What do you think?
Rate this book
The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God's Plan for Humanity
"Professor Daniel P. Fuller raises questions concerning the unity of the Bible which few are willing to ask. His interesting findings will provoke serious study of the Bible for all those who seek to edify the church and train men and women for positions of leadership." -Oscar Cullmann
"No book besides the Bible has had a greater influence on my life than Daniel Fuller's Unity of the Bible. When I first read it as a classroom syllabus over twenty years ago, everything began to change. . . . It changed my life because it is so honest. No hard questions are dodged. No troubling texts are swept under the rug. There is a passion for seeing all of Scripture with no reference to how one part fits with another. Too much academic labor passes for mature scholarship while dealing only piecemeal with the reality of God's work in redemptive history. Daniel Fuller has given his life to seeing the connections and pursuing the coherence of 'the whole counsel of God.'" -John Piper
"A rich mine. . . .the meditation of a lifetime on key biblical passages that represent the biblical message and as such provide the 'Unity of the Bible.' If anyone has ever discovered the truth about the relation of Law to Gospel, Daniel Fuller has." -Ralph D. Winter
"Reading Dr. Fuller's manuscript left me amazed that something like this had never been done before to my knowledge. Not only does this volume address a relevance." -Richard Halverson
"This book could well become a theological classic. It is written in non-technical language and is thus within the grasp of serious laypersons. It provides deeply edifying devotional reading because it is saturated with Scripture. By reading this book you will not only enlighten your mind but will also treat yourself to a spiritual feast." -Ajith Fernando
"The Unity of the Bible is an example of Daniel Fuller's devotion to Christ and God's holy inerrant Word. A 'must' reading! My own life was greatly enriched as I read the manuscript." -Bill Bright
"No book besides the Bible has had a greater influence on my life than Daniel Fuller's Unity of the Bible. When I first read it as a classroom syllabus over twenty years ago, everything began to change. . . . It changed my life because it is so honest. No hard questions are dodged. No troubling texts are swept under the rug. There is a passion for seeing all of Scripture with no reference to how one part fits with another. Too much academic labor passes for mature scholarship while dealing only piecemeal with the reality of God's work in redemptive history. Daniel Fuller has given his life to seeing the connections and pursuing the coherence of 'the whole counsel of God.'" -John Piper
"A rich mine. . . .the meditation of a lifetime on key biblical passages that represent the biblical message and as such provide the 'Unity of the Bible.' If anyone has ever discovered the truth about the relation of Law to Gospel, Daniel Fuller has." -Ralph D. Winter
"Reading Dr. Fuller's manuscript left me amazed that something like this had never been done before to my knowledge. Not only does this volume address a relevance." -Richard Halverson
"This book could well become a theological classic. It is written in non-technical language and is thus within the grasp of serious laypersons. It provides deeply edifying devotional reading because it is saturated with Scripture. By reading this book you will not only enlighten your mind but will also treat yourself to a spiritual feast." -Ajith Fernando
"The Unity of the Bible is an example of Daniel Fuller's devotion to Christ and God's holy inerrant Word. A 'must' reading! My own life was greatly enriched as I read the manuscript." -Bill Bright
512 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1992
30 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
About the author
Daniel P. Fuller
16 books3 followersDaniel P. Fuller is professor emeritus of hermeneutics at Fuller Theological Seminary where he taught from 1953 to 1993 and served as Dean of the School of Theology from 1963 to 1972. In addition, he served as president of the Gospel Broadcasting Association and the Fuller Evangelistic Association. Daniel is the son of Charles E. Fuller, co-founder with Harold Ockenga of Fuller Seminary.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 9, 2025
Learned and pondered (& disagreed some) on the relationship between the Old and New Testament. Fuller is aimed at appreciating God’s glory.
October 3, 2019
I finally finished this whole book. I started it a few months ago, but have been wanting to read it in full for years. Why? Because John Piper mentions his class on this with Daniel Fuller all the time throughout his ministry, and from the times I’ve dipped into this book before, I saw how stunningly similar it was to Piper. And it didn’t disappoint. In fact, now I see that many of Piper’s huge trademarks arose from Fuller (and of course Edwards, but Fuller here in more specific ways), especially the emphasis on God’s glory and also faith in future grace.
The book is longer (at around 480 pages) and dense, but also quite readable. Here’s an overview of the book:
- In Part 1, Fuller starts by spending about a 100 pages arguing for the Bible and why Christianity is unique among all the other religions.
- Then in Part 2, he looks at the first few chapters of genesis for about 150 pages to show the foundations of redemptive history.
- Then in Part 3, he looks at Abraham, Israel, and the Old Testament to see how it paved the way for Christ.
- Finally in Part 4, he looks at Christ, the New Testament, and the future of Israel.
As for what I loved, I loved most of it. Fuller is extremely text-focused, meaning, robust in answering questions about Bible texts and really digging into and expositing them. He doesn’t just quote them as proof texts (like many Christian books and even theologians), but rather digs down deep to see what it actually means. And he’s also very emphatic on the gospel, faith, and God’s glory.
I also loved how he really does present the Bible as a stunning unified whole where God is spreading his glory for the good of his people whom God rejoices doing good to. Fuller also, in contrast, shows that sin is disregarding this God and seeing him as an Employer rather than a God we bank on to do us good by grace.
As for what I didn’t love, I disagree with him on the three-uses of the law and on the future of ethnic Israel. And unfortunately, I think he spent a little too long in the book on this. For example, in his Part 4 he emphasizes Israel a lot, but downplays, or at least doesn’t mention much, the church in Christ. The issue here isn’t so much that I think he’s incorrect about what the Bible says about ethnic Israel’s future, but he essentially writes all of it based on a few verses in Romans 11, focusing tons on his (I’d say) incorrect view of those few verses and underemphasizing so much of the New Testament.
That being said, it was still an excellent read. It’s long for sure, and sometimes he rants a bit, but it was worth it. I’ll access my underlined sections in it during ministry quite frequently. I do think it’d still be in print and a useful book if it was cut about 1/3—perhaps less ranting, less introduction to other religions, and less on ethnic Israel. But either way, I’m glad it exists. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a book covering the Bible as a whole, although there are other books that do this more succinctly.
The book is longer (at around 480 pages) and dense, but also quite readable. Here’s an overview of the book:
- In Part 1, Fuller starts by spending about a 100 pages arguing for the Bible and why Christianity is unique among all the other religions.
- Then in Part 2, he looks at the first few chapters of genesis for about 150 pages to show the foundations of redemptive history.
- Then in Part 3, he looks at Abraham, Israel, and the Old Testament to see how it paved the way for Christ.
- Finally in Part 4, he looks at Christ, the New Testament, and the future of Israel.
As for what I loved, I loved most of it. Fuller is extremely text-focused, meaning, robust in answering questions about Bible texts and really digging into and expositing them. He doesn’t just quote them as proof texts (like many Christian books and even theologians), but rather digs down deep to see what it actually means. And he’s also very emphatic on the gospel, faith, and God’s glory.
I also loved how he really does present the Bible as a stunning unified whole where God is spreading his glory for the good of his people whom God rejoices doing good to. Fuller also, in contrast, shows that sin is disregarding this God and seeing him as an Employer rather than a God we bank on to do us good by grace.
As for what I didn’t love, I disagree with him on the three-uses of the law and on the future of ethnic Israel. And unfortunately, I think he spent a little too long in the book on this. For example, in his Part 4 he emphasizes Israel a lot, but downplays, or at least doesn’t mention much, the church in Christ. The issue here isn’t so much that I think he’s incorrect about what the Bible says about ethnic Israel’s future, but he essentially writes all of it based on a few verses in Romans 11, focusing tons on his (I’d say) incorrect view of those few verses and underemphasizing so much of the New Testament.
That being said, it was still an excellent read. It’s long for sure, and sometimes he rants a bit, but it was worth it. I’ll access my underlined sections in it during ministry quite frequently. I do think it’d still be in print and a useful book if it was cut about 1/3—perhaps less ranting, less introduction to other religions, and less on ethnic Israel. But either way, I’m glad it exists. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a book covering the Bible as a whole, although there are other books that do this more succinctly.
Want to read
January 27, 2025I have read parts of this book, and looked into some of fuller's views on covenant theology, and it is troublingly similar to Federal Vision theology–Fuller seems to smush faith and works so closely together as to make faith a kind of redemptive work. An alarming view (which departs from the historical view) is his rejection of a covenant of works in the garden with a covenant of "faith" whereby Adam was commanded to have faith. One can see the problem from there.
See a good critique of Fuller's views on the covenants by Bob Godfrey here: https://heidelblog.s3.us-west-1.amazo...
This book seems to be influential among some Hillsdale College students and graduates, and I'm sure it's popular on the west coast.
I'll update my review when I read more of the book.
See a good critique of Fuller's views on the covenants by Bob Godfrey here: https://heidelblog.s3.us-west-1.amazo...
This book seems to be influential among some Hillsdale College students and graduates, and I'm sure it's popular on the west coast.
I'll update my review when I read more of the book.
March 12, 2015
This is the third or fourth book I have read about biblical theology. I think Fuller has handled the subject well and provided a great overview of the subject in a relatively short textbook. Biblical theology deals with the overall characteristics of God and the Bible and the divine plan for creation. It is often compared and contrasted to the more popular systematic theology, which is narrower and themed, dealing with individual subjects such as tithing or the Law. I look at biblical theology as the macro-view of God’s plan and systematic theology as the micro-view. I utilize both in my studies and writings, and I think both are beneficial. There is no war between them. In some circles, biblical theology is referred to as “salvation history” or “redemptive history” due to its overarching focus on the story of God culminating in the redemption of all creation and the following earthly reign of Christ in the restored world; some forget the wonderful things that happen after all evil is destroyed, acting as if God’s ultimate house-cleaning is the end of the story—don’t be one of them.
Fuller provides a view of progressive revelation, moving more or less chronologically through the text. This makes sense as it is easy for students to comprehend chronologically-arranged material. I say “students” because this is, indeed, a textbook, and a good one. The book is well-made and easy to navigate as one would expect from a Zondervan product. There are notes and review questions at the end of each segment and a bibliography, general index, and scripture index at the end.
In Part I, Fuller does what one would expect for a textbook as he sets out to explain terms and reasons in order to explain why he has written and one should read the book. He lays out the canonical legitimacy of the Bible, which is important to accept as all of his material is going to be based upon and supported by scripture. He includes a couple of apologetic segments herein about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, though I am not sure why. I agree with his arguments, but I do not understand what these have to do with a biblical theology.
In Part II, the foundations of redemptive history are laid out. Fuller uses both testaments as evidence. He promotes and uses an inductive approach, trying to view scripture in light of the author’s intent, which I think is the proper starting point. He grapples with the concepts of the Trinity, the Fall, Hell, the Cross, Heaven, and other fundamental (this word in its original meaning) issues of the Christian faith.
In Part III, Fuller examines Israel’s role as the “lesson book,” as he terms it, or the example, as I would term it, to the world. Major themes herein are forgiveness of sins, the ceremonial Law, and the concepts related to the kingdom of God in an Old Testament context. The idea of national/ethnic Israel as the “light to the gentiles” is an important concept many Christians have missed out on, and it can be a fairly difficult concept to understand. It is, however, important, and the Christian does not want to remain ignorant about this characteristic of God’s chosen people.
In Part IV, the focus is upon the New Testament purpose and presence of Jesus. As we currently live within the modern world, Fuller addresses contemporary life within the biblical context. Further, he deals with the (predominantly future) conversion of Israel.
Overall, I think Fuller has done a great job to deal with such a large subject in such a short text. He makes the error of confusing the Roman Catholic religion as Christian—falling for or assuming the “branches of Christianity” concept we are fed by the “establishment”. I do not know why he does this. He has the sense to recognize Hinduism, etc. are distinct religions, and he has the biblical training to understand that the Roman Catholic religion does not qualify as a biblical religion. Perhaps the error lies in an ignorance not of the Bible, but of the faith in question. In any case, I took away one star for this as I feel this is a tragic error as it encourages Christians to mistakenly think the very large R. Catholic Church consists of saved people, which is not at all the case. This results in them not being considered for missionary activities, which puts souls at risk.
As I mentioned above, biblical theology is a huge topic. Those wanting more information may want to consider To Know and Love God by David K. Clark (dense) and/or The Ways of Our God: An Approach to Biblical Theology by Charles H. H. Scobie (less dense than Clark but longer; be careful here as Scobie uses elements of the apocrypha as foundational). I definitely recommend The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission by Christopher J. H. Wright. This latter text has a succinct working with the concept of Israel as God’s example to the nations.
This is a textbook, but all Christians or even non-Christians studying some or all elements of biblical theology can benefit from the book. Fuller is very qualified to write about the subject. Further, the far more popular systematic theology of writers and pastors has resulted (coincidentally, I think) in many Christians being unfamiliar with the overall biblical theology of Our Lord, which is not a good thing. We should be familiar with both the big picture and the details. Highly recommended. Note that there is a more recent version available.
Fuller provides a view of progressive revelation, moving more or less chronologically through the text. This makes sense as it is easy for students to comprehend chronologically-arranged material. I say “students” because this is, indeed, a textbook, and a good one. The book is well-made and easy to navigate as one would expect from a Zondervan product. There are notes and review questions at the end of each segment and a bibliography, general index, and scripture index at the end.
In Part I, Fuller does what one would expect for a textbook as he sets out to explain terms and reasons in order to explain why he has written and one should read the book. He lays out the canonical legitimacy of the Bible, which is important to accept as all of his material is going to be based upon and supported by scripture. He includes a couple of apologetic segments herein about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, though I am not sure why. I agree with his arguments, but I do not understand what these have to do with a biblical theology.
In Part II, the foundations of redemptive history are laid out. Fuller uses both testaments as evidence. He promotes and uses an inductive approach, trying to view scripture in light of the author’s intent, which I think is the proper starting point. He grapples with the concepts of the Trinity, the Fall, Hell, the Cross, Heaven, and other fundamental (this word in its original meaning) issues of the Christian faith.
In Part III, Fuller examines Israel’s role as the “lesson book,” as he terms it, or the example, as I would term it, to the world. Major themes herein are forgiveness of sins, the ceremonial Law, and the concepts related to the kingdom of God in an Old Testament context. The idea of national/ethnic Israel as the “light to the gentiles” is an important concept many Christians have missed out on, and it can be a fairly difficult concept to understand. It is, however, important, and the Christian does not want to remain ignorant about this characteristic of God’s chosen people.
In Part IV, the focus is upon the New Testament purpose and presence of Jesus. As we currently live within the modern world, Fuller addresses contemporary life within the biblical context. Further, he deals with the (predominantly future) conversion of Israel.
Overall, I think Fuller has done a great job to deal with such a large subject in such a short text. He makes the error of confusing the Roman Catholic religion as Christian—falling for or assuming the “branches of Christianity” concept we are fed by the “establishment”. I do not know why he does this. He has the sense to recognize Hinduism, etc. are distinct religions, and he has the biblical training to understand that the Roman Catholic religion does not qualify as a biblical religion. Perhaps the error lies in an ignorance not of the Bible, but of the faith in question. In any case, I took away one star for this as I feel this is a tragic error as it encourages Christians to mistakenly think the very large R. Catholic Church consists of saved people, which is not at all the case. This results in them not being considered for missionary activities, which puts souls at risk.
As I mentioned above, biblical theology is a huge topic. Those wanting more information may want to consider To Know and Love God by David K. Clark (dense) and/or The Ways of Our God: An Approach to Biblical Theology by Charles H. H. Scobie (less dense than Clark but longer; be careful here as Scobie uses elements of the apocrypha as foundational). I definitely recommend The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission by Christopher J. H. Wright. This latter text has a succinct working with the concept of Israel as God’s example to the nations.
This is a textbook, but all Christians or even non-Christians studying some or all elements of biblical theology can benefit from the book. Fuller is very qualified to write about the subject. Further, the far more popular systematic theology of writers and pastors has resulted (coincidentally, I think) in many Christians being unfamiliar with the overall biblical theology of Our Lord, which is not a good thing. We should be familiar with both the big picture and the details. Highly recommended. Note that there is a more recent version available.
April 21, 2023
Outstanding writing and insight from Fuller. He gives an overall view of the Bible that digs deep within the context of the biblical writers and helps us to gain an insight into God’s overall plan for His creation. It is now one of my top 5 books that I have ever read!
March 25, 2024
Very brief skim read. Helpful exploration of the points of continuity and discontinuity between Old and New.
October 18, 2013
I read this as a ministry intern in 2009 and decided to re-read it to evaluate if we should bring it back as internship curriculum.
This time around, I could not, for the life of me, finish this book. This is a rare occurrence for me.
It's often used as reading at Fuller Seminary; I do not want to devalue the content based on how I felt while reading it. Readers beware: it feels like coursework for a seminary class in its length, diction, ideation, and content. Often I felt it would be better presented as a lecture vs. dense reading.
But I recommend this for anyone looking for a thematic overview of the Bible, its value, and how the Bible as a whole presents God and His Kingdom to the world.
This time around, I could not, for the life of me, finish this book. This is a rare occurrence for me.
It's often used as reading at Fuller Seminary; I do not want to devalue the content based on how I felt while reading it. Readers beware: it feels like coursework for a seminary class in its length, diction, ideation, and content. Often I felt it would be better presented as a lecture vs. dense reading.
But I recommend this for anyone looking for a thematic overview of the Bible, its value, and how the Bible as a whole presents God and His Kingdom to the world.
July 12, 2016
Opened my eyes to see the unity and continuity of the Bible regarding many things that appear to be discontinuous on the surface. E.g. faith and works, law and gospel, Israel & Gentiles & Church. A couple noteworthy distinctives of this work: (1) Fuller doesn't assume the inspiration of the Bible, but argues for it in the opening chapters; and (2) Fuller heeds the timeline of biblical revelation, as opposed to systematic theologies that more or less describe truth in timeless categories.
April 2, 2015
one of.the most studied and educational books on how the old testament introduced.and foretold the new.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews