Salvation in Koinonia : Faith and Works as Metonymy in Paul and James

Abstract

From the time of the Reformation, Western theological discussion of salvation has typically been rooted in the Letters of Paul and James, and has attempted rigorous analyses of those writers’ teachings on the relationship of faith and works. Such analyses have focused on the surface meaning of the Letters. However, it will be suggested that the fuller meaning of the Letters’ exposition of faith and works lies not on the surface, but below the surface of the texts. The twin ideas, faith and works, function together below the surface of the Letters as a symbol for koinonia or communion. Faith represents Christians’ communion with God, and works represent Christians’ communion with one another. The discussion below offers a resolution of the traditional conflict between Catholic and Protestant theology which arises over the way the relationship of faith and works is to be understood in Paul and James.