Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian

by Danny E. Olinger

He was probably the best exegete Princeton ever had," Benjamin B. Warfield once told Louis Berkhof about their mutual friend Geerhardus Vos. Abraham Kuyper was so impressed with Vos's academic ability that Kuyper offered him a faculty position at the Free University of Amsterdam when Vos was only twenty-four years old. Before Vos was thirty, both William H. Green and Herman Bavinck urged him to come teach at their respective institutions. J. Gresham Machen said that if he knew as much as Vos, he would be writing all the time. John Murray believed that Vos was the most incisive exegete in the English-speaking world in the twentieth century. Cornelius Van Til considered Vos the most erudite man he had ever known. Richard B. Gaffin Jr. proclaimed Vos "the father of Reformed biblical theology." Notwithstanding such acclaim among these and other leading Reformed theologians, and his teaching at Princeton Seminary from 1893 to 1932, Vos was increasingly marginalized during his own lifetime. In Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian, Danny Olinger tells the story of Vos's life and analyzes the theological contributions of Vos's writings. Olinger further details Vos's significant influence upon the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Westminster Theological Seminary, despite not joining either one.

Genres: Biography, Theology, History, Church History

344 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a critical biography, but a very helpful one nevertheless. Vos is the father of the Reformed biblical theology movement of the 20th century, with all its strengths and weaknesses. His emphasis on eschatology has left a deep imprint on Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, and through them on the rest of the Reformed and evangelical world.

This biography chronicles Vos's life and writings, his friendship with theologian Herman Bavinck and future US president Woodrow Wilson. Vos's relationships and work were a great bridge between the Dutch Reformed churches of the Netherlands and American Presbyterianism at Princeton Seminary.

Vos is clearly a towering figure to whom we owe much of the fruitfulness of eschatology-focused exegesis over the past century. We should be grateful for him and learn all we can from his labors. Without taking away from that, we should also remember he was a man of his time and he had his faults. Olinger clearly loves Vos and has fully bought into the program, but there is room for correction. For example, surely something can be learned from Jay Adams's critique of the lack of application in redemptive-historical preaching, instead of dismissing it lightly. Olinger also shows no awareness of Vos's weaknesses in systematics, nor of any negative effects of incipient biblicism among some of his students. It would be worth exploring how many theological controversies at Westminster in Philadelphia have to do with their emphasis (or over-emphasis?) on biblical theology.

Overall, a great book about a great figure of the church, misunderstood in his time but rewarded with influence in the generations that followed him. Every Reformed preacher should know and use Vos.

[Caleb Lofthus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geerhardus Vos is arguably one of the most influential voices and intelligent thinkers in modern Reformed theology. Many theologians have considered him to be the father of Reformed Biblical Theology, and men like J. Gresham Machen said that he would write all the time if he had Vos’s depth of knowledge. In his book, Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian, Danny Olinger sets out on a journey to showcase the life of Geerhardus Vos through the development of his theological contributions to the Church.
Danny Olinger serves as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He is a Vos historian and appears on Christ the Center podcast which features regular episodes entitled, “Vos Group” with Lane Tipton and Camden Bucey. Olinger is a valuable voice and interpreter in the life and theology of Geerhardus Vos.

Olinger’s biographical sketch of Geerhardus Vos is helpful and supports the work of other Vos interpreters such as Lane Tipton and Richard B. Gaffin Jr.. Olinger shows his readers how the purpose of Vos’s life and his theological contributions served to draw out the riches of and advance the glory of God. According to Olinger, Vos was a man that was ahead of his time, and he notes how Vos was an intelligent man and a deep thinker.
Vos’s work in Biblical Theology continues to prove itself to be a valuable work within many Reformed circles. In his book, Olinger describes how Vos believed that the holy scriptures served as the means to live a consistent and practical life. In mourning the pragmatic “practical realism” (30) that plagued America, Olinger notes, “For Vos, ‘practical realism’ did not promote the most practical thing in life, the cultivation of communion with the unseen God” (30). Vos understood the fear of the Lord points to the glory of God, and it serves as the theological foundation to man’s end which is to live in holy communion and fellowship with the three persons of the Trinity. For Vos, this pillar of truth is to be our means to living a life of evangelical obedience to God.
Olinger goes on to summarize how Vos understood this to be the “Reformed principle” (50). Olinger notes how the Reformed principle contrasts that of Lutheranism which first seeks to understand how we are saved. Olinger insightfully says: Lutheranism begins from the standpoint of man and asks, “How can I be saved?” Reformed theology begins from the standpoint of God and asks, “How is God’s glory advanced?” This leads the Reformed to emphasize the doctrine of the covenant and Lutheranism the doctrine of justification (49)
Vos believed that these key differences influenced and shaped the eschatology of these two tribes of Christianity. Olinger notes how Lutheranism believes that God’s end plan for mankind is to restore them back to the garden of Eden, with its mutable perfections. However, as Vos consistently drew out, Reformed theology and Calvinism says that it was God’s will and purpose to allow the Fall, so that He would sovereignly provide redemption and raise mankind to a better economical position of immutable perfection. Olinger says, “The Reformed, however, believe that the goal set before man is not a return to man’s mutable situation prior to the fall. The biblical goal is translation to a higher estate, an environment without sin and without the possibility of sin, where full fellowship with God will take place” (49). Vos sought to take Calvinism to its logical end, which was to see how God has predetermined man’s eschatological end, before the world began. Thus, Vos believed eschatology preceded soteriology.

Olinger presents the life and theology of Geerhardus Vos in a way that is succinct and yet detailed in his presentation. Olinger is well researched and is passionate about the subject of Geerhardus Vos. And while Olinger is Vosian in his theology, I do not believe he can be accused of adopting a Vosian theology apart from being convinced of it from the scriptures.
Olinger presents Vos honestly to show his readers how Vos was a man after God’s own heart. Vos’s dogmatic positions, convictions, and the way he lived his life flowed out of the Reformed principle. Olinger helpfully draws out how Vos sought to live, move, and have his being in God to advance His glory. Therefore, I believe Olinger carefully takes off the veil of Vos, and in Vos’s imperfect fallibility, Olinger shows how God used Vos to advance His kingdom.
Olinger also does an adequate job in not getting bogged down in unnecessary controversies, dogma or events surrounding the life of Vos, but rather, he summarized the life of Geerhardus Vos in a way that is easy for the average reader to understand, and to show how the glory of God encompassed every faucet of Vos’s life and theology. In this way, I believe Olinger brought great honor to the legacy of Geerhardus Vos.

While most of us will not have the time, intellect, or energy to match the likes of Geerhardus Vos, we should still be encouraged and motivated by Olinger’s book to pick up the scriptures, like Vos, and study them. The Christian has the mind of Christ and Proverbs. 9:10 is clear, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” We are to study the scriptures in light of our new identity that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, because it is through the knowledge of God that we are made wise and gain insight.
While Jesus Christ and the Law of God in particular serves as our model and rule of life, Vos reflected the heart of Christ, and we should take note of this. All believers should have a heart to study the scriptures so that they can live unto God in holy living, while maintaining love for brothers and sisters who they may disagree with. Even Vos’s commitment to his wife while not sharing the same theological beliefs (Catherine was a Methodist) serves as a model in how we can maintain peace and unity among the people of God while still standing for purity of doctrine and practice.
We should know that theology and practice are equally important. This is clear from the teachings of Vos. While we may not agree with Vos on all matters of theology, what we should take away from him is the zeal that he had for purity of doctrine. He knew that the glory of God encompasses every faucet of our lives, and the deeper that we know God, the deeper our affections and practice will be for Him.
While many of us become puffed up and prideful through the study of theology, we should see how Vos was able to have a rich theology while maintaining love and peace for his brothers and sisters. Just because a spiritual discipline is abused does not mean we have the liberty to neglect it. Theology and practice are not at odds, and there is no tension between them. Rather, Reformed theology and Vos have taught us how we are to be fearless warriors for the truth, gentle shepherds of the flock, and brokenhearted ministers to the lost.

In conclusion, Danny Olinger’s book is one that I recommend wholeheartedly. While Danny Olinger presents Vos in his fallibility, he does so with the intention of showing us how God was glorified through the life of Geerhardus Vos. Vos understood the scriptures to be infallible and given to us by God to reveal His glory, inform us of our duty, and show us the redemption, eschatological bliss, and communion that we have with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through his work of Reformed Biblical Theology, Geerhardus Vos has shown us how the historical, organic, progressive, and now canonized whole of God’s word points forward to the Lord Jesus Christ and the glory that is given to Him through the work of redemption. The life and theology of Geerhardus Vos is one that is not perfect, but it is one that has magnified the glories of our great God and has advanced His kingdom well into the twenty-first century.

[Eddie Mercado · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd read through. What a fantastic work on the most influential theologian in my life. Olinger did a superb job distilling Vos’s thought, and I look forward to coming back to this time and time again.

[Eric Yap · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enthralling read on the life and theological impact of Geerhardus Vos, whom Richard Gaffin blazoned as the "father of reformed biblical theology." It is interesting to read that the Voses were long-time family friends of the Bavincks, and both fathers were pastors of the Dutch Reformed traditions. Both came from conservative Dutch Reformed backgrounds but went on courageously to study in theological schools that were challenging their reformed convictions (Bavinck in Leiden and Vos in Berlin and Strassbourg). Like Bavinck, Vos was invited by Kuyper to teach at the Free University of Amsterdam which Kuyper founded but ultimately declined the offer. The diverging point was that Bavinck decided to remain in the Netherlands and did eventually went to Amsterdam, whereas Vos followed the great immigration and went on to Grand Rapids in America, along with that, the crossing over from his Dutch Reformed roots to American Presbyterianism as he arrived to study in Princeton, and later lecturing at Princeton until his retirement. Vos remained in close contact with Bavinck and Kuyper while in America, writing to them, sparring and exchanging theological ideas. In Princeton, Vos found in Benjamin Warfield a lifelong friendship and theological kinship. The bulk of this biography was reserved for Vos' biblical-theological contributions, as well as the "fundamentalist-modernist" controversy and schism that battered through Princeton and American Presbyterianism, undoubtedly two notable highlights of Vos' life.

For the former point, many of Vos' theological heirs, including Oliger, note that Vos' paradigm-shifting contribution lies in his eschatological undergirding of the biblical theology within the Pauline corpus. "Grace and glory" delineates and structures all of Paul's writing, which later theologians and scholars, following Vos, began to extend to other areas of scriptures, both NT and OT. Departing from confessionally reformed theologians that see the primacy of a systematic and strict chronological "ordo salutis/order of salvation" in Paul's soteriology and writings, Vos maintains that it is eschatology and history, thus the "historia salutis/history of salvation/redemptive history" that governs Paul's soteriology and writings. Though not the most eloquent preacher, Warfield and many others maintain that Vos was the most erudite exegete that Princeton ever produced.

For the latter point, though Vos himself did not go on to Westminster Seminary prior to his retirement, his influence on the founding faculties, especially J Gresham Machen, Cornelius Van Til, John Murray and etc, was far-reaching and indispensable. He fought for confessional reformed conviction from the "old Princeton" camp, alongside Warfield, whose death marked the end of the Old Princeton as the bastion of reformed theology and scholarship. Close to a hundred years later, the Old Princeton of Vos and Warfield continues to live on in Westminster Seminary, and Vos' biblical theology continues to exert its effect on modern evangelical scholarship, with Vos' legacy carried on by the likes of Richard Gaffin and G. K. Beale.

[Annie Bruza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a conference my husband and I attended earlier this year and was excited to read it even though my personal experience with Geerhardus Vos’ work has been minimal to nonexistent.

Honestly, starting with this book was probably one of the best ways I could have introduced myself to this great theologian and his writings. Olinger walks through the life of Vos in a clear voice amplified by thorough research.

Not only this, but he digests Vos’ own works and lets the reader understand the positions to which he held virtually straight from Vos himself rather than through an interpretation of his thoughts. The format of this biography in which the narrative of his life is interrupted by the content of his works not only deepened my understanding of Vos, but also my understanding of the subject of those works, God.

I would highly recommend this book whether or not you are familiar with its subject.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It's one part biography, one part primer, and in some ways one part festschrift. I feel that Vos embodied the famous quote from Zinzendorf "Preach the Gospel, die, and be forgotten." With that being said, I am thankful that Vos is not forgotten. He is a fallible man but there is much the church can glean from his life and writings today as we continue to face ongoing theological drift.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this biography to help me with context for Pauline Eschatology

I’ve read Biblical Theology a couple of times—it took more than one read for me anyway. Recently I picked up Pauline Eschatology by Vos again to read it more thoroughly for my own area research interest. This was also slow going. So I turned to this biography for more context that would help me in better reading Pauline Eschatology. The biography was helpful. Now back to Pauline Eschatology.

[Caleb Burkhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hardly a day goes by where I don't think about Vos and his influence on me as a student of Scripture. This biography is a helpful glimpse of his life, particularly in his upbringing, schooling, and tenure as a professor. Though there is definitely some OPC hagiography going on, and the writing could be better (a lot of abrupt endings at the end of each chapter) this is a fun read on one of the most important, yet sadly neglected, Reformed theologians in recent history.

[Thomas Rickard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danny Olinger introduces the rich wisdom and faithful service of Geerhardus Vos. Danny skillfully weaves the rich wisdom of the teachings of Vos while writing an accurate account of the life and legacy of Vos. The book is not only a biography of Vos' life but also his mind and writings. The reader will understand more about the history of G. Vos and his Biblical Theology.

[Doug Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danny E Olinger has written an excellent biography of the theologian, Geerhardus Vos. In so doing, Olinger has also provided an excellent introduction to Vos' writings and his theological emphases. Readers of Vos' work will find this biography a helpful companion handbook to assist them in their study of the man and his work.

[Hobart · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I was never going to get this (and 15 others) properly written up, so I posted quick, tweet-length thoughts about some things that have needed reviewed for far too long:
A biography and a discussion of his Vos’ major works. This was an excellent way to gear up for my 2019 Vos reading. Inspirational stuff.

[Jordan Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of Vos. His insights have been formative in my theological development. Dr. Olinger does an excellent job meshing biography and 20th century church history with Vos’ theological developments and thought. Well worth your time. Most remarkable to me is how influential Vos was in early 20th century Presbyterianism in America and how little he has been forgotten today.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

If one is interested in the life of one of the greatest theologians the Reformed church has produced, this is a must have. Mr. Olinger's work gives the reader an insight to Vos and not only Vos's theology, but his commitment to Reformed orthodoxy, which was influenced by his theology. Great read.

[Kevin Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good biography of Vos with an assessment and explanation of his major writings throughout. The organization of the book is somewhat difficult to follow, moving back and forth between biography and theological assessment. Also seemed like Van Til was read back into Vos at points.

[Shawn Ritenour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent explanation of Vos' theology set in the biographical context of his life and times.

[Yuri Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encouraging read. You start noticing the inner life of Vos.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This bio is the story of the life of the father of Biblical theology, Geerhardus Vos, a dutch immigrant who was friends with Kuyper, Warfield, Bavinck, Machen, and Van Til. His life was fairly uneventful and peaceful, not involving comparatively much suffering until his health broke down towards the end of his life. Aside from defining the field of biblical theology as we know it, Vos is probably most well known for bringing the term eschatalogical into great significance in the reformed world, and probably also the already-not yet idea as well. If he is really the first to clearly state these ideas, then his impact is great indeed. He also combated liberalism extensively.

This biography was written by a pastor, and it is interesting, though probably not very professionally written. Whereas the bio I recently read about Emil Brunner made me want to read him, this bio largely consisted of saying things about Jesus and the Bible and theology that I already believed. Also, in the end, the author gives away his Van Tilian colors, attributing Van Til's antithesis to Vosian precedent. I'm skeptical. Still, it is interesting to know about the field that involves such names as D.G. Hart, Meredith Kline, David VanDrunen, and other OPC types.

[Kelle Craft · Rating 5 out of 5]

What made this biography stand out from others that I’ve read was Olinger’s ability to create an intimacy between the reader and Vos through the use of Vos’ own personal letters to various close theologians and friends, all the while stimulating the reader’s intellect by walking through the development of Geerhardus Vos a theologian. The magnitude and clarity of insight Vos had is astounding; it is a shame that he was not well recognized while he was alive. The influence Vos has had on the Church over the last century can hardly be overstated. Vos is not nearly as well known as his friend’s and contemporaries, like Warfield, Kuyper, and Bavinck, nevertheless, the Church is all the better off with a biography like this to become well acquainted with him. Olinger did a fantastic job with this biography, I can’t recommend it enough!

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding bio/intro to the life and works of Geerhardus Vos, a professor at Princeton Seminary in the early 20th century.
My theology and pastoral training/labors rely heavily on Vos and his disciple Richard B. Gaffin of Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia. This work only intensified that influence.
Buy this book!

[Nathan Moelker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olinger's biography was excellent, particularly in the manner in which he drew in Vos' writings and teachings through the text. The biography was never merely a dry list of facts, but constantly drew us to the truths Vos preached.