God and the Gospel

“To study the God of the gospel
– the God who handed over his Son,
who raised him up again,
and who sent his Spirit into our hearts –
is to be propelled toward the study of God’s triune being,
his divine attributes,
his actions of creation and revelation,
as well as the divine purpose and plan for all things.

“In the gospel we do not find a catalogue of human religious sentiments offered up for our perusal,
no buffet of philosophical theories for us to snack on.
In the gospel there is no unearthing of relics and ritual to ponder
like broken pottery pieces from a dead civilization,
nor are we offered merely modern mantras promising nice things for nice people.

“To the contrary, the gospel offers us much more,
something much better than anyone could envision:
the gospel is the offer of God himself.

“For in the gospel, God is the giver and gift all at once,
a gift of life and love that comes by sharing in the life and love that is in his Son.

“This is the God of the gospel,
the God who commands the attention of our intellects,
the God who pushes the boundaries of our imagination,
the God who stimulates our creative energies in art and music and literature,
and the only God worthy or singing or studying about.”

– Michael Bird, Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, p.91