New Testament Theology

'Indeed, it could be regarded as Paul's basic presupposition that the Spirit's aid was indispensable if man was to know anything about God. Only the Spirit understands, and only He, therefore, is in a position to reveal (1 Cor 2:11).' p 556 Here Guthrie sought to make the subject of review the difference in limited human wisdom and illumination as applied by the Holy Spirit. As was the case with the heresy in Colossae, the problem had involved placing too high a premium on human wisdom. Guthrie concentrated on the writings of the apostle Paul to assure us of the Holy Spirit's working in appointed means: 'It was clearly of great importance for this distinction to be drawn to the attention of the Corinthians who had evidently misunderstood the nature of the gospel.' p 555 Immutable is a word Donald Guthrie knew well, for here is a theology that is irreducible, able to withstand adversarial onslaught, showing no signs of aging, never self-indulgent, unambitious - and most certainly not shallow. 'No New Testament theology is on a solid foundation if it rests on the changing position of NT hypotheses.' p 42 The sheer dynamism and wisdom he imparts is able to gravitate those with doubts and misgiving, to belief. Irregardless of the irremediable wolves in sheep's clothing, the sheep may yet come, bidden and welcome, to the Shepherd of the flock, by a theology so wholeheartedly pure. The plight of modern theologians is desperate, adrift of the Word, impassive and indifferent to public outcry, their questionable teachings soul-destroying, all the while oblivious to obligation, and in the worst cases guilty of coarse obstruction of the truth, primarily because of their unheeding presumption. Not so Donald Guthrie. A culmination of a lifetime of faithful study indeed, beyond all question. Take for instance his topical presentation of The Future, with regard to the second advent, the resurrection, the afterlife, judgment and heaven - and the sine qua non, hell. Interspersed with insertions, page long 'notes' : NOTE ON THE RAPTURE - p 845 'The view that Jews will have special opportunities to be evangelized through fellow Jews is without foundation; for the New Testament knows only one gospel, the gospel of the grace of God through Jesus Christ.' NOTE ON THE CONSUMMATION OF THE KINGDOM - p 868 'Our understanding of the kingdom theme will be affected by our understanding of the millennium.' NOTE ON THE MILLENNIUM - p 869 'Since this is mentioned only in Revelations 20 and nowhere else in the New Testament, a caution over its application must at once be raised. It must be borne in mind that the context is a symbolic setting, which means that it cannot be used to provide a key to the interpretation of passages which are symbolic.' The footnotes are lavish, giving testimony to the arduous labor involved. Many times there the truth transpires, e.g. a stoical footnote (p 835) from a New Perspective pundit: 'JDG Dunn, Jesus & the Spirit: A Study

Donald Guthrie's NEW TESTAMENT THEOLOGY is a solid presentation of NT theology from a very conservative perspective. Most NT theologies have separate sections on each NT author. Guthrie's book proceeds topically. This approach is justified by the Guthrie's view that the "revelation cannot be contradictory." The results are quite conservative (Guthrie opposes women in ministry for example) and there is a considerable effort to harmonize the divergent strains of NT thought contra writers such as Dunn. This book is amazingly comprehensive. It is over 1000 pages and contains chapters on ethics (personal & social) and biblical inspiration. The discussion of Jesus' view of the Old Testament is several pages alone. Like Guthrie's NEW TESTAMENT INTRODUCTION, this is not one of the first books you want to read if you starting out to study the NT. Leon Morris' book of the same name is a more manageable introduction of about a third the length.

Donald Guthrie's approach to NT Theology is different from most. He approaches it Thematically, as opposed to devloping themes by the authors.This has pros and cons. The reader can see how NT thought develops and the way in which each author uses a particular theme more easily. On the flip side, this has a nasty tendency to "flatten" the distinctions between each of the human author's of the text.As such, I would not say this should be a person's FIRST Biblical Theology. BUT, if one has a good NT Theology (Ladd, preferably), then this would be a very good SECOND choice for a Biblical Theology.

I would assert this is a must for the proficient student of theology's library.Guthrie is renown as a foundational text for NT Theology. I find myself referring to it often as it catalogues various themes and doctrines so well. One does not have to accept all of Guthrie's theology to find this useful.Highly recommended.