In general, there are two kinds of packages that arrive at our house: those containing fishing gear and those containing books. You can probably guess which are mine! I love my books, real physical books. Since entering seminary, my book buying habit has only gotten worse but I don’t see anything wrong with that. In fact, as my library has expanded I think I have discovered a new spiritual gift – the gift of book recommendation! All kidding aside, seminary requires a lot of reading. Not all of it is worthy of recommending, but some have risen to the top. Here are two books that I have found both spiritually enriching and helpful in increasing my understanding of certain theological topics. These are more on the academic side of things but if you’re interested in learning more, I encourage you to challenge yourself. Your hard work will be rewarded.
Living in Union with Christ: Paul’s Gospel and Christian Moral Identity by Grant Macaskill
This is one of the first books I read when I entered seminary. It was for a class on Paul’s epistles. It’s a short book that is based on a series of talks the author gave at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. My professor assigned it because his contention is that the doctrine of union with Christ is at the center of Paul’s theology. What is union with Christ? Macaskill explores this question by unpacking verses like Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
How do we see Christian moral identity? Macaskill’s contention is that evangelicals often describe and teach morality in a way that is functionally Christless. We inadvertently present sanctification as being about becoming a better version of ourselves instead of being formed into the image of Christ through the indwelling power of the Spirit of Christ in us. Here is one of many quotes that got me thinking much more deeply about how we talk and teach about the Christian life:
“The key point explored in some detail through the body of this book can here be summarized in terms of the prepositions that govern it. Jesus Christ is not represented simply as the one through whom we have forgiveness, or even as the one by whom the moral life is exemplified, but as the one in whom the life of discipleship takes place. Christ himself is present in the life of the disciple as the principal moral agent. We are not simply saved by him, nor do we merely follow after him – though both of these continue to be true – but we participate in him. This is why Paul so frequently specifies that the realities of the Christian life are ‘in Christ.'”
How do you think about obedience and growth in the Christian life? Is it just about becoming a better person with a little Jesus on the side? Is it more like Christian self-help? I’ve read this book twice now and the truths it contains continue to reverberate in my own soul and influence my teaching. Take your time and read this one slowly. One caveat though – you can skip chapter 1 if you’re not interested in reading a short history of the scholarship behind Pauline theology.
Created in God’s Image by Anthony Hoekema
This book was assigned in one of my systematic theology classes. It covered the topic of the doctrine of man. What makes up a human being? What does it mean to be created in the image of God? I was especially interested in the author’s chapter on whether man is made up of a body and soul, or does Scripture portray our makeup as body, soul, and spirit. If you’ve been around American evangelicalism for a while you may have come across this diagram:
But what if this diagram is wrong? What if it doesn’t line up with how the Bible talks about the self? Hoekema argues effectively against the above view of man as made up of three parts, often referred to as trichotomy. But he also questions the most common view which is called dichotomy – man being made up of a body and soul. He says while the Bible does use different words in speaking of the various so-called ‘parts’ of man – mind, spirit, soul, heart, flesh, etc. – we must remember that this language was never meant to be interpreted through a scientific or psychological lens. For example, when Jesus tells the lawyer in Matthew 22 that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, he was not giving a lesson on the psychological makeup of human beings. His point was that we are called to love God with all that we are.
Hoekema argues for what he calls psychosomatic unity, a phrase that acknowledges the variety of language the Bible uses in describing the human condition while also stressing the basic unity of man. Here is a quote from the book:
We may summarize our discussion of the biblical words used to describe the various aspects of man as follows: man must be understood as a unitary being. He has a physical side and mental or spiritual side, but we must not separate these two. The human person must be understood as an embodied soul or a ‘besouled’ body. He or she must be seen in his or her totality, not as a composite of different ‘parts’. This is the clear teaching of both Old and New Testament.
But why does this matter? You might not think it’s a big deal, but Hoekema points out several areas where an emphasis on the whole person, not just individual parts, has a great impact: the church, the family, school, medicine, and counseling. We must see men and women as whole people if we are to effectively minister to them, teach them, and heal them. It’s also important to recognize when we are emphasizing one ‘part’ of man at the expense of the whole. One aspect that Hoekema did not address, and could not have anticipated when he was writing in 1986, was the advent of technology like the metaverse and AI. These technologies are powerful tools but they also seek to redefine what it means to be human. Can you be a member of a church, even be baptized, without ever physically attending a real building with real live people? If that seems ridiculous, then click here to learn about something called VR church.
This is just a taste of two books that have made a big impact on me since entering seminary. Most of us will not go to seminary, but we can all challenge ourselves to read more deeply.
Women Studying the Word 