__"A true gift to modern discussions of Christology"__ This work of serious dogmatics by a Reformed theologian explains why Christology should be connected to a robust doctrine of God.  
  
"This wonderfully helpful book shows how to take up the Bible's passionate presentation of Jesus without letting go of the traditional high doctrine of God. Patiently addressing recent worries while carefully engaging the full witness of Scripture, Duby reunites theological goods that have too often been sundered from each other."  
--__Fred Sanders__, Torrey Honors College, Biola University  
  
"Over the past two centuries, theologians and biblical scholars alike have questioned the usefulness of concepts like aseity, simplicity, immutability, nature, and substance for Christian reflection on the God of Israel and the person of Jesus. Steven Duby counters that these concepts can play a truly 'ministerial' role in the life of the church by helping to defend the intelligibility and coherence of biblical teaching. Through exacting semantic and logical analysis, Jesus and the God of Classical Theism shows how the judicious use of metaphysical categories, far from obscuring or distorting Scripture's message, might enhance our understanding of it."  
--__Ian A. McFarland__, Candler School of Theology, Emory University; University of Cambridge  
  
"Duby offers a true gift to modern discussions of Christology, grounding categories and discussions from systematic theology in biblical scholarship. This thorough yet continually engaging book is a must-read for those wanting an overview and update on any of the topics covered."  
--__Madison N. Pierce__, Western Theological Seminary  
  
"In the name of a biblically authentic understanding of Christ and the Trinity, modern theology has often cheerfully discarded the classical Christian commitment to God's transcendence--to the ways God is not like us--without counting the cost. Written from an ecumenically alert Reformed point of view, this book will interest and stimulate theologians who share its author's conviction that a truly biblical Christology cannot do without a vigorous affirmation of God's eternity, immutability, and impassibility. Even more, one hopes, it will interest those who do not."  
--__Bruce D. Marshall__, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

__Steven J. Duby__ (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of theology at Phoenix Seminary in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is the author of God in Himself: Scripture, Metaphysics, and the Task of Christian Theology and Divine Simplicity: A Dogmatic Account.

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.  
  
In Jesus and the God of Classical Theism, Steven Duby explains how the Jesus revealed in Scripture comports with earlier Christian descriptions of God. Duby argues that the Bible's Christology coheres with and even requires the affirmation of divine attributes like immutability, impassibility, eternity, and simplicity. The book offers a constructive treatment of the person of Christ, illuminating his relationship to the Father and the Spirit, the unity of his person, and the genuineness of his human life and suffering.  
  
"This helpful book details the biblical basis and conceptual coherence of traditional Christologies. Along the way, Steven Duby provides a thorough primer on numerous aspects of classical theism and the modern debates it has generated."  
\--__Daniel J. Treier__, Wheaton College  
  
"Steve Duby shows that the doctrine of God as interpreted by early, medieval, and post-Reformation orthodox theologians illumines our reading of the scriptural presentation of the incarnate Son. In so doing he helps demonstrate the christological payoff to concepts like immutability, impassibility, eternality, and even the simplicity of God. If the incarnation is the ultimate test case for biblical metaphysics, Duby shows that many have wrongly found the God of so-called classical theism to be evangelically implausible."  
\--__Michael Allen__, Reformed Theological Seminary

__Christianity Today 2023 Book Award (Theology - Academic)__   
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. This book explains how the Jesus revealed in Scripture comports with such descriptions of God. The author argues that the Bible's Christology coheres with and even requires the affirmation of divine attributes like immutability, impassibility, eternity, and simplicity.

This work of serious dogmatics by a Reformed theologian explains why Christology should be connected to a robust doctrine of God.

__Contents__ Introduction  
__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. Conclusion  
__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. Conclusion  
__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. Conclusion  
__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. Conclusion  
__5. "The Spirit of the LORD Is upon Me": The Son's Dependence on the Holy Spirit__ 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. Conclusion  
__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. Conclusion  
__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 to God  
V. Impassibility and Reduplicative Predication in Christology  
VI. Conclusion  
Conclusion  
Indexes

Duby, Steven J.

iHalf Title Page

iiiTitle Page

ivCopyright Page

vDedication

viiContents

xiAcknowledgments

xiiIntroduction

xviiAbbreviations

1▶ One ◀ Biblical Christology and “Classical Theism”

51▶ Two ◀ “The Word Was with God”: The Son’s Eternal Relation to the Father

97▶ Three ◀ “Foreknown before the Foundation of the World”: The Son’s Election and Mission

141▶ Four ◀ “And the Word Became Flesh”: The Son’s Relationship to His Human Nature

193▶ Five ◀ “The Spirit of the LORD Is upon Me”: The Son’s Dependence on the Holy Spirit

243▶ Six ◀ “I Have Come to Do Your Will, O God”: The Son’s Obedience

315 ▶ Seven ◀ “A Man of Sorrows”: The Son’s Suffering

375Conclusion

378Bibliography

417Index of Authors

424Index of Subjects

430Index of Selected Greek Terms

431Index of Scripture and Other Primary Sources

445Cover Flaps

446Back Cover

Christianity Today 2023 Book Award (Theology - Academic)  
  
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. This book explains how the Jesus revealed in Scripture comports with such descriptions of God. The author argues that the Bible's Christology coheres with and even requires the affirmation of divine attributes like immutability, impassibility, eternity, and simplicity.

Jesus and the God of Classical Theism

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