Who Is God?

“Richard Bauckham here distills his massive biblical scholarship into an exciting and easily accessible study of nothing less than the character of God. This is a short, powerful book on a huge, vital topic.”—N. T. Wright, research professor of New Testament and early Christianity, University of St. Andrews; senior research fellow, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford 

“Richard Bauckham writes as a scholar of deep and learned mind; he writes as someone who can talk about God in a way that is as easy to understand as it could possibly be. And he talks about the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament in a way that shows how this is one God, concretely and consistently portrayed in both testaments.”—John Goldingay, professor of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary 

“In this brilliant and readable little tome, Richard Bauckham asks and answers the perennial question: Who is God? In doing so, he models how to do deeply revelatory biblical theology. This is a book to savor: its clear prose and profound biblical scope leads the reader to encounter the God of the Bible afresh.”—Mariam Kovalishyn, assistant professor of New Testament studies, Regent College 

“This is a fantastic little book for anyone who wants to know God. With his customary lucidity and accessibility, careful treatment of evidence, and presentation of convincing arguments, Bauckham shows us that knowing God depends on God’s self-revelation and his initiative to be with humanity as the God of immediacy, intimacy, and active presence. By interpreting the stories of Jacob’s dream and Moses’s burning bush experience and discussing three key moments of divine revelation in Jesus’s baptism, transfiguration, and crucifixion, Bauckham beautifully explains how God seeks to be ‘God-with-us’ through Jesus and his Spirit. Bauckham illustrates these stories with ancient art from Ethiopia, where Christianity has existed for almost 1,700 years. In so doing, Bauckham emphasizes the universality of God’s revelation and his dynamic and personal presence through Jesus Christ. This book—whose significance goes well beyond its size—will be appreciated by anyone who wants to know God better.”—Desta Heliso, lecturer in New Testament and Jewish literature of the Second Temple Period, Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology 

“There are only a handful of scholars I turn to, to learn something new and important about the Bible and its God that I had not considered before. Richard Bauckham is one of them. Who Is God? is a book about God’s self-revelation, and it is in itself a revelation! God is self-determining, and he has determined to reveal himself in his own way, at his own time, to his own chosen audiences. He has even revealed his personal name, after a fashion. And amazingly, that specific, named God, the only God of all creation, desires and has determined to be with us, now and forever, particularly in the person of Jesus Christ. This book should be on the shelf of every pastor, layperson, and interested party who desires to know better who God is. It is Bauckham at his most lucid and soul nourishing—an instant classic.”—Ben Witherington III, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary; emeritus professor, St. Andrews University