Finally Jesus: Engaging the Story of a Written God
Matthew Fraser
2016
230 pages
eBook AISN: B01EQ2LRIQ
ISBN-10: 978-1481248969
Available through Amazon
When a person has their mind and heart together and releases both in tandem on paper with great skill, the result can be a delightful work of art. So is “Finally Jesus: Engaging the Story of a Written God” by author Matt Fraser.
“Finally Jesus” is a must read for those who take an understanding of biblical theology seriously.
Matt Fraser’s love for God and His Word together with his grasp of God’s presence being progressively revealed in the course of history is firmly pronounced in the pages of “Finally Jesus”.
So often in the study of the Scriptures, systematic theology is the invention. There is a desire to place truth into systematized categories. This in itself may be good. However, it is refreshing to have a clear biblical theology carefully laid out. This is the case in “Finally Jesus”. We can thank Matt Fraser for such an approach.
In his Preface, Matt says, “A good part of this book represents my journey in understanding the Bible and the God who stands behind it, not always finding the simplest answers but always looking for the most biblical.”
It is argued in “Finally Jesus” “that one story, a true story, the biblical story gives our world coherent meaning. All history, sacred or secular, is written into the very chronicle of God.” It is further stated that “in this story, the cross takes on special significance as the climax of all that has ever happened or will happen. If biblical history is the history of God and the history of the world, the cross of the Christ is at the very centre of the meaning of reality.”
Matt traces the story of the Written God through the Old and New Testaments, showing how God has always been pursuing the same goals, and that these goals come together in Jesus. Throughout “Finally Jesus”, Matt, with careful precision, journeys through the Scriptures while outlining major themes of the Scriptures ̶ namely, the presence of God, the kingdom of God, the covenants of God, sacrifice from God and the mission of God.
Interwoven in the progressive revelation of the Written God and well-defined and discussed by Matt are pertinent subjects in God’s redemptive plan such as truth, depravity, justice, covenant, grace, worship, judgment, authority and mission. Ultimately, it is in the coming of Jesus Christ that the Word became incarnate and that the Written God spoke loud and clear.
Enjoy your reading; journey with Matt through the pages of Scripture and experience afresh the presence of God, who is on mission.
Matt is a graduate of Heritage College and Seminary, Cambridge, ON. Matt and his wife, Kristen, have served as missionaries in Zambia and are now serving in Eastern Europe. Recently he was ordained by Emmanuel Baptist Church in Barrie, ON, within The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada.
Reviewed by Lance C. Johnson