encounters

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1 Peter 3:18–22 is one of the strangest and most difficult texts of the Scriptures. The paraenesis addressing the unjustly suffering Christians in Asia Minor is amended by a confession of faith. The pericope testifies that the death, resurrection, ascension and redemption of Christ has much broader spatial and temporal implications than one might think at first. This article aims to mark the exegetical and theological coordinates of the mysterious encounter between Christ and the souls in prison. Three questions will be explored: Who are these souls? What did Christ preach them about?

Paul, the One Like Us

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The study focuses on the human side of apostle Paul: his mentality and his characteristics manifested in social interactions. Analysing the changes related to his conversion we realise that he did not become a different person, rather his real God-given personality came to be revealed in his ministry for God. We may consider Paul’s way of life a practical lesson, exposing an example to follow. Tracing the chronology of his mission trips we observe the dynamics of his social network, referring to companions joining and leaving the team and contacts of various intensity.

Ethical aspects of 1–2 Peter

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This article engages in an ethical analysis of 1-2Peter. In these epistles the Christians of Asia Minor receive relevant and actualized ethical message. The ethical teaching of the Petrine letters is not presented in a distilled manner, because what is at stake here is not simply an ethical exigency but the very nature of the relationship between God and humans, God and the believer.

The faith-popularising activity of Judaism as a non-missional religion in the New Testament era

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Did the Jews engage in missionary activities in the New Testament era? Since most of the first Christians were of Jewish background, with their centre in Jerusalem, and considering the relevance of missionary activity in early Christianity, this is a highly significant question. Before the ministry of Apostle Paul, Christians of (primarily) Jewish origin were those who defined the circle and practice of potential followers of Christ.