The Doctrine of Humankind
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 63, No. 2 – Spring 2021
Editor: David S. Dockery
By Richard Bauckham. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020, vii+120pp., $21.99
Based on Key Moments of Biblical Revelation, Richard Bauckham asks, “Who Is God?” rather than asking, “Does God exist?” or “Who is the God you are talking about?” (p. 1). Bauckham prioritizes this question because “God defines who God is for us” (p. 2). Originating with two lecture series, the 2015 Frumentius Lectures at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology in Addis Ababa and the 2018 Haywood Lectures at Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia, Canada, Bauckham inextricably links the rich content in each chapter as he pursues the question of who God is through biblical revelation.
Emphasizing the divine presence in the narrative of Jacob’s dream at Bethel in Genesis 28:10–22, the first chapter brings out the principal concept of “with-ness” by indicating God’s faithful presence to his people Israel (pp. 6–11). Bauckham, then, introduces two significant parallels with Jacob’s dream, which are related to where God resided “with” his people: tabernacle and temple. He makes two outstanding points regarding the places in comparison with Jacob’s life: “the tabernacle corresponds to the ongoing, accompanying presence of God” with Jacob’s journey and “the temple corresponds to the more permanent residence of God” in relation to Bethel (p. 15). The concept of “with-ness” in Genesis 28 is expanded from Genesis to Revelation, reaching its climax when it comes to the person of Jesus Christ who is the new tabernacle and the new temple, and who also is God dwelling among his people (pp. 27–29).
The central passage of the second chapter is found in Exodus 3:1–6, which deals with God’s revelation of his divine name at the burning bush. God reveals his divine presence by allowing the people of Israel to have the name that drives binds and identifies the newly formed relationship. But God’s revealing of his name to Moses as “I will be who I will be,” confirming that God makes a free choice, utterly self-determining, which helps us understand that God “cannot be constrained by anything other than himself” (p. 42). God’s revelation of the divine name is his act of grace, condescending to the people so they could access and know him (p. 45). However, this name “was not for Israel’s sake alone but with a view toward God’s revelation of himself to all nations” (p. 59). More significantly, as evidenced by Philippians 2:9–11, God, the Father, gave his name to Jesus because Jesus not only shares God’s name “the Lord” but he also “belongs to God’s unique identity” (pp. 56–58). Ultimately, it is in Jesus Christ that God makes himself “knowable and accessible to all people” (p. 59).
In chapter three, Bauckham deals with God’s revelation of his divine character through the conversation between God and Moses in Exodus 33 and 34:5–8 after the golden calf incident among the Israelites. When Moses requests to see his glory, God twice proclaimed his name “The Lord,” then he lists five characteristics of who “The Lord” is: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. The common feature found among these characteristics is that these are relational terms, which reveal “the foundation in God’s character for the remarkable way God has treated Israel since the episode of the golden calf” (p. 69). The minor prophets, Joel and Jonah, echo the descriptions of God (pp. 71–75). Focusing on Psalm 145, Bauckham stresses how God’s positive characteristics were made known to the foreign nations and even to all creation.
Finally, based on the OT passages noted above, Bauckham introduces three moments of revelation in the life of Jesus: the vision of baptism (Mark 1), the transfiguration (Mark 9), and the centurion’s confession (Mark 15). The Gospel of Mark provides the main ground for tying together these moments. The most conspicuous feature, however, is that each passage further reveals the identity of Jesus Christ, which means Jesus is the Son of God (p. 91). In this sense, the Gospel of Mark manifests the life and ministry of Jesus Christ from the beginning to the midpoint and extending to the completion of the book.
Bauckham unfolds this book in a canonical manner rather than through a historical reconstruction behind and around the texts. He brings into sharp focus the points of biblical revelation through key moments in both the OT and the life of Christ. In doing so, readers are allowed to see how God used these moments to reveal himself and to make known who he is. This book is accessible for laypeople as well as scholars. I gladly recommend this book for any person who desires to wholeheartedly pursue and follow God.
