The Lordship of Christ: The Origins of a Construct (1933–1950)

Abstract Kasemann’s work on Paul in the period up to 1950 comprises his dissertation, written under Bultmann, Leib und Leib Christi/ and a number of essays on themes which are, in the main, ecclesiological: the body or Christ as sacrament and as church, the acclamation of the cosmocrator in the Christ hymn of Phil. 2, apostleship, charisma, and the question of prePauline tradition in Rom. :3 24–6. The dissertation itself covers a wide range of topics in the areas of Pauline anthropology and ecclesiology. While Kasemann does not consciously use the lordship or Christ as a theme to unite these early pieces into a Pauline theology, it will be shown that they all contribute to what will be called the lordship of Christ construct. It is a ‘construct’ because it is made up of elements from a wide variety of exegetical discussions, while at the same time being the theologoumenon which stands at the centre of his interpretation. In later chapters it will be seen that this construct is modified by new insights while retaining most of the themes from this earlier period. This is one of the senses in which the lordship of Christ is the centre of Kasemann’s interpretation of Paul both before and after 1950.