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Can you share a couple of examples of how this project illumined your understanding of New Testament theology?

I could choose so many examples here, but I will limit myself to two. First, I was struck by the amazingly high Christology of Revelation, indicating, by the way, that Revelation does not deviate from the rest of the NT. Second, the importance of faith in the synoptic Gospels was quite striking to me. I had not spent as much time in the Gospels before working on this project, and I became even more convinced that the centrality of faith in Paul stems from the teaching of Jesus.

Why do other scholars miss what you describe as the New Testament's central theme, God magnifying himself in Christ?

First of all, scholars dispute vigorously whether there is such a thing as a center at all. Good arguments can be made for several key themes instead of a single center and for studying the NT from a variety of perspectives. Still, it is striking how few emphasize the centrality of God in Christ. One of the reasons for this, I would suggest, is quite interesting. To say that honoring God in Christ is what the NT is about is so obvious. Hence, we are drawn to other themes that are not as readily apparent and may seem more creative.

A great deal has been written about the New Testament theme of God inaugurating his kingdom, which he has not yet consummated. How does your book expand on this theme but differ from other works?

On the whole I don't think my book breaks new ground there. It should be obvious to readers that I have been influenced significantly by George Ladd, and I think Ladd is essentially right. I suppose the only difference is that I follow Jonathan Pennington's new work on the kingdom of heaven. Pennington argues that Matthew did not use the phrase "kingdom of heaven" to avoid using the word God. Instead, kingdom of heaven emphasizes the disjunction between God's ways and ours. His kingdom is heavenly, in contrast to those that are wicked and earthly. Naturally, more could be said here, but I provide a little taste of Pennington's work in my book.

The theme of God's kingdom as "already not yet" is less apparent in Paul's writings. How does the apostle express this idea?

First, Paul uses the term "kingdom of God" more than some have suggested. And yet it is certainly not as pervasive as the term is in the Gospels. In any case, the already-not-yet theme permeates Paul's writings. For instance, believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit now, but the Spirit is the guarantee of our future inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14). Believers are adopted as God's children now, and yet they await their final adoption in the Resurrection (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:23). Speaking of the Resurrection, the new age has dawned with the resurrection of Christ (Rom. 1:4), and yet Christians will not enjoy the resurrection of the body until the last day (1 Cor. 15:20-28). The new creation has arrived in Christ, but we await the day when the created order is liberated from its slavery (Rom. 8:18-25).

What objections are typically raised against the effort to summarize New Testament theology?

I will mention two. Some scholars argue that the NT writers contradict one another. Hence, an approach like mine forces, they allege, a harmony on the NT. I would respond by saying that Paul believed that the message proclaimed by him and the other apostles (Gal. 2:1-10; 1 Cor. 15:11) was coherent. Peter affirms Paul's writings as Scripture (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Of course, the standard view in critical scholarship is that Peter did not write 2 Peter, but I argue in my commentary on that letter that there are solid grounds for affirming Petrine authorship. At the end of the day, those who think the NT contradicts itself buy into a philosophical worldview opposed to the NT message. Adolf Schlatter rightly observed that too many do NT scholarship from atheistic presuppositions.

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June (Web-Only) 2008, Vol. 52