Since the 1980s, renewal scholars have given considerable attention to the role of the believing community in the interpretive process. A broad consensus has emerged that a triad involving Scripture, the Spirit, and the believing community forms a cooperative relationship resulting in theological development, followed by commensurate action—identified in this research as theological creativity. In the context of this research, to be creative with theology is to take an existing theological assumption and broaden or adapt it to current circumstances, given the Spirit’s evidential work and a consensual understanding of Scripture. But how does the community negotiate between Spirit and Scripture without subsuming either into its own predilections? For Luke, the first-century community of believers in Acts functions as an indispensable character in the formation of theological creativity. This work will demonstrate how Luke positions the community as a character in story form, between Spirit and Scripture, functioning as a bridge through which its testimony of the Spirit’s evidential work and its application of Scripture interact. In order to illustrate this balancing act, we will use a modified configuration of the triadic notion: Spirit–Community–Scripture.

Son of Mary offers new solutions to some persistent exegetical problems in the interpretation of three of the most puzzling passages in the Gospel of John, and does so in a way that illuminates the social-cultural context to the New Testament world. Old Testament resonances are heard here afresh: The miracle at Cana is seen in the light of God's people living without the wine of God's blessing, and Jesus' interaction with his brothers is placed alongside the story of Joseph. Margaret Wesley explores the world of kinship relationships in First Century Palestine, discovering how an understanding of family expectations and obligations can illuminate Jesus' words and actions and guide our relationships within the church as sisters and brothers of one another and as daughters and sons of God. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are understood in a fresh way as the creation of a new family. Margaret demonstrates a mastery of current research while drawing on a wide range of primary patristic sources. She shows a respectful yet firm and assertive spirit when dealing with controversy.