9Marks Journal (Summer 2014) on Biblical Theology

The latest issue of the 9Marks Journal, available here as a pdf, is devoted to Biblical Theology.

In the Editorial, Jonathan Leeman writes:

‘Churches, as much as ever, need to know who they are, where they come from, who their ancestors are. Are we not children of Abraham? Doesn’t our family tree include Moses and David, Rahab and Ruth? Are we not all adopted heirs and coheirs with Christ? Sons of the divine king?

‘Biblical theology is not just about reading the Bible rightly, though it begins there. It serves to guard and guide the local church. It maintains the right message, defines the task of the messenger, identifies imposters, tells us what we do when we gather, and sets the trajectory of our mission. It answers the question, Who are we, as the church in the world?

‘Those are some of the topics this issue of the Journal will explore. The goal here is not so much to trace out the Bible’s storyline, but to show how knowing that storyline locates the identity and work of the church in the grand sweep of history.’

Ethics in Brief Volume 19, Nos. 5 & 6 (2014)

Two issues from Volume 19 of Ethics in Brief, published by The Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, are now available online:

Julian Rivers, ‘Good News for Law’, Ethics in Brief 19, 5 (2014).

This article seeks to direct our attention away from more familiar instances of current Christian engagement with law to consider broader underlying trends. Modern law is characterised by the breakdown of older distinctions between democracy and rights, government and civil society, the sovereign nation-state and other levels of legal authority, and law and ethics. There is a characteristic Christian theology of law which should lead us to be concerned about the postmodernism, legalism, statism and imperialism implicit in these developments. Christian engagement with law has never been more necessary, for the gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed good news for law as well.

Ian Clausen, ‘Love or Nothing? Locating the Question of Modern Belief’, Ethics in Brief 19, 6 (2014).

What is the essence of modern belief? Two scholars offer different answers to the question of modern belief that challenge some basic assumptions about our current secular age. While Simon May develops the claim that moderns believe in love, David Bentley Hart defends the view that moderns believe in nothing. Which of these judgements on modern belief is correct, and why does it matter? After exploring how the two judgements may not stand in complete tension, this article follows May's advice in rethinking our notion of love to rediscover the central questions that religion aims to provoke.

Simon Gathercole on the Gospel of Thomas

The latest briefing from Tyndale House features an interview with Simon Gathercole on the Gospel of Thomas, following the publication of a second monograph on the document.

‘The main reason I got into the study of the “other” Gospels is that I am always interested in the views people have about Jesus. After all, the question “Who is Jesus?” is and always has been at the heart of the Christian faith and of vital concern to Christians.’

The Bible Project on Genesis 12-50

I blogged on this project here a few months ago.

A small team is aiming to put together a series of short videos introducing the structure and themes of biblical books and tracing some major themes through the entire Bible. They’re seeking to make the videos and supporting study guides available for free – although they’re asking for donations in order to do so.

They’ve just made available the next video on Genesis 12-50. Check it out from here (click on ‘Videos’ or scroll down to the ‘Videos & Study Guides’ section).

Love at Ephesus (4): An Undying Love

I contributed this week’s ‘Word for the Week’, a weekly email service provided by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Ephesians 6:23-24

What will enable us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received? What will empower us to serve Christ in our daily arenas of home and work? What will equip us to resist evil forces? Paul closes his letter to the church at Ephesus by asking God to bless them with peace, grace, love, and faith – small words for huge truths writ large across the letter as a whole. So it is that he brings us back to where he started, with what God has done in Christ through the Spirit, and our response to the incredible blessings lavished on us.

The letter began with grace and peace (1:2) and now closes with it. The peace is that which Christ has brought about through his death, reconciling us to God, creating in himself one new humanity, and calling us to walk in love with our ‘feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace’ (6:15). The grace is that which flows generously from God’s own heart as a totally undeserved gift, which saves and liberates those who were dead in sins and in bondage to hostile forces (2:5, 8).

Paul also invokes God’s love – a major focus of his prayer for them at the climax of the first half of the letter and his exhortations in the second half – a hallmark of the new community in Christ. That he asks for ‘love with faith’ means this love has been moulded and transformed by their faith in the true and living God. As with peace and grace, the source of this ‘love with faith’ is nothing less than ‘God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’.

Paul finally prays a blessing on all who love the Lord Jesus Christ. The letter has referred to the Father’s love for them, Christ’s love for them, and their love for each other, but this is the only place where their love for Christ is made explicit. Like the readers of 1 Peter, they – and we – are those who love him without seeing him (1 Peter 1:8). That we do so ‘in immortality’ could refer to the kind of love we offer – incorruptible, undying – or the immortal realm in which we are united with the exalted Christ. Either way, death cannot touch it. By God’s grace we take such confidence into this week, and every week.

Greg Beale Lectures on Biblical Theology

The following set of lectures by Greg Beale on biblical theology is available for free download on iTunes U here.

1. Introduction; Inaugurated Eschatology I

2. Inaugurated Eschatology II

3. Inaugurated Eschatology III

4. Inaugurated Eschatology IV

5. Inaugurated Eschatology V; Biblical Theology of the Gospels I 

6. Biblical Theology of the Gospels II 

7. Biblical Theology of the Gospels III 

8. Biblical Theology of the Gospels IV 

9. Biblical Theology of the Gospels V

10. Biblical Theology of the Gospels VI

11. A Redemptive Historical Perspective of the Temple I 

12. A Redemptive Historical Perspective of the Temple II 

13. The Damascus Road Resurrection Christophany I 

14. The Damascus Road Resurrection Christophany II 

15. The Eschatological Nature of Paul’s Anthropology and Relationship of New Creation to Reconciliation I 

16. The Eschatological Nature of Paul’s Anthropology and Relationship of New Creation to Reconciliation II 

17. Sanctification, Justification, and the Relationship of Christ to the Law I 

18. Sanctification, Justification, and the Relationship of Christ to the Law II 

19. The Eschatological Conception of the Church I 

20. The Eschatological Conception of the Church II 

21. The Eschatological Role of the Holy Spirit I 

22. The Eschatological Role of the Holy Spirit II

Geerhardus Vos on Biblical Theology

Arguably a classic in the field, Geerhardus Vos’s book, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments, first published in 1948 – by Eerdmans in North America and Banner of Truth in the UK – is available as a pdf here in its entirety.