NEW STUDIES IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY 25

Series editor: D. A. Carson

God the peacemaker

how atonement brings shalom

Graham A. Cole

Apollos

InterVarsity Press

DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS 60515

APOLLOS

InterVarsity Press, USA

An imprint of Inter-Varsity Press, England

P.O. Box 1400

Norton Street

Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426, USA

Nottingham NG7 3HR, England

World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com

Website: www.ivpbooks.com

Email: email@ivpress.com

Email: ivp@ivpbooks.com

©Graham A. Cole 2009

Graham A. Cole has asserted his/her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

InterVarsity Press®, USA, is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA® ˂www.intervarsity.org˃ and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

Inter-Varsity Press, England, is closely linked with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.uccf.org.uk

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. First published in Great Britain in 1979. Used by permission of Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., a division of Hodder Headline Ltd. All rights reserved. “NIV” is a registered trademark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, published by HarperCollins Publishers © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

First published 2009.

USA ISBN 978-0-8308-2626-1

UK ISBN 978-1-84474-396-4

InterVarsity Press is committed to protecting the environment and to the responsible use of natural resources. As a member of Green Press Initiative we use recycled paper whenever possible. To learn more about the Green Press Initiative, visit ˂www.greenpressinitiative.org˃.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cole, Graham A. (Graham Arthur), 1949–

God the peacemaker: how atonement brings Shalom / Graham A. Cole.

p. cm.—(New studies in biblical theology; 25)

Includes bibliographical ...

Content not shown in limited preview…
GP:HABS

About God the Peacemaker: How Atonement Brings Shalom

In the midst of a troubled world, Christians believe in a good God who, as the Creator, has never lost interest in His broken creation. The key evidence for, and the chief symbol of, this divine commitment is the cross of Christ. This God, revealed in Scripture, has a project. Central to the divine strategy is Christ, His coming, and His cross. The troubles and calamities will end. The cross—which has been scandalous from the start—touches the individual, the church, and the wider creation. The cross makes peace, and brings shalom. The canon of Scripture presents a “divine comedy,” where the story of Jesus, His cross and empty tomb, are set in the framework of God’s plan to restore the created order.

Graham Cole takes the broad approach, but not in a way that masks “peace dividend” of the cross works itself out at the personal, corporate, and cosmic levels. He asks how we are to live if these things are really so.

Support Info

nsbt25

Table of Contents