Christ as the Climax of History

In his commentary on Romans¹, Doug Moo presents a conceptual framework for understanding what has taken place in Christ. He writes:

"God's work in Christ is the center of history, the point from which both past and future must be understood...With Christ as the climax of history, then, history can be divided into two 'eras.' or 'aeons,' each with its own founder--Adam and Christ, respectively--and each with its own ruling powers--sin, the law, flesh, and death on the one hand; righteousness, grace the Spirit, and life on the other. All people start out in the 'old era' by virtue of participation in the act by which it was founded--the sin of Adam...But one can be transferred into the 'new era' by becoming joined to Christ, the founder of that era, thereby participating in the acts through which that era came into being--Christ's death, burial, and resurrection."

I have taken the liberty of creating a graphic to try and capture Dr. Moo's argument:

As Moo notes, this was the popular way that the Jews understood the division of history. However, Paul nuances his understanding by recognizing that while "the new era has begun--has been inaugurated--...it has not yet replaced the old era. Both ages exist simultaneously..." The ruling powers of the old era are still functional in spite of the presence of the ruling powers of the new era. Moo writes,

Thus, the 'change of aeons,' while occurring historically at the cross...becomes real for the individual only at the point of faith. The 'change of aeons' that took place in Christ is experienced only 'in Christ.' Therefore, the person who lives after Christ's death and resurrection and who has not appropriated the benefits of those events by faith lives in the old era; enslaved to sin, in the flesh, doomed to eternal death."

The following graphic illustrates this concept.

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1 Douglas J. Moo. The Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1996. 25-27.^↩