What does it mean to say that God became man? Or more specifically, to say that God became incarnate in the person of Jesus? This was a question that the early Christian church wrestled with, eventually deciding in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, joined in what is known as the hypostatic union. The Council defined this union and declared it to be orthodox belief through the Chalcedonian Confession. Exploring several of the intricacies of the nature of Jesus as being both fully God and fully human is the task undertaken by Oliver Crisp in God Incarnate: Explorations in Christology (London: T&T Clark, 2009).

Crisp is an analytic theologian, which I understand to be a person who combines the tools of the systematic theologian and the philosopher to grapple with various theological questions. In each of the eight essays composing this book he does careful work in exploring the positions of various theologians on the topic under consideration. He is attentive to nuances and shades of grey, taking time to be both thorough and fair. Among the topics that are explored are these titles: Christological Method; The Election of Jesus Christ; Christ and the Embryo; and Was Christ Sinless or Impeccable?

It could be said that analytical theology is a rather esoteric and dry discipline, something of value for academics but of little value to those who preach week-in and week-out. And to that I would disagree, as I found that each of the topics identified above have direct bearing on the lives of the people found in the pews, and the homes, of the communities of every pastor. The Chalcedonian Confession says that Christ was like us in every way, sin excepted. Crisp digs into the meaning of that in ways that can be taken to the pulpit and used to strengthen the faith and comfort the heart of every Christian.

Crisp is not easy to read, but his writing is well worth digging into. I would recommend that a person approaching this, or any of his other analytical works, such as Retrieving Doctrine and Revisioning Christology, come with a basic working knowledge of systematic theology. A good understanding of the basics of philosophy would also be useful, but not essential. My grasp of philosophy is skeletal and I had to labor at times to understand Crisp’s arguments, but I found the effort to be worthwhile.

For the person who wants to see what lies in the deep end of the pool when it comes to understanding what it means to confess that God lives as man in the person of Jesus I highly commend this book. ( )