Building the Christian library: A coffee-stained gem (The Everlasting God)
Don West / Briefing #42 / March 1990 /
The Everlasting God
DB Knox
Lancer, 1988.
I well remember listening to the 1979, Moore College lectures (which comprise the content of this book) and wondering how anyone could speak so quickly. I was awash with one theological gem after another. I bought the book as soon as I heard it was on the shelves, and have never been disappointed. My copy bears the tell-tale signs of coffee stain in one corner, marks in the margins, and that funny musty smell that books get after many handlings. I refer to the book regularly because it is so simply written and so clearly set out.
The topic is God. In this new edition (mine is the 1982 publication by Evangelical Press), there are five chapters and two appendices with a study guide and Scripture index tacked on. Each chapter deals with a key doctrine: how we know God, the character of God, the Trinity, Jesus and predestination. The doctrine is then bombarded with the questions we often ask of it, followed by some applications of the doctrine for Christian living and belief. The book lives up to its first sentence: “The doctrine of God is of the utmost importance, for it controls the whole of life”.
Dr Knox is a master of simple expression and flow of ideas. You finish each section saying, “Of course!”. I was recently asked to take a Bible study on the Trinity. After doing the hard work through the filing cabinet and dictionaries, I turned to good old chapter three and found myself awed by the majesty of God, as Scriptures were explained to me and I was told that I must model the Trinity in my life.
Recommended for anybody.
