Dr. Kline has gone to be with the Savior he loved to talk about so much. I can’t do Dr. Kline justice by trying to explain his theological premises. For that, I’ll refer you to Lee Irons. But here are my few quips and memories about Dr. Kline…

1. His book Kingdom Prologue was one dense, theological treatise that was incredibly important and often missed by most people. The cover seemed to be one that he himself drew. So if there ever was a book that typified the validity of the cliché, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,� it is this book.

2. He invented his own language. No one ever edited Dr. Kline’s books. And so he was able to write in words that needed to be decoded.

3. He was a master theologian. He often constructed theories and brought systems of though together that very few could replicate. When people said they were “Klinian,� you were a bit skeptical since Kline was one of a kind.

4. For a brilliant man, Dr. Kline was unassuming. I remember I went fishing once with a friend of mine at Gordon-Conwell. And as we were walking around the lake, there was Dr. Kline and his wife taking a stroll around the lake. When he got to us, we struck up a conversation about fishing. He and his wife seemed really old then, but they were holding hands, smiling, and looking very much in love. It was a pleasure to see Dr. Kline that way.

5. The church will miss him. His understanding of the covenant, his view of the framework perspective of creation, and his heavy typology in view of Christ and the OT was loaded with hard work and thorough exegesis. He will be sorely missed as a torchbearer.