the-freedom-of-self

Having established the nature of Paul’s self-forgetfulness in the previous chapter, Keller turns in Chapter 3 to the critical question of how one actually achieves this transformed view of self. Paul’s statement that he cares neither what others think nor what he himself thinks points toward a fundamental shift in the source of identity. He does not look to the Corinthians for the verdict, nor does he look to himself. What Paul seeks, and what all people ultimately seek, is an ultimate verdict that they are important and valuable. 

This search for validation shapes every day as people put themselves on trial in the courtroom of life. Paul uses courtroom metaphors to describe how identity works—every day involves a prosecution and a defense, with everything a person does providing evidence for one side or the other. However, Keller argues that Paul reveals that the trial is actually over, and he is not really in the courtroom at all anymore: “Every single day, we are on trial. […] But Paul says that he has found the secret. The trial is over for him. He is out of the courtroom. It is gone. It is over. Because the ultimate verdict is in” (38-39).