Pauls Corporate Christophany: An Evaluation of Paul's Christophanic References in Their Epistolary Contexts

Pauls Christophany (i.e. his Damascus Road Experience) has been the subject of much scholarly analysis. However treatments of this phenomenon while widely varied have tended to extract the various references from their literary contexts in order to reconstruct the event to discover the foundations and content of Pauls Christology or to analyze Pauls experience of conversion and/or call. The current study focused on the undisputed Pauline epistles evaluates how and why Paul employed the various Christophanic references in their particular literary and sociohistorical contexts. Through this assessment the importance of Pauls Christophanic references as part of his larger arguments is established. It is shown how Paul uniquely shapes the various Christophanic references to fit the needs of his argument and through it the needs of each community. Furthermore this study demonstrates that Pauls Christophanic references do not primarily establish his apostolic status or assert his apostolic authority. Through this study the corporate nature of Pauls Christophanic references becomes increasingly evident and multiple general conclusions are drawn which provide a possible glimpse into Pauls understanding of his Christophanic experience.