God Has Chosen: The Doctrine of Election Through Christian History

251 Pages·2020·4.345 MB·English

by  Mark R. Lindsay

MARK R. LINDSAY
G O D H A S
C H O S E N
THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION
THROUGH CHRISTIAN HISTORY
InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
ivpress.com
[email protected]
©2020 by Mark Lindsay
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
InterVarsity Press.
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students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United
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information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, 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 USA. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
Cover design and image composite: Bradley Joiner
Interior design: Daniel van Loon
Cover Image: © MirageC / Moment Collection / Getty Images
ISBN 978-0-8308-5323-6 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-5322-9 (print)
For Sonia and my boys,
who have tolerated more from me
than should ever have been asked of them
Whatever may be said about the doctrine of
election, it is written in the Word of God as with
an iron pen, and there is no getting rid of it.
Charles H. Spurgeon
Die Erwählungslehre ist die Summe des Evangeliums,
weil dies das Beste ist, was je gesagt and gehört
werden kann: das Gott den Menschen wählt.
Karl Barth
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 Scriptural Traces of Election 13
2 The Doctrine of Election in the Writings of the Fathers 37
3 The Middle Ages 73
4 The Reformation and Early Post-Reformation Controversies 104
5 Public and Private Election in the Nineteenth Century 137
6 Karl Barth’s Reconsideration of the Doctrine of Election 160
7 Reconstituting Election in the Aftermath of the Holocaust 184
Conclusion 214
Bibliography 219
Name Index 232
Subject Index 234
Scripture Index 236
Praise for God Has Chosen 237
About the Author 239
More Titles from InterVarsity Press 240

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With the same inevitability as the dawn follows from the
night, I have a multitude of friends and colleagues to thank, each of
whom—in their own way, whether they know it or not—have been
instrumental in the production of this book. First, I wish to record my
thanks to David Congdon, easily one of the most creative and insightful
theologians working today. As a one-time editor at IVP Academic, it
was David who first encouraged me in this project and who steered the
proposal through to its acceptance. Even though he has moved on to
other work opportunities, I continue to learn from him. I am grateful
also to friends at the University of Divinity, in particular Scott Kirkland,
Geoff Thompson, and Chris Mostert, with whom I have enjoyed
countless conversations about this book, and who have offered in-
valuable feedback. The end product is by far the better for their advice
(and for me having taken it!). My thanks must also go to my colleagues
at Trinity College Theological School, particularly to Dorothy Lee and
Bob Derrenbacker—successive deans under whose leadership of the
school this book has been written—and to Professor Ken Hinchcliff,
warden of Trinity College, who has been unfailing in his support for
the research ambitions of the theological school.
I am delighted to record my very sincere thanks to David McNutt,
who took over the editorial reins for this project in early 2017 and has
been wonderful to work with every step of the way. I am grateful to him
for his sharp eye for detail and for the astute questions he posed of the
text at various points.
x Acknowledgments
Close friends are, of course, the often-unheralded supporters of
projects such as this, and of their authors. Frequently unfamiliar with
the material, their value is simply in being there: in enquiring about
progress, in celebrating the reaching of project milestones, and—most
importantly of all—in reminding us authors that there is a wider world
out there, away from the books and the research. The company of dear
friends, over meals and wine, is a gift of inestimable worth. And so I
record here my thanks to Samuel and Jazz, Kath and Greg, Phil and
Jane, Paul and Christina, and Luke and Alice. You have shepherded me
and my family not only through the slow progress of this project but
even more so through the various other ups and downs over the past
few years. You know what I mean. Thank you.
Finally, to my family—I cannot repay the debt I owe you. You have
been unfailingly good to me, and I cannot—no, will not—ever forget
that. Let me say, and promise, simply this: each of you is infinitely more
important to me than this or any book. Forgive me for those times
when that has not been as evident as it should have been. Sonia, Jack,
Tom, and Elijah—for what it is worth, this is for you, with my love.
ABBREVIATIONS
AT Author’s translation.
BAGD Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
and Other Early Christian Literature. Revised and augmented
by W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1979.
CD Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics. 4 vols., 13 parts. Edited by
Geoffrey W. Bromiley and Thomas F. Torrance. Edinburgh:
T&T Clark, 1936–1969.
CF Schleiermacher, Friedrich D. E. Christian Faith. 2 vols.
Edited by C. L. Kelsey and T. N. Tice. Translated by T. N.
Tice, C. L. Kelsey, and E. Lawler. Louisville: Westminster
John Knox Press, 2016.
Cl. I Cor. First Letter of Clement, in Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. 1. Edited by
A. Roberts and J. Donaldson. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.
CO Ioannis Calvini opera quae supersunt omnia. Edited by G. W.
Baum, E. Cunitz, and E. Reuss. 59 vols. Corpus Reforma-
torum. Brunswick: CA Schwetschke & Son, 1863–1900.
C-Rom1 Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle
to the Romans. Edited and translated by J. Owen. Edinburgh:
Calvin Translation Society, 1849.
C-Rom2 Calvin, John. Commentary on Romans, Library of Christian
Classics. Vol. 23. Edited and translated by J. Haroutunian.
Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1958.
DBWE Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works in English. 17
vols. Edited by Wayne Whitson Floyd Jr. Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 1995–2011.
Did. Didache, in Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. 1. Edited by A. Roberts
and J. Donaldson. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.
Epistles Cyprian of Carthage. The Epistles of Cyprian, in Ante-Nicene
Fathers. Vol. 5. Edited by A. Roberts and J. Donaldson.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.
ET English translation.
GD Barth, Karl. The Göttingen Dogmatics: Instruction in the
Christian Religion. Vol. 1. Edited by H. Reiffen. Translated by
G. W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.