It
might seem that the Bible is disjointed, that the Old and New
Testaments are not cohesive in their theological views. But Schreiner
claims that the biblical theme of the kingdom is a thread that runs
through the entire Bible.
Schreiner
argues that Christians must understand the kingdom to truly know
Jesus and understand the gospel. He suggests the kingdom is the
framework for all of Scripture, that the other themes in Scripture
revolve around it.
Schreiner
begins by defining the kingdom of God in terms of power, people, and
place. He shows how the theme flows through the Old Testament and
that it was always God's objective to establish a kingdom on earth.
(Loc 338/1618) He goes through the law, the warnings and promises of
the prophets, kingdom prospering in the wisdom literature, its
embodiment in Jesus and its unexpected nature as revealed in the New
Testament.
I
appreciate this book, one in a series showing how the Bible is
theologically unified. It is written for the layperson and is very
understandable on that level. Reading this book helped me to see how
the kingdom of God is a theme that runs through the entire Bible. It
also helped me see the cross in its relation to the kingdom. “If
the kingdom is the goal,” Schreiner writes, “then the cross is
the means.” (Loc 1482/1618) Accepting the cross is the entrance to
the kingdom. Rejecting the cross is to be thrown out forever. (Loc
1540/1618)
I
recommend this book to Christians who desire to understand the
kingdom of God as the theme that runs through the entire Bible and
the role of the cross in that kingdom reality.
My
rating: 4/5 stars.
Patrick
Schreiner (PhD,
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is assistant professor of
New Testament and associate dean at Western Seminary in Portland,
Oregon. He is the author of The
Body of Jesus
and
various articles and essays. You can find out more more at
http://patrickschreiner.com/.
Crossway,
160 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My
comments are an independent and honest review.
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