The Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel & Kingdom, Wisdom in Revelation: Three Classic Books in One Volume

Goldsworthy Trilogy #1-3

by Graeme Goldsworthy

Goldsworthy Trilogy, The: Gospel & Kingdom, Wisdom & Revelation

This book represents excellent value, combining three Goldsworthy classics (all now Out-of-Print separately) in one volume: Gospel and Kingdom, Gospel and Wisdom, and The Gospel in Revelation. Combined, these books provide an excellent model for understanding the Christian interpretation of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments. Gospel and Kingdom is concerned with finding the gospel principles inherent in the Pentateuch and historical books of the Old Testament; Gospel and Wisdom applies the same objective with regard to the Wisdom literature of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. The Gospel in Revelation demystifies the notoriously difficult Apocalypse by reference to the gospel theme uniting the startling visions. From Paternoster.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Biblical Studies, Christianity, Christian Living, Faith

584 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Graeme Goldsworthy is an Australian Anglican and Old Testament scholar. Now retired, Goldsworthy was formerly lecturer in Old Testament, biblical theology and hermeneutics at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of "According to Plan" (IVP, 1991), "Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture" (Eerdmans, 2000) and "Proverbs: The Tree of Life" (CEP, 1993). Goldsworthy has an MA from Cambridge University and a ThM and PhD from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.

Reviews

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goldsworthy's incisive and timeless trilogy clearly explains the Gospel relevance of often-challenging Bible books:
Gospel and Kingdom shows how the Old Testament tells a cohesive story of progressive revelation: God bringing his people into his chosen place under his rule, culminating in Jesus Christ's revelation of the kingdom in the New Testament.
The Gospel in Revelation cuts through poor interpretations of Revelation's apocalyptic imagery to show how the gospel of the risen lord Jesus Christ is central to the book, and is the key to its relevance for all Christians facing trials in the world while awaiting Christ's return.
Gospel and Wisdom examines the theme of wisdom through the Bible (e.g. Jesus as the wise man of God, and God's wisdom), focusing on Jewish wisdom and the complementary books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes; the basis and goal of wisdom is shown to be an understanding of the world in rightly ordered relationship between God (revealed in Jesus Christ), man, and creation.
A dense but rewarding collection written in a mostly readable style, would recommend

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a basic introduction to Redemptive Theology, with Goldsworthy focusing primarily on the importance of the Old Testament and its proper handling.

The appeal Goldsworthy's work is its simplicity. That is also its downfall. By reducing the principles to such an extreme, there is a risk of trivializing biblical interpretation to the point that it becomes a game of Where's Waldo, as if the object is to find Jesus in every OT passage, flip the page, and begin the search again. The sense of reverence, awe, grandeur, majesty of redemption in the living Person of Christ is therefore in jeopardy of being lost, even though that certainly was not Goldsworthy's intent in providing this primer.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected. Although I don’t agree with some of the author’s conclusions, his strong adherence to the gospel being the center and purpose of the Bible is faithful. Rather pedantic and somewhat repetitive, I found the writing uninspiring.

[James Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot packed into this collection, and if you are on a budget and want to help a young pastor or Bible teacher get a handle on interpreting the Bible, this is a great book to gift them.

As the title suggests, The Goldworthy Trilogy is actually three books of Graeme Goldsworthy stacked alongside one another. The first book is an A to Z overview of Biblical theology which shows the centrality of the kingdom motif throughout the Scriptures (see my review on this as a separate book, Gospel and Kingdom). The second work takes the principles of interpretation delineated in the first, and applies them to Wisdom Literature.

The last book in the collection tackles end times, and specifically the Bible's final book, applying consistently the same general principles of Christ-centered interpretation and an understanding of the unfolding of the kingdom to culmination. This book clears away a lot of the muddled confusion that often surrounds expositions of revelation. Whether you end up agreeing with the author on every point of interpretation of what is perhaps the most controversial book in the Bible, it is nonetheless refreshing to see sound interpretive principles applied. And the general approach and exposition of the book leads to a very healthy and useful perspective on end times, which fits with the rest of Scripture as it ought.

Well Recommended.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This trilogy consists of three groundbreaking books when they were first written in the popularising of Biblical Theology, making it more accessible to those whose only text consisted of the much older, and more academic work of Gerhardus Vos. I remember reading Gospel And Kingdom years ago, but it had been equally valuable to read Gospel And Revelation, & Gospel And Wisdom - that latter especially. It is enlightening to begin considering how the wisdom literature in the Bible relates to the Gospel, and then to think through the implications for ethics - how should I view technology as a Christian, when it now changes faster than the time we have to think through its ethical implications? And how do we approach the subject of God's guidance in the light of the gospel? A very significant book in the history of Christian understanding, which warrants re-reading at different stages in our lives as Christians.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read this book for the nth time. It never disappoints. Want a succinct, informative treatment of biblical theology? This is it. Sad it's out of print and only available in the trilogy, but of course the other books are worth reading in that series as well.

[Becky Pliego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good! I definitely recommend this book to all those who want to dive into the wonderful ocean of Biblical Theology as a starting point.

[Sean Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gospel & Kingdom

Gospel & Kingdom is a good introduction into the world of biblical theology, which emphasises the narrative unity of the scriptures through use of types, repeated themes and patterns. Goldsworthy focuses on the Kingdom, which of course is an enormous theme in Scripture and thus there is a lot to talk about. He helpfully summarises the Kingdom of God as “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule”.

Of course, Christ is the Central Station to which all trains in Scripture eventually arrive, and from which they continue their journeys. So I found the rapid flyover of the Old Testament helpful, as it does show how the anticipation for Christ builds over the course of the Scriptures. Goldsworthy has an expansive view of the gospel, and notes that it involves “a restoration of relationships between God, man and the world” (110).

That said, many the applications of the principles were underwhelming. I observe a nervousness about allegory and attention to detail. For just one example, Goldsworthy is “careful not to make too much of incidental details which belong to the immediate life-situation described in the text. David’s taking of food to his brothers in the army hardly demands interpretation any more than the dimensions of Goliath’s armour” (119). But David isn’t simply bringing generic “food” to his brothers, but an ephah of parched grain, ten loaves, and ten cheeses (1 Sam 17:17-18). I suggest (as a partial answer) that Jesse is offering up his son David complete with a grain offering, much as Hannah offers a bull with an ephah of flour to the Lord after Samuel is born, Samuel himself being her real offering (1 Sam 1:24). Whatever you make about this particular suggestion, my point is that deciding a priori that some details in the text don’t have anything to tell us is to opt out of being an attentive reader of Scripture, and you aren’t far from placing the Scripture upon the Procrustean bed of your own framework.

Four stars.

Gospel & Revelation

Gospel & Revelation I found less helpful, not simply because I have some significant differences with Goldsworthy’s perspective, but because it seems to exhibit the same gliding-past-the-details approach that was my least favourite part of Gospel & Kingdom. The metanarrative of Scripture that Goldsworthy uses in this book is theologically valid on its own terms, but frequently works as a filtering mechanism to decide which details in the text to pay attention to (or not). Worse, it is sometimes employed to assist the reader in not being misled by what the text appears to be telling us.

As I said, the framework that Goldsworthy employs is generally valid theologically. Goldsworthy notes that with the first advent of Christ, the end of the world has come (234). The body of Christ shares in the suffering of its head as it awaits its vindication and glorification (235). The wrath of God has already fallen on those who are joined to Christ (229). This allows him to make helpful applications of Revelation to the modern Christian reader, who is still waiting for Christ’s last coming.

Goldsworthy emphasises that Revelation was written to specific churches in the first century, and thus any reading that removes any relevance to those initial readers is useless. Goldsworthy rightly pushes against the literalistic approach that some forms of premillennialism employ, showing that the advent of Christ in the world is the interpretive lens through which the prophetic witness of the new age must be read, and thus Christians ought not to await a throwback to the OT in the time before right before the final judgment.

However, even if it this framework is theologically valid, it lands unsteadily upon the terrain of the text. Goldsworthy invariably “genericises” the figures and images that appear in Revelation, referring them to ongoing dynamics throughout church history, without any particular referent (whether in the first century or in any other time):

- The beasts of Daniel and Revelation become a figure for “godless humanity” in general, and so the texts that indicate the connection between the scarlet beast and the Roman Empire are ignored (Rev. 17:8-12).
- The great city “where their Lord was crucified” (Rev 11:8) is the unbelieving world in general rather than Jerusalem, so the two witnesses become the faithful church throughout all ages, rather than the early church or the OT prophets who preached against the apostate Jews.
- Babylon becomes “the symbol of all Satan’s strongholds among men” (256): how then are “all of Satan’s strongholds” distinct from the scarlet beast upon which she is riding at first, and by whom is the harlot devoured? (Is Satan divided against himself here?) Further, nothing is made of the fact that the harlot is dressed in Old Covenant priestly garb (cf. Ex. 39). Goldsworthy does note that this city is a harlot, which connects it to “idolatry and apostasy” in the rest of Scripture, but nothing more is made of this clue either.

These kinds of details help to illustrate what is going on in the book and its connection to the rest of the biblical narrative, but they have a tendency to clog up the all-of-church-history framework and thus they are simply not dealt with.

This idealist perspective also tends not to notice progression of any sort throughout Revelation, as in this framework the fall of Jerusalem and the Mosaic economy doesn’t register as the notable redemptive-historical development between Pentecost and Christ’s last coming. Goldsworthy observes six times (by my count) that John follows the Old Testament writers in portraying a “simple linear perspective” on the succession from the old age into the new, but Goldsworthy reminds the reader that the OT linear perspective must be modified by the gospel. Thus there is no passage in Revelation that could possibly falsify the framework, because the framework is always available to tell us what John really had in mind: “As we follow through the visions of Revelation we find that John has found no reason to deviate in any marked way from the portrayal of the linear succession of the two ages […] The New Testament perspective of the overlap of the ages is not evident in the apocalyptic visions.” (230).

There are many helpful applications of Revelation to the life of the believer awaiting Christ’s last coming, but these are arrived at not through the text so much as around it.

Two stars.

Gospel & Wisdom

Gospel & Wisdom was well worth the cost of the entire volume, and offered the most helpful guide to the wisdom literature and how they fit into the larger story of Scripture.

Goldsworthy’s attentiveness to the big-picture integrity of the entire biblical narrative is a great help here, and he shows how wisdom is a feature of Adam’s vocation and thus of Christ’s kingly office in fulfilment of that: “wisdom is a theology of the redeemed man living in the world under God’s rule. It is thus as much an aspect of kingdom theology as salvation history is.”

In contrast to my critiques of the other two works in this volume, I appreciated Goldsworthy’s resistance to forcing a “straightforward solution” upon Ecclesiastes in the face of its confronting content: “We must beware of the tendency to rescue difficult parts of the BIble when they seem to strike a discordant note” (400). Ecclesiastes forces us to live by faith in the tension of a world that requires that we engage with it by God’s wisdom, but often seems to thwart that effort.

I also appreciated the expositions of particular passages that connect wisdom themes with redemptive history, especially Psalm 73, and the failure of the deed-outcome relationship in that scenario: “What God has done in his saving acts in history is given as the basis of confidence in the face of the apparent attack on the order of things.” (415).

There was a tantalisingly brief application of these matters to Christian schooling, which seemed to veer off into a discussion of creation/evolution, and then ended abruptly. I’d have loved to see more!

Four stars.

[Brian Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a review of Gospel and Wisdom, which I finished this year. I have now read the entire Goldsworthy Trilogy and would certainly give the whole book five stars, too. Goldsworthy has helped me understand the Bible tells one, united story of God's redemption, and he has helped me to see how the various parts of the Bible fit together. (I would highly recommend his book, According to Plan, too.) His writing is clear and not bogged down by a lot of technical details. It's accessible and can be read profitably by laypeople, not just pastors/scholars.

In Gospel and Wisdom, Goldsworthy points out that the wisdom literature of the Bible concerns the proper ordering of God's creation, of living life according to God's design. And, in a fallen world, that can only be accomplished by knowing the truly wise (God-)man, Jesus. "True wisdom is a result of being related to God through the person and work of Christ" (p. 345).

(Finished reading on March 18, 2017.)

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

All three books in this trilogy are devoted to the idea of "Biblical Theology", or the idea of reading the Bible as a unified single book, rather than a series of separate ideas. This idea may not strike you as overly radical now, but when it came out, it was a big deal. May be too simplistic for some, eye opening for others, but definitely worth a read.

[Andrew Tutty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly fantastic book and easily worthy of 5 stars.
It is a volume of 3 books - Gospel and Kingdom, The Gospel in Revelation, and Gospel and Wisdom written by Graeme Goldsworthy, retired professor of Old Testament and Biblical history at Moore College Theological College, Sydney, Australia.
As far as I'm concerned it is somewhat heavier than very accessible Christian books, but is not too dense to make it a slow and cumbersome read.
The overall impact of the book is to show how the Gospel permeates the Bible. For the Christian reader this is no surprise, but seeing that spelled out in the context of the Kingdom of Israel, Revelation and in the Bible's wisdom literature has been very enriching for me personally.
Gospel in Kingdom shows God's purposes in progressive revelation of salvation: All humanity under Adam -> covenant with Abraham (God's people/Israel) -> the faithful remnant within Israel -> God's anointed one - Jesus: the main emphasis is God's people, under God's rule and in God's place.
A salient point from Gospel in Revelation is how the OT concept of the 'Day of the Lord' - God's saving and judging - is fulfilled in Christ's death and Resurrection. I had never made the conceptual conception with Sunday as the Lord's Day (aka Day of the Lord) before - a constant reminder of salvation purchased by Christ for his people and the judgement of those who reject God.
Finally, Gospel and Wisdom showed how wisdom literature in the Bible focuses more on the 'now' element of life - how the Gospel impacts day-to-day life, and how we navigate endless decisions and reckon with the chaos of the disorder that has been in the world since the curse.
It feels very hard to adequately convey in a short space the breadth and depth of the book - I've given broad insight and snippets only; I'd say that I'd highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a substantive introduction to the theme of Biblical theology (interpreting the Bible in the light of the rest of the Bible i.e. as a unitary whole).
To finish, I will quote a concluding remark which I think wonderfully ties wisdom and redemption together in Christ: 'Whether we consider the ways of Solomon's ant, ponder Job's leviathan, or marvel with Qohelet [speaker in Ecclesiastes] at life's deepest mysteries, Christ alone will transform all the distortions and ambiguities of our myopic view. He is our Wisdom, and thus turns the words of the ancient Hebrew wise men into the urgent proclamation of the gospel which summons us to trust him for everything that is in life', p.549. Great words to reflect upon!

[Ben K · Rating 5 out of 5]

The three books contained in this volume are real gems of biblical theology. They demonstrate in a highly accessible way how the whole Bible stands as a unified story centering on the gospel of Jesus. Goldsworthy expertly teaches us to see how the Old Testament points us forward to its fulfillment in the gospel, and how the New Testament, in presupposing the Old, sends us back to understand the Old Testament on its own terms.

Gospel and Kingdom is a brief introduction to biblical theology. Goldsworthy offers a three-pronged definition of the kingdom: “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.” He traces these three strands throughout the storyline of the Bible, beginning with Eden and continuing through to Revelation. Jesus, he argues, is the fulfillment of God’s kingdom. He is the true Israel, representing the people of God through his earthly life and ministry. He is the true temple, where the presence of God dwells. And he is the true king, now ruling at the right hand of the Father.

The second and third installments take this holistic approach to reading Scripture and apply it to portions of Scripture that have often been misunderstood. In Gospel and Wisdom, Goldsworthy looks at wisdom in the Bible with a focus on the genre of wisdom literature. He defines wisdom in terms of an accurate view of reality, in which there is order to be discerned, but also mystery that is beyond human understanding. Jesus, as the true wise man, showed us the most accurate picture of the world, and so true wisdom is found by viewing the world through the lens of the gospel.

Gospel and Revelation looks at the final book of the Bible. Where many would use this book to discern a detailed outline of future events, Goldsworthy argues that its primary purpose is to magnify Jesus and to showcase his glorious gospel.

All three books are excellent. Goldsworthy writes in a nontechnical way that any Christian reader will be able to follow, but it is clear that underlying this material is some deep research, reflection, and knowledge of the Bible. I would especially recommend Gospel and Kingdom to any Christian who wants to better understand how the Bible fits together and tells one unified story.

[Darren Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for all Christians. Even though it has about 550 pages worth of reading material, which may seems scarier than Geerhardus Vos's 400 pages BT book, but rest assure the fonts in this book are larger and Goldsworthy writes in a style meant for the laypeople. Vos' book are definitely not written for laypeople, it's meant for scholars, ministers and seminary students.

First book Gospel and Kingdom is basically a simpler version of According to Plan. It's about 149 pages. It should be a very quick read which will help one get a broad overview of Biblical Theology. Would recommend to read According to Plan after this before reading the second and third book.

Second book, The Gospel in Revelation perhaps is my favourite book of all. The highlights for me is understanding what is the meaning of the lion and the lamb and the tension between now and not yet. It's also refreshing to learn how the book of revelation is thoroughly gospel centered more than predicting the details of end times. This book has about about 180 pages.

The third book, Gospel and Wisdom is the largest book among the trilogy, which amounts to 40% of the entire trilogy with 222 pages. I like how Goldsworthy unfold the progression of wisdom chronologically in the bible and relates it to salvation history. If you are wondering, what is God's will for your life then this book is a must read!!

Overall, I benefitted a lot from this book. Refreshing to learn lots of new and exciting things I never knew. Please do read According to Plan as well because there are things to learn from that book which isn't covered in this trilogy book. If you are able to, do read Geerhardus Vos's book after reading Trilogy and According to Plan. Wouldn't be easy to read Vos's book, but it will be well worth the effort.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is 3 books in one. Gospel and Kingdom covers the historical-redemptive story using the "kingdom of God" as the organizing principle. Gospel and Wisdom shows how the wisdom literature fits into this picture, as it's not as timeline-bound. Gospel and Revelation discusses the book of Revelation and how it fits at the end of the Biblical picture Goldworthy is outlining. I highly recommend Gospel and Revelation for Goldworthy's tone in approaching the book of Revelation. I found it very encouraging, not something I would expect to say of a book on this subject, but since that was John's original purpose in Revelation, I think Goldsworthy is onto something.

All are great. Goldsworthy's According to Plan takes all this and condenses and puts it together in one book. Of course, you lose quite a bit of the detail especially with Wisdom and Revelation, but it's a little easier to get through. Vaughn Roberts' God's Big Picture is an updated "condensed" version of Goldworthy's According to Plan.

[Eunice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Gospel in Revelation and have now completed the trilogy in 1.5 years. I read slowly, as many of the ideas are semi new to me.

They key to understanding Revelation is to carefully interpret through the lens of the gospel and in light of the rest of scripture. Overall, it is Christ's call for His suffering saints to persevere. Knowing these keys saves us from taking it to mean whatever we think it means.

In the trilogy, Goldsworthy treats the Bible with great care and speaks in clear language that anyone can read, though it may be hard to slog through as it's a thick book. It requires persistence, but the end result of understanding the whole Bible as one united story, was helpful to me as a Christian. Highly recommended.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A "big picture overview" should probably be a "must read" for most Christians. This one by Goldsworthy is my favorite thus far. It's written for the average person and shows how the whole of Scripture is about

(a) God's people
(b) in God's place
(c) under God's rule.

In Goldsworthy's own words, after the Garden Kingdom is destroyed by the sin of man, "...the rest of the Bible is about the restoration of a people to be the willing subjects of the perfect rule of God" (pg. 54). This book was paradigm shifting for me after having grown up in churches that largely approached the Bible moralistically. I have since read many other books on the subject of biblical theology, but this is still my favorite. Highly recommended!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goldsworthy's Christocentric view of Scripture is refreshing in an era when many are trying to interpret Scripture through standpoint epistemologies and other "analytical tools." However, not all of the books in this trilogy possess the same vigor. "Gospel & Kingdom" is an excellent guide to the hermeneutics of historical narrative in Scripture. "Gospel & Wisdom" is eye-opening in its approach to making sense of the Old Testament wisdom literature. "The Gospel in Revelation" was, frankly, disappointing and a real bear to get through. I feel like most of the points could have just as easily been covered in about three chapters.

[Holly Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a dense read so took me a few weeks but WOW it’s a dive into the ocean of biblical theology.

So worth it - even as I have been reading the OT in the last month or so, I found an understanding of the progressive nature of salvation history to be incredibly helpful in placing each passage on this timeline.

Core theological truths that will change how you see salvation history and wisdom - all coming to begin and end with Jesus; the alpha and omega.

[Christian Wermeskerch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great primer on Biblical Theology. Having read this in 2019, I think there was a lot of "review" - this suggests to me that he was more paradigmatic than I previously knew. Am curious now to engage with his more focused works.

[Kim Elder · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title states, this is a trilogy. Thoughtful presentation of the unity of the entire Bible through the lens of the Gospel.
Gospel and Kingdom 4 stars
The Gospel in Revelation 5 stars
Gospel and Wisdom 3 stars

[Paul Lehman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read these books in the trilogy several times and always find more understanding to the works of God throughout time. Does anyone know if this Trilogy is available in audio format? I can't find it so am assuming it is not. Just thought I would ask.

[Thomas Welches · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Goldsworthy Trilogy

Enjoyed reading the Trilogy, especially linking the old and new testaments with the Gospel and the section on Revelations. The day of the Lord, and the Lamb and the Lion were very interesting. Highly recommend.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complex ideas told in an engaging and clear style. I copied out plenty of wisdom-filled passages to chew over. I highly reccomend this book. All 3 are brilliabt, but 'Gospel and Wisdom' was my favourite.

[Jennifer Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book extremely helpful especially for understanding the book of Revelation from a Redemptive Historical Perspective. It's written in such a way that any lay person would be able to understand.

[Susanna Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting and enjoyable read, got a bit slow in the "wisdom" section---greatly admired the handling of Revelation, so refreshing

[Carl Di-Palma · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, I found the sections on the Kingdom of God and Wisdom especially helpful.

[Coram Deo Church]

Graeme Goldsworthy's books are not currently available at local libraries.

[Ashley]

Re-read with group

[Molly Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The part on Revelation was awesome!

[Joshua Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the way he defined the kingdom. Very helpful for me in Processing the storyline of Scripture. Gospel and wisdom especially blew open my understanding of that section of Scripture