Accomplished theologian J. Todd Billings recovers the biblical theme of union with Christ for today's church, making a fresh contribution to the theological discussion with important applications for theology and ministry. Drawing on Scripture and the thought of figures such as Augustine, Calvin, Bavinck, and Barth, Billings shows how a theology of union with Christ can change the way believers approach worship, justice, mission, and the Christian life. He illuminates how union with Christ can change the theological conversation about thorny topics such as total depravity and the mystery of God. Billings also provides a critique and alternative to the widely accepted paradigm of incarnational ministry and explores a gospel-centered approach to social justice. Throughout, he offers a unique and lively exploration of what is so amazing about being united to the living Christ.
Union with Christ
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Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
"What does the doctrine of adoption have to say to a 'moralistic, therapeutic, deistic' teenager? How does the Reformed understanding of sin actually underscore human freedom? Are we getting too loose in our talk about 'incarnational ministry'? Can we talk about a relationship with Christ without descending into sentimentalism? How does Christ's work for us connect with his work in us by his Word and Spirit? Only after reading this book will you see just how related are all of these themes. And the integrating framework is union with Christ. In this fresh, winsome, learned yet down-to-earth exploration, Billings displays the research of a scholar and the heart of a pastor. This is one of the best books available on the heart of the gospel and its relevance for our lives."
--Michael Horton, Westminster Seminary California
"The beautiful, mystical, and biblical idea of Christ's union with the body of Christ--considered both ecclesially and individually--had nearly evaporated from the religious consciousness of evangelical and Reformed Christians for a while. That is no longer the case with Billings's new book. The doctrines of adoption and incarnation receive a fresh treatment in this book to open up the wide vista of application for the Christian life. Billings has done a wonderful job of weaving together a robust presentation of the heart of the gospel and the corresponding ecclesial praxis."
--Paul C. H. Lim, Vanderbilt University
"Drawing upon the likes of Augustine, Calvin, Bavinck, and others, Todd Billings ably demonstrates why the biblical truth of union and communion with God has had such historical and theological significance. Thankfully, he doesn't leave us out of the story. Along the way he highlights why union with Christ continues to matter for our understanding of the Christian life, making insightful connections between adoption and participation, incomprehensibility and accommodation, justice and Eucharist, grace and action. Let Billings take you into a deeper appreciation of what it means to be united to Christ--you won't regret it."
--Kelly M. Kapic, Covenant College
"Billings has been at the forefront of academic debates over the concept of union with Christ. With this book he shows all of us why union with Christ matters for our Christian lives and ministries and worship. Drawing on contexts as diverse as sixteenth-century Europe and contemporary Africa, Billings explores a theme that takes us to the heart of the gospel in a way that enriches and corrects our faith, our understanding, and our practices."
--Suzanne McDonald, Calvin College
"In Union with Christ, Todd Billings expounds upon an important New Testament doctrine by exploring its contemporary ramifications in light of careful historical and exegetical reflection. This is a thought-provoking book that will ignite fresh conversations about the nature of our participation in Christ."
--Trevin Wax, coauthor of Counterfeit Gospels and Holy Subversion
--Michael Horton, Westminster Seminary California
"The beautiful, mystical, and biblical idea of Christ's union with the body of Christ--considered both ecclesially and individually--had nearly evaporated from the religious consciousness of evangelical and Reformed Christians for a while. That is no longer the case with Billings's new book. The doctrines of adoption and incarnation receive a fresh treatment in this book to open up the wide vista of application for the Christian life. Billings has done a wonderful job of weaving together a robust presentation of the heart of the gospel and the corresponding ecclesial praxis."
--Paul C. H. Lim, Vanderbilt University
"Drawing upon the likes of Augustine, Calvin, Bavinck, and others, Todd Billings ably demonstrates why the biblical truth of union and communion with God has had such historical and theological significance. Thankfully, he doesn't leave us out of the story. Along the way he highlights why union with Christ continues to matter for our understanding of the Christian life, making insightful connections between adoption and participation, incomprehensibility and accommodation, justice and Eucharist, grace and action. Let Billings take you into a deeper appreciation of what it means to be united to Christ--you won't regret it."
--Kelly M. Kapic, Covenant College
"Billings has been at the forefront of academic debates over the concept of union with Christ. With this book he shows all of us why union with Christ matters for our Christian lives and ministries and worship. Drawing on contexts as diverse as sixteenth-century Europe and contemporary Africa, Billings explores a theme that takes us to the heart of the gospel in a way that enriches and corrects our faith, our understanding, and our practices."
--Suzanne McDonald, Calvin College
"In Union with Christ, Todd Billings expounds upon an important New Testament doctrine by exploring its contemporary ramifications in light of careful historical and exegetical reflection. This is a thought-provoking book that will ignite fresh conversations about the nature of our participation in Christ."
--Trevin Wax, coauthor of Counterfeit Gospels and Holy Subversion
From the Back Cover
"This is an important book on an important topic. Billings brings his expertise regarding Calvin to bear not only on misconceptions about the great Reformer but also on contemporary misconceptions of Christ and Christian ministry. Drawing on rich personal experiences, he offers an accessible and rewarding study, demonstrating that the centrality of union with Christ can solve many theological problems in a way that has direct practical significance for today."
--George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary
"If Reformed theology is going to make the comeback that many of us have been praying for, this marvelous book offers the kind of careful thinking that will make it happen. Todd Billings illuminates concepts like adoption, divine incomprehensibility, and incarnation in a way that has profound implications for ministry in the twenty-first century."
--Richard J. Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary
"J. Todd Billings has a wonderful grasp of theological reflection, old and new, brought into conversation with contemporary issues. He has written a breathtaking book that theologians and pastors will find provocative and instructive."
--Andrew Purves, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
"This meditation on union with Christ is a beautiful example of how careful study of the Bible, history, and theology work together to support faithful and vital ministry and life. Featuring both brief and lucid explanations of key concepts and provocative descriptions of the countercultural implications of this scriptural theme, this volume will be useful to both beginning students of theology and ministry as well as seasoned veterans."
--John D. Witvliet, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary
"With a keen sense of contemporary Christianity, a deep love of Scripture, and an exceptional theological mind, Billings has written a book that retrieves the past, engages the present, and helps us to more faithfully face the future in light of the reality of our communion with Christ."
--Kristen Deede Johnson, Hope College
--George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary
"If Reformed theology is going to make the comeback that many of us have been praying for, this marvelous book offers the kind of careful thinking that will make it happen. Todd Billings illuminates concepts like adoption, divine incomprehensibility, and incarnation in a way that has profound implications for ministry in the twenty-first century."
--Richard J. Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary
"J. Todd Billings has a wonderful grasp of theological reflection, old and new, brought into conversation with contemporary issues. He has written a breathtaking book that theologians and pastors will find provocative and instructive."
--Andrew Purves, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
"This meditation on union with Christ is a beautiful example of how careful study of the Bible, history, and theology work together to support faithful and vital ministry and life. Featuring both brief and lucid explanations of key concepts and provocative descriptions of the countercultural implications of this scriptural theme, this volume will be useful to both beginning students of theology and ministry as well as seasoned veterans."
--John D. Witvliet, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary
"With a keen sense of contemporary Christianity, a deep love of Scripture, and an exceptional theological mind, Billings has written a book that retrieves the past, engages the present, and helps us to more faithfully face the future in light of the reality of our communion with Christ."
--Kristen Deede Johnson, Hope College
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More About the Author
Dr. J. Todd Billings is Associate Professor of Reformed Theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. He received his B.A. in Philosophy and Literature from Wheaton College (IL), his M.Div. from Fuller Seminary and his Th.D. from Harvard. He is the author of three books and numerous articles. His first book, "Calvin, Participation, and the Gift: The Activity of Believers in Union With Christ" (Oxford, 2007) won a 2009 Templeton Award for Theological Promise, awarded internationally for the best first books of scholars in theology and religious studies. He has lectured internationally, and has published articles in a variety of journals, including Modern Theology, Harvard Theological Review, Missiology, and International Journal of Systematic Theology, as well as periodicals such as Christianity Today, The Christian Century, and Sojourners.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Todd Billings provides a very helpful book on an all too often neglected theological theme. The central premise of the text is that the motif of the Christian's union with Christ is "a central New Testament description of Christian identity, the life of salvation in Christ" (1) and as such, has important implications for ministry in the Church. This text, thus, deals with heavy theological concepts, but it does so always with a practical end in mind.
Billings begins his examination of this theme in response to the implicit theology of American teens that Christian Smith has termed, "moralistic therapeutic deism." The popular conception of God, according to Smith's research, is that he is an entity who generally wants people to follow the rules and be happy. This deity ends up being a rather distant fellow who isn't much concerned with the world as long as people are being nice. In contrast, Billings retrieves via John Calvin the notion of a Christians' intimate relationship with a very near God as union with Christ through adoption. This union-through-adoption affords the Christian the "double grace" of justification and sanctification.
With the conception of union-through-adoption in place, Billings turns to discuss two perennial issues in theology: the bondage of the fallen will to sin and the possibility of actually interacting with God, who is by nature incomprehensible to humans. On the former Billings' appropriates a Reformed reading of Augustine that emphasizes the fact that "to be fully human is to be in harmony and obedient communion with God" (60). Thus, the Christian's union with Christ restores the human ability to not sin; that is, "God's action by the Spirit in the human does not threaten the human's own agency but actually enables it" (60).
On the latter, humans find themselves in the precarious situation of not actually being able to know God, because God is beyond human knowledge. Enter the Reformed tradition, and especially Herman Bavinck, to save the day. Calvin emphasized a patristic theme of God's accommodating himself to human epistemic capacities. Humans can't know God by themselves, but "God has made himself known by stooping over in accommodation to us" (69). If I can digest a complex issue in Billings' appropriation of Bavinck's advancement of Calvin's theory of accommodation, the Christian's union with God through Christ (the incarnate Word of God) provides the pathway through which God filters knowledge of himself in derived form into the inferior human capacity for knowing.
One final note to end on, one virtue of Union with Christ that is often lacking in academic theology is a practical end of the work, both in the discussions in the text and in the audience for the text. That is to say, although the theological ideas presented here are difficult, Billing's discussion of them is not. Billings seems very concerned to not make this book simply a scholarly exercise, but to make it accessible for practical ministry in the Church. Thus, this book has the versatility of possibly being used in upper-level undergraduate classes, seminary theology AND practical ministry courses, as well as for pastors and eager lay ministry leaders.
Billings begins his examination of this theme in response to the implicit theology of American teens that Christian Smith has termed, "moralistic therapeutic deism." The popular conception of God, according to Smith's research, is that he is an entity who generally wants people to follow the rules and be happy. This deity ends up being a rather distant fellow who isn't much concerned with the world as long as people are being nice. In contrast, Billings retrieves via John Calvin the notion of a Christians' intimate relationship with a very near God as union with Christ through adoption. This union-through-adoption affords the Christian the "double grace" of justification and sanctification.
With the conception of union-through-adoption in place, Billings turns to discuss two perennial issues in theology: the bondage of the fallen will to sin and the possibility of actually interacting with God, who is by nature incomprehensible to humans. On the former Billings' appropriates a Reformed reading of Augustine that emphasizes the fact that "to be fully human is to be in harmony and obedient communion with God" (60). Thus, the Christian's union with Christ restores the human ability to not sin; that is, "God's action by the Spirit in the human does not threaten the human's own agency but actually enables it" (60).
On the latter, humans find themselves in the precarious situation of not actually being able to know God, because God is beyond human knowledge. Enter the Reformed tradition, and especially Herman Bavinck, to save the day. Calvin emphasized a patristic theme of God's accommodating himself to human epistemic capacities. Humans can't know God by themselves, but "God has made himself known by stooping over in accommodation to us" (69). If I can digest a complex issue in Billings' appropriation of Bavinck's advancement of Calvin's theory of accommodation, the Christian's union with God through Christ (the incarnate Word of God) provides the pathway through which God filters knowledge of himself in derived form into the inferior human capacity for knowing.
One final note to end on, one virtue of Union with Christ that is often lacking in academic theology is a practical end of the work, both in the discussions in the text and in the audience for the text. That is to say, although the theological ideas presented here are difficult, Billing's discussion of them is not. Billings seems very concerned to not make this book simply a scholarly exercise, but to make it accessible for practical ministry in the Church. Thus, this book has the versatility of possibly being used in upper-level undergraduate classes, seminary theology AND practical ministry courses, as well as for pastors and eager lay ministry leaders.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Early on in Union with Christ, J. Todd Billings summarizes his approach in the book:
I seek to help us hear the voices of the past in a way that illuminates Scripture's witness to the reality of our union with Christ, giving us insights for theology, life, and ministry today (p. 3).
Once we have "listened receptively to the theologians of the past," we are then able to "assess whether the new exegetical and theological possibilities discovered form this engagement with the past are valid or in error" (p. 5). With this in mind, Billings chooses the Reformation, and specifically Calvin, as the context to retrieve the doctrine of union with Christ because "Calvin also used his theology of justification and union with Christ to configure his account of divine and human agency, the law, and the sacrements" (p. 7).
Billings then gives two majors factors underlying the need for this book:
The functional or lived theologies of salvation in the West have deficiencies in the precise areas where a Reformational theology of union with Christ has strengths.
While the ecclesial left tends to identify the gospel with a certain type of ethical action (horizontal) and the ecclesial right tends to emphasize the importance of being right with God (vertical), a theology of union with Christ takes the dualism and polarities that still remain from the fundamentalist-modernist controversy and unites them into a cohesive, holistic account of the gospel (adapted from pp. 8-10)
In other words, if you've personally seen a divide between those Christians calling for social justice being the preeminent concern of the Christian and those calling for personal holiness being the preeminent concern, Billings book is aiming to unite those aims.
Billings attempts this project from 5 different angles. Chapter 1 begins with a revitalized account of the doctrine of adoption. The implication of this for Billings is that it can serve as an antidote to the god of "moral therapeutic deism" (MTD). As Billings points out,
In adoption, God comes closer to us than MTD allows. In adoption, our central cultural ideal of being a self-made person is put on the cross. But in adoption, we also enter into the playful, joyous world of living as children of a gracious Father, as a persons united to Christ, and empowered by the Spirit (p. 25).
Adoption does much to revitalize both the vertical dimensions of our faith (by showing us our new identity as adopted by God) but it then opens up the opportunity to live a life as a child of God, which will then overflow into the horizontal dimensions.
In chapter 2, Billings turns to retrieving not just the doctrine of total depravity, but its counterpart of total communion in Christ. While Calvinists typically do well to express our total depravity, a closer look at the strong statements of that doctrine (in John's Gospel, Paul's letters) shows that they appear with a corollary: union with Christ, communion with God, the saving work of the Holy Spirit. Throughout this chapter then, Billings seeks to undo ways that depravity might be overstated, and add ways in which union with Christ has been understated in contrast to depravity.
In chapter 3, Billings digs into not just Calvin, but Bavinck as well and actually achieves something of a "retrieval within a retrieval." In looking at the church's teaching on God's incomprehensibility, Billings notes that for Calvin, "this theology of divine incomprehensibility is intimately tied to his notion of union and communion with God," and that he "makes both moves simultaneously by retrieving a category from patristic theology: accommodation" (p. 68) In sum, for Calvin, God's accommodation to man is what holds together divine incomprehensibility and our communion with God. Bavinck, more so than other Reformed theologians got this, and deepened the doctrine by drawing "upon the patristic writings more extensively and generously than Calvin" (p. 78). This makes this chapter perhaps the most theoretical, but it provides a solid center for the vertical dimensions of our union with Christ based on gracious accommodation on God's part in order to make communion with man possible.
In chapter 4, Billings takes perhaps the most horizontally oriented vantage points and discusses the relationship of justice and the gospel. The lens that he looks through is the racial issues in South Africa and the remedy the doctrinal remedy that was attempted through the Belhar Confession. As Billings says toward the conclusion:
My reflections above offer a Reformed way to situate a theology and practice of justice. By tying justice to the Lord's Supper, union with Christ, and the double grace, I offer a proposal in the spirit of the Belhar Confession, supplementing article 4 in its exhortation to the church to act with justice (p. 114).
Without shortchanging the "ecclesial left" impulse to social action, Billings provides what I think is a more holistic account of justice that is grounded in our union with Christ. Because "justice is incrediblty important to the message of the gospel itself," we need to ensure that "it is the `justice' that is defined in and through Jesus Christ that is normative for Christians" (p. 115). In this way, the pursuit of justice is not what the gospel is reduced to, nor is it an "optional add-on for Christians who want extra credit after properly performing `essential' Christian duties." (Ibid.) Rather,
as word and sacrament have the same "office" of holding forth Jesus Christ by the Spirit's power, our pursuit of justice must go hand-in-hand with seeking the renewal of the church's worship, Bible study, and witness. (Ibid.)
Lastly, turning to chapter 5, Billings closes with a constructive critique of incarnational ministry. Early on, he presents a summary thesis:
While certain apsects of "incarnational ministry" are commendable, this chapter critiques its basic assumption: that the incarnation is a model for ministry such that Christians should imitate the act of the eternal Word becoming incarnate. (p. 124)
His solution is that "today's church should replace its talk of `incarnational ministry' with the more biblically faithful and theologically dynamic language of ministry as participation in Christ." (Ibid.) Billings then proceeds to examine this ministry model as it appears in youth ministry, the missional church, and cross-cultural missions before doing an in depth exegetical study of Philippians 2:1-11. The result is little foundation to build an incarnational ministry upon, and I think Billings thesis above is vindicated rather easily. I am probably going to interact with this chapter in more detail at a later time, especially since it has implications for the on-going series The Ethics of Contextualization.
In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed Billings book. Though I haven't made the complete list, this is definitely on my top 10 (or 11) books that I've read this past year. If you're looking for a book that will stretch your mind theologically while still remaining down to earth and interested in practical applications in life and ministry, I think your 2012 reading list should start here. I'll have more to say on this later in the week, but overall, Billings achieves the rare accomplishment of being deeply theological and highly accessible for most readers. His study of Calvin is illuminating and does much to revive as well as retrieve the vital doctrine of union with Christ. As a companion volume to Letham's book or as a stand alone read, I don't think you can do wrong using Billing's book to grow in your knowledge of God and our union with Christ.
[A review copy was provided to me by the publisher, also see my companion review on Robert Letham's book also called Union With Christ]
I seek to help us hear the voices of the past in a way that illuminates Scripture's witness to the reality of our union with Christ, giving us insights for theology, life, and ministry today (p. 3).
Once we have "listened receptively to the theologians of the past," we are then able to "assess whether the new exegetical and theological possibilities discovered form this engagement with the past are valid or in error" (p. 5). With this in mind, Billings chooses the Reformation, and specifically Calvin, as the context to retrieve the doctrine of union with Christ because "Calvin also used his theology of justification and union with Christ to configure his account of divine and human agency, the law, and the sacrements" (p. 7).
Billings then gives two majors factors underlying the need for this book:
The functional or lived theologies of salvation in the West have deficiencies in the precise areas where a Reformational theology of union with Christ has strengths.
While the ecclesial left tends to identify the gospel with a certain type of ethical action (horizontal) and the ecclesial right tends to emphasize the importance of being right with God (vertical), a theology of union with Christ takes the dualism and polarities that still remain from the fundamentalist-modernist controversy and unites them into a cohesive, holistic account of the gospel (adapted from pp. 8-10)
In other words, if you've personally seen a divide between those Christians calling for social justice being the preeminent concern of the Christian and those calling for personal holiness being the preeminent concern, Billings book is aiming to unite those aims.
Billings attempts this project from 5 different angles. Chapter 1 begins with a revitalized account of the doctrine of adoption. The implication of this for Billings is that it can serve as an antidote to the god of "moral therapeutic deism" (MTD). As Billings points out,
In adoption, God comes closer to us than MTD allows. In adoption, our central cultural ideal of being a self-made person is put on the cross. But in adoption, we also enter into the playful, joyous world of living as children of a gracious Father, as a persons united to Christ, and empowered by the Spirit (p. 25).
Adoption does much to revitalize both the vertical dimensions of our faith (by showing us our new identity as adopted by God) but it then opens up the opportunity to live a life as a child of God, which will then overflow into the horizontal dimensions.
In chapter 2, Billings turns to retrieving not just the doctrine of total depravity, but its counterpart of total communion in Christ. While Calvinists typically do well to express our total depravity, a closer look at the strong statements of that doctrine (in John's Gospel, Paul's letters) shows that they appear with a corollary: union with Christ, communion with God, the saving work of the Holy Spirit. Throughout this chapter then, Billings seeks to undo ways that depravity might be overstated, and add ways in which union with Christ has been understated in contrast to depravity.
In chapter 3, Billings digs into not just Calvin, but Bavinck as well and actually achieves something of a "retrieval within a retrieval." In looking at the church's teaching on God's incomprehensibility, Billings notes that for Calvin, "this theology of divine incomprehensibility is intimately tied to his notion of union and communion with God," and that he "makes both moves simultaneously by retrieving a category from patristic theology: accommodation" (p. 68) In sum, for Calvin, God's accommodation to man is what holds together divine incomprehensibility and our communion with God. Bavinck, more so than other Reformed theologians got this, and deepened the doctrine by drawing "upon the patristic writings more extensively and generously than Calvin" (p. 78). This makes this chapter perhaps the most theoretical, but it provides a solid center for the vertical dimensions of our union with Christ based on gracious accommodation on God's part in order to make communion with man possible.
In chapter 4, Billings takes perhaps the most horizontally oriented vantage points and discusses the relationship of justice and the gospel. The lens that he looks through is the racial issues in South Africa and the remedy the doctrinal remedy that was attempted through the Belhar Confession. As Billings says toward the conclusion:
My reflections above offer a Reformed way to situate a theology and practice of justice. By tying justice to the Lord's Supper, union with Christ, and the double grace, I offer a proposal in the spirit of the Belhar Confession, supplementing article 4 in its exhortation to the church to act with justice (p. 114).
Without shortchanging the "ecclesial left" impulse to social action, Billings provides what I think is a more holistic account of justice that is grounded in our union with Christ. Because "justice is incrediblty important to the message of the gospel itself," we need to ensure that "it is the `justice' that is defined in and through Jesus Christ that is normative for Christians" (p. 115). In this way, the pursuit of justice is not what the gospel is reduced to, nor is it an "optional add-on for Christians who want extra credit after properly performing `essential' Christian duties." (Ibid.) Rather,
as word and sacrament have the same "office" of holding forth Jesus Christ by the Spirit's power, our pursuit of justice must go hand-in-hand with seeking the renewal of the church's worship, Bible study, and witness. (Ibid.)
Lastly, turning to chapter 5, Billings closes with a constructive critique of incarnational ministry. Early on, he presents a summary thesis:
While certain apsects of "incarnational ministry" are commendable, this chapter critiques its basic assumption: that the incarnation is a model for ministry such that Christians should imitate the act of the eternal Word becoming incarnate. (p. 124)
His solution is that "today's church should replace its talk of `incarnational ministry' with the more biblically faithful and theologically dynamic language of ministry as participation in Christ." (Ibid.) Billings then proceeds to examine this ministry model as it appears in youth ministry, the missional church, and cross-cultural missions before doing an in depth exegetical study of Philippians 2:1-11. The result is little foundation to build an incarnational ministry upon, and I think Billings thesis above is vindicated rather easily. I am probably going to interact with this chapter in more detail at a later time, especially since it has implications for the on-going series The Ethics of Contextualization.
In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed Billings book. Though I haven't made the complete list, this is definitely on my top 10 (or 11) books that I've read this past year. If you're looking for a book that will stretch your mind theologically while still remaining down to earth and interested in practical applications in life and ministry, I think your 2012 reading list should start here. I'll have more to say on this later in the week, but overall, Billings achieves the rare accomplishment of being deeply theological and highly accessible for most readers. His study of Calvin is illuminating and does much to revive as well as retrieve the vital doctrine of union with Christ. As a companion volume to Letham's book or as a stand alone read, I don't think you can do wrong using Billing's book to grow in your knowledge of God and our union with Christ.
[A review copy was provided to me by the publisher, also see my companion review on Robert Letham's book also called Union With Christ]
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Bruce
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The body of this work is eye opening for anyone who is a strict Five Point Calvinist. The application section is also eye opening with its look at South African apartheid, how it started and how it was deconstructed in the South African Dutch Reformed Church. The critique of incarnational ministry was incredibly helpful with the doctrine of union with Christ in view.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and passed it along to a church member that teaches at an Evangelical theological seminary that suscribes to the incarnational ministry model for intercultural ministries. Hopefully some discussion with ensue there.
I am planning on ordering a few extra copies to keep in my library and hand out from time-to-time.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and passed it along to a church member that teaches at an Evangelical theological seminary that suscribes to the incarnational ministry model for intercultural ministries. Hopefully some discussion with ensue there.
I am planning on ordering a few extra copies to keep in my library and hand out from time-to-time.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Union With Christ
intense, support for reasoning, good thing I had a dictionary at my fingertips, learned a lot, well write for the novice/beginner that I am.
Published 2 months ago by cyndi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Instructive
This book has been a real find on the issue of Union With Christ. Billings takes 4 different aspects of our relationship with Christ and shows how it flows from union with Christ... Read more
Published 5 months ago by William R. Bullerman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
I'm not far enough into the book to give a credible review. However, I'm highly engaged by the subject matter, and I find Dr. Billings style of writing to be very readable. Read more
Published 12 months ago by bboers
4.0 out of 5 stars
Union with Christ
As a pastor and social worker, I look for books that people can apply to their actual life experiences. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Rev Ann Bilbrew
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very easy to read
The thing that captured me was how well Dr. Billings wrote an academic book on an accessible level. The discussion is deep but I didn't have to reach for a dictionary too often. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Michael in Lyons
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lucid, good blend of theory and praxis
I sat through Systematic Theology I at Western Theological Seminary with Todd Billings two years ago; reading Union with Christ both reminded me of some of the conversations we had... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Curtis R. Gruel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deep, thoughtful, probing, and accessible
I picked up this book because I was interested in exposing myself to a theological read that would hopefully provoke some thoughtful reflection. Read more
Published 14 months ago by InHisMidst
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical and Approachable
In Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church, Billings shares both clearly and precisely how a theology of union with Christ is both historically rooted and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ryan Sweet
5.0 out of 5 stars
Theology that lives out.
"Union with Christ" dives deeply into the really big ideas of justice, salvation, free will, grace, ministry, and much more but in the end comes out the other side by inviting us... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Nate Kooistra
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review of Union with christ
"What would it mean for North American congregations to act with justice and to witness to justice as the church in a sinful world?" (pg. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Shawn Gerbers
