New Testament Biblical Theology, A: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New [Hardcover]

I am layman, but I must say that this is a book that I have not been able to put down. While this may be a book for a senior seminarian, Dr. Beale has been able to communicate truth very effectively to lay persons. This is the second excellent Theology book that I have seen this year, the other one being by Michael Horton. However, unlike Dr. Horton's book which is more topical, Dr. Beale takes the storyline from Genesis to Revelation and shows a God in action through history in His act of redeeming the entire creation. He quickly can, from scripture, shatter the many speculative theologies about the last days that appear to be popular today, and focus on the great God that we worship... the God who has revealed Himself many times in the past, but in these last days has revealed Himself through His Son. By looking in depth at the Old Testament (First Testament, as Marva Dawn would put it) he is able to show us a God who has been at work and is at work. The already-not yet nature of His Kingdom is seen so clearly in the scriptures.

As a busy layman trying to run a business and yet be faithful to the local church, I have only been able to get to page 200 so far...I find it hard to put down, but with checking scriptures, the reading is slow. I am sure that I will have more comments when I finish.

I have appreciated some of Dr. Beale's other work in the past - The church and Temple's Mission; his commentary on Revelation (I had to skip over the Greek, and it has been a few years since I read that), and so when I found this book at the Westminster Bookstore website, I bought it, even though it is not available at Amazon.com yet. I do not regret doing that.

I recommend this book without reservation...whether or not you agree with Dr. Beale, this book is a must for every Christian who is serious about his or her faith.
New Testament Biblical Theology, A: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New

I must confess, I love biblical theology. Studying the Bible in a biblical-theological manner has often provided some of the most arresting and amazing insights into the text of Scripture for me. It was when I first read Geerhardus Vos and his classic work on biblical theology that I was first struck by the amazing unity of the Bible and the scope of redemptive history as recorded in Scripture. It gave me a new appreciation for the beauty and depth of the Scriptures. Vos' work, while outdated in some ways, is still some of the most profound theology that I have read within the Reformed tradition. There have been others within the Reformed tradition that have also done important work in this area such as Ridderbos and Kline. It was therefore with some level of excitement that I approached this new "New Testament Biblical Theology" by Greg Beale. Here we have a comprehensive work on New Testament theology from a Reformed perspective which is built upon the foundation of such seminal biblical-theological work as the work of Vos, Ridderbos, and Kline.

Beale's New Testament theology is unique in many ways from other New Testament theologies. This is why Beale uses the title "New Testament Biblical Theology" to connect this book to the discipline of biblical theology rather than simply "New Testament theology". Beale's book is unique in that it grounds the entirety of the New Testament revelation in the Old Testament itself. Beale has already done much scholarly work on the NT use of the OT and he uses his knowledge here to show how each theological theme in the New Testament has its roots in the Old Testament. Another unique feature of this work is that Beale recognizes the fundamentally eschatological nature of the New Testament. Every single chapter shows how the various teachings of the New Testament are all connected to the "already-not yet" eschatological structure of the New Testament. For Beale, eschatology is the warp and woof of the New Testament and all of the other doctrines are connected to this eschatology. It would not be a far stretch to call this book "New Testament Eschatology" since it shows the comprehensive nature of eschatology in the New Testament. I have never read another book which so clearly shows the implications of eschatology for doctrine and practice.

Beale's work is also scholarly. He spends much time in exegesis of the Old and New Testament, study of the Jewish literature, and even discusses the Apostolic Fathers seeking to thoroughly ground the New Testament in its biblical and historical context. This book is not meant to replace other New Testament theologies but it does something different than many of these books by grounding the New Testament so thoroughly in the Old Testament. Beale loves to show connections between the Testaments and the reader will come away with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the unity of the Scriptures. There is really nothing quite like this book. If you are interested in better understanding the New Testament (and the Old Testament!) buy this book.

G. K. Beale proposes that the best approach to Biblical Theology is "storyline." Beale spends part 1 of this volume building the storyline, reviewing biblical and extra-biblical eschatological viewpoints, and offering a more biblically refreshing definition of eschatology. Arguing once again that Eschatology precedes Soteriology, Beale makes a convincing case for "new-creational reign" as the most suitable "skeleton" for New Testament (and Biblical) Theology.

Before unpacking the New Testament storyline Beale presents an Old Testament storyline,

"The Old Testament is the story of God, who progressively reestablishes his eschatological new-creational kingdom out of chaos over a sinful people by his word and Spirit, through promise, covenant, and redemption, resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to advance this kingdom and judgment (defeat or exile) for the unfaithful, unto his glory.

Beale states the New Testament storyline thus,

"Jesus's life, trials, death for sinners, and especially resurrection by the Spirit have launched the fulfillment of the eschatological already-not yet new-creational reign, bestowed by grace through faith and resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to advance this new-creational reign and resulting in judgment for the unbelieving, unto the triune God's glory."

The remainder of this volume (the other 779 pages) is devoted to filling in the "skeleton" of the "already-not yet new creational reign in Christ."

A New Testament Biblical Theology is a whole-bible New Testament Theology. Beale has contributed significantly to the study of "the New Testament Use of the Old." His impact in this field shows through in this work. Beale's approach to New Testament Theology is a first of its kind and is a "must-read" for those who desire to understand both Biblical Theology as well as the Theology of the New Testament.

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