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Foundations of Evangelical Theology
God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ
Nothing is more important than what a person believes about Jesus Christ. To understand Christ correctly is to understand the very heart of God, Scripture, and the gospel. To get to the core of this belief, this latest volume in the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series lays out a systematic summary of Christology from philosophical, biblical, and historical perspectives―concluding that Jesus Christ is God the Son incarnate, both fully divine and fully human. Readers will learn to better know, love, trust, and obey Christ―unashamed to proclaim him as the only Lord and Savior. Part of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
108 people are currently reading
593 people want to read
About the author
Stephen J. Wellum
42 books69 followersStephen J. Wellum (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of Christian theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and editor of the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. Stephen lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, Karen, and their five children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
February 15, 2025
Masterful. Truly a remarkable accomplishment in one volume. Wellum is a model of biblical commitment, creedal submission, logical precision, and charitable criticism, all in service of exalting the person and work of Christ. Every pastor should have a well-worn copy on his shelf.
I would encourage reading chapter 13 first for a positive summary of the doctrine before jumping into the rest of the book.
I would encourage reading chapter 13 first for a positive summary of the doctrine before jumping into the rest of the book.
July 4, 2017
Steve Wellum's God the Son Incarnate is the best book on Christology I have ever read. It receives my highest recommendation. I am already scheming on how to require this in my classes. My only small quibble is that Steve does not develop the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christ to the degree that the Scriptures do.
December 28, 2018
One of the best books I’ve ever read. Add it to your list.
April 7, 2022
4.6 Stars
"For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved." -Gregory of Nazianzus
Stephen Wellum's "God the Son Incarnate" is a masterpiece of theological work on Christology. Wellum's book is an accessible yet thorough doctrinal formulation of Evangelical Christology. This is a book for pastors, scholars, and lay people who want to understand the doctrine of Christ more deeply, argue for it more faithfully, and dispel un-Biblical views. The main thesis of Wellum's book is that Jesus is "God the Son incarnate," who is one person who has two natures, divine and human.
Wellum is logically and philosophically rigorous in his book. In the first two sections of this book Wellum lays down the philosophical and biblical foundations for arguing for a faithful Christology. He states that a faithful Christology cannot be developed based on Enlightenment epistemology, but only on the Scriptures and the totality of its Biblical covenants. Wellum then presents the ecclesiological and historical arguments for Christology, overviewing people and events like the Council of Nicaea and Chalcedon, Athanasius, the Cappadocian Fathers, and Maximus the Confessor. The last few sections of the book Wellum argues against current views on Christology, such as the kenotic Christology, viewing them as Biblically and historically unfaithful. He then ends with a final formulation of an Evangelical Christology.
Wellum’s book is academically rigorous and dense, but it is very helpful. Wellum has written a book that is Biblically faithful, doctrinally coherent, and doxologically glorious. The beauty of Wellum's arguments is that God the Son's assumption of a fully human nature, while retaining His fully divine nature, allows for Him to accomplish redemption. Thus, the incarnation is an act of divine condescension and love - we do not have a God who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, as well as a God who is able to sustain the universe and accomplish salvation. At the same time, we do not have the savior of kenotic Christology who somehow surrendered His divinity to be like us. For a savior who is only human and not fully divine could not save us.
Overall, this is a wonderful book on Christology. It is dense, particularly when it comes to its philosophical concepts, and though I would not recommend this to someone looking for a simple and easy read; I think Packer's the Cross of Christ or Ortlund's Gentle and Lowly would be more accessible. But I would highly recommend this for anyone seeking to think more academically and rigorously about the doctrine of Christ.
"For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved." -Gregory of Nazianzus
Stephen Wellum's "God the Son Incarnate" is a masterpiece of theological work on Christology. Wellum's book is an accessible yet thorough doctrinal formulation of Evangelical Christology. This is a book for pastors, scholars, and lay people who want to understand the doctrine of Christ more deeply, argue for it more faithfully, and dispel un-Biblical views. The main thesis of Wellum's book is that Jesus is "God the Son incarnate," who is one person who has two natures, divine and human.
Wellum is logically and philosophically rigorous in his book. In the first two sections of this book Wellum lays down the philosophical and biblical foundations for arguing for a faithful Christology. He states that a faithful Christology cannot be developed based on Enlightenment epistemology, but only on the Scriptures and the totality of its Biblical covenants. Wellum then presents the ecclesiological and historical arguments for Christology, overviewing people and events like the Council of Nicaea and Chalcedon, Athanasius, the Cappadocian Fathers, and Maximus the Confessor. The last few sections of the book Wellum argues against current views on Christology, such as the kenotic Christology, viewing them as Biblically and historically unfaithful. He then ends with a final formulation of an Evangelical Christology.
Wellum’s book is academically rigorous and dense, but it is very helpful. Wellum has written a book that is Biblically faithful, doctrinally coherent, and doxologically glorious. The beauty of Wellum's arguments is that God the Son's assumption of a fully human nature, while retaining His fully divine nature, allows for Him to accomplish redemption. Thus, the incarnation is an act of divine condescension and love - we do not have a God who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, as well as a God who is able to sustain the universe and accomplish salvation. At the same time, we do not have the savior of kenotic Christology who somehow surrendered His divinity to be like us. For a savior who is only human and not fully divine could not save us.
Overall, this is a wonderful book on Christology. It is dense, particularly when it comes to its philosophical concepts, and though I would not recommend this to someone looking for a simple and easy read; I think Packer's the Cross of Christ or Ortlund's Gentle and Lowly would be more accessible. But I would highly recommend this for anyone seeking to think more academically and rigorously about the doctrine of Christ.
October 20, 2023
Very helpful.
November 4, 2025
I read maybe 60% of this back in seminary, came back and read it cover to cover for a seminar. Wellum is one of my favorite contemporary theologians, and this is a superb example of his contribution to the church. Wellum is (quite rightly) concerned with the way the inroads of the methods and assumptions of modernity have penetrated into theology, and specifically Christology. With clarity, nimbleness, and incisive clarity, Wellum defends an orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christology that affirms classical metaphysics. One of the strengths of this work is to underscore the essential person-nature distinction, and its implications. A failure to maintain a commitment to a classical and biblical metaphysic threatens not only the hypostatic union in relation to Christology, but the ad intra relations of the persons of the Triune God. Thus, Wellu sees at stake not merely a Chalcedonian Christology, but modern and critical approaches to theology threaten a Nicene orthodoxy, whatever else they may claim. Excellent.
March 7, 2024
An excellent book. Difficult to follow at times (says more about me than the book!). Not merely an academic but rather an argument infused with love for Christ.
January 11, 2018
This book is an outstanding defence of orthodox Christology. The author begins with a survey of the effects of Enlightenment Rationalism and Postmodernism upon contemporary Christology, then defends the position of the church catholic from scripture. Dr Wellum avoids a biblicist approach but recognises the ministerial role of tradition within Protestant and Reformed theology. Hence, his discussions concerning how the church has responded to early heresies on the person of Christ is most relevant.
More recent developments in Christology through liberalism and heterodox evangelicalism, such as the Kenosis theory and the denial of Christ's impeccability, are discussed and refuted. Although the author is a Baptist, he does an admirable job of defending the extra Calvinisticum and the Reformed position on the real spiritual presence of Christ in the Lord's supper. Interestingly, both the Kenotic theology and Lutheran eucharistic theology are untenable in light of the doctrine of divine simplicity.
The only criticisms that I have of the book are that the author repeats himself a lot and could probably have dropped a couple of chapters (especially the last one), he does not seem to do adequate justice to the role of the Holy Spirit in the miracles of Christ, and he makes a statement on page 439 that appears incongruous with divine impassibility. I am willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt that when he speaks of God suffering and having emotions, he is using these terms in a non-literal, anthropopathic sense. It would have helped to have clarified that point, however. These points aside, this book is highly valuable and makes a serious contribution to Christological studies.
More recent developments in Christology through liberalism and heterodox evangelicalism, such as the Kenosis theory and the denial of Christ's impeccability, are discussed and refuted. Although the author is a Baptist, he does an admirable job of defending the extra Calvinisticum and the Reformed position on the real spiritual presence of Christ in the Lord's supper. Interestingly, both the Kenotic theology and Lutheran eucharistic theology are untenable in light of the doctrine of divine simplicity.
The only criticisms that I have of the book are that the author repeats himself a lot and could probably have dropped a couple of chapters (especially the last one), he does not seem to do adequate justice to the role of the Holy Spirit in the miracles of Christ, and he makes a statement on page 439 that appears incongruous with divine impassibility. I am willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt that when he speaks of God suffering and having emotions, he is using these terms in a non-literal, anthropopathic sense. It would have helped to have clarified that point, however. These points aside, this book is highly valuable and makes a serious contribution to Christological studies.
December 5, 2018
Superb. A masterful philosophical, biblical, theological, and historical survey of Christology. While Christology can sometimes be seen as the Byzantine scholasticism of Church dogma, Wellum does an excellent job demonstrating the Biblical warrant for the church’s historic creeds and confessions, the soteriological implications of heretical views, and the contemporary apologetic importance of a proper understanding of Chalcedonian Christology.
I normally do not enjoy wading into the complex theology of the hypostatic union or the specific relationship between person and nature, but this book made it very clear and thus helpful. Wellum’s greatest strength is his commitment to the narrative of the Bible (redemptive history) and the Biblical theology that arises from that. Where theologians can be tempted to rush to making theological conclusions with only a fistful of proof texts, Wellum patiently deals with Scripture and the theology it presents on its own terms, then makes his theological conclusions. This is so important and so helpful. Most of the time when I read theologians on theology proper, the Trinity, or the person of Christ I am left wondering, “Where are you coming up with this stuff? Are you just pulling this out of thin air? Give me Bible!” Wellum avoids that, but does so without resorting to a “lowest common denominator” theology or dismissing the rich historical theology of Christology we have. This is truly a masterful work.
I found his handling of enhypostasia, the communicatio idiomatium, dyotheletism, and the extra Calvinisticum to be most helpful.
I normally do not enjoy wading into the complex theology of the hypostatic union or the specific relationship between person and nature, but this book made it very clear and thus helpful. Wellum’s greatest strength is his commitment to the narrative of the Bible (redemptive history) and the Biblical theology that arises from that. Where theologians can be tempted to rush to making theological conclusions with only a fistful of proof texts, Wellum patiently deals with Scripture and the theology it presents on its own terms, then makes his theological conclusions. This is so important and so helpful. Most of the time when I read theologians on theology proper, the Trinity, or the person of Christ I am left wondering, “Where are you coming up with this stuff? Are you just pulling this out of thin air? Give me Bible!” Wellum avoids that, but does so without resorting to a “lowest common denominator” theology or dismissing the rich historical theology of Christology we have. This is truly a masterful work.
I found his handling of enhypostasia, the communicatio idiomatium, dyotheletism, and the extra Calvinisticum to be most helpful.
November 15, 2020
If you regularly speak about Jesus, this is a necessity.
"Our Savior and Redeemer is utterly unique. This is why there is no salvation outside of him. He is in a category all by himself in who he is and in what he does. In fact, because our plight is so desperate, due to sin, the only person who can save us is God’s own dear Son. It is only as the Son incarnate that our Lord can represent us; it is only as the Son incarnate that he can put away our sin, stand in our place, and turn away God’s wrath by bearing our sin. Only Jesus can satisfy God’s own righteous requirements, because he is one with the Lord as God the Son; only Jesus can do this for us because he is truly a man and can represent us. Identification requires representation, and in all these ways our Lord is perfectly suited to meet our every need. Without the incarnation and Christ’s entire obedient work, there is no salvation for humanity... apart from saving faith in him and him alone, we stand under God’s judgment and condemnation... Yet, for people who by God’s grace come to see their need of him, then the Jesus of the Bible is not only understood for who he is but he is also embraced, loved, and adored as Lord and Savior."
"Our Savior and Redeemer is utterly unique. This is why there is no salvation outside of him. He is in a category all by himself in who he is and in what he does. In fact, because our plight is so desperate, due to sin, the only person who can save us is God’s own dear Son. It is only as the Son incarnate that our Lord can represent us; it is only as the Son incarnate that he can put away our sin, stand in our place, and turn away God’s wrath by bearing our sin. Only Jesus can satisfy God’s own righteous requirements, because he is one with the Lord as God the Son; only Jesus can do this for us because he is truly a man and can represent us. Identification requires representation, and in all these ways our Lord is perfectly suited to meet our every need. Without the incarnation and Christ’s entire obedient work, there is no salvation for humanity... apart from saving faith in him and him alone, we stand under God’s judgment and condemnation... Yet, for people who by God’s grace come to see their need of him, then the Jesus of the Bible is not only understood for who he is but he is also embraced, loved, and adored as Lord and Savior."
February 4, 2022
One would need to be serious about learning Christian theology to find this book helpful. It's over 400 pages dedicated to looking at the person and identity of Jesus, especially in relation to understanding the divine-human interaction in his person.
This book has some thick parts. It opens with a discussion on epistemology. It offers a biblical case for understanding Jesus as fully God and fully man. Wellum traces the development of how the church articulated its understanding of Jesus as the God-man walking through early church leaders and through the creed.
The last few chapters explored and evaluated kenotic theories of the incarnation. This isn't something I was looking for information about, but he offers a helpful discussion.
This book has some thick parts. It opens with a discussion on epistemology. It offers a biblical case for understanding Jesus as fully God and fully man. Wellum traces the development of how the church articulated its understanding of Jesus as the God-man walking through early church leaders and through the creed.
The last few chapters explored and evaluated kenotic theories of the incarnation. This isn't something I was looking for information about, but he offers a helpful discussion.
April 21, 2024
I am very grateful for this work. Wellum is clear, biblical, historical, logical, and thorough without feeling exhausting. Obviously, it’s not easy sitting through a theology book, but the subject matter is worth struggling through all the unknown terms that require defining. I realized through this book the need to be precise in my understanding of Christ, His person and work. Not to be satisfied with an explanation that simply “makes sense” but to do the hard labor of precision that glorifies God—sometimes finding that the answer is still a mystery hidden by God. That’s okay, especially since the unknown is biblical while the simple answers we try to come up with ends up undermining the whole counsel of God.
May 25, 2022
Incredible book. I wouldn’t call it an *easy* read, but Wellum is a great writer, and there is so much Christ-exalting theology in here, it is very worthwhile. Really clarified how to understand Jesus’ divinity and humanity, the Trinity, and also how not to. Also had a great opening section on epistemology and how reason and truth have been viewed and developed over the last 500 years - enlightenment, naturalism, postmodernism, and how these have affected the culture’s view of Jesus and Christianity in general, and why our theology must instead be derived from Scripture.
February 19, 2025
Incredible work by Dr. Wellum! It is very comprehensive in establishing an orthodox view of Christology that is consistent with Scripture’s account. It was very well organized with a good account of the state of Christology today and the dangers we face if we do not stand for the truth of the Bible on this key doctrine.
Overall it was a joy to read and, although it is a difficult read at times due to its academic nature, I would recommend it to all, especially seminary students.
Overall it was a joy to read and, although it is a difficult read at times due to its academic nature, I would recommend it to all, especially seminary students.
March 29, 2023
A good argument for classical christology marred by a weak introductory section on enlightenment thinking and too much time spent on kenotic christology rather than the traditional loci of christology. It’s okay and worth reading.
November 2, 2025
So so helpful. Clear and carefully written. The doctrine of Christ explained with precision and Biblical faithfulness.
August 10, 2025
A must read for any Christian wishing to know more of the glory of the incarnation.
Challenging yet accessible, Wellum does a wonderful job of both outlining the truth of the Bible and undermining the ways mankind has gone astray.
A great benefit to the church.
Challenging yet accessible, Wellum does a wonderful job of both outlining the truth of the Bible and undermining the ways mankind has gone astray.
A great benefit to the church.
January 10, 2025
incredible. one of the best, most helpful reads ever.
February 6, 2024
didn’t read all of it, but most of it. Wellum is so sharp and clear! Learned a ton from this reading and particularly walked away with a clearer understanding of the Trinity. so thankful for this
October 30, 2020
Talks related to book here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2yqr...
https://youtu.be/WvseDupXxdc
(1) Christ Alone in His Person: tinysa.com/sermon/618151711591
(2) Christ Alone in His Work: tinysa.com/sermon/61815171502
Some interviews here:
https://credomag.com/2018/08/how-can-...
https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HCGbcKx4
http://www.booksataglance.com/author-...
(Part 1): http://www.ironsharpensironradio.com/...
(Part 2): http://www.ironsharpensironradio.com/...
https://anchor.fm/heavenandearth/epis...
Article related to God the Son Incarnate here:
https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PD...
TGC course here:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/co...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2yqr...
https://youtu.be/WvseDupXxdc
(1) Christ Alone in His Person: tinysa.com/sermon/618151711591
(2) Christ Alone in His Work: tinysa.com/sermon/61815171502
Some interviews here:
https://credomag.com/2018/08/how-can-...
https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HCGbcKx4
http://www.booksataglance.com/author-...
(Part 1): http://www.ironsharpensironradio.com/...
(Part 2): http://www.ironsharpensironradio.com/...
https://anchor.fm/heavenandearth/epis...
Article related to God the Son Incarnate here:
https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PD...
TGC course here:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/co...
March 16, 2024
This was an absolutely fantastic book. Probably my favorite book that I’ve read in my Masters program. Anyone looking to have a better understanding of Jesus and His work should give this a read. It is definitely a challenging book not particularly light material.
January 29, 2025
Every time I go back to read this and re-read this I find myself feeling more and more informed on historic and contemporary issues on Christology. Great work, props to Wellum
April 20, 2021
I was disappointed by this book, even though I like and respect Dr. Wellum a lot and he was my professor. I know he's working on releasing a more condensed version of this book and perhaps that new edition will help address some of the problems in this book. For example, there was a lot of repetition and literally full sections where I was reading the same content again and again. Perhaps this was so that particular chapters could be read in isolation, but in reading the entire book it was a bit frustrating. But that's a quibble more than anything else. This read like a defense of the classical conception of Christology over against most modern postulations, including others at Wellum's seminary. And as such, I think it fell flat. In terms of describing the classical position, I thought he did a nice job and I learned a whole lot. But then in moving to current times and refuted modern positions, his argument was mainly: "the old way was better." And a lot of that is founded on philosophical divisions between person and nature, which kinda-sorta explain the incarnation, but only on its own grounds. It "works" because it claims to work. And then Wellum asserts that it works better than more modern attempts because, well, it works better. Then much of the second half of the book is the argument over and over that new attempts to explain the incarnation aren't good because they're not like the ancient creedal and conciliar formulations. And while I appreciate the desire to uphold historical Christianity through its formulations, it is neither true to say that older is better nor that older is worse. We need to be biblically informed at all times, and that may mean adhering to older forms OR modifying them.
Maybe this is reading too much into this, but I feel like the book is really a polemic against the online dust-up with Trueman/Goligher and Ware (among others). And Ware is only mentioned in footnotes, even though his views have been some of the most visibly criticized. Suspecting this is in view, it felt disingenuous to have a book trying to tackle the topic without really being clear that it's tackling that topic--even though it was clearly arguing against kenotic views and the many variations of that out there right now.
At the end of the day, I think Wellum's main critique is that he doesn't think there's any reason to challenge the older views and that the newer views don't add anything. I, on the other hand, think the presence of so many modern scholars trying to formulate new views argues against his point that we need new formulations. And I just flat disagree that the older philosophical categories make sense. Even after his explanations, I find that they "fit" the incarnational questions, but nonsensically. The definitions employed at the older councils make sense in and of themselves, but don't seem to fit experience. And I think that's an issue modern theology needs to address in light of biblical revelation. I think we have a lot of work to do here.
Maybe this is reading too much into this, but I feel like the book is really a polemic against the online dust-up with Trueman/Goligher and Ware (among others). And Ware is only mentioned in footnotes, even though his views have been some of the most visibly criticized. Suspecting this is in view, it felt disingenuous to have a book trying to tackle the topic without really being clear that it's tackling that topic--even though it was clearly arguing against kenotic views and the many variations of that out there right now.
At the end of the day, I think Wellum's main critique is that he doesn't think there's any reason to challenge the older views and that the newer views don't add anything. I, on the other hand, think the presence of so many modern scholars trying to formulate new views argues against his point that we need new formulations. And I just flat disagree that the older philosophical categories make sense. Even after his explanations, I find that they "fit" the incarnational questions, but nonsensically. The definitions employed at the older councils make sense in and of themselves, but don't seem to fit experience. And I think that's an issue modern theology needs to address in light of biblical revelation. I think we have a lot of work to do here.
November 22, 2016
First sentence: Jesus of Nazareth has been and still is an enigma to many people. Even though he has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries, a majority of people are still confused regarding his identity.
In case you were in doubt, Stephen J. Wellum's God the Son Incarnate is theology written primarily with a scholarly focus. To clarify, I think you'd need to be a scholar (or have the patience of a scholar) to unpack the information and then be able to make practical use of it. In other words: SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED. It has some BEAUTIFUL, GENUINE gems in it. I found it ultimately a satisfying read because even though it took concentrated effort and plain, old-fashioned WORK, it delivered.
The short summary: Who is Jesus? How can we know who Jesus is? How can we know how we know who Jesus is? Who can we trust--if anyone--? What can we trust--if anything? Why isn't the Bible enough anymore to "convince" skeptics and scholars? Who does the Bible say Jesus is? How can we--why can we--trust the Bible? How has the church understood the question 'who is Jesus?'? How has the church understand and explained the incarnation? Has the church always gotten it right? What is the result of arguing about words and phrases? What are some of the heresies the church has addressed in the past two thousand years? How has philosophy and culture impacted the church? and impacted how the church views the bible? and impacted how the church views Jesus Christ? When culture and society clash--what is the church to do?
That's keeping it short. This one is PACKED with so much information. The good news is that it is super-organized and logically arranged. I will say this, Wellum walks you through the difficult journey step-by-step. He always seems to be a few steps ahead. But he also seems patient to wait--now and then--and let you catch up and catch your breath. This book has built in pauses. I think he's aware that it's a dense, heavy subject. And equally aware that it's a vital, essential subject.
Part One: Epistemological Warrant for Christology
"In Part I, we will establish the epistemological warrant for Christology. In our current context, we cannot take it for granted that everyone agrees on how we can and do come to know who Jesus is. In fact, the possibility of objective truth is questioned openly in today’s world. It is difficult to jump into the propositional statements about the identity of Jesus Christ without first providing a well-reasoned account for how we can know anything about him."
Part Two: Biblical Warrant for Christology
"In Part II, we will turn to biblical warrant for Christology by following the Bible’s own presentation of who Jesus is. The Bible presents itself as one story that moves across four parts and through six covenants, unfolding the promises of God in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament. To have biblical warrant for Christology today, what the Bible says about Jesus Christ must be read and understood according to this authoritative structure. "
Part Three: Ecclesiological Warrant for Christology
Instead of quoting the author--I'll just mention this is a seemingly thorough presentation of creeds and heresies of the church, concluding that doctrines are worth fighting for and holding onto.
Part Four: A Warranted Christology for Today
"In Part IV we will conclude our investigation by developing a contemporary articulation of classical Christology for evangelicals today."
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
"Biblical truth does not change from generation to generation, but the issues that confront the church do. "
"In light of Scripture, the church has confessed consistently that to identify Jesus correctly we must affirm that he is the divine Son who has become incarnate, that to know him is life eternal, and that to know him not is judgment unto death. Biblically speaking, getting Christ right is a matter of life and death."
"Systematic theology does not merely articulate doctrines in timeless propositions; systematic theology, rather, is best understood as the application of Scripture to all areas of life."
"Our present-day confusion regarding the identity of Christ has a long history that is best understood by looking at pivot points that led thinking and theology away from orthodox Christology. Historic Christianity has uniformly affirmed that Jesus is the eternal Son of God made flesh, who, as a result of the incarnation, now subsists as “one person in two natures.” And until the Enlightenment era, the church invariably agreed that the “Jesus of history” is identical to the “Jesus of the Bible” or the “Christ of faith.”"
"Attempting to remove Jesus from the storyline of Scripture, or accepting certain parts and rejecting others—something all modern and postmodern Christologies do—will only lead to a subjective, arbitrary, and ultimately false construction of Jesus’s identity."
"Only by tracing out what the Bible says and how it says it do we discover what God intended all along: all of Scripture leads us to behold the glory of God in the person and work of Christ. But biblical theology alone is not sufficient. In addition to interpretation, the church is called to the application of Scripture. Even with the results of reading the Bible on its own terms, we must still make theological conclusions that make the best sense of the Bible’s own presentation of Christ."
"“Jesus” has almost become a meaningless word due to its separation from the content and framework of Scripture. When this occurs, the unfortunate result is that Jesus becomes anything we want him to be except the Jesus of the Bible."
"It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the doctrine of creation. Many Christians are naturally interested in the doctrine of salvation, but without creation there is no understanding of the Christian faith as the Bible describes it."
"There is no substitute for reading the Bible on its own terms to identify the real Christ."
"But to understand the biblical Jesus correctly, to come to know him rightly, and to place all of our confidence in him personally, we must also come to know something of our own guilt before God and why it is that we need the kind of Redeemer he is. For it is not until we know ourselves as lost, under the sentence of death, and condemned before God, that we can even appreciate and rejoice in a divine-human Redeemer. It is only when we realize that we cannot save ourselves that we clearly see that he is the Redeemer we need. Yet, for people who by God’s grace come to see their need of him, then the Jesus of the Bible is not only understood for who he is but he is also embraced, loved, and adored as Lord and Savior."
In case you were in doubt, Stephen J. Wellum's God the Son Incarnate is theology written primarily with a scholarly focus. To clarify, I think you'd need to be a scholar (or have the patience of a scholar) to unpack the information and then be able to make practical use of it. In other words: SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED. It has some BEAUTIFUL, GENUINE gems in it. I found it ultimately a satisfying read because even though it took concentrated effort and plain, old-fashioned WORK, it delivered.
The short summary: Who is Jesus? How can we know who Jesus is? How can we know how we know who Jesus is? Who can we trust--if anyone--? What can we trust--if anything? Why isn't the Bible enough anymore to "convince" skeptics and scholars? Who does the Bible say Jesus is? How can we--why can we--trust the Bible? How has the church understood the question 'who is Jesus?'? How has the church understand and explained the incarnation? Has the church always gotten it right? What is the result of arguing about words and phrases? What are some of the heresies the church has addressed in the past two thousand years? How has philosophy and culture impacted the church? and impacted how the church views the bible? and impacted how the church views Jesus Christ? When culture and society clash--what is the church to do?
That's keeping it short. This one is PACKED with so much information. The good news is that it is super-organized and logically arranged. I will say this, Wellum walks you through the difficult journey step-by-step. He always seems to be a few steps ahead. But he also seems patient to wait--now and then--and let you catch up and catch your breath. This book has built in pauses. I think he's aware that it's a dense, heavy subject. And equally aware that it's a vital, essential subject.
Part One: Epistemological Warrant for Christology
"In Part I, we will establish the epistemological warrant for Christology. In our current context, we cannot take it for granted that everyone agrees on how we can and do come to know who Jesus is. In fact, the possibility of objective truth is questioned openly in today’s world. It is difficult to jump into the propositional statements about the identity of Jesus Christ without first providing a well-reasoned account for how we can know anything about him."
Part Two: Biblical Warrant for Christology
"In Part II, we will turn to biblical warrant for Christology by following the Bible’s own presentation of who Jesus is. The Bible presents itself as one story that moves across four parts and through six covenants, unfolding the promises of God in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament. To have biblical warrant for Christology today, what the Bible says about Jesus Christ must be read and understood according to this authoritative structure. "
Part Three: Ecclesiological Warrant for Christology
Instead of quoting the author--I'll just mention this is a seemingly thorough presentation of creeds and heresies of the church, concluding that doctrines are worth fighting for and holding onto.
Part Four: A Warranted Christology for Today
"In Part IV we will conclude our investigation by developing a contemporary articulation of classical Christology for evangelicals today."
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
"Biblical truth does not change from generation to generation, but the issues that confront the church do. "
"In light of Scripture, the church has confessed consistently that to identify Jesus correctly we must affirm that he is the divine Son who has become incarnate, that to know him is life eternal, and that to know him not is judgment unto death. Biblically speaking, getting Christ right is a matter of life and death."
"Systematic theology does not merely articulate doctrines in timeless propositions; systematic theology, rather, is best understood as the application of Scripture to all areas of life."
"Our present-day confusion regarding the identity of Christ has a long history that is best understood by looking at pivot points that led thinking and theology away from orthodox Christology. Historic Christianity has uniformly affirmed that Jesus is the eternal Son of God made flesh, who, as a result of the incarnation, now subsists as “one person in two natures.” And until the Enlightenment era, the church invariably agreed that the “Jesus of history” is identical to the “Jesus of the Bible” or the “Christ of faith.”"
"Attempting to remove Jesus from the storyline of Scripture, or accepting certain parts and rejecting others—something all modern and postmodern Christologies do—will only lead to a subjective, arbitrary, and ultimately false construction of Jesus’s identity."
"Only by tracing out what the Bible says and how it says it do we discover what God intended all along: all of Scripture leads us to behold the glory of God in the person and work of Christ. But biblical theology alone is not sufficient. In addition to interpretation, the church is called to the application of Scripture. Even with the results of reading the Bible on its own terms, we must still make theological conclusions that make the best sense of the Bible’s own presentation of Christ."
"“Jesus” has almost become a meaningless word due to its separation from the content and framework of Scripture. When this occurs, the unfortunate result is that Jesus becomes anything we want him to be except the Jesus of the Bible."
"It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the doctrine of creation. Many Christians are naturally interested in the doctrine of salvation, but without creation there is no understanding of the Christian faith as the Bible describes it."
"There is no substitute for reading the Bible on its own terms to identify the real Christ."
"But to understand the biblical Jesus correctly, to come to know him rightly, and to place all of our confidence in him personally, we must also come to know something of our own guilt before God and why it is that we need the kind of Redeemer he is. For it is not until we know ourselves as lost, under the sentence of death, and condemned before God, that we can even appreciate and rejoice in a divine-human Redeemer. It is only when we realize that we cannot save ourselves that we clearly see that he is the Redeemer we need. Yet, for people who by God’s grace come to see their need of him, then the Jesus of the Bible is not only understood for who he is but he is also embraced, loved, and adored as Lord and Savior."
January 20, 2024
“… the divine person of the Son, subsisting in the divine nature, did not become a human person but assumed a human nature, such that the same I is the person of Christ that now subsists in the divine nature as God and in a human nature as a man.”
“Ultimately our Christological reflections must not lead to idle speculation and curiosity; they must lead to our lives being given to him in complete faith, trust, obedience, and worship.”
Wellum excellently collects the streams of orthodox and non-orthodox Christology down through the ages and presents them in a meaningful way for even the layman to understand. The importance of what we say about Christ and what we don’t say about him are explained in acute, historical detail.
Wellum presents classical Christology as the only acceptable view of Christ that can hold him as our Covenant Lord and Redeemer, truly God and truly man.
“Ultimately our Christological reflections must not lead to idle speculation and curiosity; they must lead to our lives being given to him in complete faith, trust, obedience, and worship.”
Wellum excellently collects the streams of orthodox and non-orthodox Christology down through the ages and presents them in a meaningful way for even the layman to understand. The importance of what we say about Christ and what we don’t say about him are explained in acute, historical detail.
Wellum presents classical Christology as the only acceptable view of Christ that can hold him as our Covenant Lord and Redeemer, truly God and truly man.
November 5, 2018
This book is awesome. However, I do have two significant critiques:
1. This book could have easily been 100 pages shorter. Wellum is a very good writer but he is also long winded. It seemed as if entire pages were simply repeating points already made earlier in the book.
2. Wellum labels this book an introduction to Christology in the preface, claiming that this book will be accessible to both laymen and academic theologians. Simply put, that is nowhere near the truth. His chapters on the importance of epistemology in Christology would have been completely unintelligible to me if I didn’t have a background in philosophy.
Regardless, this is an excellent Christology that will be helpful to those with the proper background.
1. This book could have easily been 100 pages shorter. Wellum is a very good writer but he is also long winded. It seemed as if entire pages were simply repeating points already made earlier in the book.
2. Wellum labels this book an introduction to Christology in the preface, claiming that this book will be accessible to both laymen and academic theologians. Simply put, that is nowhere near the truth. His chapters on the importance of epistemology in Christology would have been completely unintelligible to me if I didn’t have a background in philosophy.
Regardless, this is an excellent Christology that will be helpful to those with the proper background.
February 16, 2022
Absolutely fantastic book! The best collection of orthodox Christological formulations that I’ve seen. And it engages with some contemporary and ancient challenges to the Christology from the council of Chalcedon.
March 31, 2020
Masterful!
Wonderful example of doing systematic theology... and the most glorious topic.
I wish Dr. Wellum had written this after the recent Christological debate (eternal generation/EFS) as he brings clarity and precision to assessing views in light of classical orthodoxy.
Wonderful example of doing systematic theology... and the most glorious topic.
I wish Dr. Wellum had written this after the recent Christological debate (eternal generation/EFS) as he brings clarity and precision to assessing views in light of classical orthodoxy.
March 5, 2024
“All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou has died for me:
Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.
Amen.”
Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.
Amen.”
March 24, 2024
The epistemological section is quite awful and most of his discussions are entirely derivative of English secondary sources. It’s disappointing.
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