I’ve been working my way through N.T. Wright’s latest book, Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul’s Greatest Letter. I’m about halfway through — really trying to soak in his argument. But I highly recommend it. Wright is considered one of the leading New Testament scholars of our day, particularly when it comes to Paul and his theology. With Into the Heart of Romans, Wright exegetes one of the landmark texts in the Christian faith, the eighth chapter of Romans.

When I received my copy, I immediately jumped to his chapter on Romans 8:28. I appreciate Wright’s argument that the subject of that classic sentence should be “God” (the rendering adopted by the RSV and the NIV) rather than “all things” in the fashion of the KJV and other translations. Following this reading opens up a theological principle that is right in line with the balance of the biblical witness: God works in all things, even a Roman symbol of torture and power (the cross), to bring about His good purposes. This is also a pastorally sensitive position that takes better account of human suffering and pain, not to mention the reality of the enemy and his forces.

This is just one example of why I love this little book. His discussion about the ways the Spirit fulfills what Torah promised (chapter three) is incredible, too. Romans 8 is typically Pauline in its density but Wright has a gift for unpacking and explaining the terms Paul often uses as shorthand references back to the story of Israel in the Old Testament. Whereas we might hear the spirit vs. law arguments through the arguments of the Reformers, Wright pulls us back further, to Paul himself and still further back into Israel’s past, where terms like “dwelling” and “glory” conjure up images, not of a disembodied heaven but of the heaven-on-earth touchpoints of Tabernacle and Temple. With this firmly established, Wright then takes us back to Paul for a fresh understanding of his arguments in light of these contexts. It’s all brilliant and biblical and incredibly helpful.

I have a feeling you’ll be seeing this one on my year-end “best books” post next month. I highly recommend it.