The Revelation of God (Contours of Christian Theology)
Overview
In modern times the Christian faith’s claim to possess a unique revelation of God has faced numerous challenges. A central issue has been the role of the Bible. While some have continued to defend the view that the Bible, inspired by God, is God’s self-revelation in a direct way, others, have argued that God’s self-revelation is to be found primarily in divine action or in the person of Jesus Christ, rather than in the Scriptures as such. In a fresh approach, Peter Jensen argues that it is better to follow the biblical categories of the knowledge of God and the gospel than to start from “revelation” as an abstract concept. First, Jensen focuses on revelation, whether special or general, from the viewpoint of the knowledge of God through the gospel. Next, he examines the nature and authority of Scripture and our approach to reading it. Finally, he turns to the revelatory work of the Holy Spirit through illumination. The result is a creative and compelling exposition of the evangelical understanding of revelation for the contemporary scene.
Top Highlights
“As far as possible, efforts have been made to make technical vocabulary accessible to the non-specialist reader, and the presentation has avoided the extremes of academic style.” (Page 9)
“It is no accident that the basic form of the Christian gospel turned out to be the telling of the story of Jesus Christ. It is his extraordinary words that strike the conscience, inform the mind and create faith. It is his character and his deeds that fascinate and draw people to him. It is his capacity to make sense of human experience that persuades people that he is not merely a teacher but the Lord. In the end, it is not that a resurrection had occurred, but that it was his resurrection, that provides the vitality of the gospel message.” (Pages 41–42)
“The series aims, however, not merely to answer current objections to evangelical Christianity, but also to rework the orthodox evangelical position in a fresh and compelling way. The overall thrust is therefore positive and evangelistic in the best sense.” (Page 9)
“It was to Jesus that they turned in order to understand God’s love, and in particular to Jesus’ death. Their gospel preaching did not transmit a philosophy, but announced the words and deeds of God in and through the words and deeds of his Son, Jesus.” (Page 42)
“In short, the issue of eschatology of the gospel is crucial to its integrity. If the gospel cannot be communicated effectively in the modern context in genuine continuity with its eschatological framework, we must ask whether biblical Christianity has any place in the modern world at all. But if, as I have tried to indicate, the eschatological themes remain strikingly relevant, the nature of the apostolic gospel entails that Jesus Christ is the ‘one mediator between God and men’ (1 Tim. 2:5).” (Page 53)
- Title: The Revelation of God
- Author: Peter Jensen
- Series: Contours of Christian Theology
- Publisher: IVP
- Print Publication Date: 2002
- Logos Release Date: 2017
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Revelation; Bible › Evidences, authority, etc; Jesus Christ › Person and offices
- ISBNs: 9780830815388, 0830815384, 9780851112565, 0851112560
- Resource ID: LLS:RVLTNGDJNSN
- Resource Type: Systematic Theology
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:50:22Z