Jesus—the End and the Beginning: Tracing the Christ-Shaped Nature of Everything
Overview
Telford Work examines some of the most important ways Jesus is “the omega and the alpha”—the end and the beginning. Jesus alone fulfills the divine purpose for all things, brings about the end of the old world’s evil and suffering, and is the beginning of eternity’s new creation. This core conviction is one of the deepest logics that shapes Christian thinking and life.
Jesus—the End and the Beginning offers a unique, big-picture introduction to how Jesus’s life and death shape Christian theology and practice and helps readers fully understand Jesus’s transformation of all things. The author uses Jesus’s life and death as an entry point into understanding Christian theology, offering readers an accessible way to understand elusive and abstract theological concepts. Most chapters feature a central biblical character who illustrates the book's thesis. Professors and students in introduction to theology, Christology, soteriology, eschatology, and other theology courses will value this work. It will also be of interest to pastors and church leaders.
Key Features
- Provides insight into how the parts of Scripture relate to the whole
- Covers related topics of salvation, incarnation, the Trinity, and eschatology
- Explores connections between Jesus Christ and our lives, communities, the world, and God
Contents
- Jesus—the End and the Beginning of God
- Jesus—the End and the Beginning of the Cosmos
- Jesus—the End and the Beginning of Humanity
- Jesus—the End and the Beginning of Israel
- Jesus—the End and the Beginning of the Nations
- Jesus—the End and the Beginning of a Life
Praise for the Print Edition
In Jesus—the End and the Beginning, Telford Work invites us to follow him to oft-avoided vantage points where new vistas of Christ can be pondered. Like studying a photograph’s negative, contemplating Jesus as the omega and alpha draws disciples deeper into the richness of Christ’s beauty, provoking us to grapple with our rehearsed Christologies and compelling us to explore afresh what it means for Jesus to be the center of Christian faith for us today. This book will not just provide you new frames of reference, but most importantly it will prod you to reconsider if Jesus is or can be your omega and alpha.
—Brian Lugioyo, Azusa Pacific University
A dynamic and engaging vision that proclaims Jesus Christ as the answer to everything. Simple but not simplistic, Work’s book shows that Jesus can transform every dimension of human life from individual salvation to civic life and international relations. Work’s focus on biblical theology and specifically on Jesus as the omega and the alpha makes this an effective book for classroom teaching and discussion.
—Steven M. Studebaker, McMaster Divinity College
This is a wonderfully fresh approach to Christology—or, better, to the pivotal place of Jesus in the entire Christian vision. From multiple angles, Work guides readers in apprehending the concrete difference Jesus makes for all creation. Attentive readings of Scripture abound in this book, and they are shaped by deep engagement with the Christian tradition. Work’s prose is a joy to read—it is simultaneously lively and precise, shining new light on familiar themes. Particularly well suited for classroom settings, this volume is a gift to all who seek a coherent and compelling account of the centrality of Jesus.
—Doug Koskela, professor of theology, Seattle Pacific University
Product Details
- Title: Jesus—the End and the Beginning: Tracing the Christ-Shaped Nature of Everything
- Author: Telford Work
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2019
- Pages: 240
- Resource Type: Biblical Theology
- Topic: Doctrine of Christ