Towards A Theology Of God The Father

Among Hans Urs von Balthasar's vast corpus of theological works not one is found devoted specifically to an elaboration of a doctrine of God the Father. This study gathers and interprets Balthasar's many scattered reflections on the mystery of the God of Jesus Christ - especially those concentrated in his Theological Dramatic Theory - on its way to constructing an approach towards a theology of God's Fatherhood. Several of the most significant current issues in theology are addressed in this study, such as a reinterpretation of divine omnipotence in terms of the Father's all-powerful powerlessness, the question of the possibility of coexistence between infinite freedom and finite freedom, an understanding of the immutability of God that allows for the Father's being affected in some way by finite freedom, and an account of the Father's generative act that sees as integral to it a properly paternal modality of receptivity.

Christology and Pneumatology have long been major preoccupations for theologians, and rightly so, but the work of God the Father has been surprisingly neglected. Through a biblical and exegetical study of the Father’s person and work (Paterology), this book argues that, among the persons of the Trinity, the Father is the initiator of all divine activity. Furthermore, it is in the context of a loving eternal relationship with the Son and Spirit that the Father has planned and purposed all things, creating through the Son and by the Spirit, promising and accomplishing redemption through the sending of the Son and the Spirit, and perfecting salvation by bringing about a new heavens and new earth through his Son and Spirit. The only proper response is a Trinitarian-shaped life of worship that worships our Triune God.

God the Father in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas is an exposition of Aquinas' theology of God the Father as a coherent whole. Surprising as it might be, there has not been an extended treatment of Aquinas' theology of God the Father. It becomes clear that St. Thomas places forceful emphasis on the Son's equality to the Father and on the radical difference between the creator and the creature.

My first impression of the title "Kenosis of God " was that this was going to be an academic book replete with boring, complex and difficult exegetical and theological arguments. On the contrary, I found out after reading that it was very engaging, exciting and very refreshing book on Christian Theology. The major strengths of this book are [that it is] (1) thoroughly biblical, (2) historically and theologically consistent with evangelically Christianity, (3) philosophically logical and coherent, and above all (4) relevant to the Christian life. I enthusiastically commend this book not only to Bible students and academic theologians but to Christians who desire not only to know the truth of Christian Theology but its implications on the Christian life. Professor Samuel Waje Kunhiyop, PhD, Head of Postgraduate School, South African Theological Seminary The book argues that the kenosis of Jesus is not an isolated act in the history of incarnation but is embedded in the very nature of his divinity. The entire Trinity operates in kenosis, a deliberate choice to self-limitation in order to relate with one another and with the powerless. The book shows that each person of the Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, participates and works in a kenotic way in their relation to the humanity. The creator who accepts to give dominion to the people He created, Jesus who limits himself by becoming a human being and the Spirit who dwells in and works through the Church accepting the risk of being grieved by the human fallen nature. Dr. Lubunga w'Ehusha of the Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa

Jesus said the Father is the one and only true God (John 5:43-44, 17:3). Apostle Paul taught the same thing (1 Corinthians 8:4-6, 11:3, 1Timothy 2:5). Jesus said the Father is greater than Him and that He receives his life from the Father (John 14:28, 5:26). Yet Christian theology teaches Jesus is also the one and only true God, is equal with the Father, and has existed eternally with the Father in an indwelling relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit. The Bible repeatedly speaks of God the Father. You will not find the phrase God the Son or God the Spirit in the Scriptures. The Bible consistently speaks of the Son of God and Spirit of God but never speaks of the Father of God. In The God OF Jesus, it will be demonstrated that the reason the Bible never speaks of God the Son, God the Spirit, or the Father of God, is because the Father, and only the Father, IS God. It will be clearly shown who Jesus is and what the Spirit is in relation to who God is.

"While there have been recent, fine studies on aspects of John's doctrine of God, it is surprising that none summarizes and synthesizes what John has to say about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In order to fill this gap, Kostenberger and Swain offer a fresh examination of John's trinitarian vision." "Part One situates John's trinitarian teaching within the context of Second Temple Jewish monotheism. Part Two examines the Gospel narrative in order to trace the characterization of God as Father, Son and Spirit, followed by a brief synthesis. Part Three deals more fully with major trinitarian themes in the Fourth Gospel, including its account of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and mission. A final chapter discusses the significance of John's Gospel for the church's doctrine of the Trinity, and a brief conclusion summarizes some practical implications." "For those who want to know what they ought to believe ... out of God's self-disclosure in Scripture, this book will be a stimulating delight' (D. A. Carson)."--BOOK JACKET.

What does being made in the image of God mean if God is Father, Son and Spirit? In Like Father, Like Son Tom Smail offers an answer to this question based on the doctrine of the Trinity, asserting that we are only human when we reflect the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The book focuses on what it is to be like each part of the Trinity focusing in particular on the initiating love of the Father, the responsive love of the Son and the creative love of the Holy Spirit. Interacting with sociological, theological and personal issues of concern on a day-to-day level, Like Father, Like Son is relevant to Christian living in both the church and the world.