You may recall the Trinity debates of 2016. In a nutshell, it had become popular to teach that the Son eternally submits to the Father. At the same time, a renewal movement had begun in evangelicalism. The more scholars mined the past, the more they took issue with formulations of the present. Those conversant with the Great Tradition sounded the alarm—any view subordinating the Son to the Father eternally is out of step with what nearly every Christian has agreed on for over two millennia.
The debates illumined just how disconnected evangelicalism had become from the church’s rich theological heritage. In a word, she had become modern. Modern in her metaphysics. Modern in her hermeneutics. And modern in the resources she drew from. Evangelicalism had largely siloed itself from the broader history of the church, and, as a consequence, came to formulate key doctrines in ways that departed from the past.
Stephen Duby’s book Jesus and the God of Classical Theism serves as a theological corrective via retrieval. If modern theologians have drifted from the old paths, Duby presents a way to move forward by remaining anchored to what has come before.
Theology, Proper
As the title suggests, Duby coordinates the two highest and most foundational Christian doctrines—Theology Proper (the study of God) and Christology (the study of Christ). More specifically, Duby writes to demonstrate the God of classical theism—who is simple, immutable, impassible, and eternal—is not only compatible with biblical Christology but necessary for it (377).
Evangelicalism had largely siloed itself from the broader history of the church, and, as a consequence, came to formulate key doctrines in ways that departed from the past.
Duby—associate professor of theology at Phoenix Seminary—posits a coherent system steeped in catholic exegesis and theology. As others did with the Trinity debates, Duby looks to the past for aid in answering today’s questions. To be clear, he doesn’t think older is inherently better. Rather, he aims to employ the insights of the Great Tradition to better interpret Scripture and understand the God it reveals (xiii). To do so, Duby utilizes shared insights from the early church, medieval scholastics, and the reformed orthodox precisely because they have exegetical value (153).
Duby arranges his material topically under three headings: the Son’s relationship to the Father and Spirit, the unity of the person of Christ, and the genuineness of Christ’s human life and suffering. This allows Duby to respond to the pressures classical theism presents for Christology, such as whether or not Jesus’s sonship means God the Son has always submitted to God the Father.
The conviction that God must be complete in order for the Son to become incarnate grounds every chapter. In assuming flesh, the Son now possesses two natures. More fundamentally, the divine nature transcends the human nature such that they don’t stand in competition with one another. The divine nature is complete in itself and cannot be diminished in any way. This allows God to freely save—not as a means of restoring himself. And God can truly become man. He suffers as man, learns obedience as man, and becomes a sympathetic high priest as man (Heb. 2:17).
Old Answers for New (and Old) Questions
Duby takes the Christology issues presented by classical theism and then, one by one, flips them on their head. God’s impassability safeguards not only the divine life but the Son’s suffering. What seems to present a problem for the Son’s relationship to the Father, or his unity, or his genuine human experience, actually grounds them.
God must be complete in order for the Son to become incarnate.
Duby would admit it: none of his solutions is unique to him. Therein lies the genius of the book. By bringing the Great Tradition into conversation with modern critiques, Duby reveals that new questions are, in fact, old.
Long ago, thinkers struggled with the Son’s relation to the Father and Spirit, the interaction between the Son’s divine and human natures, the Son’s obedience and suffering, and so on. And long ago, some asserted the Son was subordinate to the Father, was constituted by the incarnation, was circumvented by his humanity, could suffer as God, and could sin (according to his humanity). The church has come to a consensus on how to articulate the biblical presentation of God in Christ Jesus, sharing the same rules of interpretation, metaphysical assumptions, and the like.
Confessional Christians will recognize in Duby’s work a representation of their tradition’s great documents—be it the Westminster Confession, the Second London Baptist Confession, or the Thirty-nine Articles. Moving away from the God of classical theism is to move away from the theology to which you’ve already subscribed.
Invitation to Behold Christ’s Beauty
Why should you read this book? First, because you’re modern. You may not read dead philosophers and liberal theologians, but you’re shaped by modernity in ways unfathomable to Christians past. Second, because you’re a Christian. Aim to understand God’s love toward you in Christ (Eph. 3:18–19). Pastor, a robustly confessional vision of God is what will serve your congregation over the months and years of your teaching ministry. Duby will help your church ponder God’s love together with the vast company of saints—past and present. Remember this before you write off classical theism as being too philosophical or outdated.
Duby will help your church ponder God’s love together with the vast company of saints—past and present.
Duby’s book is loaded with insight; I have little doubt it will become a standard textbook in Christology. My PhD studies place me directly in this discipline, and his book is one of the most helpful primers I’ve read on classical theism, metaphysics, and Christology.
But what pushes Duby’s book past helpful and into something conversation-advancing is its exegetical rigor. Duby carefully hears and considers the critiques levied against his arguments—and responds with Scripture. Duby challenges those who suggest doctrines like simplicity and impassibility are superimposed on the Bible, revealing just how biblical and integral to the biblical picture of Jesus they are.
Jesus and the God of Classical Theism is written in the spirit of reformed orthodoxy. It’s careful, charitable, and catholic. Because of this, it’s also pastoral. Duby writes to help pastors think better and preach better. There’s no higher contemplation than God in Christ. Those willing to labor through this book will be better equipped to lift Jesus in all his glory as they teach God’s people.
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