Analysis of the Message of the New Testament
THE MESSAGE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
__________________
A Book Review
Presented to
Dr. Richard T. Vann, Jr.
Dallas Baptist University
__________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for MALA 5366
__________________
by
Travis G. Gothard
April 14, 2013
Bruce, F. F. The Message of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973. 120 pp. $10.71.
“What is the New Testament?” “Is there one New Testament Message?” F. F. Bruce addresses these questions in his book, The Message of the New Testament. He answers the first question quickly in the prologue stating, “To Christians, it is the second and shorter division of their sacred scriptures, ‘God’s Word written’” (11). Bruce dedicates this work to answering the second question by dividing the New Testament into ten sections or chapters represented by one or more of the books of the New Testament. He considers the theme and distinct contribution each makes to what he considers the single overall witness of the New Testament that “Jesus Christ is Lord” (12). This paper will give specific attention to the contribution of the general epistles from Bruce’s viewpoint and a critical analysis of the importance Bruce gave to these books, as well as, the other books of the New Testament. Bruce was a lifelong New Testament scholar who has authored “many critical and devotional works, and serves as Editor for THE NEW INTERNATIONAL COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT” (back cover). He was Ryland’s Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester (back cover).
Summary
The single, most prominent message of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ is Lord is developed by Bruce from a “roughly chronological” order as he details the gradual development from the growth of Christianity as a fledgling, often questioned, movement to a mature religion in the first century AD. Yet he immediately deviates from this chronological order finding it necessary to begin with the Gospel of
__________________
A Book Review
Presented to
Dr. Richard T. Vann, Jr.
Dallas Baptist University
__________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for MALA 5366
__________________
by
Travis G. Gothard
April 14, 2013
Bruce, F. F. The Message of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973. 120 pp. $10.71.
“What is the New Testament?” “Is there one New Testament Message?” F. F. Bruce addresses these questions in his book, The Message of the New Testament. He answers the first question quickly in the prologue stating, “To Christians, it is the second and shorter division of their sacred scriptures, ‘God’s Word written’” (11). Bruce dedicates this work to answering the second question by dividing the New Testament into ten sections or chapters represented by one or more of the books of the New Testament. He considers the theme and distinct contribution each makes to what he considers the single overall witness of the New Testament that “Jesus Christ is Lord” (12). This paper will give specific attention to the contribution of the general epistles from Bruce’s viewpoint and a critical analysis of the importance Bruce gave to these books, as well as, the other books of the New Testament. Bruce was a lifelong New Testament scholar who has authored “many critical and devotional works, and serves as Editor for THE NEW INTERNATIONAL COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT” (back cover). He was Ryland’s Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester (back cover).
Summary
The single, most prominent message of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ is Lord is developed by Bruce from a “roughly chronological” order as he details the gradual development from the growth of Christianity as a fledgling, often questioned, movement to a mature religion in the first century AD. Yet he immediately deviates from this chronological order finding it necessary to begin with the Gospel of