In this book Allan J. McNicol defines and describes the nature and importance of the bible's abiding narrative of the persistence of God's promises to his people and their hope of final triumph. The book is organized in three sections. The first three chapters probe the question of the relationship between the two testaments and the questionable results of earlier attempts within Christian theology to maintain them in one grand narrative. The second section shows how a narrative reading of the Hebrew Scriptures brings coherence to the story of Israel when it is read as God preserving a marginalized people by being faithful to his often endangered promises. The third section concentrates on the impact of the life and mission of Jesus the Nazorene with respect to the revolutionary changes that emerged within the people of God in the 1st century of our era. Special attention is given to the often contentious claim that these early followers of Jesus presumed that they stood in full continuity with Israel, the historic people of God, and were claiming that many of God's promises were coming to fulfillment among them.
In this section McNicol presents a closer analysis of the texts as he shows how the theme of the people of God fits into the wider literary productions of these major New Testament writers.