Book Recommendations - The King In His Beauty

The King In His Beauty by Thomas Schreiner

Thomas Schreiner, a respected scholar and a trusted voice for many students and pastors, offers a substantial and accessibly written overview of the whole Bible. He traces the storyline of the scriptures from the standpoint of biblical theology, examining the overarching message that is conveyed throughout. Schreiner emphasizes three interrelated and unified themes that stand out in the biblical narrative: God as Lord, human beings as those who are made in God's image, and the land or place in which God's rule is exercised. The goal of God's kingdom is to see the king in his beauty and to be enraptured in his glory.

Book Description from Baker Academic:

Contents

Prologue
Part 1: Creation to the Edge of Canaan
1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy

Interlude: A Synopsis of Creation to the Edge of Canaan
Part 2: The Story of Possession, Exile, and Return
6. Joshua
7. Judges
8. Ruth
9. 1-2 Samuel
10. 1-2 Kings
11. 1-2 Chronicles
12. Ezra-Nehemiah
13. Esther

Interlude: A Synopsis of the Story of Possession, Exile, and Return
Part 3: Israel’s Songs and Wisdom
14. Job
15. Psalms
16. Proverbs
17. Ecclesiastes
18. Song of Songs

Interlude: A Synopsis of Israel’s Songs and Wisdom
Part 4: Judgment and Salvation in the Prophets
19. Isaiah
20. Jeremiah
21. Lamentations
22. Ezekiel
23. Daniel
24. The Book of the Twelve

Interlude: A Synopsis of Judgment and Salvation in the Prophets
A Brief Retrospective of the Old Testament Story

Prologue to the New Testament
Part 5: The Kingdom in Matthew, Mark, and Luke-Acts
25. The Gospel according to Matthew
26. The Gospel according to Mark
27. The Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles

Interlude: A Synopsis of the Kingdom in Matthew, Mark, and Luke-Acts
Part 6: Eternal Life in the Gospel and Epistles of John
28. The Gospel according to John and the Johannine Epistles
Interlude: A Synopsis of Eternal Life in the Gospel and Epistles of John
Part 7: The End of the Ages Has Come according to the Apostle Paul
29. The Theology of Paul

Interlude: A Synopsis of the End of the Ages Has Come according to the Apostle Paul
Part 8: Living in the Last Days according to the General Epistles
30. The Epistle to the Hebrews
31. The Epistle of James
32. The Epistle of 1 Peter
33. The Epistles of 2 Peter and Jude

Interlude: A Synopsis of Living in the Last Days according to the General Epistles
Part 9: The Kingdom Will Come
34. The Book of Revelation

Epilogue
Indexes

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Reviews form Amazon:

The King In His Beauty by Tom Schreiner is a book about biblical theology. But my suspicion is the author would agree enthusiastically with my assertion that the book is a worship manual. Schreiner's work weighs in at 646 pages. Each page is filled with heart-warming theology and mind-stretching propositions. But when the work is considered as a whole - it is, in the final analysis a worship manual.

The book is arranged in nine parts.

Part 1: Creation to the Edge of Canaan
Part 2: The Story of Possession, Exile, and Return
Part 3: lsrael's Songs and Wisdom
Part 4: Judgment and Salvation in the Prophets
Part 5: The Kingdom in Matthew, Mark, and Luke-Acts
Part 6: Eternal Life in the Gospel and Epistles of John
Part 7: The End of Ages Has Come According to the Apostle Paul
Part 8: Living in the Last Days According to the General Epistles
Part 9: The Kingdom Will Come

Schreiner makes it clear that Redemptive history is going somewhere: "The Scriptures promise that there will be a new heaven and a new earth - a new creation where the glory of God will illumine the cosmos. So, the kingdom of God has a threefold dimension, focusing on God as King, on human beings as subjects of the King, and the universe as the place where his kingship is worked out."

The author demonstrates over and over again that Christ is the King; Christ intends to fulfill his promises; that the offspring of the woman will be the Victor; he will triumph over the serpent through the son of David (Gen. 3:15). He reiterates the theme that runs throughout the Scripture, namely, the theme of judgment followed by salvation. But the most penetrating reality in Schreiner's work is the main truth he wishes to communicate, namely, the people of God will see the King in his beauty.

This is the book I've been searching for since my days as a Seminary student. For years, I was taught the distinctives of classical Dispensationalism that saw two peoples of God, a distinction between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven, a rigid distinction between Israel and the church, and a pre-tribulational rapture. Schreiner is not content to rest in the land of classical dispensational theology, a terrain that is filled with horrible hermeneutics and wacky exegetical propositions. He moves forward and as far as I can tell, lands squarely in a historical premillennial arena.

One paragraph in particular is worth citing; a paragraph that has ended a thirty year search for answers to the dispensational dilemma. Schreiner writes, "The coming of Jesus Christ means that the old covenant, the Sinai covenant, has passed away, and the new covenant has become a reality. The promises of Abraham are being fulfilled in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now inclusion in the people of God is not restricted to Israel but is open to both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus. Those who trust in him are truly children of Abraham (emphasis mine). Those who belong to Jesus Christ and who have received the gift of the Spirit are truly circumcised. Those who are members of the new creation are the new and true Israel of God. In the church of Jesus Christ the worldwide promises given to Abraham are becoming a reality, for Jews and Gentiles are one body in Christ, equally members of the people of God together" (p. 642).

Schreiner also clears up the essence of the land promises that are a major part of the dispensational warp and woof: "The new new heavens and the new earth fulfill the land promise given to the patriarchs, but now the promise encompasses the entire universe" (p 617).

The King in His Beauty is a fitting companion to recent works that have also jettisoned classical dispensational distinctives, namely, Kingdom Through Covenant by Gentry and Wellum and God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment by James Hamilton. Indeed, it is an essential part of every pastoral toolbox. But "toolbox" is the wrong metaphor. The King in His Beauty is a treasure chest. Readers who open this treasure chest will be immediately struck with the majesty, sovereignty, and the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ! Open the worship manual and respond rightly with God-centered worship!

Highly Recommended

Dr. David Steele

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Thomas Schreiner begins by stating that it has been clear to modern theologians that there is not only one "theme" or common vein in which we are to draw our theology from, of both old and new testaments alike. We can look at the Bible as a whole, certainly from the perspective of God's revealed plan for redemption of mankind, which we should; but there are also other common themes that run throughout, and connect both testaments. A commonly exhorted one is the covenants, connecting the new testaments ( also translated covenants ) yet Schreiner chooses The Kingdom of God for his latest work. The Kingdom of God is a commonly overlooked or misunderstood theme in the Bible, yet as Schreiner shows, it is on every page. He does an excellent job bringing to light this common theme as it runs throughout all sacred scripture. Some critics may find that in doing so Schreiner neglects other themes or points of emphasis in his "overview" of certain books of the Bible. This however is a misunderstanding of what a Theology of the Bible, and an overview of the Bible are. In writing a Theology of both testaments, in one work, Schreiner does not claim to include an exhaustive overview of each book of the Bible. The purpose of his work is made plain from the beginning and I believe he fulfills it to the end. I would recommend this book to the more serious student of the Bible, yet it is written in plain enough of a language that all believers can benefit from it.

Philip S.