In a few weeks I’ll put up a review of Thomas Schreiner’s, Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology.
Schreiner is a pastor/scholar who’s purpose in this book is to look at the center of Paul’s theology. What is the center of Paul’s letters? What is His sole purpose in writing to believers about the difficult situations they experience? It isn’t to teach them the details about justification, or righteousness, evangelism, or even the gospel. It’s to point to God’s glory. The goal of all history is to see the King in His beauty.
Now I agree: hearing about a book on Pauline Theology doesn’t really get one’s adrenaline pumping. Reading about righteousness, justification, sin, suffering, the church……been there, heard that. Could anything be more boring?
Well, surprisingly, this book isn’t as boring as it might sound. In fact, I really enjoy it. Schreiner knows his stuff. Schreiner shows what is most important in Paul’s thinking by looking at the connections in the themes of Paul’s epistles. The passion of Paul’s life, the foundation of his vision, and the animating motive of his mission was the supremacy of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. He weaves Paul’s themes through his scriptures so well, it’s a (very small) wonder I haven’t seen the connections before. He makes it look easy. I’ll review this book soon.
In the meantime, Schreiner’s newest book title is based on Isaiah 33:17, “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off.” The King in His Beauty traces the storyline of the scriptures from the standpoint of biblical theology. Schreiner examines the overarching, metanarrative that is found throughout the Bible.
Three themes are emphasized in the biblical narrative:
- God as Lord.
- Human beings as those who are made in God’s image.
- The land in which God’s rule is exercised.
The goal of God’s kingdom is to see the King in His beauty and to be enraptured in his glory.
In the links you can find the Table of Contents and a PDF sample. At 736 pages, this whole Bible theology isn’t even a drop in the bucket, but it sure does help to see the themes and connections interwoven in the 66 books.
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spoiledmilks 
Good post! I’m looking forward to your review on his Pauline theology. I got The King in His Beauty for my birthday and plan to read it in the mornings with my devos, working through the Bible and taking notes!
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That sounds great! I can’t wait to hear about it. I’ve been wanting to go through Hamilton’s “God’s Glory….” And Schreiner’s “TKIHB” if I ever get a hold of it.
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