"God with Us: Knowing the Mystery of Who Jesus Is"

The doctrine of Christ’s person and the doctrine of his work are indissolubly linked. Confuse the doctrine of his person, and errors in understanding his work inevitably follow.

Fortunately, Pastor Daniel R. Hyde knows that Christology is a matter of spiritual life and death. In his new book, God with Us: Knowing the Mystery of Who Jesus Is, he reminds us:

“It is because of who He is (His person) and what He did (His work) that we by faith alone are in a covenant relationship with God as Creator and Father. Christ’s person and work are a unity. Without the person there is no work, and the work is meaningless without the person accomplishing it. … Christ’s person gives meaning and purpose to His work for us, and His work is grounded in who He is, His person.” (94-95)

Good words to remember before hastily concluding that a study in Christology is a wasted foray through hair-splitting trails of a theological jungle. To love Christ as we should, we must know who he is, as well as delight in his saving work. The stunning achievement of Christ’s incarnation and crucifixion does not reside in their sacrificial character, per se, but in the dignity of the One who was incarnated and sacrificed, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7).

Pastor Hyde skillfully handles the biblical data that is the foundation of the orthodox Christian confession: The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who “became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, answer 21). Says Hyde, “We need to talk about God as God has revealed we should. The Son has two natures because only God can save humans from their sin, and we need a Savior who is both God and man at the same time.” (39). In this light, our orthodox creedal statements are not speculative exercises, but proclamations of the majesty of God’s Son, who because of who he is, “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (Hebrews 7:25).

Readers will enjoy a whirlwind tour of the Christological heresies that unsettled the church, including a cursory look at early heresies that claimed Christ to be no more than a man – or, as divine and only appearing to be a man (Ebionism and Docetism, respectively), to modern heresies of Schleirmacher, Ritschl, and Schweitzer, each of whom robbed Christ of his divine majesty. More substantial attention is given to the major heresies that rocked the church during the period when its great ecumenical creeds were written – especially, Eutchyianism and Apollinarianism (which compromised the integrity of Christ’s human nature) and Nestorianism (which compromised the unity of Christ’s person). The church’s responses to these and other errors became its great confessions of the mystery of Christ’s person.

Hyde is conversant with the early church fathers, ecumenical creeds, Reformed confessions and Reformed theologians, past and present.

Appendices include a helpful compilation of creedal and confessional statements.

I heartily recommend this book for personal and group study.