Book Review: What Is Biblical Theology?
What is Biblical Theology by James M. Hamilton, Jr
Review by Justin M. Opperman (not Jr)
In the year of our Lord, 2020, 16 July
What even is “Biblical Theology?” Shouldn’t all our theology be biblical? Do we really need a book to tell us that our theology should be biblical? Or, is “Biblical Theology” something different entirely, a discipline of the Christian life that actually matters to our faith and practice? In What is Biblical Theology: A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and Patterns, James M. Hamilton Jr sets out to help us understand just what Biblical Theology is, what it is not, and why it matters to every Christian.
James M. Hamilton Jr is the associate professor of biblical theology at THEE (I am pretty sure you have to emphasize it that way or else they take away your SBC membership) Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has written other works such as God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment, With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology, commentaries on Song of Songs and Revelation, and much more. As such, he is an apt guide to lead the reader through the task of defining, understanding, and applying Biblical Theology in the Christian life.He undertakes this task by walking the reader through three different sections of his book. The first part focuses the reader’s attention on the big story of the Bible, the metanarrative (which is just a big word for “big story”). This metanarrative is explained and examined in light of discrete storytelling concepts, and also using the paradigm of an unfolding mystery. The second part of this book explores the Bible’s symbolic universe by way of imagery, typology, and patterns. This work barely scratches the surface of this vast symbolic richness for the Christian to discover, but it does entice the reader to study these topics in a deeper fashion. The third and final part of the book pushes into the practical, as it lays out for the reader how the church (made up of individual Christians, like the reader) comes into the story and the role it plays, especially in the metanarrative tension and resolution.
Dr. Hamilton sums up the structure of his book:
“So the three parts of this book can be put into three words: story, symbol, and church.
There’s obviously more that could be said about biblical theology, but these are the three things about the path to the bridge into another world we’ll focus on here: the overarching metanarrative that is the Bible’s big story, the way the biblical authors use key symbols to summarize and interpret that story, and the place of the church in it.”
Some of this book’s strengths are brevity (only 127 pages all-in), clarity of speech (very accessible to the average reader), and organization (sets the reader up for success). I would recommend it as an entry-level introduction to Biblical Theology for any interested person. A solid grasp of Biblical Theology sets up the Christian with an excellent lens through which to read and consider all of Scripture, and also helps to establish God’s story firm in our minds to help combat the narratives of the world which press in at all corners of our lives. It repeatedly takes us back to God’s story, reminding us that He is the best storyteller, and when we rightly recognize our place in His story, realizing we are the ones rescued by a great Rescuer, we can stand firm in His might against all the assaults of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
At this point, you might be thinking, “So you made me read through this entire book review and you didn’t even give me a definition of Biblical Theology?” And, my answer would be thus, “Yes, intentionally! Take up the book and read!”
Okay, okay. Pastor Adam here throwing you a bone and giving you some help defining “biblical theology'“ (but still read the book!).
Biblical Theology is a interpretive discipline in which the reader traces themes, characters, stories, and concepts that all climax in Jesus and the work he accomplished on the cross and continues through the church unto the New Creation. Jesus said that the Scriptures all spoke about him (John 5:39; Luke 24:27, 44) and the Apostles preached as though every word was preparing for him (Acts 8:35; 17:2; 18:28; 26:22–23; 28:23. Cf. Acts 20:27; 1 Cor. 2:2). Biblical Theology attempts to connect all these dots in a way that shows Christ fulfills every shadow, every promise, every character, every theme, every expectation, every pattern.
It is one of the primary means of understanding the text that the pastors of Redemption City Church use when preparing to preach. You’ll often hear us take you back to Genesis and trace a concept through the Bible from Adam to Abraham to Moses/Israel culminate in Christ and continue on through the church until the Revelation of the New Heavens and New Earth. This is how every message can be tied to Christ, because the whole Bible is about him.
The better you understand this pattern in Scripture, the more you’ll see how it points to Jesus and the more you’ll be able to see how even the shifting trends of the culture and your own life present an opportunity to proclaim your hope in Christ.