Our close observation of the debates among Pauline scholars in the west on the issue of mission-relationship between Paul and the church provides some points to be borne in mind for a fresh approach in our further discussion. The dichotomy between scholars’ approach to the issue of mission-relation between Paul and the church either in terms of mission-continuity or mission-discontinuity needs to be remedied by appreciating the possibility to see the issue afresh, namely, continuity ‘and’ discontinuity. Therefore, our further discussion is to begin with assuming a certain ‘mission-continuity’ between Paul and the church or at least Paul’s missio-ecclesial understanding vis-à-vis his understanding of his own mission. This again means that the unsettled exegetical question is not about such a mission-continuity or mission-discontinuity between Paul and the church but about the nature of such a continuity. On a more fundamental level, the current debate has more to do with a more plausible description of Paul’s conceptuality regarding what Pauline scholars have generally called ‘mission’ than simply to explain away the relation between Paul and the church under a given popular definition of mission. As the modern notion of ‘missio-Dei’ and “missional ecclesiology’ do, a more plausible description of Paul’s conceptuality regarding the current issue requires to see ‘mission’ not ‘pattern-analytically’ but ‘purpose-analytically’. However, this should not be done anachronistically by projecting these modern notions to Paul’s texts, but in a way in which we can provide a more biblical and historical basis for a better understanding about our mission today.

• 강보영(삼각교회, 신약학) | Bo Young Kang