Posted by Bobby Grow at The Evangelical Calvinist:

Here is a really good summary on what Incarnation is all about. Incarnation is inextricably tied to atonement. So that while we are celebrating Christ’s birth at this season, we also celebrate Easter in seminal form. This is a touchstone truth for Evangelical Calvinism, and thus a reason why I wanted to share this:

Christian faith starts with the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. In that knowledge we are concerned not only with the duality of God and man in the unity of one person, but with the unity of Christ’s person and his act in the one work of salvation. Jesus Christ is one person whose word is wholly involved in his act and whose act is wholly involved in his person. We cannot therefore think of his person apart from his atoning work, or of his atoning work in abstraction from his person. We begin with the person of Christ, but it is his person who carries out the work of salvation, and in the strict sense it is Jesus Christ himself, the mediator, who is the atonement. It is Christ atoning who concerns us here. Therefore even when we begin with his incarnation and with his birth at Bethlehem, we are beginning right away with the atonement, for his birth, as the beginning of his incarnate person, is one end of the atoning work, with the resurrection and ascension as the other end. But when we begin with the person of Christ, it is the Christ who has revealed himself to us that we are concerned with, the Christ whom we know through his own word, as well as through his own work. We are concerned with the Christ who isthe word, who utters the word and whose word is identical with his saving work. Revelation and atonement are thus inseparable, Christ revealing and Christ reconciling, for the speaking of the word and the working out of the atoning deed are done within the one person of Christ, and partake of the unity of his deity and humanity in that one person. At every point it is in that perspective of Christ’s wholeness that we are to consider christology and soteriology. (Thomas F. Torrance, “Incarnation,” 37)

“Nothing is more central or basic than union and communion with Christ. …Union with Christ…in its broader aspects underlies every step of the application of redemption. Union with Christ is really the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation not only in its application but also in its once-for-all accomplishment in the finished work of Christ. Indeed the whole process of salvation has its origin in one phase of union with Christ and salvation has in view the realization of other phases of union with Christ.”

Redemption: Accomplished and Applied. p. 161

“Union with Christ is a very inclusive subject. It embraces the wide span of salvation from its ultimate source in the eternal election of God to its final fruition in the glorification of the elect. It is not simply a phase of the application of redemption; it underlies every aspect of redemption both in its accomplishment and in its application. Union with Christ binds all together and insures that to all for whom Christ has purchased redemption He effectively applies and communicates the same.”

Redemption: Accomplished and Applied. p. 165

“The wide range of similitude used in Scripture to illustrate union with Christ is very striking. On the highest level of being it is compared to the union which exists between the persons of the trinity in the Godhead. This is staggering, but it is the case (John 14:23; 17:21-23). On the lowest level it is compared to the relation that exists between the stones of a building and the chief corner stone (Eph. 2:19-22; I Pet. 2:4,5). In between these two limits there is a variety of similitude drawn from different levels of being and relationship. It is compared to the union that existed between Adam and all of posterity (Rom. 5:12-19; I Cor. 15:19-49). It is compared to the union that exists between man and wife (Eph. 5:22-33; cf. Jn. 3:29). It is compared to the union that exists between the head and other members in the human body (Eph. 4:15,16). It is compared to the relation of the vine and the branches (John 15). …The mode, nature, and kind of union differ in the different cases. There is similitude but not identity.

Redemption: Accomplished and Applied. pp. 167,168

“Union with Christ is the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation. …There is no truth, therefore, more suited to impart confidence and strength, comfort and joy in the Lord than this one of union with Christ.”

Redemption: Accomplished and Applied. pp. 170,171

The point is simply that the Christian church in general and the Christian mission in particular are confronted with issues they have never even dreamt of and which are crying out for responses that are both relevant to the times and in harmony with the essence of the Christian faith. The contemporary church-in-mission is challenged by at least the following factors (cf also Kung 1987:214-216, 240f):
1. the West, for more than a millennium the home of Christianity and in a very real sense created by it, has lost its dominant position in the world. Peoples in all parts of the world strive for liberation from what is experienced as the stranglehold of the West.
2.Unjust structures of oppression and exploitation are today challenged as never before in human history. The struggles against racism and sexism are only two of several manifestations of this challenge.
3. There is a profound feeling of ambiguity about Western technology and development, indeed, about the very idea of progress itself. Progress, the god of the Enlightenment, proved to be a false god after all.
4. More than ever before we know today that we live on a shrinking globe with only finite resources. We know that people and their environment are mutually interdependent. Capra (1987:519) calls the emerging worldview ganz-heitlich-okologisch, “comprehensively ecological”.
5. We are today not only able to kill God’s earth but also – again, for the first time in history – capable of wiping out humankind. If the plight of the environment calls for an ecologically appropriate response, the threat of a nuclear holocaust challenges us to reply by working for peace with justice.
6. If the Bangkok meeting of the Commission for World Mission and Evangelism (1973) was correct in stating that “culture shapes the human voice that answers the voice of Christ”, then it should be clear that theologies designed and developed in Europe can claim no superiority over theologies emerging in other parts of the world. This too, is a new situation, since the supremacy of the theology of the West was taken for granted for more than a thousand years.
7. Again, for many centuries the superiority of the Christian religion over all other faiths was simply taken for granted (by Christians,that is). It was, as a matter of course, regarded as the only true and only saving religion. Today, most people agree that freedom of religion is a basic human right. This factor, together with many others, forces Christians to reevaluate their attitude toward and their understanding of other faiths.
Other factors might be added to the seven listed above. The point I am making is simply that, quite literally, we live in a world fundamentally different from that of the nineteenth century, let alone earlier times. The new situation challenges us, across the board, to an appropriate response. No longer dare we, as we have done, respond only piecemeal and ad hoc to single issues as they confront us. The contemporary world challenges us to practice a “transformational hermeneutics” (Marin 1987:378), a theological response which transforms us first before we involve ourselves in mission to the world.
We could, conceivably, have moved directly from the primitive Christian paradigm sketched in the first part of this book to the challenge of the contemporary scene. For several reasons this would, however,not be an advisable procedure. The magnitude of today’s challenge can really only be appreciated if viewed against the backdrop of almost twenty centuries of church history. In addition, we need the perspectives of the past in order to appreciate the scope of the present challenge and to be able really to understand the world today and the Christian response to its predicament. Like the Israelites of old – who needed to remind themselves, in every period of crisis, of their deliverance from Egypt, their wanderings in the desert, and their ancient covenant with God – we too need to be reminded of our roots, not only in order that we might have consolation but even more that we might find direction (cf Niebuhr 1959:1). We reflect on the past not just for the past’s own sake; rather, we look upon it as a compass – and who would use a compass only to ascertain from where he or she has come?

Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, David J. Bosch, 1991, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY, pp. 188-189.

What we are looking for in reading the Bible is the ability to turn the two-dimensional words on paper into a three-dimensional encounter with God, so that the text takes on life and meaning and depth and perspective and gives us direction for what to do today.

- Scot McKnight, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking how you read the Bible, Zondervan, Grand rapids, MI, 2008, pp.41-42

T.F Torrance has published a new book titled Incarnation. The book, which Torrance had begun prior to illness and later death from old age, is edited by his nephew Robert T. Walker.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, gives this endorsement:

No other book I know in english does what this superb volume does in presenting with absolute clarity the full classical doctrine of the universal Church on the person and work of Christ. This book is a wonderful legacy from one of the very greatest of English-language systematic theologians.

I purchased the book earlier in the year.

Amidst the many other things that I currently need to read for university, I have kept coming back to Incarnation in my personal reading. I am reading it slowly, a small piece at a time. This book is rich fare and a casual reading will deprive the reader of the depth of thought and argument that Torance provides.

A number of reviews of this book have been posted.

The Stumbling Block

Reformation21

Dead Theologians

I will further provide my own thoughts on the book, beginning with a post I am currently preparing, in the next month.

David Neff, has posted “What’s the fuss about Recapitulation Theology?” at his Ancient Evangelical Future blog.

It’s worthwhile noting that many are interpreting the renewal of this idea as a threat to Penal Substitution. Yet as one person noted in the comments section of this post,

Recapitulation shouldn’t be seen so much as a theory of how the atonement is transacted, but rather the telos point or raison d’etre for Chrit’s Atonement. It’s not penal substitution or recapitulation it’s both working hand in hand.

I would suggest that recapitulation modifies penal substitution such that both provide a vigorous understanding of the atonement. Something I believe that neither does by themselves.

The Shack is a great book. I got to meet the author just before Christmas.

One of the strengths of the book is that it unpacks the relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit in fictional form.

Many Christians confess a belief in the Trinity but think “God” and therefore relate to “God” rather than “God the Father, Son and Spirit”. Our understanding of the who God is and what God does is often informed by the popular Greek myth of the old man in the sky. In daily practice we relate to God the Father as a unitary being somewhat like Zeus, the god of the sky.

The Shack, as a fictional book, doesn’t get caught up in all the technical jargon that a theology book may require but that’s not to say it’s light in substance.

The book encourages us through the story of Mackenzie to see God differently.

My friend and theologian, Dr. C. Baxter Kruger traveled to Australia with the author Wm. Paul Young. Dr. Kruger speaks and writes on the Trinity as a pastor and theologian. A one meeting I heard him speak at with Paul, he pulled out a pair of goofy glasses, with some goofy eyes painted on. You know the one’s I mean!

Baxter’s point that he makes is that the glasses that we see God with are often like the goofy glasses, they filter the image and give a distorted image of who God is. And of course, we live in reaction to these distorted images. Yet, when we are see God as he truly is as God the Father, Son and Spirit and live as people included through Jesus (the Son) in that relationship, we see start to see things a lot differently. Thus life becomes a quest of living out in the world the fullness of our life in Christ within the Trinity.

The Shack depicts this in the events that occur when Mac returns to the cabin. Over time the vision of God as judging, distant, judicial and other-worldy is challenged and slowly replaced by a God who is within himself relational and who has through his Son provided for all of humanity to live within this relation he has within himself.

The good news is that we have been chosen to participate in the life of God – Father, Son and Spirit.

Live the life!

The nature and character of God the Father is often approached by Christians and non-Christians alike in manner akin to Santa Claus, if we’re good he’ll come to us. Some of the forms of revivalism within the pentecostal/charismatic movement tend to have a similar emphasis – think in terms of our separation from holy God, tarrying or the baptism in the Spirit as a sanctifying means by which conjure we are able to God out of his hiding place.

However, I’d like to challenge this and similar mindsets.

Thomas Torrance, in his book The Mediation of Christ argues that you can’t separate the message and the messenger when it comes to God’s revelation of himself.

He writes, “In Jesus Christ God has given us a Revelation which is identical with himself.” That’s why he could say that anyone who has seen him has seen the Father – for the Father dwells in him and he dwells in the Father.

As I’ve thought about God’s activity in our world I’ve come to agree with this outlook.. that through the the history and dealings of Israel and then in the life and person of Jesus God has shown up and pitched his tent.. and He’s not hiding.

It’s easy to think of Jesus like a sign that puts us on the path to God the Father. But this neglects that he is of and within the Godhead of Father, Son and Spirit.

Again, another way to say this is that he is not only the sign but the subject that the sign points too. In my mind it’s like (cause it’s only an analogy) Jesus doing the advertising for God and the campaign involves him turning up everywhere saying “We’re here!!”

The gist of what I’m saying is that God didn’t send Jesus to point people back to God, which is how the gospel can often be presented. But as God, Jesus reveals to the whole world himself, the Father and the Spirit too.

God has not been hiding but has been actively revealing himself on earth culminating in his self-revelation in Jesus.

Take a good look around, you’ll find him fleshed out in all sorts of places.

At various times Trinitarian theology has been confused with Tritheism – a belief in three Gods. This is accusation is often made in our present time by Islamic apologists (there are many example on YouTube) and Oneness Pentecostals.

Tom Torrance wrote,

The doctrine of the Trinity is not a doctrine of three Gods, but a doctrine of the one Lord God with a profounder understanding of the inner unity of his eternal being.

The Mediation of Christ, 1992p, p. 106-107

This is what Trinitarian theology seeks to provide – a profounder understanding of the relationships between Father, Son and Spirit within their essential unity.

Ben Myers (Faith and Theology)has moved to Sydney to take up a position at United Theological College. He recently posted Worshipping Onscreen: A Megachurch Meditation after a visit to a well-known Sydney megachurch. I’m pretty certain that he’s talking about my former church. Both Ben’s post and the subsequent comments are food for thought.