Jesus and the God of Classical Theism: Biblical Christology in Light of the Doctrine of God

by Steven J. Duby

In both biblical studies and systematic theology, modern treatments of the person of Christ have cast doubt on whether earlier Christian descriptions of God—in which God is immutable, impassible, eternal, and simple—can fit together with the revelation of God in Christ. In addition, such treatments have called into question whether these concepts and categories still enable insight into the Bible’s portrayal of Christ’s life and work.

This book explains how the Jesus revealed in Scripture comports with earlier Christian descriptions of God. Steven Duby argues that the Bible’s Christology coheres with and even requires the affirmation of divine attributes like immutability, impassibility, eternity, and simplicity. Duby offers a constructive treatment of the person of Christ, illuminating his relationship to the Father and Spirit, the unity of his person, and the genuineness of his human life and suffering.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Academia

464 pages, Hardcover

Published June 7, 2022

Reviews

[Matt Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exemplary. Dense and detailed but masterful. We need more like this.

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

This book was outstanding. Duby is one of the most careful and thoughtful scholars around, and it shows here. For several decades, Christology has been significant in the world of biblical studies, with very notable and illustrious scholars dictating the terms of the conversation (figures like Richard Bauckham, Larry Hurtado, Simone Gathercole and N.T. Wright). Now, in any fair assessment of the landscape, Steven J. Duby has to be included in that list. Duby enters the conversation from a dogmatic perspective, and so approaches these figures with a different set of inclinations. But Duby does not talk past them; rather, he labors to exhaustively and fairly portray his interlocutors, address their concerns on their own terms, and still manages to bring a classical and dogmatic contribution with the full weight of historical testimony behind his assessment. Jesus and the God of Classical Theism is incredibly deep and cannot be ignored.

[Derrick Kenyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duby provides the church with an excellent advanced introduction to Christology. While not for the faint of heart, Duby thoughtfully interacts with and appropriates a breadth of scholars, both modern and historic, all while upholding classical concepts of God. I found this to be a wonderful book to read after having some ground work laid by Wellum’s God the Son Incarnate. Highly recommend.

[Zachary Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very good. This is a critically important work that retrieves and appropriates the doctrines of classical theism to the key issues of Christology. The chapter on the nature of the Son's obedience is worth the price of admission on its own. There are one or two occasions where an excursus on the Protestant reception of classical metaphysics seems to stray a bit beyond the scope. Duby can also be dense, and his writing style does not always lend itself to readability. But overall, this is a masterwork that deserves to be a classic.

[Preston Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding work! Against the modern scholarly tide in biblical studies and systematics that often sets Christology at odds with classical theism—God’s eternity, immutability, impassibility, and simplicity—Duby patiently and convincingly demonstrates how these attributes undergird and cohere with a robustly biblical and catholic Christology. As I read, I was continually in awe of the triune God. Highly recommended!

[Kirby Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is a beast ~ probably the most challenging I’ve ever read cover to cover. but incredibly worthwhile. I feel like I received an expert tour guide through the labyrinth of classical theism and its Christological implications.

I chose this book as my book review subject for Scott Swain’s Doctrine of the Trinity course. In my humble opinion, I think Systematic Theology profs, especially those in the Reformed Tradition, should consider making it required reading for seminary students.

[George Herndon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not for the faint of heart. In many areas it was way over my head. That said, I presume it will be one of the best books I read in seminary. This is definitely one that can be revisited every couple years.

5/5 Mr. Duby

[Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review forthcoming.

[Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took entirely too long to read this book. But it's robust, highly technical, yet also easy to follow because of how well-organized it is. This is a book I'm likely to return to often.

[Jack Hayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an amateur in this topic, I’m thankful for Duby’s thoroughness and desire to connect biblical Ideas of God to the traditional concepts of Christology and Impassibility. He, it seems effortlessly, shows the Bible teaches catholic and traditional doctrine, demonstrating classic theism does not rely first on metaphysics, but the Bible. In the end, he makes those claims feel like arguments against the Trinity. They are throughout the text, we have just forgotten to look. He does this all without employing abstract philosophical concepts, touching on those throughout history both Patristic, Medieval and Reformed as well as modern. I believe he showed me what I already believed ,the Bible is much closer to classical theism then we are willing to acknowledge.

That being said, this book is dense. There are paragraphs that encompass a page. There are biblical citations galore. All things that are okay, but it makes for hard slogging. Also, though he gives a great overview to his detractors and engages with them, I think it would have been helpful to revisit Classic theism’s detractors a bit more throughout the book.

93% God is not like you and me

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

With Jesus and the God of Classical Theism, Duby has put up yet another grand slam--and this in two ways. First, this book is a smashing success, achieved by a (theological) athlete with serious skill. With all bases loaded, Duby's grand slam brings all players (Patristic, Reformed Scholastic, and Evangelical) home. Secondly, like the beloved breakfast (or late night, depending upon your preference) Denny's meal of the same name, this book is substantial and worth every dollar. Like all of Duby's published books thus far, this book is made of hearty (and, unlike Denny's, healthy!) chapters, rich with all that a growing Christian needs (exegesis, theology, and an evident love for theology's subject matter: God).

A bit more seriously, Duby's book is a work of sheer brilliance. In this book, he makes the case that the claims of catholic Christology and theology proper emerge out of Scripture. They are not alien impositions on the text. Instead, they are the very logic of Scripture. In this way, theology is not an abstraction from the text but an endeavor to merely correlate the "distributed" truths in Scripture. To this end, Duby employs the vast and generous resources of the classical tradition to show how our understanding of who the man Jesus Christ is must always be qualified by our understanding of God's triune existence. With great success, Duby explores the Son's relationship to the Father, His election, His human nature, His relationship to His Spirit, His obedience, and His suffering. It's not for the faint of heart (I'm certainly not going to pretend I understood everything in it!), but, then again, theology isn't either. It's for those whose hearts have been made alive to God in Christ by His Spirit.

There is much to commend in Duby's work, though I'd like to end by pointing towards Duby the theologian. He is exceptionally clear-sighted, able to see where modern theology falls short and where the classical tradition offers a better way forward. And yet, Duby is not shrill or hysterical. Many works in this vein are simply a chore to read through all of the invective. To Duby's credit, he never devolves into that mode of theology, even though he believes modern theology has taken some seriously wrong turns, and regularly interacts with his detractors. He is a kind and irenic theologian. One worth emulating.

"In the end, it is Christian theology's greatest privilege to confess and bear witness to the triune God, who both transcends the economy of salvation and, in the person of the Son, has partaken of flesh and blood to deliver us from our sin . . . Because he always remains rich even in the midst of human lowliness, he can make us rich with the gift of salvation" (377).

[Zach Hollifield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magisterial; though not for the faint of heart. This is a hugely important work. I read the chapters which interested me and skimmed/read the conclusions of the others. Chapter 7 on the comparability of the suffering + impassibility of Christ is worth the (admittedly expensive) price of the book.


*I received the prerelease PDF of this work free from NetGalley and was not asked or required to leave a positive review.*

[Ben Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really hard work at points. Though not for lack of clarity/brevity. Just a dense topic.

Thoroughly compelling demonstration of how a view of God as truly self-sufficient and self-constituted gives solid confidence to us who trust his Son for salvation. Totally worth the hard work getting through it!

[Timothy Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely vital reading on Christology!

[Kristjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an academic text with 7 related essays on the mystery/nature of Jesus that push back on some of the modern theologians’ treatment of christology in favor of reconstituting some of the more classic patristic (aka orthodox) concepts. Modern theologians have noted that many of the classic [metaphysical] terms have evolved away from their original meaning into something that is more confusing than enlightening to the faithful today … and to some extent I completely empathize with that idea having recently struggled through a class on the Trinity. This book was a welcome addition to my study in that in revisiting the classical arguments, each essay took time to orient in the reader to the relevant biblical scriptures before reviewing the modern objections and walking through the orthodox/reform positions to explain how the classic view remains the better fit.

The general focus of the essays in total examines the relationship between the persons of the Trinity, the unity of the person of Christ (with two natures) and the authenticity/genuineness of the Passion of Christ. Over all, the work is fairly big and extremely dense; so it is something of a slog to get through. With that in mind, each part/essay greatly benefits from a re-read or two to get more comfortable with the material presented. In addition, the topical organization makes this an excellent reference of a particular concept that you may continue to struggle with (which I still do).

Introduction

Part 1 - Biblical Christology and “Classical Theism”
I. Introduction
II. Christological Challenges to “Classical Theism”
III. Opposition to “Metaphysics”
IV. Revisiting God’s Perfections
V. Revisiting the Role of Metaphysical Concepts
VI. Conclusions

Part 2 - “The Word Was with God”: The Son’s Eternal Relation to the Father
I. Introduction
II. Biblical Description
III. The Unity and Simplicity of God
IV. Essence, Persons, and Relations
V. Two Challenges
VI. Conclusions

Part 3 - “Foreknown before the Foundation of the World”: The Son’s Election and Mission
I. Introduction
II. Biblical Description
III. Eternal Actuality and the Divine Decree
IV. Election, Immutability, and the Pactum Salutis
V. Procession, Mission, and Historical Assumption
VI. Conclusions

Part 4 - “And the Word Became Flesh”: The Son’s Relationship to His Human Nature
I. Introduction
II. Biblical Description
III. Dogmatic Elaboration
IV. Concerns about the Communicatio Idiomatum and the Extra Calvinisticum
V. Response to Concerns
VI. Conclusions

Part 5 - “The Spirit of the LORD Is upon Me”: The Son’s Dependence on the Holy Spirit
I. Introduction
II. Biblical Description
III. Concerns regarding the Unity of God’s Operations
IV. Unity and Diversity in God’s Operations
V. The Gifts of the Spirit and the Human Experience of the Son
VI. Conclusions

Part 6 - “I Have Come to Do Your Will, O God”: The Son’s Obedience
I. Introduction
II. Biblical Description
III. Faith, Weakness, and Growth in the Obedience of Christ
IV. Questions about Christ’s Sinlessness and Spiritual Exertion
V. The Logic of Christ’s Spiritual Exertion
VI. Conclusions

Part 7 - “A Man of Sorrows”: The Son’s Suffering
I. Introduction
II. Biblical Description
III. Impassibility and the Nature of Passions
IV. Impassibility and Metaphorical Attribution of Passions
V. Impassibility and Reduplicative Predication in Christology
VI. Conclusion

Conclusion


I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#JesusAndTheGodOfClassicalTheism #NetGalley

[Richard Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extensive vindication of Classical Trinitarian Theism and Dyothelite Christology against the various attacks of modern Biblical Scholars. This is helpful book for those engaging with modern biblical scholarship BUT it is dense, hard work and not very doxological; it also assumes a lot of prior knowledge.

Each chapter of the book is written like a standalone essay, this means that for someone interested in just one of the themes they can dip in more easily, however it also means a lot of things are repeated, e.g. Philippians 2 is discussed in most chapters.

To benefit from this book I think a reader needs to already have some idea of:
1. Classical divine attributes including Aseity, Simplicity, Eternity, Immutability and Impassibility;
2. The trinity including divine processions and why the three persons share one divine knowledge and will.
3. The two natures of Christ including the significance of the human will of Christ.
4. Modes of exegesis that lead to these conclusions including 'reduplication'

Lastly, to reiterate, this is a polemical book, it seeks to carefully understand the criticism and rejection of orthodox theology proper and christology by modern biblical scholars and then refute their critiques through a mixture of careful exegesis, more thorough explanations of historical theology and the examination of faulty assumptions being deployed in some modern theology. Scholars who are critiqued include but are not limited to NT Wright, Wayne Grudem, Colin Gunton, Jürgen Moltmann, Richard Bauckham, Paul Tillich and Karl Barth.

[Caleb Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguably one of the best and most thorough dogmatic accounts in Christology that I've read recently. From front to back, Duby engages with a wide scope of theologians to articulate a biblically faithful Christology that does not neglect what the church catholic has confessed regarding the doctrine of God. Christology, particularly amongst modern theologians, causes a conundrum with classical theology proper. How are we to understand the eternal Second person of the Trinity taking on a human nature if God is immutable? If Christ suffers in his incarnation, what does that mean regarding divine impassibility? What are we to say about eternal generation and the subsistence of persons in the Trinity? Duby masterfully engages questions like these and more in this work. He does not straw man his opponents or oversimplify narratives regarding modern theology. Too often in the world of retrieval and classical theism, you have "scholars" who engage more in hagiography and anachronisms than the actual content of the theological discourse. Furthermore, many of those within the classical theism movement can't exegete to save their lives. But not Duby. In each chapter he engages with the primary languages of Scripture, while also surveying Patristic, Medieval, and Reformed Orthodox sources to positively answer and critique modern theologians such as Barth, Moltmann, Pannenberg, and others. If you want to read an exemplar work in dogmatics that is challenging and rewarding, Jesus and the God of Classical Theism is a good place to begin.

[Jaden A · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book on Christology is utilized in courses at some RTS campuses. My friend who is completing his doctorate is required to read it too. It is published by Baker Academic and is not light reading material by any stretch of the imagination.

We utilize ‘reduplicative predication’ to predicate truths of the person of Christ via his human or divine nature. For example, the statement ‘Christ is God’ is true qua Christ’s divine nature and the statement ‘Christ is man’ is true qua Christ’s human nature. Accordingly, I chose to read this book to seek further elucidation as to how to think of Biblical Christology in light of particular attributes ascribed to God such as eternity, simplicity, immutability, impassability, etc.

Duby, while no doubt a scholar, has a very dry writing style that renders it difficult for the reader to maintain motivation—coming from someone who has a palate for what most would consider literature that is ‘dry’ or ‘boring.’ Additionally, Duby covers so many sub-topics in relation to each section of the book that it leaves one in a daze.

Overall, I thought that this work did an unsatisfactory job in answering the questions that I had from the outset. It is jam packed with too much detail in my opinion. I think that Duby was overly ambitious in his writing of this book, trying to converse too many different thinkers of a multitude of different topics leading to a rather muddled read.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duby is one of those writers who combines clarity with depth in a way that is almost unmatched. In our current theological landscape, Christology is seen as at odds with classical theism by followers of Karl Barth and kenotic theologians to name a few. Duby shows that rather than conflict with a sound, robust Christology, classical theism, which entails an affirmation of such contested doctrines as impassibility and divine simplicity, actually supports and strengthens Christology. This is a superb work that should garner the attention of classical, post-metaphysical and modified theistic theologians alike.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duby does a stellar job of going over the loci of Christology, engaging with more modern accounts by means of the writings of the Medievals, the Reformed Scholastics, and Puritans like John Owen, William Bates, and Stephen Charnock. He also does some pretty deep exegesis, again aided by Church doctors going back to the Fathers, and is not afraid to differ with his authorities here and there.

The thesis is that not only is Classical Theism not at odds with a biblically sound understanding of Christ and his work, but that it is positively necessary to interpret the Word faithfully. I recommend it to everyone interested in Christian theology.

[JJ Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t done that much reading in either Christology or Theology Proper outside of my time in seminary, but man, this book is an incredible introduction to both of them. It’s highly technical, and I had to go pretty slowly through certain points, but Dr. Duby has really done some incredible work here. His scholarship is superb, and it’s done in a way that’s truly devotional; you can really feel his desire for his readers to come to know Christ better. I’m glad this book has gotten so much traction, because it definitely deserves it

[Chandler Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read this book, I found Duby’s ability to move between philosophical reflection and exegetical analysis to be mesmerizing and exemplary! I was very excited to read his chapter on divine impassibility and Christology, and he did not disappoint. I know I will utilize this work in significant ways in my thesis. I also loved his reliance on the work of John of Damascus and Girolamo Zanchi as these have become two of my favorite theologians in church history! This book is dense, but you will not find a finer work on biblical and historical Christology.

[Conner Hinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic work of scholarship analyzing the relationship between Christology and theology proper. Quite dense and technical at times, but Duby is a clear writer. The whole book is grounded in solid exegesis as well. I plan to return to this book often in future research.

[Dylan Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. In many ways the beginning chapters are a great primer for those delving into classical Trinitarianism. However, when the book eventually gets into the specifics of Christology, it is by no means for beginners.

Very informative, and again just great.

[Aaron Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A work of first-rate theological reflection.

[Mitchell Traver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full to the brim. Truly a remarkable book.

[Nick Roark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glorious

[Tucker Woodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Butner’s Trinitarian Dogmatics is to Trinity theology, this work by Duby is for Christology. An easy recommendation for me to make to any serious student of theology.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rigorous. Extensive. Profound. Needed. Timely.

[Jared Baergen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was required reading for me in Dr. Duby's class at Phoenix Seminary. I have to say that it was one of the most important books that I had to read in seminary. You will be challenged to think very deeply and carefully about the biblical text and historic formulations of Christology and the doctrine of God. While this was one of the most important and beneficial books of my education, it was also one of the most challenging. Prepare yourself for a fantastic and difficult journey in picking up Duby's work; it will lead you to greater heights theologically and devotionally.