Perkins On The Divine Mission

How can the Father send the Son, considering they are both one? Answer. In the doctrine touching the Trinity, nature and person must be distinguished. Nature is a substance common to many, as the Godhead. A person is that which subsists of . . . Continue reading →

Vos: Man Belongs To Two Spheres

Man belongs to two spheres. And Scripture not only teaches that these two spheres are distinct, it also teaches what estimate of relative importance ought to be placed upon them. Heaven is the primordial, earth the secondary creation. In heaven are the . . . Continue reading →

Vos On Divine Simplicity

What is God’s simplicity? That attribute of God whereby He is free of all composition and distinction. God is free: a) Of logical composition; in Him there is no distinction between genus and species. b) Of natural composition; in Him there is . . . Continue reading →

Perkins: Two Natures, One Christ

The second question is, how Christ could obey, being God, and satisfy for us, being man? Answer. Christ must be considered, not merely as God, or as man, but as God-man or man-God. For the Godhead does not redeem us without the . . . Continue reading →

Machen On The Trinity

What the New Testament ordinarily does is to state parts of the doctrine, so that when we put those parts together, and when we summarize them, we have the great doctrine of the three persons and one God. For example, all passages . . . Continue reading →

1689 Vs. The Westminster Confession (4): Some Of These Things Are Not Like The Others

Our comparison and contrast of the WCF with the 2LC continues through chapter 2, Of God and of the Holy Trinity. WCF 2LC 1.There is but one only, living, and true God: who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure . . . Continue reading →

Vidu On His Divine Missions: A Response To Perkins

It is an honor to respond to Harrison Perkins’ careful engagement with my latest book, The Divine Missions: An Introduction. His critique explores the compatibility of my work with confessional Reformed theology, concluding that there are a number of adjustments that may . . . Continue reading →

Reconciling the Divine Processions-Missions Relationship with Confessional Reformed Theology: An Engagement with Adonis Vidu’s The Divine Missions: An Introduction (Part 3)

This series of essays reflects upon Adonis Vidu’s new book about the divine missions to see how we who hold specifically to confessionally Reformed theology can think about and appropriate his arguments. The first post surveyed the book’s contents, and the second . . . Continue reading →

Reconciling the Divine Processions-Missions Relationship with Confessional Reformed Theology: An Engagement with Adonis Vidu’s The Divine Missions: An Introduction (Part 2)

This series interacts with Adonis Vidu’s thought-provoking new work about the divine missions. His project, fitting well in the recent retrieval of classical theism, is to explain how God’s ad intra operations, namely the personal processions of each person of the Godhead, . . . Continue reading →

Reconciling the Divine Processions-Missions Relationship with Confessional Reformed Theology: An Engagement with Adonis Vidu’s The Divine Missions: An Introduction (Part 1)

Recent years have seen a flourishing of new research and reflection upon classical trinitarian theology, producing a large swath of publications on theology proper. This development has most welcomely highlighted areas where Protestant theology had lost its diligence and rigor in listening . . . Continue reading →

Review of Fred Sanders, Fountain of Salvation: Trinity and Soteriology

Fred Sanders is likely the best-known name in recent theology concerning the doctrine of the Trinity and rightly so. He has addressed the topic at the academic and popular levels, providing hermeneutical advancements and introductory treatments.1 His most recent book, Fountain of . . . Continue reading →

Reformation Day, The Trinity, And The Culture War

Some objected to the critics of the Federal Vision that the social crisis is too great that to be arguing about the Federal Vision. That objection has resurface in recent days in the wake of a social media post in which a prominent member of the Young, Restless, and Reformed Movement and a Baptist theologian has argued, “The Father is the Father because he sends the Son. The Son is the Son because he submits to the Father’s will. The Spirit is the Spirit because the Father and the Son send Him. There is no Trinity without the order of authority and submission” (emphasis original).  As one might imagine, this line of reasoning has prompted a considerable response. In response to the critics, some have re-stated the same argument made by the Federal Visionists and their enablers in 2008: “Are we really going to start arguing about ESS again? With all the other stuff going on in the world, this is the battle some of you want to fight? Again? I seriously do not understand some of you. Like, at all.” Continue reading →