(Part 1)

JBTM Book Reviews
181
Pannenberg, as well as from N. T. Wright and James D. G. Dunn. Thiselton specifically notes
Jesus’s teaching on the kingdom of God and provides a brief analysis of the Christology of
the Epistles and Acts.
He explicates his doctrine of the Holy Spirit in chapters 11–12. He provides an exposition
of the biblical material in chapter 11 and an exposition of historical insights in chapter 12.
These topics receive more attention in Thiselton’s previous work, The Holy Spirit: In Biblical
Teaching Through the Centuries and Today. He notes the significance and contributions of
Pentecostal theology as well as other charismatic thinkers.
Thiselton focuses on the doctrine of the church in chapter 13. He discusses the identity
of the church as well as the church’s ministry and sacraments. Regarding the church’s
identity and ministry, he draws heavily from the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In one sense,
the church is a fulfillment of God’s design of humanity, namely the church is a community.
God created persons to be in communion with one another. Of particular interest here is
Thiselton’s distinction between a person and an individual. He states, “An individual . . .
becomes a person when the self opens itself up to other selves and to God” (314). One here
might question whether this concept applies to fetuses as well. In other words, is a fetus
considered a person or an individual? Thiselton’s definition applies to fetuses as well in that
the fetus still exists in communion with and is dependent on its mother. Just because one
is not aware of one’s being in relationship with another self does not mean that she is not
in fact in that relationship. Thiselton also discusses issues of church government and the
role of the sacraments. He elaborates on three models of church government: episcopal,
presbyterian, and congregational. He favors the episcopal and presbyterian models over
congregationalist models. This is not surprising, considering that Thiselton is ordained in
the Church of England.
The last two chapters deal with topics surrounding eschatology. In chapter 14, Thiselton
discusses the return of Christ and the resurrection. He details the three classical views of
the millennium: premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism, favoring the latter.
He also notes the failures and lack of biblical foundations for predicting Christ’s return. He
then turns to the resurrection of Jesus and its implications for what is called the general
resurrection of the dead. Here he draws heavily from the work of N. T. Wright. Thiselton
discusses in chapter 15 the last judgment, eternity, and the restoration of all things. He
notes different objections to the doctrine of God’s wrath and judgment, claiming that these
objections stem primarily from a misunderstanding of the biblical teaching on these topics.
He points out that God judges his creation because he loves his creation. He states, “We
have only to imagine the attitude of loving parents or grandparents, when their child or
grandchild is bent on self-destruction or foolishness, to appreciate that not to experience
some reaction of anger or wrath would simply indicate lack of concern or of love” (370). Of
particular interest in this chapter is Thiselton’s treatment of the fate of those who do not
“directly participate in salvation” (386). He notes the three classical views: eternal torment,