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The Theology of the Apostles: The Development of New Testament Theology

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'It derives its importance from the fact that it comes into being, not as the believer's own accomplishment, be it by decision or insight, but as the gift given to him by God.' p 105

Translator, Andreas J Kostenberger, prefaces Adolf Schlatter's New Testament Theology, of which this book forms the second half. This was the most outstanding effort from a conservative theological standpoint at the turn of the 20th century from the Continent in that it retained a dogmatic interest whilst defending the historical approach to theology, without rejecting the idea of revelation.

Prior to the Reformation, ecclesiastical teaching was never challenged, and tradition was unquestionably the basis of church authority. Challenging the Catholic position effectively, the text, seen as the vehicle of divine revelation, established itself only through the Reformation as the true biblical interpreter and infallible authority on all matters in faith and conduct. Protestant teaching was not scientific in its approach at that time, but the rise of the modern critical period attempted to bring into question the divine in the Word. Schlatter beat back the growing tide of liberal theology by his use of biblical theology (as his subtitle demonstrates: the development of New Testament Theology) - and received the expected criticism and fair praise in the form of reviews.

The apostles of the Lord were 'with Him from the beginning' and they formulated the oral and written traditions which obviously had an important influence on the New Testament development. They also defined what was normative for the New Testament church, and it was in relation to this that I wanted to hear them clearly and unambiguously import Christ's teaching.

Enter Adolf Schlatter. With the precision of a great theologian, he incisively went to work on my request. The whole book is profound and Christ-honoring. Every second sentence asks to be re-read. Schlatter's honesty in being truthful to the text makes this an absolute pleasure to read and study. It is uncluttered by today's syncrystic standards of theology as Schlatter seldom engages with others from his time. Theologians who have become famous for their unique, albeit liberal, interpretation of Holy Writ, were well and alive in Schlatter's day, and it was with them that Schlatter differed greatly.

Echoing Calvinism:

'By uniting knowledge with love John also clarifies its relation to faith. For this reason theological speculation has always gratefully appropriated Johannine knowledge but always supplemented it with its own ideas. All these theories fail to stop where John does, because his statements do not satisfy their intellectual curiosity. John considered what he wrote to be sufficient, since he wrote in order to establish faith, not speculative theories.' p 129

'Thus Jesus' messianic ministry merges entirely with His function of revealing God. There cannot be any share in the love of God that is not rooted in union with the Son. Following Jesus brings about inclusion in the love of God, and thus one has passed from death to life. Since believers perceive Jesus to be in the Father, they know that His fellowship with them grants them union with God. Those who believe in Him therefore consider it to be the highest good that they know Him, remain in Him, and are where He is. John 5:24, 6:56, 15:4-7, 17:24' p 131

'Since Jesus is 'the Word' according to the Apocalypse, the Gospel's claim that creation was mediated through Him coheres neatly with the christology of the book of Revelation. For every Jew bore the conviction that the Word of God embodied the power of the Creator. The notion of pre-existence, however, is shaped analogously in both texts, because the Christ claims eternity for Himself, yet does not provide a description of His eternal communion with the Father. Both take their point of departure from the 'beginning' and derive from Jesus' eternity His authority over creation.' p 159

With the privilege of hindsight, many may differ in degree with some of Schlatter's theological findings, yet, in one way or another he bore great influence which had ultimate consequences in stemming the tide of liberal theology.