Thursday, April 18, 2024

Crispin Fletcher-Louis on "body of glory"

  

For Paul, the expression “body of glory” would recall prophetic visions of God’s human-like form, which Ezekiel described as “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD (δοξης κυριου)” (Ezek 1:26-28) and that the later apocalyptic and mystical tradition referred to as “the (Great) Glory” (1 En. 14:20; T. Levi 3:4; cf. 4Q405 23 ii II.8-9). As such, the σωμα της δοξης αυτου of Phil 3:21 echoes the εν μορφη θεου υπαρχων of 2:6. Christ on his return has the same kind of visible, tangible-but-heavenly-and-glorious form that he had before the incarnation. If this is that to which believers will be conformed, Paul envisages a Christ-shaped version of a Jewish belief that visionaries can be transformed to the likeness of God’s own glorious form. (Crispin Fletcher-Louis, The Divine Heartset: Paul’s Philippians Christ Hymn, Metaphysical Affections, and Civic Virtues [Eugene, Oreg.: Pickwick Publications, 2023], 152)