Parusieverzögerung und die Gegenwart der Glaubenden

The expectation of the parousia of Jesus shapes the present life of Paul and his addressees and opens up for them the hope of asalvific future in communion with Christ. The delay of the parousia amounts to adisturbance, adilemma within believing existence, and provokes the experience of uncertainty. Paul reacts in 1Thess 4:13–18 with the consoling prospect of the parousia of Christ. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the hope of the resurrection of the believing dead configure the identity of the Christian existence (1 Cor 15). In his Adam-Christ typology (Rom 5:12–21) Paul further develops an understanding of the saving act of God in the Christ event, which is foundational for this hope. With the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:23–26) the communion with Christ mediated through the Holy Spirit is integrated into the present life of believers (Rom 8). This steers the believers to the worship of God (Rom 8:38–39).