The Crucified King: Atonement and Kingdom in Biblical and Systematic Theology

by Jeremy R. Treat (contributor), Michael Scott Horton (Foreword)

The kingdom of God and the atonement are two of the most important themes in all of Scripture. Tragically, theologians have often either set the two at odds or focused on one to the complete neglect of the other. In The Crucified King, Jeremy Treat demonstrates that Scripture presents a mutually enriching relationship between the kingdom and atonement that draws significantly from the story of Israel and culminates in the crucifixion of Christ the king. As Israel's messiah, he holds together the kingdom and the cross by bringing God's reign on earth through his atoning death. The kingdom is the ultimate goal of the cross, and the cross is the means by which the kingdom comes. Jesus' death is not the failure of his messianic ministry, nor simply the prelude to his royal glory, but is the apex of his kingdom mission. The cross is the throne from which he rules and establishes his kingdom. Using a holistic approach that brings together the insights of biblical and systematic theology, this book demonstrates not only that the kingdom and the cross are inseparable, but how they are integrated in Scripture and theology.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Biblical Studies, Faith, Christian Living, Nonfiction

299 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 27, 2014

About the author

Jeremy R. Treat (PhD, Wheaton College) is a pastor at Reality LA in Hollywood, California, and an adjunct professor at Biola University in La Mirada, California. Before earning his PhD in systematic theology from Wheaton College, Jeremy was a pastor for seven years in the Seattle area and earned degrees from Seattle Pacific University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Reviews

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book.
Treat sets out to put together what man has separated--the atoning work of Jesus, and a biblical theology of the kingdom of God.
Treat helpfully argues that Jesus' enthronement is not something that just follows after his crucifixion, but that the crucifixion is actually part of his elevation and enthronement. His section considering the relationship between penal substitution and Christus Victor in particular is a helpful demonstration of someone using their study and intellect to build up and clarify confusion by pointing to the simple and clear teaching of Scripture. Good example of theological work aiming at serving the church.
It is also a fantastic model for biblical interpretation and drawing theological conclusions.

[Ian Ritchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome. I brought a lot of my own questions to the book and almost every single one was addressed by Treat. This book is a comprehensive treatment of the relationship between the kingdom of God and the cross of Christ.

The first half of the book is a biblical theology tracing the theme of kingdom. Starting in the Hebrew scriptures, the kingdom is examined from creation, to the patriarchs, the exodus, the united kingdom, and in the prophets. Treat shows how the paradox of victory through suffering which culminates in the cross is present from the beginning. The biblical theology of kingdom and cross is continued in the New Testament, especially in Mark, Colossians, and Revelation.

The second half of the book is a systematic (and historic, honestly) theology of Christ, atonement, and kingdom. In this section he interacts with historical views of many issues in theology relating to things such as the offices of Christ and atonement theories.

Throughout the entire work, Treat pulls from diverse scholarship and interacts with the best of theologians of the positions opposite his, including Schleiermacher, Ritschl, and especially Jurgen Moltmann. This is an academic work, but it is accessible for an educated lay person. I will not lower my rating because an academic was being academic, but know that this means there are technical terms left undefined and some hebrew, greek, latin, and german left untranslated.

That being said, though the discourse was heavy and heady at times, like all good works of theology, it nevertheless stirred my heart and affections for God as I read and learned.

[Natalie Lapointe · Rating 4 out of 5]

YAY
This book has been a journey, I feel like I should give an award-ceremony-type speech at this point.
I don't know how to rate it, nothing feels right. Maybe 3.5? Do I round up or down?

Anyway, the biblical theology section was extremely humbling and hard for me to follow. Every chapter felt like drinking out of a fire hydrant but this section felt like drinking out of the Nile River- partially in a good way?

The systematic theology part was easier and therefore more enjoyable. I especially liked the chapters on atonement and whatnot- super interesting things that I've heard a lot about but it was fun to learn about different theologians and schools of thought and how it all relates to the kingdom of God!

The last chapter is basically a big summary. I can't decide if I was proud that I actually knew what he was talking about or disappointed I didn't save myself like 8 hours and just read the last chapter. I think both. HOWEVER- in the *very* last page of this book Mr. Jeremy connects the thorns from Eden to the crown of thorns and how Jesus was bearing the curse from Eden whilst establishing His kingdom. SO COOL. I'm sure that's common knowledge but I had not connected those dots for myself and I was really jazzed that I got to learn that.

[Jake Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treat's work on the atonement is dense and requires a slow reading, but it is full of compelling theology. I've always struggled to reconcile Christus Victor with penal substitution, but Treat's thesis of Christus Victor as the goal and penal substitution as the means was immensely helpful. I so appreciated his consistent refrain that the atonement is like a mosaic. When properly ranked and integrated, the various theories reveal and unveil the magnificence of Christ's kingly work on the cross.

[Mark Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the harmony that the author found in scripture with Penal Substitution and Christus Victor.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Many Christians either champion the kingdom or cling to the cross; yet Scripture presents a mutually enriching relationship between the two that draws significantly from the story of Israel and culminates in the crucifixion of Christ the king. In short, the kingdom and the cross are held together by the Christ-Israel’s Messiah-who brings God’s reign on earth through his atoning death on the cross. The kingdom is the ultimate goal of the cross, and the cross is the means by which the kingdom comes.” - p. 247.

[Ethan Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treat's book is excellent in both method and content. He is seeking to destroy the divide between kingdom and cross in biblical and systematic theology. He notes that often kingdom is emphasized at the expense of the cross or vice versa in biblical theology, whereas in systematic theology Christus Victor or penal substitution exclude one another. Treat insightful shows that in the story of redemption the kingdom comes through the cross and that in doctrine Christ is victorious through penal substitution. He demonstrates that these dichotomies are not only unnecessary but also detrimental to theologies of the kingdom and the cross. It was a delight to read a work with such exegetical rigor, sober analysis, constructive synthesis, and meaningful interaction with historic and contemporary sources. Treat's thesis must be considered and wrestled with for anyone doing biblical and systematic theology in these areas moving forward.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that appropriately distinguishes and relates the atonement accomplished by the cross of Christ, to the kingdom inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Christ. I enjoyed this one very much.

[Bradley Blaylock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book. Good biblical theology, weak systematic theology. Love the conclusion: Christus Victor via Penal Substitutionary atonement.

[Lee Irons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeremy Treat is Pastor for Equipping and Theology at Reality LA in Hollywood. This book is his PhD dissertation written under the supervision of Kevin Vanhoozer at Wheaton College with guidance from Douglas Moo. The foreword was written by Michael Horton. This treatise comes with excellent credentials.

Treat’s quest in this book is to reconcile and harmonize two key New Testament themes that have often been separated – the kingdom of God and the atonement accomplished by Christ – and to do so using two methodologies that have also tended to be split apart – biblical theology and systematic theology. He sets the question before himself in the opening page of his introduction: “This book seeks to provide an answer to the following basic question: What is the biblical and theological relationship between the coming of the kingdom of God and the atoning death of Christ on the cross?” (p. 25).

After an introduction which lays out the question and defines key terms, the book is divided into two sections, corresponding to the two methods used.

Part I is Biblical Theology and contains five chapters. Chapter 1 is an overview of the Old Testament motif of “victory through sacrifice,” beginning with the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15 (the seed of the woman who crushes the serpent’s head but whose heel is bruised in the process). Treat rightly argues that the grand narrative of Scripture, from Adam to Israel, is the key narrative context for understanding the coming of the kingdom of God. Chapter 2 focuses on the Suffering Servant in the prophecies of Isaiah. Chapter 3 is a magisterial tracing of the theme of the crucified King in the Gospel of Mark. Chapter 4 is a more exegetical examination of several key passages in two New Testament books that show the interlocking nature of the cross and the kingdom: Colossians and Revelation. Chapter 5 is a summary of Part I. Here Treat summarizes his thesis: the kingdom is telic, and the cross is central. In other words, the kingdom is the telos or goal of God’s purpose in creation and redemptive history, but the kingdom comes through the atoning death of Christ. The cross is the pivot-point or hinge that effects the shift from the old age under the reign of sin, death, and Satan to the new creation or the eschatological kingdom of God.

Part II is Systematic Theology and contains five chapters. Chapter 6 deals with two topics related to Christology: the two states of Christ (the humiliation and the exaltation of Christ) and the three-fold office of Christ (prophet, priest and king). Treat argues that an over-compartmentalization of the two states of Christ has misled theologians into thinking that the kingly office of Christ begins with his exaltation, thus missing the reality that Christ reigns on the cross (as demonstrated in his earlier survey of Mark’s Gospel in Chapter 3). Chapters 7 and 8 deal with the conflict in contemporary theology between those who advocate a Christus Victor theory and defenders of the penal substitution theory of the atonement. In a nutshell, he argues that both motifs are necessary and essential for a right understanding of the kingdom, but that they must be seen in their proper relationship and order: the penal substitutionary death of Christ is the means by which Christ accomplishes his victory over Satan, delivers us from Satan’s power, and effects the transition of the ages that inaugurates the kingdom of God. Treat summarizes this as “Christus Victor through penal substitution.” Chapter 9 is a critical examination of Jürgen Moltmann’s theology of the kingdom of God. Chapter 10 is a conclusion.

One thing I liked about the book is that Treat does a particularly good job of interacting with N. T. Wright’s thought. Although Treat is appreciative of Wright and is in some ways even in agreement with Wright on the main point (that Jesus brings the kingdom by way of the cross), he also sees the areas where Wright’s theology is lacking and in need of correction. Treat focuses on presenting his thesis in positive terms and avoids undue polemics. Nevertheless, if you read the footnotes carefully, you can see the points where Treat takes issue with Wright or would want to tweak Wright’s thought in a more orthodox direction. For example, he writes: “Although Wright acknowledges some form of penal substitution, it plays little role in his telling of the story of redemption or connecting kingdom and cross. I see penal substitution (as integrated with Christus Victor) being essential for relating kingdom and cross.” (p. 247 n1). For more criticisms of Wright, see Treat’s comments on pp. 29 n25, 132 n9, 133-34, 138 n36.

I highly recommend this book. In terms of his success in answering his question (What is the relationship between the kingdom and the atoning death of Christ?), I think that Treat has nailed it.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

My head hurts, thanks Jeff.

Writing was clear but dry. I would’ve appreciated more life in the writing!

[David Goetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-conceived and well-executed.

Treat observes that biblical scholars and theologians often focus on either kingdom or cross to the neglect of the other. This book is his attempt to reconcile kingdom and cross and to show how they relate to one another and, ultimately, how they cohere in the person of Jesus Christ, the crucified king. Additionally, he attempts to integrate systematic theology (the logic of redemption) and biblical theology (the story of redemption), as well as Christus Victor and penal substitution. On all three fronts, I consider him to have succeeded.

Treat divides the book into two major sections: Biblical Theology & Systematic Theology. Each section has five chapters, as follows:

1. Victory through Sacrifice in the OT
2. The Suffering Servant and His Kingdom Context in Isaiah
3. The Crucified King in Mark
4. The Blood of the Cross and the Kingdom of Christ
5. Summary: The Kingdom Established by the Cross
____________________________

6. Christ: The King on the Cross
7. Atonement: Expansive Particularity
8. Atonement: Reconciling Christus Victor and Penal Substitution
9. Kingdom: The Cruciform Reign of God
10. Conclusion: Crown of Thorns

The whole book is exceedingly well organized. In fact, if I were to identify Treat's greatest strength, I would say it's orderliness and a sense of how things fit together. I suspect he's an excellent classroom teacher.

Basically, Treat demonstrates that victory through suffering is a major biblical motif. This affects how, for example, we conceive of the states of humiliation and exaltation: even in his so-called humiliation, Christ is exalted. And even in his so-called exaltation, in resurrection and ascension and heavenly session, he remains humble, for the kingdom itself is cruciform. Jesus fulfills this motif of victory through suffering, but Treat also demonstrates that frequently the human authors of Scripture portray Jesus as victorious in suffering; he quotes Horton somewhere as saying that Jesus grasped his cross as a king grasps a scepter. The kingdom is telic, Treat says, in the sense that it is the final cause of all of God's reconciling work, even and especially the work of Christ on the cross. And the cross is central in that it establishes the kingdom of God.

Treat contends for Christus Victor through penal substitution. He helpfully notes that Christus Victor can't stand by itself; it needs to penal substitution to explain how precisely Christ achieves victory over Satan on the cross. On the cross, Jesus deals with our most basic problem, enmity with God. Once he deals with this problem, Satan no longer has us in bondage. Sin is the fundamental problem, i.e., so penal substitution is "more" fundamental than Christus Victor.

Anyway, Michael Bird is right when he says that "Treat brings sanity and sensibility to a controversial topic that should not even be controversial." This is not convoluted theology, but it is exceedingly helpful. Highly recommended.

[Радостин Марчев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книгата получи award of merit от Christianity today book awards за 2015 в категорията богословие/етика (където отстъпи единствено на Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine на Кевин Ванхузер).
Джереми Трийт е написал много добра книга, която свързва няколко различни полета и идеи - егзегетиката и систематичното богословие, заместничеството изкупление и Christus Victor, кръста и царството. Независимо от разнородната интеграция на сложни идеи авторът пише много ясно (което за мен е една от най-големите достойнства на книгата) и на читателят никога не му се налага да гадае какво иска да каже. Единственото затруднение, което някой мое да срещне е необходимостта предварително да познава библейските пасажи, които Трийт щрихира и коментира в бърза последователност както от СЗ така и от НЗ.
Независимо дали човек е напълно съгласен с тезата на автора той излага две идеи, които аз намирам за твърде удачни във връзка с разглеждания въпрос. Първата е необходимостта да дадем думата на различната метафорична образност свързана с изкуплението, която откриваме в Библията имайки в предвид, че те показват различни страни на една картина вместо да ги противопоставяме една на друга (както често се прави). Същевременно дискусията за неудачността да избираме метафора, която според нас отговаря на нуждите на времето е според мен напълно оправдана. Втората ценна идея е предупреждението от противопоставяне на различни теории за спасението/изкуплението сякаш те задължително са взаимноизключващи се. Както Трийт показва доста нагледно нещата не винаги следва да бъдат виждани като или/или - понякога и/и върши по-добра работа. Нагледното приложение, което той демонстрира с примиряването на заместничеството наказателно изкупление и Christus Victor, които често биват противопоставяни, е добра, макар и не особено оригинална.
Над всичко това авторът интегрира библейските концепции за кръста и царството не като отделни, а като неразривно свързани - напомняне, което отново не е съвсем оригинално, но действително е често пренебрегвано в систематичното богословие.
Накрая, на няколко места книгата съдържа ценни (и достатъчно ясни и кратки) разсъждения по някои интересни въпроси - напр. за връзката между тройната функция на Исус като цар, свещеник и пророк, за невъзможността да свързваме пасивното покорство единствено с кръста, а активното със земния живот на Христос, за времевото припокриване на смирението и славата на Христос и представяне и оценка на богословието на Молтмън за царството.
Библиографията посочена в бележки под линия е твърде разнообразна, чудесна като качество и дава пълна възможност на интересуващите се да продължат да изследват самостоятелно - още нещо, което особено ценя в литература от подобен тип.
Трябва да призная, че името Джереми Трийт не ми е познато. Със сигурност обаче бих прегледал още неща написани от него.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way I've been thinking about Treat's approach is this: the gospel treasure laid out to followers of Christ has been dissected into siloed doctrines that, at the time of being under the magnifying glass, was intensely helpful in emphasizing and clarifying.

But centuries-worth of the practices of reductions into constituents have led to a modern-day, odd confusion in asking now how those pieces fit back together- with a particular mistake in pitting doctrines against each other in an either-or, oversimplified, falsely-dichotomized version of what once was. It at times feels frustrating enough to call those leading such dissensions false teachers for the truncation of the gospel and oversystemization of Christ into heartless, half-meaning states and offices.

Treat does the unfortunately rare but beautiful work defending the complex beauty of how kingdom and crucifixion come together, contemplatively against our culture's woeful tendencies. He does so by weaving through the Scriptures as a whole narrative and borrowing from existing systematic theology, referring via critical dialogue with rich, historical interpretations.

While knowing the book is originally a dissertation may be daunting and feel inaccessible, the book itself is organized to allow even a layperson like myself to follow well. I hope many pastors and theologians take up Treat's hard-worked model of shepherding people to behold the breadth and depth of Christ's work wholehearted, earnestly, and without error.

I will particularly take the ability to "privilege" a particular doctrine & Biblical metaphor via contextualization (emphasize over exclude) as a powerful tool beyond the Christus Victor through Penal Substitution hypothesis.

*4.5 for the academically heavy book that it is.

[Jason Joyner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a well-researched and laid out treatise on his topic. I listened to this on Audible and I wish it had been a physical purchase. It is dense and that made it hard to listen to at times, especially when the narrator had to read out numerous Scripture references.

It's more academic than I expected as well.

It was certainly a read that gave me things to think about regarding atonement and kingdom. Overall I'm glad I listened to it, but it would be better IMO physically holding a book in my hand so I could look up references and skim where I needed to.

[Josh Coe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow y’all. Genuinely one of the most helpful books I’ve read. I definitely spent more time on single pages than I have on whole chapters of other books (maybe whole other books??), but man, did it reward the effort!

[Brendan Beale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful and insightful look into the relationship between the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed and the cross that Jesus endured. The author weaves together strands of the biblical narrative to produce a compelling portrait of Jesus’ mission: the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth by way of the cross.

Jeremy Treat’s exposition of kingdom and atonement in Isaiah is, by itself, worth the price of the book. Seeing the connections between Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah 6 and the Servant Song of Isaiah 52-53 was a seminal “lightbulb” moment for me.

Treat’s handling of penal substitution and Christus Victor, as winsome as it was, actually left a little something to be desired. Certainly, I thought his handling of the biblical material, and the conclusions he drew, were sound. However, it seems to me that a better synthesis of penal substitution and Christus Victor is found in the recapitulation theory of atonement. Jesus, as the Second Adam, reconstitutes humanity’s vice-regency over creation and over Satan (Christus Victor), and shoulders all the consequences of the curse on himself (penal substitution). Perplexingly, Treat continually pointed this direction in the first half of the book, but seemingly dropped this thread during the second half. I would love to see Treat return to this theme with a more robust handling of Jesus’ work as the second Adam, the Son of Man.

I would recommend this book as the perfect companion to N.T. Wright’s “How God Became King.” The two are aiming in the same direction, but their strengths and weaknesses complement each other nicely. Wright does a powerful job of setting Jesus’ ministry and the kingdom of God in their second temple Judaism context, drawing out the implications therein. Where Wright falters, however, is where Treat shines: a Reformed and evangelical handling of the atonement in all its multi-faceted glory, including (most importantly) the cross as the means by which the wrath of God toward his people is extinguished. Both “How God Became King” and “The Crucified King” need each other, and the Church needs both of them. From now on, I’ll be recommending them together as a unified whole.

[Alice Gent · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Crucified King address the problems of people over stressing either the 'Kingdom of God' or 'Christ dying for our sins' to the detriment of the other and encourages us to hold both together as they enrich each other and are both crucial for a Biblically sound view.

Wow, I can't remember the last book I read who's author displayed such a thorough grasp of the scriptures. And every reference is so well used! Though none of the ideas were particularly new to me, they were so well explained, backed and explored. This has really helped me hone and crystallise my views. I am now also more aware of this issue, that I have never spent much time thinking about and so I'm sure this book has saved me from falling into some traps in how I speak and teach.

The book thoroughly and well achieved its aim, therefore I would definitely give it 5 stars. My only issue with this book is the scholarly writing style, which is just a general bug bear of mine. I understand that this book is written for scholarship and that audience, but I think theology books should be accessible to everyone. The frequent use of greek and latin words and complicated terms is very exclusive and classist. They can often be substituted for a single common word, or at least explained/defined in a sentence rather than forcing people who do not have degrees in theology or a private school education to look them up. I understand the language is appropriate for the book's audience, but would love such richness to be made more accessible to others. It would also stop it being a bit of a slog to read! (The odd light sentence or analogy was missed to.)

[PJ Wenzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a capable treatment of the concept of Jesus as King and how that kingdom is realized/was realized in his ministry. What I like about this book is that firstly, that it takes a step back and asks all the scholars who came before if what they’re arguing is correct.

The author recognizes here that (as is the case in many theological disputes) scholars have been talking past each other and overreacting - not in their words but in their theories. I’ve found in my reading of many topics that the pendulum of thought often swings too far one way or another, when often what is needed is simply a tweak or course correction to some of the great thinkers. Men and women who have plowed ahead with huge and amazing ideas in history can sometimes overshoot the mark on important clarifying details, leaving historical followers to try and discern what they meant - often this leads people into very odd practices in every field of endeavor.

But eventually, within this or that discipline, there comes along a scholar or two or three who offer a via media, a course correction, and without violence to other men’s ideas, or rude/crass commentary of others’ failings, are able to suggest a more accurate and clarifying way of thinking about a thing. This is one such example.

I especially appreciated the authors exposition of the suffering servant passages in Isaiah, and how those passages connect together with the biblical concept of kingship. Absolutely brilliant.

I’ll be thinking about this book for years to come.

[Paul Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treat’s work serves the church well I believe. He has responded to our historical understanding of the kingdom and the cross appropriately by calling us away from our desire to quantify everything into neat distinct compartments. When we looked at the cross we could not conceive of victory or exaltation because humanly speaking defeat can only lead to a later victory at best. The understanding of many historically would testify that the cross was a necessary defeat in order to transition into victory but this relegates the cross to simply a means to an end. Consequently this can lead one to be bitter about the means in their own life while the end lingers before arriving. But if there is actual purpose in the means, they are an end in themselves, then we can now receive the present and eagerly await the future instead of putting up with the present only because of the future. I do not want to swing the pendulum away from Paul’s points about the kingdom being so satisfying that all suffering will not compare; I think we can take heart that in resurrection we will have perfect peace. However, Treat’s points can open our eyes to the here and now as being more than a transition like waiting in line for a ride. Treat has revealed the truth that as we pick up our cross we are not only taking suffering upon ourselves but we are also taking upon ourselves the mantle of ruling and reigning over this present darkness! Jesus was enthroned as King on the cross and truthfully I think we too are enthroned as co-heirs as we carry our crosses after Him.

[Cristiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give 6 stars if I could.

In a age of shallow Evangelical Theology, produced by people who are more worried about showing themselves up as pro-/counter-government so that they can have more followers in their YouTube Channel or more audience in their Instagram Lives or whatever, it is difficult to find theological works that are insightful, academic, professional, meaningful, helpful and that actually make sense. This is for sure one of them.

From time to time the Lord seems to allow me to get to know thoughtful and faithful servants whose theological works open up layers of meaning in my mind, readjusting my views so that they can be more conformed to the true purpose and message of the Holy Scriptures. This is one of those books.

N. T. Wright's books, specially "The Day the Revolution Began", were very important to me in the last months as well; I highly recommend them. However, since he and I do not belong to the same Christian tradition, I'd like to read something related to his line of thoughts but from a Reformed perspective. In this book, Jeremy R. Treat, among other things, offers exactly that.

Even though I do not have a degree in Theology, I could understand his thesis and line of thought without difficulties. It is very accessible.

[Jon Cheek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent. The primary focus here is demonstrating the relationship between penal-substitution and Christus Victor. Treat does solid work upholding the critical role of penal-substitution while also affirming the prominence of Christus Victor: Christus Victor through penal-substitution. The victory of Christ cannot happen without penal-substitution, and penal-substitution is the means of accomplishing Christus Victor. Similarly, kingdom is accomplished through atonement.

Treat also emphasizes the key concept of the exaltation of Christ in his suffering on the cross. Christ's suffering is not only an aspect of his priestly role but also of his kingly role.

[Noah Calcagno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremy Treat does a fantastic job of reconciling penal substitution and Christus Victor. While a common trend in both camps is to affirm one at the expense of the other, Treat suggests (and rightly so, in my opinion) that Christ is victor through penal substitution. The book does a great job of maintaining the centrality of PSA, but showing that we must have a category for the reality of Christ as King. The best way to summarize Treat's ideas is what Michael Horton says in the foreword: that Jesus is King, and the cross is his scepter.

[Becca Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this for contemplation during holy week. The author argues for a marriage between penal substitution and christus victor- atonement theories that have theological emphases depending on the denomination.The main idea that I took away was that we should try to hold truthful theological ideas simultaneously, however, giving priority to one is a biblical concept. I'm curious to read some works by the theologians he discussed. Most reflections were more in the vein of opinion, though some he denounced. This was a helpful book for considering what the cross should mean for Christians.

[Kyle McManamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book! Highly recommend. Jumping into biblical theology and systematic, Treat jumps into the discussion of the atonement, synthesizing the conclusions of different camps to show a more robust picture of what Jesus won on the cross. Such a great resource.

Note: Very readable and also academic (this book is the popularized version of his dissertation).

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should qualify this as four stars for the information I assimilated because this gets pretty technical in the systematic theology section. But it took me deep into the depths of Christ’s nature, the full effects of our atonement, and the spectacular coherency of the Bible. I’ll be thinking about this for awhile and jotting down quotes to parse, too.

[Jennifer Franzke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A technical treatment of the intersection of Christus Victor and penal substitutionary atonement - it’s obvious that Treat has done his homework in writing this book. A challenging read but well worth it, especially if you find yourself confused about what was actually accomplished through then crucifixion.

[James Bewley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the doctrine of Salvation and atonement. Treat strategically weaves penal substitution in Christ's death and Christus Victor in His resurrection to give a full picture of atonement for believers.

[Loni]

I had to abandon this book on Audible. It was not a good choice for an audio book. Every sentence was finished with a list of Biblical passage citations. It started to feel interminable and irritating and made it hard to follow his thread.

[Matt Ecton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful. One of those paradigm-shifting books where as soon as you read it, you understand why others rave about it.

If you want a teaser, go listen to Treat’s episode (“The Wooden Throne”) on the Knowing Faith podcast.