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Baker Publishing Group - Todd Billings J.

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117 pages

English

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Accomplished theologian J. Todd Billings recovers the biblical theme of union with Christ for today's church, making a fresh contribution to the theological discussion with important applications for theology and ministry. Drawing on Scripture and the thought of figures such as Augustine, Calvin, Bavinck, and Barth, Billings shows how a theology of union with Christ can change the way believers approach worship, justice, mission, and the Christian life. He illuminates how union with Christ can change the theological conversation about thorny topics such as total depravity and the mystery of God. Billings also provides a critique and alternative to the widely accepted paradigm of incarnational ministry and explores a gospel-centered approach to social justice. Throughout, he offers a unique and lively exploration of what is so amazing about being united to the living Christ.

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Philosophie et théologie

Christian theology

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 novembre 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441234544
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0576€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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© 2011 by J. Todd Billings
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3454-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
“What does the doctrine of adoption have to say to a ‘moralistic, therapeutic, deistic’ teenager? How does the Reformed understanding of sin actually underscore human freedom? Are we getting too loose in our talk about ‘incarnational ministry’? Can we talk about a relationship with Christ without descending into sentimentalism? How does Christ’s work for us connect with his work in us by his Word and Spirit? Only after reading this book will you see just how related are all of these themes. And the integrating framework is union with Christ. In this fresh, winsome, learned yet down-to-earth exploration, Billings displays the research of a scholar and the heart of a pastor. This is one of the best books available on the heart of the gospel and its relevance for our lives.”
Michael Horton , Westminster Seminary California
“The beautiful, mystical, and biblical idea of Christ’s union with the body of Christ considered both ecclesially and individually had nearly evaporated from the religious consciousness of evangelical and Reformed Christians for a while. That is no longer the case with Billings’s new book. The doctrines of adoption and incarnation receive a fresh treatment in this book to open up the wide vista of application for the Christian life. Billings has done a wonderful job of weaving together a robust presentation of the heart of the gospel and the corresponding ecclesial praxis.”
Paul C. H. Lim , Vanderbilt University
“Drawing upon the likes of Augustine, Calvin, Bavinck, and others, Todd Billings ably demonstrates why the biblical truth of union and communion with God has had such historical and theological significance. Thankfully, he doesn’t leave us out of the story. Along the way he highlights why union with Christ continues to matter for our understanding of the Christian life, making insightful connections between adoption and participation, incomprehensibility and accommodation, justice and Eucharist, grace and action. Let Billings take you into a deeper appreciation of what it means to be united to Christ you won’t regret it.”
Kelly M. Kapic , Covenant College
“Billings has been at the forefront of academic debates over the concept of union with Christ. With this book he shows all of us why union with Christ matters for our Christian lives and ministries and worship. Drawing on contexts as diverse as sixteenth-century Europe and contemporary Africa, Billings explores a theme that takes us to the heart of the gospel in a way that enriches and corrects our faith, our understanding, and our practices.”
Suzanne McDonald , Calvin College
“In Union with Christ , Todd Billings expounds upon an important New Testament doctrine by exploring its contemporary ramifications in light of careful historical and exegetical reflection. This is a thought-provoking book that will ignite fresh conversations about the nature of our participation in Christ.”
Trevin Wax , coauthor of Counterfeit Gospels and Holy Subversion
To my students at Western Theological Seminary, who helped show me the life-changing nature of union with Christ
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1: Salvation as Adoption in Christ: An Antidote to Today’s Distant yet Convenient Deity
2: Total Depravity in Sin, Total Communion in Christ: How the Bondage of the Will Mirrors a Theology of Salvation as Communion
3: Encountering a Mystery in Union with Christ: On Communion with the Incomprehensible God
4: The Gospel and Justice: Union with Christ, the Law of Love, and the Lord’s Supper
5: Ministry in Union with Christ: A Constructive Critique of Incarnational Ministry
Conclusion
Index
Notes
Back Cover
It would be ironic for a book about union with Christ to be the product of a solitary individual. For in union with Christ, we are united not only to Jesus Christ but to his body, a community of faith brought into fellowship by the Spirit. While I hold final responsibility for the material in this book, it reflects many gifts of fellowship the wise input of many friends and interlocutors over the course of several years.
Numerous scholars, pastors, and students gave me helpful feedback on earlier drafts of chapters. Special thanks for providing specific feedback goes to Drs. John Bolt, James Brownson, Jason Byassee, R. Scott Clark, Matt Floding, Michael Horton, Kristen Johnson, Trygve Johnson, Kelly Kapic, Suzanne McDonald, Richard Muller, and John Witvliet. I also received helpful input on chapter material from pastors and students, including Jill Carattini, Dan Claus, Ann Conklin, Brannon Ellis, Travis Else, David Feiser, Brian Keepers, Dustyn Keepers, Stephen Schaffer, Chris Theule-Van Dam, and Tim Truesdell. At each stage of the writing process, I have received exceptionally competent help from my research assistant, Andrew Mead. To all of these conversation partners, I am deeply grateful.
In addition to these specific readers, others offered assistance that helped make this book possible. I am grateful to the Templeton Foundation and the University of Heidelberg for providing the Templeton Award for Theological Promise. After my first book won this award in 2009, funding was provided for further lectures; those lectures served as the initial raw material that was expanded into this book.
Thus I am grateful to the schools that hosted these Templeton lectures and the audiences who offered valuable feedback on earlier drafts of these chapters. My thanks goes to Dirkie Smit and the faculty at the University of Stellenbosch and to Ernst M. Conradie and the faculty at the University of West Cape for their feedback on my lecture on the Lord’s Supper and justice, which was revised and expanded into chapter 4. For their insightful input on chapter 3, I am grateful to John Webster and the faculty at the University of Aberdeen; Paul Nimmo and the faculty at the University of Edinburgh; Alan Torrance, Steve Holmes, and Julie Canlis at the University of St. Andrews; and Scott Manetsch and the faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. At all of these schools, I benefited greatly from the opportunity to present earlier drafts of the material in this book to faculty and students.
In addition, I am thankful for the invitation to give a series of three lectures on the contemporary significance of Reformed theology at Western Theological Seminary an event that was enhanced by respondents from Hope College, Calvin College, and Calvin Theological Seminary. The series, in honor of Eugene Osterhaven, served as an opportunity to put together lectures in coherent form, which contributed significantly to the development of this book. I am grateful to more people than can be named for participating in that event and for bringing salient insights that I hope are reflected at points throughout.
It has been a pleasure to work with the editors at Baker Academic, including Bob Hosack and Arika Theule-Van Dam. I appreciate their enthusiasm and flexibility, as some of the planning for this book was completed transcontinentally while my wife and I were teaching in Ethiopia for five months.
I am also grateful to various groups for providing copyright permissions for this book. For permission to reprint the contemporary English translation of the Belhar Confession, available as an appendix at the end of chapter 4, I am grateful to the Office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), as well as the Publication Committee of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. In a few places I use a very small amount of material from my previous two books. I am grateful to Oxford University Press for their permission to use revised material from pages 10, 13–14, and 52–53 in Calvin, Participation, and the Gift: The Activity of Believers in Union with Christ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007). I am also grateful to Eerdmans for permission to include two paragraphs of modified material from The Word of God for the People of God: An Entryway to the Theological Interpretation of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010). In addition, I am grateful for permission to use a small amount of material adapted from my article “Incarnational Ministry and the Unique, Incarnate Christ” ( Modern Reformation , March/April 2009, 19–22).
Finally, my thanks goes to the communities that make my overall work possible: my colleagues at Western Theological Seminary, as well as friends at Hope College; my church family, First Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan; and most of all, my luminous wife, Rachel, and our dear children, Neti and Nathaniel.
This book is dedicated to my students at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. It is with thanks to God that I offer this as a gift to them.
Comm. Commentary CTS John Calvin, Calvin’s