I read some wise words today—especially astute since they came from such a fine scholar. In summing up Paul’s participatory language about Christ (in Christ, with Christ, etc.), he said this (in The Theology of Paul the Apostle). If you listen closely enough, you can almost hear Eugene Peterson saying “amen” in the background:

There is the still greater danger of losing the metaphor and the diversity of metaphorical image in the reductionism of human analysis and creedal (over-)definition. In this case any attempt to harmonize the diversity of Paul’s imagery and to resolve the inconsistencies of different images straining against each other would be to our loss rather than our gain. Better to let the richness of the vision, its poetry and harmonies, capture heart and spirit, even if conceptual clarity remains elusive.