The author of “According To Plan”, Graeme Goldsworthy has authored numerous books on biblical theology and hermeneutics such as The Gospel in Revelation, God-Centered Hermeneutics, and Gospel and Kingdom, among others. He was a long time professor at Moore Theological College, educating students in Old Testament, hermeneutics, and biblical theology. Now retired, Goldsworthy continues to write, and remains a well-respected theologian.
Goldsworthy begins the book by informing the reader that he wrote this book assuming little prior knowledge on the part of the reader. Thus, he divides the book into four simple sections on Biblical Theology—Why? How? What? and Where?—endeavoring to walk the ...view middle of the document...
Emphasizing that proper biblical theology cannot be done without being a believer, and that the entirety of the Bible is God’s Word given to us to know Him. He goes on to further explain that the Old Testament was and is about Jesus Christ, and more directly that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the revelation that began in the Old Testament. “Jesus of Nazareth is God’s fullest self-disclosure to mankind,” Goldsworthy writes, and it is with that thought that he concludes this section of his book, and sets the foundation for the remainder of it.
After laying down his foundational presuppositions, Goldsworthy begins the third section of his book—what comprises Biblical Theology. In this section of the book he walks the reader through the entire Bible. He spends a great deal of time on the first five books of the Bible, explaining their place in biblical theology. He points out that God’s sovereignty, and his revelatory plan goes back to His creation. A creation that was perfect became tainted by sin, and through the death of His Son, He would return the His creation to its formally perfect state. Goldsworthy also uses this section to showcase how covenants God made with select individuals played a role in the bigger redemptive work He was out to accomplish. This section of the book is largely devoted to God’s faithfulness, grace, and election. God makes a covenant with Noah, Abraham, and David, and Goldsworthy is deliberate in pointing out that these covenants are initiated, maintained, and kept by God alone. Noting that those God makes covenants with those unworthy of His promises, but in His infinite love He is faithful to His promise. This section also contain a brief history of the Israelite people—God’s covenant people—and their inability to keep the law God outlined for them. However, Goldsworthy points out that even this failure of the Israelites is part of God’s redemptive plan, as He sends His Son to complete the redemptive work He began in the beginning. While Goldsworthy heavily harps on God’s sovereignty, he does not ignore human responsibility. He points out that while God’s sovereignty outweighs human responsibility, it does not dissolve of us our responsibility to respond to His grace, and obey His Word. Goldsworthy ends this section of the book stating that God’s covenant is fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ, and He is now regenerating believers indwelling them through the Holy Spirit with the regeneration coming to completion when Christ returns.
Goldsworthy’s final section of the book includes brief remarks on where can biblical theology be practically applied. He notes two places in the Christian life: knowing God’s will, and understanding life after death. He states that both are largely misunderstood, and should be thought through by the believer keeping in mind what God’s revealed to us in His Word.
This work must have been a daunting task for Goldsworthy, taking the entirety of God’s Word, summarizing it, and...
