Magnifying God in Christ

A Summary of New Testament Theology

Thomas R. Schreiner

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780801038266
• eBook ISBN: 9781441212429
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

Thomas Schreiner's substantial New Testament Theology examined the unifying themes that emerge from a detailed reading of the New Testament canon. This student-level digest of Schreiner's massive work explores the key themes and teachings of the New Testament in a more accessible and concise way. The book summarizes the findings of Schreiner's larger work and provides answers to the "so what?" question of New Testament theology. Comprehensive and up to date, this survey is arranged thematically and includes careful exegesis of key passages. It offers students, pastors, and lay readers a big picture view of what the New Testament is all about.

1
The Fulfillment of God’s Saving Promises
The Already–Not Yet

The thesis advanced in this book is that NT theology is God-focused, Christ-centered, and Spirit-saturated, but the work of the Father, Son, and Spirit must be understood along a salvation-historical timeline; that is, God’s promises are already fulfilled but not yet consummated in Christ Jesus. We will see that the ministry of Jesus Christ and the work of the Spirit are fundamental for the fulfilling of God’s promises. The coming of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Spirit are the prime indications that God is beginning to fulfill the saving promises made to Abraham.

I will argue for the centrality of God in Christ in the concrete and specific witness of the NT as it unfolds God’s saving work in history. Another way to put this is that God will receive all the glory for his work in Christ by the Spirit as he works out his purpose in redemptive history. Furthermore, redemptive history is characterized by inaugurated but not consummated eschatology; thus the glory that belongs to God has not yet reached its zenith, but it will.

In this chapter, the already-but-not-yet theme in the NT will be explored. What is quite remarkable is that inaugurated (but not yet consummated) eschatology pervades the NT. We shall see in this chapter that in the Synoptic Gospels the kingdom of God comes to the forefront: the kingdom is present in Jesus’ ministry, and yet at the same time there is a future fulfillment. The Johannine writings emphasize that believers now enjoy eternal life, but the physical resurrection still awaits believers. Similarly, the already–not yet theme pervades the Pauline writings. Believers are saved now, and yet salvation will be fully realized in the future. Believers are now redeemed but await the resurrection of their bodies on the last day, and so forth. In the same way, the other writings in the NT maintain the tension between the present fulfillment of God’s promises and the future realization of those promises. For instance, the author of Hebrews proclaims that atonement has been secured through the death of Christ, but his severe warnings to believers demonstrate that the promises are not yet fully realized. The signature of the arrival of the age to come is the gift of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, believers await the final resurrection, indicating that the Spirit is a foretaste of greater things to come. Before examining the theme of the already–but not yet in the NT, we must consider briefly the OT background.

The Old Testament Backdrop

Before surveying the NT witness, we need to take a cursory look at the OT. We could summarize the OT under the rubrics of creation, fall, and redemption. The centrality of God is featured in the fact that he is the creator of all. God’s sovereign creation of the universe is a pervasive theme in the OT, indicating that he is Lord of the cosmos and the central actor of the OT story. He made human beings in his image so that they would display his glory, reflect his character, and rule the world for God (Gen. 1:26–27; 2:15–17). Adam and Eve rejected God’s lordship and struck out on their own. God’s judgment of Adam and Eve also communicates his lordship and is a preview to the pervasive theme of judgment in the OT. Every act of God’s judgment demonstrates that he is sovereign and Lord. Still, the story line of the OT concludes not with judgment but with the promise of redemption.

The OT is animated with an eschatological hope. Thus Gen. 3:15 forecasts a day when the seed of the woman will triumph over the seed of the serpent. Subsequent history appeared to mock the promise, for the seed of the serpent ruled over human beings during the days of Noah so that evil reigned over the world. God revealed his lordship over history by destroying those who rebelled against him with a flood, but the tower of Babel illustrated that human beings had not fundamentally changed. God’s promise of blessing for the whole world focused thereafter upon one man, Abraham. The Lord promised Abraham and his descendants land, seed, and a blessing that would encompass the entire world (e.g., 12:1–3; 18:18; 22:17–18; 26:3–4; 28:14–15; 35:12–13). The promise began to be fulfilled in the days of the patriarchs and Moses, for the people of Israel multiplied in accord with God’s promise. Then the promise of the land of Canaan became theirs during the days of Joshua. It seemed that the nation was poised to become the vehicle for worldwide blessing, but a cycle of sin and judgment ensued in the days of the judges. David’s accession as king and the everlasting covenant made with him (2 Sam. 7) demonstrated that universal blessing would become a reality through a Davidic descendant. But the story of the kings of Judah, not to mention the kings of Israel, sadly disappointed. The nation spiraled downward until it was carried into exile by Babylon in 586 BC. Yahweh promised through the prophets, however, the dawning of a new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34), a coming kingdom (Obad. 21), a rebuilding of David’s fallen booth (Amos 9:11–15), a new day for Jerusalem and Zion (Joel 3:15–21; Zeph. 3:15–20), a pouring out of God’s Spirit (Joel 2:28), a day when the Lord would give his people a new heart and Spirit so that they would obey him (Ezek. 36:26–27), a new exodus when God would liberate his people once again (e.g., Isa. 43:5–9), and a new creation (Isa. 65:17–25; 66:22). None of these promises were fulfilled during the OT era, and so this brings us to the NT witness.

Kingdom of God

In considering the already-but-not-yet theme, we begin with the kingdom of God, which certainly is of prime importance in NT theology. Goldsworthy (2000: 618) remarks, “The idea of the rule of God over creation, over all creatures, over the kingdoms of the world, and in a unique and special way, over his chosen and redeemed people, is the very heart of the message of the Hebrew scriptures.”

The Synoptic Gospels make it apparent that the kingdom of God is central to Jesus’ teaching. The importance of the kingdom of God in Jesus’ teaching is also apparent by the location of the sayings about the kingdom. Both Matthew and Mark introduce Jesus’ teaching ministry with pregnant sayings about the kingdom of God (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:14–15). Jesus proclaimed the imminence of the kingdom, the fulfillment of the good news that God would redeem his people. This promise of good news (euangelion) reaches back to Isaiah, where the good news is the new exodus from Babylon, the return from exile (Isa. 40:9; 52:7). The importance of the kingdom is also attested by the summary statements that epitomize Jesus’ ministry and prominently feature the kingdom (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Luke 4:43–44; 8:1; 9:11). Jesus’ ministry in Galilee consisted of teaching, healing, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. The healing of every disease signifies that the old order is passing away and a new era has arrived.

How should we understand what Jesus meant by the “kingdom of God”? The expectation of a future rule of God in which he fulfills his promises to Israel and subjugates his enemies is found in both the OT (Isa. 24:23; Dan. 2:44; 7:14, 18, 23, 27; Amos 9:11–15; Obad. 21; Zeph. 3:15; Zech. 14:9) and in Second Temple literature (T. Mos. 10.1; 2 Bar. 73.1–7; Pss. Sol. 17–18). Interestingly, the desire for Israel to triumph and to see surrounding nations defeated is expressed in a thoroughly Jewish way in Luke 1–2, indicating Luke’s faithful rendering of early Jewish piety before the coming of the Messiah (Luke 1:52–55, 68–75).

When we turn to the teaching of Jesus, we see that he too expected a future kingdom, an end-time kingdom where God would fulfill his saving promises. This is evident from the Lord’s Prayer, in which believers are to pray, “Your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). Jesus also speaks to the disciples of the day when he will come “in his kingdom” (16:28; cf. Luke 23:51), which clearly refers to the future fulfillment of the kingdom promise. When the kingdom comes, the judgment will commence, and all will be appraised for the way they have lived (Matt. 25:31–46). The coming kingdom can be described as a great end-time feast in which the righteous will rejoice but others will be cast out into the darkness (8:11–12; 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 14:15; 22:16, 18, 29–30; cf. Isa. 25:6–8). The futurity of the kingdom is evident in the call to “inherit the kingdom” that has been prepared by God from the beginning (Matt. 25:34). Jesus did not believe that the kingdom had come in its fullness in his day; he envisioned a future day when he would enjoy the messianic banquet in God’s kingdom (Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18). Clearly, Jesus anticipated a period of time in which believers awaited the fulfillment of God’s saving promises and the unleashing of his terrible judgments.

The kingdom of God cannot be restricted to the future in the ministry and teaching of Jesus. It is also a present reality. Yet there is a sense in which God always and invariably rules as king over all. This is illustrated by Ps. 103:19: “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” God reigns at all times and in all places over all that occurs in history (cf. Pss. 47:8; 93:1; 97:1; 99:1). Nevertheless, the unique element in Jesus’ teaching about God’s kingdom is its presence in Jesus’ ministry. In other words, the OT promises of a new covenant and a new creation and a new exodus were beginning to be fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus. How does the presence of the kingdom in Jesus’ ministry fit together with the prayer for the kingdom to come? Why pray for the kingdom to come if it has already arrived in the person of Jesus? Many scholars now agree that the kingdom of God in Jesus’ teaching is both present and future. In other words, the kingdom is already inaugurated but not yet consummated.

One of the most remarkable statements in the Gospels is found in Matt. 12:28, where Jesus says, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” What is remarkable is that Jesus saw in his exorcisms a sign that the kingdom of God had broken into history. Matthew indicates that the eschatological Spirit promised in the OT was active in Jesus’ ministry. Here we have evidence for the already–not yet tension that informs the NT. The kingdom had already arrived in the person and ministry of Jesus, but God’s enemies had not yet been entirely removed, and the people of God did not yet possess all the blessings pledged to them in the OT.

The kingdom of God was present also in Jesus’ miraculous signs and preaching. A programmatic text is Luke 4:16–30, for here Luke portrays the inauguration of Jesus’ public ministry and almost certainly relates Jesus’ customary message. Jesus began by citing the OT Scriptures and claiming that they reach fulfillment in his person and ministry (cf. Isa. 61:1–2; 58:6; 29:18). The good news of release from exile had now been realized through him. The year of the Lord’s favor and the liberty of God’s people had arrived. It does not appear here that Jesus merely states that these promises will be fulfilled at the consummation of all things. Even now, through his healing ministry, the blind were receiving sight. The gospel that he proclaimed means that the poor were hearing the glad tidings in the present. Indeed, Jesus skipped over the line in Isa. 61 that speaks of the Lord’s vengeance and referred only to the time of his favor. This suggests that the era of Jesus’ ministry was not a time of vengeance but the day of salvation.

A text that points in the same direction is Matt. 11:2–6. John the Baptist voiced doubts about Jesus, presumably because he languished in prison, and his expectations regarding the kingdom were not being realized. John perceived that the political impact of Jesus’ ministry was relatively inconsequential and so began to question whether he was truly “the coming one.” Jesus did not reply to John’s messengers directly but pointed them to what was being accomplished in his ministry: the blind seeing, the lame walking, lepers cleansed, the deaf hearing, and the dead raised. Indeed, the good news was being preached to the poor. Once again Jesus cited texts in Isaiah that related what the Lord would do when he freed his people from exile (35:1–10; cf. 40:9; 42:6–7; 52:7). What stands out is that many of the prophecies found in Isaiah remained unfulfilled in Jesus’ ministry. Israel did not reside in Jerusalem with everlasting joy, nor were they free from their enemies. The Romans were still menacingly present in Jesus’ day. No vengeance was meted out to Israel’s enemies. The world was not transformed into a new creation. All of these facts must have contributed to John’s doubts about whether Jesus was truly the coming one.

Jesus responds by instructing John about the nature of his ministry. His work among the blind, the lame, the deaf, and the poor reveal that God is fulfilling his promises in Jesus. The new exodus and return from exile promised by Isaiah are a reality for those who respond to Jesus’ message—the good news of the gospel is being proclaimed. And yet Jesus himself recognizes that the fulfillment astonishes. He says, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Matt. 11:6). The prophecies of Isaiah are beginning to be fulfilled, but they are not yet fulfilled in their totality. The kingdom really is present in Jesus’ ministry, and yet all that God has promised to do has not become a reality. If John had eyes to see, he would perceive the eschatological tension. Something unexpected has arisen. The promises were not coming to pass in the way John or anyone else expected. God was working remarkably in Jesus’ ministry, and yet only some of what was predicted had been realized. The kingdom had arrived, and yet Israel must await the day of vengeance and the completion of all that God promised (cf. also Luke 17:20–21).

In Matt. 13:11 Jesus says that the parables reveal the “secrets” or “mysteries” of the kingdom. The parable of the four soils (13:1–9, 18–23) teaches a number of different truths. What we are seeking here is what it teaches about the kingdom of God. A striking feature of the parable is that when the kingdom is proclaimed, not all accept its message. There are four different kinds of soil, and only the last bears genuine fruit. All the other soils do not continue to bear fruit, and they represent people who are unsaved on the day of judgment. One of the mysteries of the kingdom communicated here is that the word of the kingdom will not immediately have overwhelming success in this world. Many will reject the good news about the kingdom, but they will not be judged instantly. The Jews expected the kingdom to arrive in apocalyptic power, sweeping away all opponents. But this parable reveals that the message of the kingdom does not operate initially in this manner. In and through the preaching of Jesus, the kingdom is successful only in some hearts. The whole world is not changed dramatically, and yet the kingdom is at work; it is operating in the world, transforming hearts through Jesus’ message (cf. Mark 4:26–29; Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43).

The nature of the kingdom is captured well by the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven (Matt. 13:31–33). These parables likewise present the mystery of the kingdom. Again we must remind ourselves that the Jews thought that the kingdom would demolish their enemies, arrive with overwhelming force, and be evident to all. Jesus, however, taught that the kingdom does not arrive as a massive tree that holds sway over the earth, like the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4). The kingdom’s coming is as inconspicuous and small as a mustard seed—the smallest known seed of Jesus’ day. The parable of the leaven should be interpreted like the parable of the mustard seed, and its placement immediately after the latter suggests that the two make basically the same point. The kingdom does not arrive manifestly and clearly but rather is nearly invisible, like leaven in flour. In other words, the watching world does not perceive the presence of the kingdom. Still, Jesus maintained that the kingdom had arrived in his ministry even though it was hidden and obscured. Jesus contrasted what the kingdom is like in this present age with its consummation in the age to come. Only at the end will the kingdom rule over all, and then it will be as comprehensive and complete as leaven permeating dough.

Even though the kingdom is nearly invisible, it is incomparably precious. The value of the kingdom is communicated in the parable of the hidden treasure (Matt. 13:44). Jesus concluded the parables in Matt. 13 by comparing the kingdom of heaven to a scribe “who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (13:52). Here Jesus considered the OT, the many prophecies about the kingdom of God. The disciple of Jesus, however, must interpret the prophecies in light of what is new, the dawning of the kingdom of God in the ministry of Jesus. The wise disciple, then, both grasps the meaning of the OT prophecy and discerns its fulfillment in Jesus. The new and the old are rightly related and correlated to one another. The new is not imposed upon the old, nor does the old squelch the new. Both the new and the old have their proper place, but the old, ultimately and finally, can be grasped only by those who understand the newness present in Jesus.

The inauguration of the kingdom is manifested by signs, wonders, and healings. Jesus’ miracles are not just the promise of the kingdom; they are themselves the actualization, at least in part, of the kingdom. In many texts in the Synoptic Gospels, the proclamation of the gospel is accompanied by physical healing and the exorcism of demons (e.g., Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 10:7–8; Luke 9:11; 10:9, 17; 11:20). Jesus’ exorcisms instantiate his victory over Satan and demons, indicating that the kingdom is now present and that Jesus has triumphed over the reign of evil. Indeed, we see from Isa. 35 that such heal-ings are indications of the presence of the kingdom—of the kingdom already exerting its power in this present evil age.

Adherents of rationalistic liberalism denied the reality of the miraculous because of their Enlightenment worldview, which denied the intervention of God in the cosmos. Their problem with miracles arose from their philosophical standpoint and cannot be derived from a study of the text. It is clear that the Gospel writers believed that the miracles truly occurred. The miracles are not merely spiritual realities that can be reduced to spiritual lessons or moral truths. Indeed, there are sound reasons for believing that the miracles actually occurred in Jesus’ ministry, that the stories go back to the historical Jesus.

Meier (1994: 630) says about the miracles “that total fabrication by the early church is, practically speaking, impossible”; and, “the tradition of Jesus’ miracles is more firmly supported by the criteria of historicity than are a number of other well-known and often readily accepted traditions about his life and ministry. . . . Put dramatically but with not too much exaggeration: if the miracle tradition from Jesus’ public ministry were rejected in toto as unhistorical, so should every other Gospel tradition about him.” Indeed, Meier (1994: 773–873) does not shrink back from saying that, as far as one can determine matters historically, there are solid grounds for believing that Jesus raised people from the dead.1 The miracles, then, testify to the already– not yet character of the kingdom. They demonstrate that the kingdom has entered into this world, and yet not everyone is healed, which shows that the kingdom is not yet consummated. Death and evil still cast their long shadow over the world.

The kingdom of God is a central theme in Jesus’ ministry, and the meaning of the concept must be discerned from the OT because Jesus nowhere defines it. When Jesus referred to God’s kingdom, he had in mind God’s saving power, the fulfillment of his saving promises. When God’s saving promises become a reality, then those who are God’s enemies will be judged. Still, Jesus called attention to God’s saving work on behalf of his people. The surprising element in Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom is its ambiguous character. Th...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. The Fulfillment of God’s Saving Promises: The Already–Not Yet
• 2. The Centrality of God in New Testament Theology
• 3. The Centrality of Christ in the Gospels
• 4. Jesus’ Saving Work in Acts
• 5. The Christology of Paul
• 6. The Saving Work of God and Christ according to Paul
• 7. The Christology of Hebrews–Revelation
• 8. The Holy Spirit
• 9. The Problem of Sin
• 10. Faith and Obedience
• 11. The Law and Salvation History
• 12. The People of the Promise
• 13. The Consummation of God’s Promises
• Epilogue
• Bibliography