NSBT 25: God the Peacemaker

How Atonement Brings Shalom.
In the midst of a troubled
world, Christians believe in a good God who, as the Creator, has never lost
interest in his broken creation. The key evidence for, and the chief symbol of,
this divine commitment is the cross of Christ. This God, revealed Scripture,
has a project; and central to the divine strategy is Christ, his coming and his
cross. The troubles and calamities will end.

The cross
- which has been scandalous from the start - touches the individual, the
church and the wider creation. The cross makes peace, and brings shalom. The
canon of Scripture presents a 'divine comedy', where the story of Jesus, his
cross and empty tomb are set in the framework of God's grand plan to restore
the created order.

Graham Cole's excellent study takes the broad
approach, but not in a way that masks 'the cruciality of the cross'. He
examines who God is and what humanity has become, then focuses on the divine
provision for humanity in its plight. He explores how the 'peace dividend' of
the cross works itself out at the personal, corporate and cosmic levels, and
asks how we are to live if these things are really so. Finally, he discusses
God's grand purpose, reviews the journey, and addresses the question of how God
the peacemaker brings shalom through atonement in both the broad and narrow
senses of the term. An appendix deals with a range of controversial aspects of
the cross. (= 0830826262 / 9780830826261)
'Few if any themes are more
central to the Bible than atonement [´] My hope and prayer is that this volume
will become a ÊstandardË contribution in the field, informing and enriching its
readers as to what God achieved by sending his dear Son to the cross on our
behalf. Eternity itself will not exhaust our wonder at these truths. This book,
I am sure, will establish many in the right direction.' - D. A.
Carson
Series: New Studies in Biblical Theology, volume
25.
Recommended € 24,90