Paul believed the goal of his ministry to be “the obedience of faith … among all the nations” (Rom 1:5). By calling the nations to “the obedience of faith,” Paul sought to create new-covenant communities that embody the gospel and proclaim it to those around them. This is the sign of new creation (2 Cor 5:17): people in Christ living in new-covenant holiness. As N. T. Wright argues, [Paul] saw the church as a microcosmos, a little world, not simply as an alternative to the present one, an escapist’s