The Unity of the Bible

Cletus Hull

RTCH 785E
Interpretation of Paul
Dr. Grabe
March 7, 2013
John the Baptist was the first prophet in four hundred years since Malachi to speak for
God. His message was clear that the kingdom of God is at hand (Mark 1:15 ESV). Written

over three centuries with forty writers inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), from Genesis to
Revelation, the scriptures correspond in one cohesive theme on the subject of the coming of the
kingdom of God. This essay will champion the argument that the unity of the Bible is
theologically supported by the supreme message that God in Christ came to redeem humankind.
The paper will describe how the enlightenment and its presuppositions created suspicion in this
essential biblical truth. Second, a contemporary theologian who has embraced this faulty
viewpoint will be analyzed. Third, a presentation of the similarities between Jesus (the Gospels)
and Pauls (his letters) ideas about the kingdom and the cross will demonstrate the substantiation
for the unity of Scripture. Finally, as a pastor for twenty-five years and one who strives to be a
scholar in ecclesial ministry, my conclusion will highlight the theme of the cross and revealing
the kingdom of God for the Body of Christ. This essay will substantiate my theological status
that the conviction in the unity of the Bible is imperative for strong and lasting biblical ministry.
Humankind has always had a curiosity to discover the unknown. Avant-garde modernity
was born in a passion to seek and find absolute truth. 1 For this reason, the rise of the
enlightenment offered the historical-critical method of interpreting scripture. The age of reason
promoted by Kant and Descartes crept into the hermeneutics of biblical study. Descartes
promoted that doubt, not faith, was to be the path to knowledgeevery claim to truth was to go
through critical analysis.2 This belief led to an obsession with nihilism and questioned where
certainty could be discovered. Regrettably, with the rise of liberal theology, the search for the
historical Jesus created a divide between the authentic Jesus and the Jesus of faith.
1Lesslie Newbigin. Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt & Certainty in Christian Discipleship.
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 36.

2Newbigin. 21.

A prime example of enlightenment and the historical-critical practice was the

advancement of Rudolph Bultmanns writings. He detailed in his book Kerygma and Myth that
the New Testament is essentially mythical in character.3 Because the enlightenment did not
accept the supernatural breakthrough of God, Bultmann demythologized the Bible. The intent
of demythologizing is to recover the kerygmas existential message.4 Thus, he proposed that
basic Christian doctrines such as the virgin birth, miracles and resurrection were part of the prescientific worldview. At best, such ideas were fanciful to the contemporary mind. He continued,
Now that the focus and laws of nature have been discovered, we can no longer believe in
spirits, whether good or evil. The miracles of the New Testament have ceased to be
miraculous.5
Bultmann found it difficult to obtain a satisfactory solution to our postmodern theological
questions. He was a child of the historical-critical school and challenged the authority of the
Bible as the Word of God in the existential world. One unintended consequence of the
Bultmannian agenda was the death of God fad during the 1960s made popular by such figures
as Bishop A.T. Robinson, Paul Altizer and Paul Van Buren.6 His publications have influenced
many contemporary theologians to not accept Christianity as a historical faith.
Liberal scholars contend that Paul was an innovator in his Christology.7 However,
modern conservative scholarship has confronted these deadly opinions. Commentators in the
3Rudolph Bultmann. ed. H. W. Bartsch, trans. R. H. Fuller, Kerygma and Myth: A Theological
Debate. (New York: Harper & Row, 1961), 1.

4Larry R. Helyer. The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John: An Exploration in Biblical Theology.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 64.

5Bultmann. 5.

6Helyer. 67.

vein of Anthony Thieselton have clearly examined the unity of the scriptures. In The Living
Paul, Thieselton noticed numerous similarities with Jesus the man and Pauls teachings on the
key topics of grace, love and women.8 The growth of conservative evangelical scholarship has
revealed the faulty presuppositions of enlightenment thinking. Larry Helyer asserted in The
Witness of Jesus, Paul and John that not only did an evangelical approach presuppose the
inspiration and authority of Scripture9 but it was an indispensable premise for Christian belief.
Reformed minister and author Lesslie Newbigin noted in Proper Confidence,
The difference between the confessional way of reading the Bible and the historicalcritical way is not that the latter is neutral or scientific whereas the former is
confessional; rather, it is the difference between two confessions, two traditions of
interpretation developed in two different human communities.10
Conservative biblical theology approached scripture as a consistent unity in its diversity.
The Bible communicated Gods purpose in history and life through people. The unity of scripture
was discerned in one Person, Jesus Christ who stood at the center of Gods redemptive history.
Helyer disputed Dunns contention that Paul never actually affirmed that the exalted Lord Jesus
personally preexisted and had an active role in creation is simply unconvincing.11 Others
7James D. G. Dunn. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to St. Paul. (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2003), 197.

8Anthony C. Thiselton. The Living Paul. An Introduction to the Apostles Life and Thought.
(Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009), 4-9.

9Helyer. 79.

10Newbigin. 102.

11Helyer. 303.

believed that Paul created a divine Christ from the simple man who taught high ideals. Yet,
nothing could be further from the truth when Jesus explicitly proclaimed that he and his Father
were one. For in Pauls mind Christ was equated with the wisdom of God and the Word of
God.12 Thus, biblical theology is the culmination of an intensive, systematic study of the
Christian canon, Holy Scripture. It summarizes the message of the Bible and articulates it leading
themes and ideas in a coherent, organized manner.13 Hence, the suspicion inherent with the
historical-critical method must be critiqued by the overarching theme of Gods kingdom
authority in scripture.
As a pastor, I recognize that sermons and doctrine stand under the authority and
influence of scripture. Biblical theology as defined by Helyer is the lifeblood of the church.
There is unquestionably a correlation between the pastors grasp of biblical theology and the
spiritual vitality of the parishioners.14 My passion is to vibrantly guide the church to embrace a
historical faith that changes lives for Christ and the kingdom. Indeed, a thinking faith led by the
Spirit can produce sanctified people. John Webster affirms that Christian theology of holiness
is an exercise of holy reason.15 There is no greater joy for a pastor than to mentor a congregation
in this vital direction of faith.

12Thiselton. 48.

13Helyer. 19.

14Helyer. 43.

15John Webster. Holiness. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 10.

After the fall of humankind in Genesis, God initiated his redemptive plan of action. The
canon of scripture contained Gods eternal reach to connect with creation. Basic study of the
Bible must include a total understanding of both testaments. Commentator John Bright declared
in The Kingdom of God that the Old Testament and New Testament stand together as the two
acts of a single drama.16 The supreme mark of the coming of Christ was his introduction of the
Kingdom of God to earth. To be sure, Jesus concept of God marks him off from the various
streams of Judaism in the first century. 17 In his three years of ministry he preached, taught and
healed (Matt. 9: 35). He transmitted the Good News of the Old Testament prophets (Isa. 52:7) to
humankind. In essence, Jesus understood his ministry in terms of the inbreaking of the
Kingdom of God. 18 The kingdom brought the miracle of the divine life among [us]. It is the
supernatural work of Gods grace.19 To Paul, Jesus was the Son of God. He equated Jesus with
God and the kingdom (Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 2:9).
The centrality of the cross was Christs focus. As Hebrews 12:2 proclaimed, for the joy
that was set before him he endured the cross. Multiple scriptures speak of his ultimate aim to
suffer on the cross and absorb the sins of the world (Mark 9:30-32; 10:32-34; 10:45; 14:24; Luke
18:31-34. As Luke the gospel writer penned, Jesus face was set like flint (cf. Isa. 50:7; Luke

16John Bright. The Kingdom of God. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1953), 197.

17Helyer. 158.

18Helyer. 398.

19George Ladd.. The Gospel of the Kingdom. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958), 64-5.

9:51) toward Jerusalem. This determination fueled his passion to save the world by his death on
the cross.
As well, the apostle Paul spoke clearly of the kingdom on earth (Col. 1:15-20; Rom,
14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20; 6:9, 10; Gal. 5:21; I Thess. 2:12; 2 Thess. 1:4) and the kingdom to come in
his eschatology (1 Cor. 15:24-50; 2 Tim. 4:1-8). The kingdom for Paul will culminate in the
Parousia of Christ. Therefore, every miracle and healing became a sign of Gods promised
fulfillment to bestow his kingdom witness to humanity.
The preaching of the cross was Pauls theme (1 Cor. 1:18). Christ crucified and raised
was at the heart of the gospel transmitted to Paul by his predecessors.20 He boldly admitted that
he only preached Christ crucified (I Cor. 2:5). Paul is supremely a theologian of the cross.21
(Gal. 6:14; 1 Cor. 1:18). As a result, the Gospel led to the cross, by which one was saved (Rom.
10:15; 1 Cor. 15:1-3, 3-7). The focal point of Pauls gospel is the death and resurrection of
Christ. The death of Christ is salvific, that is Christ crucified for us, for our salvation.22 The
kingdom culminated in Jesus and his death on the cross (Phil. 2:5-11).
In conclusion, my view of the concept of the unity of the Bible is that Gods Kingdom is
the focal point of Holy Scripture. Any skepticism expressed by the historical-critical method
should submit to the faith we receive in scripture. All theology must lead to the cross and
kingdom. Christian theology is the human work of thinking and speaking about a holy God.

20Dunn. 177.

21Helyer. 387.

22Dunn. 183.

Theology can be holy reason. 23 Because the historical-critical method utilizes suspicion as a
basis for analysis, a divide has occurred in theological circles between the historical Jesus and
the Christ of faith. Nonetheless, the common witness of Jesus and Paul in the New Testament
points to the topic of the kingdom of God. Together, their fundamental theme is the kingdom and
the cross. Certainly the wisdom of the cross will outlive postmodernism in all its forms.24
Helyer places the redemptive history of the Bible on the coming kingdom made known in the
cross.25 Consequently, the renewal of all creation to its original state is the goal of Gods
redeeming work (Rom. 8:22). Gods eschatological purpose for unity in scripture has
commenced and will be accomplished in his eternal kingdom!

23Webster, 30.

24Thiselton. 162.

25Helyer. 401.

BIBLIOGRPAHY
Bultmann, Rudolph. Kerygma and Myth: A Theological Debate, ed. H. W. Bartsch, trans. R. H.
Fuller, New York: Harper & Row, 1961.
Bright, John. The Kingdom of God. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1953.
Dunn, James D. G. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to St. Paul. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2003.
Helyer, Larry R. The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John: An Exploration in Biblical Theology.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008.
Ladd, George. The Gospel of the Kingdom. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958.
Newbigin, Lesslie. Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt & Certainty in Christian Discipleship.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Thiselton, Anthony C. The Living Paul. An Introduction to the Apostles Life and Thought.
Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009.
Webster, John. Holiness. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.