Incarnation and Inspiration

Dr Alan Spence has been a teacher in Harare, an evangelist in the South African townships, a human rights advocate in Zimbabwe and Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa. He is now a minister in the United Reformed Church serving two congregations in London, UK.

• Preface; Part I- Two Ways Of Thinking About; Christ; Inspiration or Incarnation; 1. Why did Jesus pray?; 2. Incarnational Christology; 3. Inspirational Christology; 4. Compatibility and the witness of the tradition; 5. John Owen; Part II- Incarnation; The Son assumes human nature; 1. The writing of Christologia; 2. Christ as the way of our knowing; 3. The context in which Christ is known; 4. The wisdom of God and the person of Christ; 5. The appropriateness of the incarnation; 6. The pre-existent Son; 7. God's eternal counsels; 8. The agent of the incarnation; 9. The Word became flesh; 10. The assumption of human nature; 11. Anhypostasia; 12. The hypostatic union; 13. The natures distinguished; 14. Interaction between the natures; Part III- Inspiration; The Spirit renews God's image in Christ's human nature; 1. Quakers and Socinians.; 2. The Spirit in the Christian life; 3. The Spirit in Nature and in Grace; 4. Christ as the foundation and goal of the Spirit's work; 5. Firstborn among many brothers; 6. The Spirit's work in Jesus; 7. Inspiration and incarnation; 8. Master-stories; 9. Integrity of the Person; Part IV -The Mediator; One person acting in two natures; 1. Athanasius - The Incarnation of the Word of God; 2. Anselm - Why was God made Man?; 3. Calvin - Incorporating both perspectives; 4. The office of Mediator; 5. The person of the Mediator; 6. From Logos to Mediator; 7. The Mediator as subject of the incarnate life; 8. Evaluation; Part V- The Son And The Father; Of the same being; 1. Introduction of the homoousion; 2. Arian Christology; 3. The Athanasian alternative; 4. The Socinians; 5. Owen's response; 6. Conclusion; Part VI -The Son And The Children; An 'autokinetic' human nature; 1. The relation between the natures. 2. The Apollinarian solution; 3. An alternative account; 4. The nature of Christ's humanity; 5. The self-consciousness of Jesus; 6. Conclusion; Part VII -Trinitarian Agency; The Son and Spirit as distinct agents; 1. Our knowledge of God as triune; 2. The essence of the doctrine; 3. Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa; 4. Distinct principles of operation; 5. Resolution; 6. Consistent?; 7. Strictures on the tradition; 8. New possibilities; Part VIII- Conclusion; 1. The problem of Christology; 2. Owen and the coherence of Chalcedon; 3. Coherence and modern Christology; Bibliography.

"'This constitutes a useful, although controversial, contribution to Christology in general and to the thought of John Owen in particular, and is written in an accessible and readable style that will commend it to a wide range of readers, specialist and general.' Oliver Crisp, University of Bristol"