This essay was submitted on March 8, 2022 for my Bible and Western Culture course.
Campbell’s article explores how Paul utilizes metaphors in his letters featured in the New Testament in order to create, define, and evoke meaning that became integral to the building of the early Church. The basic idea of a metaphor is that the characteristics of one object are placed onto another object, so that the second object is spoken of as if it were the first (Campbell 62). While Aristotle grasped at the possibility that metaphors can convey new meaning, other early thinkers reduced metaphors as a mere embellishment tool. It was not until the Romantic Period that the power of metaphors were better understood as an imaginative way of experiencing reality, creating new ideas rather than conveying pre-existing ideas in a fancy way (Campbell 63-64). More contemporary conceptions from theorists such as Ricouer place metaphors as the heart of language: linguistic components are symbols that pertain to referents in the mind, the sense of bringing together a symbol and referent is where meaning can be found. In this way, a metaphor simply takes a known symbol and attributes it to a referent that it is not normally associated with in order to create a new sense in the mind of the language-user (Campbell 65). By making this new association in the mind, one comes to understand the referent in a new light through the lens of the metaphor. Paul’s writings utilize metaphors as a means to effectively convey novel ideas of the nature of Christ and the nature of the Church in a way that a wide variety of people could understand.
This paper will expand on Campbell’s analysis on the metaphor of the body and the metaphor of marriage, both used by Paul to illustrate the ways in which the Church is in union with Christ. Akin to his understanding of metaphors, Campbell investigates the ways the body and marriage are used to create new meaning, expounding on the theological ideas of Christ and his significance to the believer. Additionally, Campbell touches on how these metaphors also aid in describing aspects of a believer’s spiritual reality and material reality as one in union with Christ.
The metaphorical use of the body is prevalent throughout Paul’s letters as a way to understand the simultaneous diversity and oneness of the universal Church, and its unity with Christ. Paul describes the Church as one body, with each member serving the body under the guidance of Christ. An important distinction is the attribution of Christ as the head of the body, signifying His union with the Church as part of the body while preserving Christ’s authority over believers (Ephesians 1:22–23; Campbell 70). Christ provides apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers as a diverse set of gifts to the Church in order to train the saints and cultivate the growth of the body. (Ephesians 4:11–13, 16). Campbell notes that the attribution of the various body parts to church members illustrates the diversity of functions that different members bring, and the specification of ligaments emphasize the notion that these parts of the body facilitate the cohesion of the entire body (Campbell 70). Paul further emphasizes the necessity for diversity in the Church in 1 Corinthians when he asserts the fact that God had intentionally created each part of the body to have different functions, all of which are equally necessary for the operation of the body. All who are baptized by the one Spirit are necessarily part of the body of Christ and equally important to its functioning, regardless of race, profession, socio-economic status, age, etc. (1 Corinthians 12:12–27). Every member is united as one body that grows out of Christ as the source of the Church, also growing into the head as the Church further develops in conformity to Christ (Ephesians 4:11–16; Campbell 70). This passage in Ephesians denotes the spiritual reality that believers belong to a universal Church which transcends time and geographical location (Campbell 78). Moreover, this metaphor illustrates the material reality that the Church is currently in a state of growth in the world and thus imperfectly experiences spiritual unity (Campbell 83).
Paul utilizes the metaphor of marriage in his letters to illustrate the intimacy and level of commitment in a union with Christ. He often points to the legalities of marriage by referencing passages in Genesis that pertain to the prototypical marriage of Adam and Eve in order to explicitly parallel the union between the Church and Christ to human marriage (Campbell 75). Knowing that God intended marriage as a one-flesh union between husband and wife helps one to understand the deeply intimate and personal nature of a union with Christ (Ephesians 5:22–32; Campbell 75). Through a one-flesh union with Christ, the Church and Christ may bear fruit for God (Romans 7:1–4). In the way a wife belongs to her husband in marriage, the Church submits to Christ as his bride to be cared for, loved, and guided by Him (Ephesians 5:22–32). The commitment a wife has to her husband in marriage further aids in the understanding of a spiritual reality of total devotion to Christ under a spiritual, nuptial union. To be in union with Christ entails complete faithfulness to Him without falling into the temptation of being led astray by the preaching of others (2 Corinthians 11:2–3). Campbell explains, “To be tempted away from the Jesus, Spirit, and gospel [the believer] first received is spiritual adultery” (Campbell 80). Similarly, Campbell notes that the spiritual reality of a union with Christ also extends to the material world. Again citing passages from Genesis that pertain to marriage, Paul outlines that it is inappropriate to engage in any ungodly physical unions, such as engaging in sexual activity with a prostitute, while in a spiritual union with Christ (1 Corinthians 6:15–17; Campbell 83–84). Through the attribution of marriage to a union with Christ, believers come to understand their responsibilities and expectations of faithfulness as a bride of Christ (Campbell 80).
As a theologian of the early Church, Paul’s letters conveyed novel ideas of Christ to an audience who are only beginning to understand Christianity. Campbell’s essay explores the creative ways Paul used the power of metaphors in order to create new meaning concerning the nature of Christ’s union with the Church. The metaphor of the body characterizes the Church as one body, composed of a wide diversity of members that all serve the unit in unique ways. Attributing Christ as the head of the body, we come to understand Christ as the authoritative leader of the Church that is also one with the Church as a part of the body. The metaphor of marriage places the Church as the bride of Christ under a deeply personal and intimate one-flesh union. As a husband, Christ loves and cares for the Church, and under spiritual matrimony believers are entrusted to remain completely faithful and devoted to Christ. By using metaphors such as the body and marriage, Paul relayed to believers his profoundly intricate theological ideas of a union with Christ, concepts that remain indispensable to Christian theology.
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