Knowing Me, Knowing God

Brash sets out to show systematic theology for what it is, not dry and dusty doctrine, with little practical value and no life to it, but an essential component of any Christian's life of faith.

The book sets itself up as a companion to Vaughn Roberts' God's Big Picture. Whereas this work examines the biblical story from beginning to new beginning, an overview of biblical theology as its put, Brash seeks to produce a book which similarly introduces the reader to its systematic sibling.
Incidentally, Roberts was instrumental in the writing of this book.

Each chapter focuses on a different theological key to scripture which is introduced and its biblical foundation explored, followed by a grounded application of these truths with questions for reflection.

Though complex at points, the book is solidly and engagingly written with quirky references to such touchstones as Japanese soap operas, not to mention the title's (slightly off-putting) ABBA reference.
I will need to revisit some sections to fully understand the points and to appreciate their significance, which is really only natural considering the subject.

This is not a book which will move you to joy in any overt way, compared to a book such as Dane Ortlund's Gently and Lowly. However it points to the certainty we can have about who God is and who we are, the two central seams of revelation in scripture. Brash encourages us, challenges the understandings which lie at the heart of our faith, and shores up our confidence in what we hold to be true.

"In salvation, God overcomes sin, and draws sinners near. The gospel (good news) is the announcement of this salvation. In the process of salvation, God himself acts in history. In Christ his Son, God bears sin and sin’s penalty, and redemption is accomplished. And then God himself - by his Spirit - indwells sinners to ensure that sin’s power is broken in their lives, and to guarantee that their salvation will be completed on the last day…restoring to them all of the reflected glory that was initially promised to Adam and his descendants on condition of his obedience. Father, Son and Spirit work together to apply redemption to God’s elect...God is always faithful to his promises...that’s something we also may be sure of because God’s nature and his purposes are unchanging. In full harmony with that nature, and to bring about all his purposes, God has established a covenant of grace with his people....This book [is] a plea for Christians to take systematic theology seriously as a way to know God and know ourselves, so that we can be helped along the way - ultimately - to participating in God’s own glory and blessedness."

The author opens with his intention of the pursuit of 'true and sound wisdom’ of God, as revealed in the scriptures. His intention is to show that systematic theology, the beloved practice of the reformed protestant tradition, is not only relevant to Christians of the present age but especially to those who sit in the pews rather than occupy pulpits.

He seeks to illuminate Christians in the realisation that to interpret the theology given to us in the scriptures, these need to be 'received, interpreted and digested.' He seeks to reclaim Systematic Theology for the people of God, perhaps drawing a little light from the more popular and accessible Biblical Theology. His hope is that in systematic theology, we might understand the Bible, and therefore understand "not just who God is, but who we are as human beings, and what our relationship with God is, or can be."

The book focuses on his "six theological keys to Scripture" with sections that might not on the face seem immediate to us, but will be familiar to those who live and know the Reformed Protestant tradition - "1 God is not like us. 2 God has made us like himself. 3 We cannot comprehend God. 4 God makes himself known to us. 5 Our sin separates us from God. 6 God overcomes sin and makes us his own."

I found the author to be a convincing writer, and he found the narrative of the argument convincing - that theology, and our faith, needs to take seriously both the distance between man and God, but also the profound weight that comes with being made in the image of God. The first element is not one that is commonly preached about these days, even perhaps the opposite - God is made too close, too cosy, too immanent. We are clearly warned of the dangers of God being dependant on creation.

The author made fascinating points on why it is important that God is unchanging, and that why we might say that God is light. A real delight of this book is the extensive description of what it means to be created in the image of God, reminding us of the royal overtones of the Genesis account - humanity in the garden as God is in his Temple. The author refreshingly describes humanity as bearing the 'regentship' of God. He also writes of the reality of sin with perhaps more boldness than we are used to hearing and reading. In our sin we come under the discipline of God, "as stubborn and rebellious children." This will not be language most are used to hearing. Part of our sin is that we are inhibited in our likeness to God, and also in our ability to know him and reason him. Our theology has to be always examined in light of this.

The ancient creed which affirms that God cannot be comprehended, the author reminds us, is that actually saying that God cannot be 'taken into the mind and mastered...The fact that we can’t fully understand the God of the Bible is a strong indication that we’re dealing with the true God." He explains how to distinguish the will of God, and notes the points in scripture that God is described as relenting or regretting. He points out that the revelation of God is offered to all, it is accepted only by some, this acceptance is discriminatory, as reminded by scripture, revealed to the little children, but hidden from the wise. "We come to know God through his outer works of creating, preserving, redeeming and judging the world."

I really enjoyed his writing on the relationship between God and creation - "Making such bonds is a profoundly Godlike thing to do. If you were to ask God, ‘What do you do?’, if I may speak reverently, his answer might be, ‘I establish covenants.’

However, even after all this, I remain unsure about this book. It is quite a job to make systematic theology readable, and the author has, but it is certainly not a page-turner. It has tried to avoid being a textbook, but there is an inevitable dryness and seriousness to matter and style. He is clear in his following the Reformed Protestant position, drawing especially from the 17th century John Owen. I've not encountered Calvinism greatly in England, especially not among the non-ordained, so I simply cannot imagine who I would commend this text to or who would be sufficiently familiar with its framework and intention to enjoy it. I imagine many would simply find it rather alien.