Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology Paperback – February 1, 2006

Schreiner has given us an outstanding study on the theology and mission of the Apostle Paul in this easy-to-read yet thorough volume. While not exhaustive, Schreiner does wrestle with the most important issues. He simply avoids the wearisome type of New Testament scholarship that spends more time on extrabiblical sources than on the inspired text itself.Schreiner's stance is decidedly conservative and Reformed, yet not to the point of Scripture twisting or skewing exegesis. There is a real freshness to this book, in that it avoids flattening Paul's theology into an emphasis on only one theme (such as justification, union with Christ, or reconciliation), but rather emphasizes all of these themes in relation to the central motif of God's glory as revealed in Christ. The glory of God in Christ is the sun in Paul's theological solar system and the planets of justification, union with Christ, reconciliation, et cetera all orbit around this one glorious center.While Schreiner's exegesis is fresh, it is not a departure from historic Protestantism. Schreiner does NOT teach justification by works. But he does understand the already/not yet nature of God's salvific work. There are dimensions of salvation that are yet to be realized by God's people and the Scriptures represent perseverance in faith and obedience as a necessary corollary to final deliverance. But even our perseverance in faith and obedience are the direct result of God's effectual work within us, so all is of grace.Another unique feature in Schreiner's work is his emphasis on Paul's suffering as a crucial means of fulfilling his mission. In fact, Schreiner does a wonderful job of weaving Paul's theology into the missionary context in which it was originally framed. This adds a personal dimension to the book and will help students avoid the danger of abstracting Paul's theology from real life.This is an excellent book that I heartily recommend. The Christian church should thank the Lord for such gifted scholars as Thomas Schreiner and both scholars and pastors should take advantage of this labor of love.

Dr. Schreiner is a level-headed, clear, and faithful scholar. He believes that all 13 of Paul's letters were actually written by Paul and that Paul's theology is coherent and consistent.Despite the length of the book, Schreiner is amazingly adept at covering a wide breadth of information in a short amount of space. An excellent example is his discussion of tongues. He covers whether all believers should speak in tongues, tongues as a sign of judgment on unbelievers, baptism in the Spirit, tongues as an earthly or heavenly language, and the practice of tongues speaking today all in under 5 pages! The wonder of this book is not that it is almost 500 pages long, but that with all it covers it is not 900 pages long!He doesn't shrink back from 'hot button' issues like women in ministry, spiritual gifts, roles in marriage, and slavery in Paul's writings. In fact I wish I had read his thorough and level headed treatment of spiritual gifts about 10 or 12 years ago when they were a significant point of controversy.But these are not the main issues Schreiner addresses. Much more of his attention is focuses on God, Christ, sin, salvation, Paul's mission and suffering, justification, sanctification, the church, and the fulfillment of God's promises.If you want a comprehensive understanding of Paul's letters, Schreiner is an excellent teacher and guide.

This work by Schriener is thorough and well organized. I read it after reading Dunn's theology of Paul and N.T. Wright's new magnum opus, "Paul and the Faithfulness of God". I did this on purpose to balance out my reading between 'New Perspective' and 'Reformational' views of Paul's theology. Schreiner is from the latter school and he presents the reformed perspective well while also engaging with modern scholarship. The thing that struck me most was how much fundamental agreement there is between both schools of thought. Personally I find myself more in agreement with the 'New Perspective', but after reading through these volumes as well as Riderbbos' classic work I really think the differences between the schools have been exagerated (at least when it comes to the works of Dunn and Wright). In any case, if you are looking for a good one-volume overview of Paul's theology from the Reformed perspective I think this is one of the best currently on offer.

Schreiner is the first theologian I have come across in the 21st century who has taken John Piper's assertions and fleshed them out in a powerful, spiritually uplifting and excellent book. (Not to say that Piper doesn't do this) Why is this book so good? Because the author bases his theology, not on creeds etc, but on the Bible. Disagree with if you wish, yet as with Luther, you will have to interact with the Bible to back up your point. This is why I love the book, it makes you go back to the Scriptures and ask the question; what is God saying?

Clearly written and biblically supported ! Very well put together . I’m going to order some of his other books. May be my favorite new author .

I already had this book and was buying it for a friend

Great book and easy to read. I am a pastor at a baptist church. Love this guy!

This book is a thorough and in depth book that tells us about the Apostle Paul, with his mission journeys and his purposes to reach people with the invigourationg message of the gospel.

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