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Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference for 2014 (Theology) Seeking an answer to Anselm's timeless question, "Why did God become man?" Graham Cole follows Old Testament themes of preparation, theophany and messianic hope through to the New Testament witness to the divinely foretold event. This New Studies in Biblical Theology volume concludes with a consideration of the theological and existential implications of the incarnation of God. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.
- Sales Rank: #944911 in Books
- Published on: 2013-07-06
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .60" w x 5.50" l, .60 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 202 pages
Review
"Although considerable effort in biblical theology has been devoted to such messianic themes as the Davidic monarch, the priesthood and the temple, relatively little has been devoted to the incarnation. This book by Dr Graham Cole takes steps to fill the need. Undoubtedly more can be said, but it is immensely satisfying to find an able systematician wrestling with the biblical texts . . . not least on a topic as central to the Christian faith as this one." (D. A. Carson)
"Although I had been aware of Cole as a theologian and writer, this was actually the first book of his I read. But, it was such an enjoyable experience, before I knew it, I had also worked my way through God The Peacemaker: How Atonement Brings Shalom (excellent). . . . Like most all the volumes in this series I have read, this book was richly biblical, theological insightful, and pastorally relevant." (Nate Claiborne, Marturo, November 4, 2014)
About the Author
Graham A. Cole is Anglican Professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School, Birmingham, Alabama. Previously he served as professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and principal of Ridley College, Melbourne. He is the author of God the Peacemaker (NSBT), Engaging with the Holy Spirit, He Who Gives Life and numerous articles in periodicals and books.
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
A much needed contribution to evangelical theology
By Thomas Blake Jenkins
Graham Cole’s work is one that provides the reader with a thorough treatment of the biblical material concerning a theology of the incarnation. Each section of material is easily approachable and follows a logical ordering that ensures that the reader will follow in Cole’s sophisticated and pastoral scholarship. In this review, I will begin by addressing the work as a whole and then move to a discussion of some finer details that I found particularly interesting.
The Work
The concluding sentence of Cole’s book provides a good framework that explains Coles methodology in this work: “When systematic theology uses biblical theology to connect text and present in a normative fashion, we are engaged in the theological interpretation of Scripture.” And Cole did just that. He constantly weaves a tapestry of biblical theology, systematic theology, and historical theology. And the work begins with his biblical theology and presuppositions: “This work assumes that God has provided Holy Scripture so that his people are not left in an epistemological black hole from which no epistemic light can escape” (20). And in this high treatment of Scripture, Cole seeks to give the Old Testament a voice—but one that is not completely distinct from the New Testament; after all, in his “concomitance” (33), God is alongside us. And God is alongside us at the beginning, in Eden, in creation; for “The purpose of creation is divine habitation in a cosmic palace-temple” (37).
From here, Cole moves on to discuss God’s preparation for the incarnation in the life of Abraham and his family. In this section readers are previewed to some extraordinarily interesting passages before moving on to the Mosaic story and the ‘embodied’ God. From here, there is a chronological progression to the Judges, former prophets, and latter prophets. All contained a wealth of information which is too exhaustive to include here.
Cole’s next chapter on God’s preparation in Israel’s hope contains a lynchpin in his argument in the book as a whole. In order to state his case, he provides extensive interaction with B.B. Warfield and Ray C. Ortlund Jr. In this interaction, Cole arrives at a guiding hermeneutical question: “is an interpretation demanded by the text in view, or is the interpretation under discussion simply consistent with that text of Scripture?” (82). Here, he is not saying that the Old Testament Scriptures did not speak of Christ, but rather that “We are endeavoring to understand what ancient Israel hoped for before the revelatory light of Christ became available” (89). And he concludes, “for our purposes no expectation of an incarnation is plainly in view in the pages of the Old Testament” (91). From here, he wisely and immediately goes into a discussion on typology. This heavy and meticulous distinction will serve the purpose of the next chapter on the great mystery. Here, Cole argued that the Old Testament scriptures did not have the incarnation in view. It was indeed a mystery in the sense of “revelation that is in some sense ‘there’ in the [Old Testament] scriptures but hidden until the time of God-appointed disclosure” (97).
Next, Cole moves on to his chapter entitled “Cur deus homo” after the prominent work by Anselm of Canterbury. Here, he provides a comprehensive list of the effects of the incarnation, and made the bold and accurate statement, “The Word is the exegete of the invisible Father” (122). He draws together strong implications between the incarnation and the atonement. And this bleeds over into his final chapter on the significance of the incarnation, namely its theological and existential significance. Cole urges theologians with this charge: “We ought not to do Christian theology as through Christ had never come” (144).
Notable Details
I greatly enjoyed Cole’s constant foreshadowing and inductive leading. He was able to match his style with the unfolding biblical narrative, which I thought to be masterful. He also used analogies to explain deep theological concepts (e.g. Bill Cosby on Noah, Elton Trueblood’s “cut-flower civilization”, “listen to the fabric). He was able to connect with the reader. He was also able to connect the biblical and systematic theological teachings and concepts to the realm of historical theology. He had a constant conversation with the church fathers, heavy interaction with John Calvin, extensive use of the creeds (namely the Chalcedonian and Athanasian creeds), allusions to Anselm’s Cur Deus homo?, and an explication of Aquinas on the timing of the incarnation. The excursus were always relevant to the discussion at hand and were on intriguing and difficult topics. Cole always provided a biblically-sound and nuanced perspective.
Perhaps the most intriguing concept that I found in the book was the idea of glorified bodies and the idea of connaturality. I would like to study this concept more and I felt that Cole had this as a subtle through line in his treatment of the incarnation. This ontological transformation is the basis for us being able to see God, and is a natural outworking of a discussion on God’s incarnation in Jesus Christ. He uses relevant scriptures to bolster his position. And so we look back—we look back at Jesus’ incarnation, we look to the history of its ramifications, we look at how it is still working in conjunction with the atonement even to this day, and we look forward to our future hope of glorification with him.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
There's Something Missing
By Thomas C. Hamilton
In "The God Who Became Human", Graham Cole looks to find the biblical-theological framework within which the incarnation nests. To that end, he looks at the way that God is portrayed in the Old Testament, the development of the Messianic hope in Israel, the fulfillment of that hope in the New Testament, and the theological reasons for the incarnation. There's little in Cole's book to object to. My problem is that there are so many more threads that he could have and should have explored. Some specific points:
1. Cole divides anthropomorphism into three categories: 1) when God appears in visible form, 2) when God has emotions, and 3) when God is described as acting as a human would. Genesis 6 is a case in point. God acts in "seeing." He feels in "regretting." And He feels it precisely in His "heart", which is a bodily organ. Combined with the biblical emphasis that God fills the universe with His Presence, this creates a tension that is not fulfilled until the incarnation. I appreciated Cole's use of these texts to point to the incarnation. At the same time, I wish he had interacted more with critical biblical scholarship which suggests that ancient Israel actually understood God to be an embodied person. He notes such trends, but dismisses them without argument. While I strongly disagree with liberal biblical criticism, this point deserved more interaction.
2. Cole argues that there is not an explicit hope of a divine Messiah in the Old Testament. Texts like Isaiah 7;14, 9:6-7, and Daniel 7:13-14, when read in the light of the New Testament, can be seen as fitting and proper, but read on their own, they do not demand such a reading. I think Cole underestimates the force of some of these passages. For example, the sequence of events in Isaiah 7 is echoed in Isaiah 40 when Israel is summoned to "behold your God!" I disagree with Cole that there is a double fulfillment of Isaiah 7 in Isaiah 8:1-4 and then the New Testament. Maher-shalal-hash-baz is a play on the sign of Immanuel. Immanuel is a sign of salvation, but, as Isaiah had warned, since Ahaz has not been firm in faith, the kingdom of Judah will not be firm at all. A child named Speed-Spoil-Haste-Booty is born in the meantime and Isaiah is told to "wait" for the promises. Cole argues that Daniel 7:13-14 is obscure in its own context, but I doubt that. The Son of Man is painted as riding the clouds up to the throne of God, something that Yahweh alone (and the high priest on the Day of Atonement, hint) does in the Old Testament. Furthermore, the nations are said to "serve" the Son of Man and later in the chapter said to "serve" the Most High.
Stitching all the pieces together requires the light shed by New Testament revelation, but at the same time, I think that light produces the best and most satisfying reading of the Old Testament, even on its own terms. Once you see the full picture, you are able to put the puzzle pieces together.
3. I appreciated Cole's emphasis on the double-hope in Israel. There is a hope on one hand that Yahweh will come, and on the other hand that the Son of David will come. Those two threads are combined in Jesus.
4. Cole argues that "mystery" in the New Testament, refers to something that was not explicitly revealed in the Old Testament. I don't reject this out of hand, but this requires more argument. For example, Paul refers to the ingrafting of the Gentiles as a mystery hidden for ages in God- but the ingathering of the nations was prophesied throughout the Old Testament. The background of the language of "mystery", at least in Ephesians and Colossians, appears to come from the mysteries that were revealed to Daniel.
5. Cole briefly refers to the tabernacle and the temple as a preparation for the incarnation, but only again mentions it in passing! There is so much more that could be done here. In Kings, for example, the Temple is referred to in human terms. It has arms, it has legs, it has ribs. When the great statue of Daniel 2 appears, the sequence of metals (gold-silver-bronze-iron) is the same as the sequence in the Temple. God dwells in the tabernacle- it's His body. And the body of God is humaniform. I am very disappointed that Cole didn't have a chapter or two on exploring the symbolism of the Temple as it relates to the incarnation, especially given the emphasis on this in John's Gospel.
6. Cole's chapter on the reason for the incarnation is good. He surveys the various New Testament perspectives on this event, and shows how the incarnation provides a pattern of activity to be emulated by the Church. Since the Divine Son condescended to us in grace, so we also condescend to each other in grace. The mystery of the incarnation is what facilitates the crushing of the Serpent's head. He now stands in the heavenlies so that we might also be seated in Heaven with Christ. Though Cole doesn't mention it by name, this is the traditional Orthodox doctrine of "theosis" or divinization. God shares in our life so that we might share in His.
If Amazon allowed half-stars, I'd give Cole's book 2.5 stars. There are some good insights, and he's very rarely outright wrong. But there are many threads to be explored when the incarnation is discussed in biblical theology, and Cole only explores a few.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
The Mystery of the Incarnation
By Garrett Craig
The God who became Human by Graham Cole is part of the New Studies in Biblical Theology series. Common to this series is tracing particular themes through the canon. The incarnation of God is probably a theme at first thought that we might limit to the New Testament. Can a case be made to trace God becoming human through the entire Bible? Cole thinks so. His aim for the book is primarily "to explore this idea of how the incarnation was prepared for (19)." This is not the only goal of the book, however. He spends the final two chapters considering biblically Cur Deus Homo? (Why God became man?) and how the incarnation is significant both theologically and existentially.
Cole's conclusion with regards to the Old Testament's preparation for God becoming flesh is somewhat polemical for some evangelicals. His analysis of key OT texts of Israel's hope (Psalm 45:6, Isaiah 9:6, Daniel 7:13, Psalm 110:1) is in opposition to Warfield and Ortlund's work. He concludes, "There are Old Testament text that prima facie when read together are consistent with that idea [clear expectation in the OT that a divine Messiah would come] but do not demand it (95)."
The key component of Cole's conclusion, I think, is the idea that there are no clear texts in the OT that say the Messiah would be divine. Cole demonstrates a flaw in his method when he says, "Our concern is different if we are reading the Old Testament with our New Testament shut at this stage. We are endeavoring to understand what ancient Israel hoped for before the revelatory light of Christ become available (89)." This is a huge assumption! One that he should have laid out before going through these OT texts. Not only this, but he fails to mention whether or not Warfield and Ortlund are working under those same constraints when they offer their readings of these texts. The question that Cole fails to address is whether it is a legitimate approach to read these OT texts with his NT shut. He assumes that it is, others might disagree.
For Cole, therefore, there are no clear OT texts that say the Messiah would be divine. Are there any clues for this development before the NT? One of the best elements of the book is Cole's engagement with God preparing the way for the incarnation through anthropomorphic, anthropopathic and anthropopraxic language. The author looks at God's integration with humans in Genesis 1-3. Important for his thesis are two things: 1. he reads Genesis 1-3 as temple text 2. he introduces the reader to the idea of divine concomitance (the alongsidedness of God or 'God with us').
Building on the categories of anthropomorphism, anthropopathism and anthropopraxism, Cole explores other OT texts that demonstrates Deus revelatus. These anthropomorphic theophanies are found along the unfolding biblical plot line (74) and serve as preparation for the incarnation of Christ.
In keeping with his thesis, Cole maintains a balance between Deus revelatus and Deus absconditus. The incarnation of the God-man Jesus Christ was truly and genuinely a mystery (cf. 1 Tim. 3:16). Cole quotes Hanson in his conclusion, "'...It was the taking of flesh as such, the act, the event in history, culminating of course in the death and resurrection, that was unique, supreme, new (115).'"
Cole's thesis comes together though when he includes Nicholas Wolterstorff's theory of "data-background beliefs" (113). Here are Cole's words:
"In my view, without the Old Testament accounts of theophany - especially the '�š ones - and depictions of God in anthropomorphic (e.g. depicted with ears, eyes, arms, hands, fingers), anthropopathic (depicted as angry, afflicted, grieving) and anthropopraxic ways (depicted as standing, sitting, ruling, fighting, walking) there would not have been the possibility of data-background beliefs that were crucial for the intelligibility of an actual incarnation....Without these data-background beliefs who would have been able to combine the biblical ideas of God and humanity into the notion of God incarnate (113-114)?"
Here we see Cole bringing everything together. The OT does not have clear texts that demonstrate God's Messiah would be divine. However, the OT does prepare the way for the idea of the incarnation through anthropomorphic, anthropopathic, and anthropopraxic language about God. Therefore, the incarnation is genuinely something new and a mystery as Paul states in 1 Tim. 3:16.
As noted above, Cole ends the book by looking at the famous Anselm question Cur Deus homo? In contrast to Anselm, Cole's methodology is opposite in that he is interested in discovering how the Bible answers this question (121).
Another somewhat controversial element in the book is found towards the end. Cole, following Billings, questions the popular notion (ascribed to John Stott) of appealing to John 20:19-23 as justification of an "incarnation model of mission (152)." Attached to this is another popular slogan which Cole rejects, that is to "'live the Good News rather than preach the Good News' (153)." I have recently grown to appreciate these sentiments more and more. I wish, however, Cole would have furthered this conversation rather than simply repeating Billings on this point.
Overall I am very pleased with The God who became Human. I appreciate the overall carefulness with which Cole engages the various discussions surrounding the incarnation. Also, I love his concluding words on the effects the incarnation should have on us: "Above all, the incarnation of the Son of God ought to fill us with humble wonder (170)."
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