The publication of these essays in one volume--essays published separately and in diverse contexts over a period of thirty years--is something of an event. Professor Hooker is one the foremost New Testament scholars currently writing, and Paul is one of her major interests. This collection includes some of her best writing on Pauline ideas and their contemporary significance. The essays focus in particular on Paul's understanding of human redemption. The author shows that in contrast to Adam, who was created in the image of God, but who lost God's glory, Christ is the true image of God and the embodiment of his glory. Christ has achieved "what the Law could not do" (Rom 8:3), and though the Law expressed the purpose of God and reflected his glory, its power was incomplete. Several essays, in exploring this relationship between old and new, center on the significance for Pauline theology of the notion of "interchange in Christ," and Professor Hooker puts forward the view that Paul's idea of participation in Christ (conveyed in such phrases as "in Christ" and "with Christ") is the key to understanding his Christology.

In Christ Died for Our Sins, Jarvis J. Williams argues a twofold thesis: First, that Paul in Romans presents Jesus' death as both a representation of, and a substitute for, Jews and Gentiles. Second, that the Jewish martyrological narratives in certain Second Temple Jewish texts are a background behind Paul's presentation of Jesus' death. By means of careful textual analysis, Williams argues that the Jewish martyrological narratives appropriated and applied Levitical cultic language and Isaianic language to the deaths of the Torah-observant Jewish martyrs in order to present their deaths as a representation, a substitution, and as Israel's Yom Kippur for non-Torah-observant Jews. Williams seeks to show that Paul appropriated and applied this same language and conceptuality in order to present Jesus' death as the death of a Torah-observant Jew serving as a representation, a substitution, and as the Yom Kippur for both Jews and Gentiles. Scholars working in the areas of Romans, Pauline theology, Second Temple Judaism, atonement in Paul, or early Christian origins will find much to stimulate and provoke in these pages.

Answers to critical questions regarding the study of the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith The conclusions of the quest for the historical Jesus, which casts the majority of Christ's life as a myth, are a stark contrast to the orthodox view of Christ as presented in the Bible. Pate demonstrates that a critical analysis of the gospel text along with historical and cultural methods of investigation actually point toward an orthodox view of Christ. This work argues that the canonical Gospels are the most trustworthy information we have about the gospel writers as well as the life and ministry of Jesus, including his death, visit to hades, resurrection, and ascension. Readers will be encouraged by the reliability of the Gospel writers, the reality of Jesus' humanity and deity, and the inferiority of the apocryphal gospels.

The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the cornerstones of Christianity. In Jesus and the Father, Kevin Giles wrestles with questions about the Trinity that are dividing the evangelical community: What is the error called “subordinationism”? Is the Son eternally subordinated to the Father in function? Are the Father and the Son divided or undivided in power and authority? Is the Father-Son-Spirit relationship ordered hierarchical or horizontal? How should the Father and the Son be differentiated to avoid the errors of modalism and subordinationism? What is the relationship between the so-called economic Trinity and the immanent Trinity? Does the Father-Son relationship in the Trinity prescribe male-female relationships in the home and the church? "Kevin Giles points out serious problems in the teaching that the Son is eternally subordinated to the Father and argues effectively for the full eternal equality within the Trinity. This book should be read by all who wrestle with the complex but crucial doctrine of the Trinity."—Millard Erickson, author, Christian Theology “By showing that subordinationism is a revival of a heresy that was systematically rejected by the non-Arian Church, the author reinstates the classical orthodox doctrine of the Trinity in all its scriptural majesty and grandeur.”—Gilbert Bilezikian, professor emeritus, Wheaton College “Giles skillfully places before us the stark choice which each generation of theologians must face: will we allow the Bible to speak its message about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to us, or will we use the Bible to advance our own agenda? This important book deserves to be widely read and carefully considered.”—Paul D. Molnar, professor of systematic theology, St. John’s University

Does the Apostle Paul have any use for the person of Jesus presented in the Gospels? Critical scholarship thinks not, but this book argues that Paul not only mentions more than seventy specific details of the historical Jesus, but he also commends the character of Jesus and echoes His teachings repeatedly in his letters and sermons-in full agreement with the Gospel accounts. Stout examines Paul's intriguing description of the "Man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5) and suggests that this title fulfills the OT expectation of God appearing in human history as a man. In his incarnated humanity, the Man Christ Jesus accomplished salvation in the historical events of his life and death, and in his resurrected humanity, he appeared to Paul on the Damascus Road-rooting Paul's Christology deeply in human experience. Furthermore, Stout shows how Paul rests his concept of salvation on a neglected aspect of his doctrine-that the entire church is associated with the historical events of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, an association which also unites his church with one another in fellowship and service. This book, then, demonstrates that Paul's gospel rests upon Jesus as a man of history who brings salvation into human history in his life, death, and exaltation as the "Man Christ Jesus."

Exalting Jesus in Romans is part of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series. Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this commentary series, to include 47 volumes when complete, takes a Christ-centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition presented as sermons and divided into chapters that conclude with a “Reflect & Discuss” section, making this series ideal for small group study, personal devotion, and even sermon preparation. It’s not academic but rather presents an easy reading, practical, and friendly commentary. The CCE series will include 47 volumes when complete. The author of Exalting Jesus in Romans is Tony Merida.