Church

Theological reflection on the church is always lodged in a particular ecclesial context. The church is the aggregate of the finite, fallible communities gathered by God across time and space to live in response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and theological emphasis must remain on the visible, earthen vessel church. The church trusts in God’s mercy and not in its own strength or virtue. Ecclesiology must take into account the historical ups and downs of the church and its great adaptive power to thrive in different contexts. The church’s life has a centrifugal force: it proclaims and enacts God’s gracious intentions for the whole world, and is called to live alongside others in witness, interdependence, and collaboration. The church is not the end of the ways of God, and it should not be the fulcrum of Christian dogmatics.

Reformed Theology and Medieval Theology

This chapter examines the relationship between medieval theology and Reformed theology. The Reformation broke with medieval thought upon key issues, but in many areas, medieval influence remained. Many of the Reformers, including Luther, Zwingli, Bucer, and Vermigli, were trained in various forms of medieval thought, such as Thomism, Scotism, and Nominalism. Calvin was unique in that he was mostly self-trained in theology, although the nature of his training remains disputed. As Reformed theology became institutionalized, medieval theology became a valuable tool in the defence of Reformed thought, as exemplified in the writings of John Owen and Francis Turretin. The chapter also examines Reformed theology in the areas of the doctrine of God, of providence, of predestination, of sanctification, and of the person of Christ, noting the influence of medieval thought upon the formulation of these doctrines.

The Doctrine of God

The Reformed doctrine of God has bequeathed to the church catholic a God who is truly Lord, a majestic sovereign who rides in the ancient heavens. He exercises his own good pleasure eternally, affirming and attesting and delighting in his own perfect goodness; and he turns toward his creatures in that perfect goodness to enact his justice and his mercy. Utterly self-sufficient, gloriously free, this God seals the covenant with creatures through the blood of his Son, and is content to dwell with them. He does not leave himself without witnesses, for the whole cosmos speaks his name. For this reason, the God whom the Reformed worship and adore, is in fullness and in truth, humanity’s chief end, its glory and its delight forever.

Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics

The most significant Reformed theologian of the twentieth century, Karl Barth, exercised a remarkably critical role relative to the classical traditions of Reformed Theology. His theological project drew on modern biblical criticism, post-Kantian philosophy, and early twentieth-century approaches to Christocentrism. Nevertheless, he prepared to offer a systematic theology by going to school with the classic texts of the Reformed tradition and by engaging in prolonged biblical exegesis. Eventually, Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics presented an orderly account of the Christian faith centred on and beginning with the self-presentation of God in Jesus Christ. It enfolds prolegomena, ethics, and homiletical guidance within its span, believing these ancillary discussions to demand properly theological and thus Christological regulation. This chapter explores the Christological focus and rhetorical style before turning to introduce each of the constituent parts (Word of God, God, Creation, and Reconciliation) of that magnum opus.

Jonathan Edwards’ A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections

In the face of two extremes—the excesses of the revivals and the reactive rejection of them—Jonathan Edwards posits religious affection as the key feature of the truly religious life. Affection, understood in light of the divine blessedness and its communication to the creature in regeneration, serves to ground knowledge of God in a distinctively spiritual register, distinguishing between regenerate and non-regenerate knowledge of God. But non-regenerate knowledge, virtue, and religion often mimic and mirror regenerate forms, raising questions about the church’s ability to discern true from false religion. To remedy this problem, Edwards advances his theoretical material to develop positive and negative signs for discerning true religion, a move that has troubled later Reformed theologians.

Martin Bucer’s Kingdom of Christ

Martin Bucer’s Kingdom of Christ [De Regno Christi] was written while he was in exile in England. It served as advice to King Edward VI (ruled 1547–53) on how to pursue more effectively reform of the English Church and commonwealth, and as constructive criticism of what had been done. The treatise was a summary of Bucer’s thinking on the relationship between church and society, and on how the Gospel should influence every aspect of life, resulting in the establishment of the rule of Christ in this world. The treatise is in two books; the first describes what constitutes the Kingdom of Christ, the second is a plan of action built on fourteen laws for reform of church and all of society. Though it is not a theological treatise in a narrow sense, the work makes substantial contributions to the doctrine of the church, church–state relations, and the conduct of the Christian life (especially church or Christian discipline).

Reformed Theology and Modern Biblical Criticism

Reformed theology’s relation to scripture’s canonical status as divine in genesis, preservation, and purpose settles comfortably alongside the Bible’s creaturely and historical character. As the previous discussion intimates, the canonical formation of scripture as a two-testament canon is itself an historical phenomenon, the result of a tradition-building process under the providential governance of human activities. Reshaping scripture’s canonical form in light of a reconstructed historical or tradition-historical schema runs the real danger of attenuating this achievement of providence. Modern criticism brings a set of challenges and opportunities for Reformed theology and hermeneutics. Where modern criticism dismantles the canonical text, Reformed thought registers its reservations. Where modern criticism provides insight into the historical and literary machinations leading to scripture’s final form, a Reformed view of providence remains open to critical inquiry. Navigating these challenges within the institutional dynamics of Reformed thought continues as a challenge. But the twin commitments remain intact. The Christian scriptures as a twofold canon assume the operative work of the Holy Spirit in scripture’s human production and continued effectiveness.

Last Things

Concentration on God makes Reformed theology ‘reformed’, and this concentration will form the basis for the treatment of eschatology in the present chapter. I pursue three things in this chapter. First, I provide a brief account of a few of the main themes of eschatology in Reformed perspective in conversation with the leading English-speaking Reformed theologian of the twentieth century, Thomas F. Torrance. Second, I provide a distinctive and substantial interpretation of the last things from a Reformed vantage point, arguing for the importance of God for any biblically faithful eschatology. I do so in dialogue with Calvin’s commentary on 1 Corinthians 15 and, secondarily, with Barth’s commentary on the same. Third and last, I present some avenues for future research, especially the immanent life of God and the beatific vision.

Reformed Ethics

Within the wider field of ethical reflection and moral theology, Reformed ethics is tasked with understanding and orienting human action theologically by formative reference to the fundamental description of moral reality provided by Reformed doctrine. The essential features of this moral reality can helpfully be displayed and coordinated around the themes of belonging, gratitude, law, and holiness. Consideration of these themes helps to bring out what is distinctive in a Reformed theological ethic in the midst of much that is evidently also held in common with the wider Christian tradition. As this chapter looks to demonstrate, the history of Reformed theological ethics testifies to the fundamental and abiding conviction on the part of Reformed believers and theologians that reformatio doctrinae is intrinsically bound with and finds it term in serious and joyful reformatio vitae.

Redemption Applied

Union with Christ is a crucial theme for Reformed soteriology with far-reaching implications in numerous areas, including the theology of the covenant, the sacraments, eschatology, and the outworking of the doctrine of grace as justification and sanctification in Christ. Through engagement with scriptural exegesis and the refining of various catholic and characteristically Reformed elements, a Reformed doctrine of union with Christ has much to offer to the broader theological and ecclesial discussion. Rather than reducing salvation to simply a forensic act or a gradual transformation, the Reformed tradition holds together God’s forensic declaration with the Spirit’s indwelling, transformative work. Rather than approaching the various acts of God in salvation as temporal stages for human ascent to God, God’s electing action unfolding in justification, adoption, sanctification, glorification are ‘manifestations’ of union with Christ. Rather than reducing salvation to a purely vertical or purely horizontal affair, the Reformed hold together communion with God in Christ with covenantal, reconciled communion with others who are adopted into his household. This cluster of topics continues to generate considerable debate and development in contemporary biblical and theological circles, and promises to be an area for lively discussion for years to come.