Lord Jesus Christ

New Studies in Dogmatics

by Daniel J. Treier, Scott R. Swain (Editor), Michael Allen (Editor)

A study of the doctrine of Christ that is biblical and historical, evangelical and ecumenical, conceptually clear and contextually relevant. Lord Jesus Christ expounds the doctrine of Christ by focusing upon theological interpretation of Scripture regarding Jesus's identity. The book's structure traces a Christological arc from the eternal communion of the Triune God through creation, covenants, Incarnation, passion, and exaltation all the way to the consummation of redemptive history. This arc identifies Jesus as the divine Lord who assumed human flesh for our salvation. The book expounds and defends a classically Reformed Christology in relation to contemporary contexts and challenges, engaging both philosophical and global concerns. Each chapter begins with the theological interpretation of a key Scripture text before expounding key concepts of orthodox Protestant Christology. Lord Jesus Christ is a unique example of writing dogmatic theology by way of theological exegesis. The result is a volume that engages the numerous scholarly volumes on Christology that have appeared within the last couple of decades but provides a contemporary account of a traditional view. About the New Studies in Dogmatics seeks to retrieve the riches of Christian doctrine for the sake of contemporary theological renewal. Following in the tradition of G. C. Berkouwer's Studies in Dogmatics, this series will provide thoughtful, concise, and readable treatments of major theological topics, expressing the biblical, creedal, and confessional shape of Christian doctrine for a contemporary evangelical audience. The editors and contributors share a common conviction that the way forward in constructive systematic theology lies in building upon the foundations laid in the church's historic understanding of the Word of God as professed in its creeds, councils, and confessions, and by its most trusted teachers.

Genres: Theology

384 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2023

About the author

Daniel Treier is a Christian theologian and has been Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL since 2001. Prior to Wheaton College, Treier taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School as Instructor of Biblical and Systematic Theology and at Cornerstone University. He has an M.Div. (1996) and Th.M. (1998) from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Systematic Theology (2002) under the supervision of Kevin J. Vanhoozer.

Treier is an expert in theological hermeneutics, having been the associate editor for the Dictionary for Theological Interpreation of the Bible (2005).

Reviews

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. I have a couple of very minor quibbles here or there, but—as advertised—this is a very helpful summary of conciliar and confessional Reformed Christology.

[Riley Carpenter]

I did not read every chapter of this book, so I can’t give it a proper rating out of 5 stars.

Nevertheless, from the sections I read I was pretty impressed. Each chapter is centered on a significant section of scripture that has been significant for the church’s dogmatic articulation of the our Lord’s person and work. I appreciated Treier’s exegetical work because it was actually helpful in demonstrating clearly how a theologian in real time moves from exegesis to dogmatics.

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent addition to this series. Treier's Christology begins with God the Son's eternal communion with Father and Spirit and ends with our communion in Him. Each chapter rightly starts with exegesis, reminding us that dogmatics and exegesis belong with and for one another.

"The eternal Son of God, enjoying the communion of the blessed Trinity, gives human beings a creaturely share in such blessedness, becoming the Bridegroom through whom we will enjoy the eternal consummation of our union with God." (46)

[Jeremy Fritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent!

[Nicholas Meriwether · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always a good thing to think deeply about Jesus.

Nobody can say Treier didn’t do his homework! This volume is carefully written, and both broadly and thoroughly cited throughout, incorporating biblical data, patristic and scholastic arguments, and modern scholarship from a variety of perspectives.

One of this book’s main strengths is how it moderates excesses of scholarship. Let us not be rocked back and forth by every new wave of scholarship! Treier does just that. He defends conciliar Christology against movements that deviate from the biblical witness and lack theological consistency. Take for example his upholding of Early High Christology against kenotic Christologies that extend Philippians 2 into an untenable direction. Another helpful chapter is about Logos Christology where he traces heresies that refine Christology (this chapter also helped me understand Logos Asarkos). This tendency is evident throughout the whole book.

While it is carefully written, I am reminded why dogmatics is not my principal field. Treier notes from the onset that this account is from a Reformed perspective, so he had some Reformed-specific arguments throughout that were specific to this position. My own niche disagreements with this structure do not negate the validity of these arguments, but to non-Reformed readers, these might seem a little superfluous.

Hermeneutically, Treier does his diligence to situate his work coming from a Theological Interpretation of Scripture methodology. While the initial Scriptural expositions at the start of each chapter were robust, they often seemed marginally connected to the dogmatic discussions that followed. Once again, this might be my exegetical background. In so doing, there are some cases where methods like prosopological exegesis are used and affirmed with minimal hermeneutical justification (the exception being Jesus’ use of Psalm 110). This perhaps came to a point in the chapter on covenant, where widely used approaches to intertestamental reasoning like the Christotelic approach were sidelined without much consideration. That being said, I do like his language of Christomorphic interpretation for homiletical purposes, where the preacher applied Old Testament passages in a way that considers the modern context on this side of the resurrection.

While the back cover says this book is useful for pastors and students, I would contend that it is more useful for scholars and specialists in systematic theology. The way it is written is terse and academic, using technical terms without much explanation for those unfamiliar with current or historic debates. So perhaps for the pastor who has an MDiv.

[Zachary Horn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Solid, and certainly worth a read, but I personally did not find Treier's method attractive or his writing compelling (the latter is certainly a matter of taste). My biggest complaint is that Treier frequently seeks to create theoretical or thematic relationships that are vague and confusing, not due to technical vocabulary, but due to an unexplained ambiguity and a general lack in specificity that seems to be an intended feature. This is one of my complaints with theological works of this kind--sometimes the attempt to say something profound seems to be an excuse to not say something clearly, and in the end you are left wondering if it is really that profound at all.

In the grand scheme, that is a relatively minor complaint in a book that is filled with some really helpful Christological reasoning. But along with a few theological quibbles, my personal frustration at times is enough to leave this as a solid but not exceptional.

[Brenden Wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A phenomenal & unflinchingly in-depth book on christology.

5 stars for both content and writing. If you’re looking for a tome that plums the depths of biblical Christology while also in conversation with reformed orthodoxy and historical confessionalism, this is it.

The strength of Treier’s examination of the person and work of Christ is that in each chapter:
- he grounds and begins what concept he will be exploring in deep theological exegesis of a key text that displays the doctrine presented (thus giving texts to examine and remember for yourself)
- an intricate dogmatic formulation that leaves no stone unturned
- practical ways that this doctrine both encourages the saints to doxology

Couldn’t recommend more

[Ben Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If only all the dogmatics I read were so exegetical, precise and concise, and informed by both the Christian tradition and contemporary scholarly conversation!

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was originally planning to give this 4 stars, since his prose is at times muddled. This is not a function of his target audience, since "although this series assumes a measure of theological literacy, this book's desired audience is not primarily professional scholars but those who are enhancing their preparation for various kinds of gospel ministry" (p. 43).

But the final chapter was just so good: "Dogmatic Christology discerns the ontological arc implicit in the biblical drama and confesses accordingly the Jesus Christ is our saving Lord. The work of creation and redemption reveals this Son to be the Mediator through whom the triune God communicates the divine goodness. The consummation of our creaturely communion with God likewise reveals our theandric Mediator as the Bridegroom, the prince to whom we are betrothed in anticipation of a royal wedding feast. If Jesus were not fully human, then the Bridegroom would present no face with which to commune; if he were not fully divine, then the Bridegroom would not unite us with God; if not for the personal unity of Jesus Christ as Lord, then our hope for a heavenly banquet on a renewed earth would be lost. Yet the Holy Spirit enables the church to confess, however imperfectly, the biblical truth 'Jesus is Lord,' to the glory of God the Father" (pp. 313–14).

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes hard to follow but theologically sound. Read for a doctrine class…there are lots of better alternatives to this book.

[Richard Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but mixed. Helpful as a survey of thought across the realm of Christology; not helpful as a single reference book on the topic and not (that I could see) making any particularly profound new contribution.

Mixed in multiple ways:
1. In style of argumentation: In places Treier makes tight arguments, in other places he just summarises his conclusory thoughts, some details are backed up with numerous sources others with none.

2. In style of theology, in places Treier is seeking to track with recent works of retrieval in other places he's seeking to caution against them; I think he's trying to chart out a distinctive "middle path" but (maybe I'm biased) it seems to me to just fall flat, if we are to hold to eternal generation as definitional to the trinity but then say it's "only a metaphor" and reject the philosophical tools historically used to unpack it I'm just not quite sure what we're doing; similarly if we hold to the beatific vision but then say it's to be seen specifically in the face of Christ.

3. Chapter 5 on creedal christology is really good as is the response to various departures from it including some of the handling of Kensosis in chapter 6 BUT avoiding clear (philosophical) definitions of "nature" and "person" leaves some of this material less precise than it could be and feeling somewhat "muted" in places.

[Samuel Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good, solid, judicious textbook offering good coverage of conciliar/confessional reformed Christology, with well-judged responses to a large variety of modern alternative views and attacks. There are a few details I'd like handled differently, but it's good stuff.

It's good, of course, to have a textbook written after the EFS/eternal generation debate that interacts with the arguments and sets things clearly back in the right track.

It's well and clearly written, with plenty exegesis and plenty of quotation of significant past theologians. Sometimes a little more footnoting would help when he's interacting with on controversial issues.

It functions well as a textbook, to cover the main bases; it does need supplementing with a range of (patristic/medieval/reformed/etc) authors who thrill and inspire more effectively than Treier.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly written and sound exposition of Christology from a Reformed perspective (so, affirming, among other things, the extra calvinisticum), Treier utilizes theological exegesis of key NT texts to lead into his dogmatic insights. While this work is of a more intermediate to advanced level, with some work the beginner could follow his line of argumentation and benefit from it. This is a welcome contribution to the series and the reader would benefit from reading this in conjunction with Levering's Reconstructing Thomistic Christology.

[Conner Hinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good read. I appreciate Treier’s attention to exegesis of key biblical texts that characterize the various names of the Lord Jesus Christ and the theological considerations which accompany each name.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only gave it two stars because he quoted Paradiso at the end

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on Christology.

[Daniel Arter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent example of what it means to do dogmatic theology. The author defends Nicene Christology through robust exegesis. Worth reading.