The Pattern of New Testament Truth
Overview
George Eldon Ladd here addresses the problem of differences and similarities in the theologies of the New Testament writers, and seeks to show in this examination what he calls “the pattern of New Testament truth.”
The author argues against an overemphasis on Gnosticism in the study of the background of the New Testament. Ladd then goes on to consider a philosophical movement, prevalent during the first century, about which much more is known—Greek dualism, especially as expressed by Plato, Plutarch, and Philo. He points out the differences between Greek and New Testament thought, and goes on to contrast the Greek view of reality with that of the Hebrews, which he concludes to be essentially that of the New Testament.
The unity of the New Testament, Ladd believes, is to be found in the Heilgeschichte, the record of the historical dealings of God with man. The diversity between the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), John, and Paul is a result of different perspectives from which this redemptive event of God is interpreted. A chapter is devoted to each of these viewpoints, giving a detailed analysis of the unity and diversity that manifests itself, and demonstrating that differences are a matter of separate strata or levels of theology rather than of conflicting suppositions.
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- Compares and contrasts the theologies of the New Testament writers
- Argues against an overemphasis on Gnosticism
- Explores the differences between Greek and New Testament thought
- The Background of the Pattern: Greek or Hebrew?
- The Synoptic Pattern: The Kingdom of God
- The Johannine Pattern: Eternal Life
- The Pauline Pattern: Justification and the Life of the Spirit
Top Highlights
“The biblical dualism is utterly different from this Greek view. It is religious and ethical, not cosmological. The world is God’s world; man is God’s creature, although rebellious, sinful and fallen. Salvation is achieved not by a flight from the world but by God’s coming to man in his earthly, historical experience. Salvation never means flight from the world to God; it means, in effect, God’s descent from heaven to bring man in historical experience into fellowship with himself. Therefore the consummation of salvation is eschatological. It does not mean the gathering of the souls of the righteous in heaven, but the gathering of a redeemed people on a redeemed earth in perfected fellowship with God.” (Page 14)
“The unifying element in New Testament theology is the fact of the divine visitation of men in the person and mission of Jesus Christ; diversity exists in the progressive unfolding of the meaning of this divine visitation and in the various ways the one revelatory, redeeming event is capable of being interpreted.” (Page 14)
“Salvation results not from the mastery of the body by the mind but from the devotion and obedience of heart and will to God.” (Page 43)
“The Synoptic Gospels picture this Old Testament hope in process of fulfillment.” (Page 109)
“Because of human wickedness, ‘the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and even the fish of the sea are taken away’” (Page 32)
- Title: The Pattern of New Testament Truth
- Author: George Eldon Ladd
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 1968
- Pages: 120
- Christian Group: Evangelicals
- Resource Type: Systematic Theologies
- Topic: Scripture