Herman Ridderbos writes:

“It is very striking that Paul, at least in the epistles that have been preserved to us, makes no attempt whatever to present the church with a balanced eschatological timetable. It may perhaps be said by way of conclusion that in Paul a ‘mingling of the two ages’ takes place and that the advent of Christ is to be viewed as the ‘breaking through of the future aeon in the present.’ For him the future has become present time, and even when he speaks of the groaning of the creation and of the church in the present world, that is for him not a reduction, but a confirmation of the coming redemption (Rom. 8:13). But Paul himself gives no explanation of this tension between the ‘even now’ and the ‘already now’ in the categories of an eschatological system. For he was not a ‘theologian who thought in terms of the aeons.’ but a preacher of Jesus Christ, who has come and is yet to come. Here is the reason why his eschatology is ambivalent and fits into no single schema, and why he can employ the eschatological categories at one time in a present, and at another time in a future sense, apparently without concerning himself about the ‘unsystematic’ character of it. The revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah promised by God to Israel determines and creates Paul’s historical consciousness and eschatological thought, and not the reverse. Who Christ is and what he does, what the relationship is between the time of salvation that has been entered upon with him and the future still to be expected, all this is not determined by eschatological-theological presuppositions, but is only gathered by the apostle from the unexpected and overwhelming manner in which God in Jesus Christ has given and will yet give the fulfillment of the redemptive promise” (Paul: An Outline of His Theology, 53).

Westminster Bookstore is having a great sale on the best books on biblical theology. Books are on sale for up to 55% off list. Prices are good through August 14, 2007.

(HT: Timmy Brister)

Justin Buzzard has interviewed Graeme Goldsworthy over at his blog. If you are not familiar with Goldsworthy (or even if you are) or are new to gospel-centeredness discussion, particularly as it relates to interpretation, you’ll want to check this interview out. Thanks, Justin, for making this Goldsworthy interview available.

I discovered what looks to be a number of helpful resource links on biblical theology over at God is Better than All.

An introductory lecture (mp3) on biblical theology by one of the men whose thinking on gospel-centeredness and biblical theology has influenced me most, Graeme Goldsworthy. His Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture is always nearby when I’m studying Scripture. Its pages are well worn. So, I think you’ll find this introductory lecture worth your time (especially if you are not quite sure what biblical theology is). If you listen to it, let me encourage you to share your thoughts about it in the comment section of this post.

A lecture on biblical theology (mp3) by Dr. Peter Jensen, a former colleague of Graeme Goldsworthy at Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia.

A relatively short article on interpreting texts in the context of the whole Bible by Dr. David Baker.

Trueman-Goldsworthy Debate on biblical theology. Carl Trueman: A Revolutionary Balancing Act. Graeme Goldsworthy: A response to Carl Trueman’s “A Revolutionary Balancing Act”