Chesser, Frank. Portrait of God: Viewing the Divine Through His Work of Redemption. (Huntsville, AL: Publishing Designs, 2004). 287 pp.
Frank Chesser, a gospel preacher working with the Panama Street church of Christ in Montgomery, Ala., has offered an outstanding panoramic view of God’s overall plan of redemption in Portrait of God. Chesser’s style of writing is somewhat academic, but not so much as to be off-putting for the average reader. The book is pleasingly filled with scripture references. Although the average reader may find the reading a little tedious at times, for the Bible student this book is a gold mine of sermon ideas, as well as a great overall view of God’s redemptive work through Jesus Christ as presented in the scriptures.
Chesser’s purpose in writing this book is to present a wide-angle view of the scriptures that will “place into the hands of those who desire to read it, a tool that will hopefully increase their understanding, love, and appreciation for the Bible, and for God Who gave it” (p. 10). The book begins at Genesis and works through Revelation, noting along the way the development of God’s plan for saving man through His Son Jesus Christ.
The author accomplishes his task by examining the Bible in 21 chapters. The first chapter is entitled “World Prior to Sin” and covers Genesis 1-2). The second chapter covers the “Background of Redemption” as displayed in Genesis 3-12. He covers “Redemption Through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph” in chapter three, and in chapters four through eight he covers the slavery and freeing of Israel, the meeting on Mt. Sinai, and the wilderness wanderings. Chapter nine discusses the capture and dividing of Canaan. The judges period is discussed in chapter 10, and the kingdom period is covered in chapters 11-13. The return from captivity, restoration of the temple, rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, and restoration of the Law are examined in chapters 14-17. In his discussion of the New Testament, Chesser covers Matthew through John in “Redemption Consummated” (chapter 18), “Redemption Appropriated” (chapter 19), “Redemption Perpetuated” (chapter 20), and “Victory” (chapter 21).
One of the main problems religious people have today when examining the Bible is taking small bits and pieces and ignoring the remainder of scriptures. In addition to the danger of taking scripture out of context, another problem with this sort of approach is a misunderstanding of the nature and character of God.
With Portrait of God, Chesser offers readers the opportunity to back away from the microscopic, “cherry-picking” view of scriptures and instead take in the breadth and scope of God’s overall plan and purpose from an eagle’s eye perspective.
This book basically encapsulates 34 years of Bible study into a work that will show the reader how intricately interconnected the scriptures are. Each “episode” in the scriptures is a building block, a step toward the final culmination of God’s over-arching plan to save mankind through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If this book is studied, it will serve as a good guide to gaining a deeper understanding of God. No longer is the exodus just an event mentioned in the Bible, significant only to a Jew interested in history. No longer is the flood merely a children’s story with little weight for the adult mind. Instead, these and other accounts from the Bible are shown to be part of the thick, united tapestry which God has woven to show mankind how much He loves us, and how He was planned for our salvation from before the foundation of the world.
Portrait of God is a good book for personal study. It would be even better utilized in a class-room setting, however. If there is any criticism to give the book, it is the idea that the layout could be broken up a little more to be easier on the eyes. There is so much to absorb that the reader should spend some dedication time reading the Bible along with the book. If one does, the beauty of God’s plan will shine through, and you will have a deeper appreciation of what He has done for man.
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