The Christian Faith - A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way

1470 Pages·2005·7.44 MB·English

by  Michael Horton

MICHAEL HORTON
THE CHRISTIAN
FAITH
A Systematic Theology
for Pilgrims on the Way
ABBREVIATIONS
Ante-Nicene Fathers (ed. Alexander Roberts and James
ANF
Donaldson; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, repr. 1976)
Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker, et al., A Greek-English
BDAG Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature (3rd ed.; Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000)
Bibliotheca sacra Church Dogmatics Karl Barth, Church
BSac Dogmatics (ed. G. W. Bromiley and T. F. Torrance; trans. G.
W. Bromiley; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1956 – 1975)
Calvini opera, 59 volumes. In Corpus reformatorum (ed. C. G.
CO Bretschneider, H. E. Bindseil, et al., vols. 29 – 87; New
York: Johnson, repr. 1964)
CTJ Calvin Theological Journal
Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology (ed. James T.
Elenctic
Dennison Jr.; trans. George Musgrave Giger; Phillipsburg,
Theology
N.J.: P&R, 1992)
HTR Harvard Theological Review
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (ed. J. T.
Institutes McNeill; trans. Ford Lewis Battles; Philadelphia:
Westminster, 1960)
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
JR Journal of Religion
Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament)
Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament)
LXX
m. Pesah Mishnah, Pesah
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (ed. Philip Schaff et al.; 1st
NPNF1
series; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, repr. 1982)
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (ed. Philip Schaff et al.; 2nd
NPNF2
series; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, repr. 1982)
Ioannis Calvini, Opera Selecta (ed. P. Barth and G. Niesel; 5
OS
vols.; Munich: Kaiser, 1926 – 1936)
Patrologia graeca (ed. J.-P Migne; 162 vols.; Paris, 1857 –
PG
1886)
Patrologia latina (ed. J.-P Migne; 217 vols.; Paris, 1844 –
PL
1864)
Richard Muller, Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics (2nd
PRRD
ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003)
SJT Scottish Journal of Theology
SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph series
Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (ed. G. Johannes
TDOT Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1974 – 2006)
ThTo Theology Today
Tracts and Treatises (trans. Henry Beveridge; 3 vols.; Grand
TT
Rapids: Baker, repr. 1958)
WBC Word Biblical Commentary
WTJ Westminster Theological Journal
THE NICENE CREED1
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us and for our salvation
came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary,
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of
the Father;
and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living
and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and
glorified;
who spoke by the prophets;
and we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church;
we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;
and we look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
1 The Nicene Creed, in Trinity Hymnal (rev. ed.: Philadelphia:
Great Commission Publications, 1990), 846.
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
ABBREVIATIONS
THE NICENE CREED
THE DOGMA IS THE DRAMA: A THEOLOGY FOR PILGRIMS ON THE
WAY
Part One KNOWING GOD: The Presuppositions of Theology
Chapter One DISSONANT DRAMAS: PARADIGMS FOR KNOWING
GOD AND THE WORLD
Chapter Two THE CHARACTER OF THEOLOGY: A THEORETICAL OR
A PRACTICAL SCIENCE?
Chapter Three THE SOURCE OF THEOLOGY: REVELATION
Chapter Four SCRIPTURE AS COVENANT CANON
Chapter Five THE BIBLE AND THE CHURCH: FROM SCRIPTURE TO
SYSTEM
Part Two GOD WHO LIVES
Chapter Six GOD: THE INCOMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES
Chapter Seven GOD: THE COMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES
Chapter Eight THE HOLY TRINITY
Part Three GOD WHO CREATES
Chapter Nine THE DECREE: TRINITY AND PREDESTINATION
Chapter Ten CREATION: GOD’S TIME FOR US
Chapter Eleven PROVIDENCE: GOD’S CARE FOR ALL HE HAS MADE
Chapter Twelve BEING HUMAN
Chapter Thirteen THE FALL OF HUMANITY
Part Four GOD WHO RESCUES
Chapter Fourteen THE PERSON OF CHRIST
Chapter Fifteen THE STATE OF HUMILIATION: CHRIST’S
THREEFOLD OFFICE
Chapter Sixteen THE STATE OF EXALTATION: THE SERVANT WHO
IS LORD
Part Five GOD WHO REIGNS IN GRACE
Chapter Seventeen CALLED TO BE SAINTS: CHRIST’S PRESENCE IN
THE SPIRIT
Chapter Eighteen UNION WITH CHRIST
Chapter Nineteen FORENSIC ASPECTS OF UNION WITH CHRIST:
JUSTIFICATION AND ADOPTION
Chapter Twenty THE WAY FORWARD IN GRACE: SANCTIFICATION
AND PERSEVERANCE
Chapter Twenty-One THE HOPE OF GLORY: “THOSE WHOM HE
JUSTIFIED HE ALSO GLORIFIED” (RO 8:30)
Chapter Twenty-Two THE KINGDOM OF GRACE AND THE NEW
COVENANT CHURCH
Chapter Twenty-Three WORD AND SACRAMENT: THE MEANS OF
GRACE
Chapter Twenty-Four BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER
Chapter Twenty-Five THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE CHURCH: UNITY,
CATHOLICITY, AND HOLINESS
Chapter Twenty-Six APOSTOLICITY: A FELLOWSHIP OF RECEIVERS
AND DELIVERERS
Part Six GOD WHO REIGNS IN GLORY
Chapter Twenty-Seven A DWELLING PLACE
Chapter Twenty-Eight THE RETURN OF CHRIST AND THE LAST
JUDGMENT
Chapter Twenty-Nine THE LAST BATTLE AND LIFE EVERLASTING
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Copyright
About the Publisher
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THE DOGMA IS THE DRAMA: A THEOLOGY FOR PILGRIMS ON THE
WAY
I
n 1949, the English playwright and novelist Dorothy Sayers observed
the common antipathy in her day toward doctrine: “‘Dull dogma,’ they
call it.” According to Sayers, however, Christianity is the most
interesting story ever told. “And the dogma is the drama.”1 For many
Christians, words such as doctrine and theology—and especially systematic
theology—conjure up images of intellectual pride, divisiveness, and the
presumption that we can put God in a box, neatly explained by our
categories and formulations. Of course, we are nearly infinitely
resourceful in using good things with corrupt motives and for less than
noble ends. We can exhibit spiritual pride also in our experience or
morality. However, it is the goal of good theology to humble us before
the triune God of majesty and grace. As we will see more fully, the older
theologians of the Reformation and Post-Reformation eras were so
convinced that their interpretations fell far short of the majesty of God
that they called their summaries and systems “our humble theology” and
“a theology for pilgrims on the way.”