are framed by an introduction (12:1–2) and conclusion (13:11–14), both of which emphasize the genuinely eschatological existence of those exhorted. The appeal not to be “conformed to this age” (12:2) presupposes the believer’s belonging to another age in which, through faith, he already participates. In 13:11 ff. the terminology differs, but the perspective is the same: the believer is not to give himself over to “the flesh” and its “passions” (vs. 14 = “this age,” 12:2); but because he belongs to
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