What is the kingdom of God? Who will be included? What does it encompass? When will it come? Is it already here? How do we know? Does it have any practical impact on our lives right now? Last year I reviewed a few books on the kingdom of God by Sigurd Grindheim (my review) and Stephen Baugh (that review here). Continuing that train of thought, I asked Zondervan Academic if I could review Nicholas Perrin’s new volume on the kingdom of God in the Biblical Theology for Life series. Earlier I review Jonathan and Doug Moo’s Creation Care in this same series. (Perrin serves as president of Trinity International University.)
[Somehow much of this review was deleted. I need to fix this. My apologies.]
Recommended?
This is an excellent book on the kingdom of God. This would be the first one I recommend if you are academically-oriented. You will glean a lot from this book. If you are not oriented academically, I would point you to another direction first (like Patrick Schreiner’s short The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross, then Grindheim’s Living in the Kingdom of God). As well, Perrin has a set of video lectures that simplifies the material here. (Check out Zondervan MasterLectures for more online videos.)
What Perrin said early in his book was correct: “The problem [with our lack of knowledge] is not [that Jesus gave us] too little data, but too much, for the kingdom of God constitutes the mother lode of Jesus’ message” (25). How is that a problem? Perrin writes, “If we are content to be cheerfully agnostic on the overriding point of Jesus’ message, what does that say about our commitment to Jesus’ other teachings?” (26).
The problem is that too few have studied the kingdom of God and how Jesus’ message revolved around it. What should you do? Pick up and read.
Lagniappe
- Author: Nicholas Perrin
- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Zondervan Academic (February 26, 2019)
Buy it from Amazon or Zondervan Academic!
Disclosure: I received this book free from Zondervan Academic. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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