For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church [Paperback]

Stephen J. Nichols (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2007

The belief that Christ is the God-man is definitive of Christianorthodoxy and imperative to a right understanding of the gospel. Bythe middle of the fifth century, the church had wrestled with manychallenges to the biblical portrayal of Christ and, in response tothose challenges, had formulated the doctrine of Christ thatremains the standard to this day. This look to the past helps asChristians contend with present-day challenges and seek to answerChrist's question-"Who do people say that I am?"-for those livingin the twenty-first century.

For Us and for Our Salvation tells the very humanstory of the formation of the doctrine of Christ in those earlycenturies of the church. A glossary, numerous charts and timelines,and some helpful appendices make the book accessible anduser-friendly. Primary source materials from key theologians andcouncils complement the engaging narrative.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In a world where the biblical depiction of Christ is often distorted or denied, this book serves as a tremendous defense of orthodox Christian belief. But its value is more than just apologetic. Its Christ-centered focus makes For Us and for Our Salvation a recommended read for anyone who wants a clear picture of the Savior.” John F. MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California “With clarity and brevity, Stephen Nichols presents the intriguing development of the doctrine of Christ over the early centuries of the church. His account of the key councils and theological proposals is written in a very simple and readable style, and the reader is made aware of how much was at stake ‘for us and for our salvation’ in these very crucial debates.” Bruce A. Ware, Professor of Christian Theology, Senior Associate Dean, School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary “By interweaving original sources and explanatory chapters, Nichols has given us a genre of historical theology that is both informative and interesting.” Millard Erickson, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Western Seminary, Portland “A wonderfully readable book about one of the most important eras of the Christian church. I would encourage everyone—pastors, teachers, students, and laymen—to ‘take and read.’” Brian Vickers, Assistant Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary “A great idea and a valuable contribution to the church. Stephen Nichols provides a wise selection of classic excerpts on the doctrine of Christ, and he places them in the context of a readable story with helpful explanations that ordinary Christians can follow.” Dan Treier, Associate Professor of Theology, Wheaton College --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review

"In a world where the biblical depiction of Christ is often distorted or denied, this book serves as a tremendous defense of orthodox Christian belief. But its value is more than just apologetic. Its Christ-centered focus makes For Us and for Our Salvation a recommended read for anyone who wants a clear picture of the Savior."
—John MacArthur, Pastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California

"With clarity and brevity, Stephen Nichols presents the intriguing development of the doctrine of Christ over the early centuries of the church. His account of the key councils and theological proposals is written in a very simple and readable style, and the reader is made aware of how much was at stake 'for us and for our salvation' in these very crucial debates."
—Bruce A. Ware, Professor of Christian Theology, Senior Associate Dean, School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"By interweaving original sources and explanatory chapters, Nichols has given us a genre of historical theology that is both informative and interesting."
—Millard J. Erickson, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Western Seminary, Portland

"A wonderfully readable book about one of the most important eras of the Christian church. I would encourage everyone-pastors, teachers, students, and laymen-to 'take and read.'"
—Brian Vickers, Assistant Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"A great idea and a valuable contribution to the church. Stephen Nichols provides a wise selection of classic excerpts on the doctrine of Christ, and he places them in the context of a readable story with helpful explanations that ordinary Christians can follow."
—Dan Treier, Associate Professor of Theology, Wheaton College

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (August 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581348673
• ISBN-13: 978-1581348675
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #592,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

STEPHEN J. NICHOLS (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is research professor of Christianity and culture at Lancaster Bible College and Graduate School. He has written several books, including Pages from Church History. He lives with his wife and two sons in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Church History Today, September 29, 2007

By 

Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church (Paperback)

Stephen Nichols is quite the prolific author. A professor at Lancaster Bible College and Graduate School and a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary, Nichols has written several notable books in the past few years and it seems that he always has at least one title on the "Coming Soon" lists at Crossway or P&R Publishing. Nichols has a gift for presenting church history in a way that is interesting and in a way that appeals to those who may not otherwise know (or care) about the long, storied history of the church. He shows how church history is relevant precisely because the controversies we face today are strikingly similar to ones the church has dealt with long ages ago.

The early church fathers wrestled with the same problems presented by The Da Vinci Code phenomenon and its fanciful speculations about Jesus. They wrestled with the same problems presented by Islam and its adamant denial of the deity of Christ. And they wrestled with the same problems presented by the scholars working in the Jesus Seminar or in gnostic texts like the Gospel of Judas who quickly dismiss the four canonical Gospels as God's true revelation to humanity. In the days of the early church, the names of the opponents were different from those faced by us today, but the underlying issues bear a striking resemblance. When the church fathers responded with the orthodox view of Christ, they did the church of all ages a great service.

Nichols' latest effort is titled For Us and for Our Salvation and it examines the doctrine of Christ in the early church. "This book explores [the] controversies over Christ faced by the early church. This book also looks to tell the story of the people involved." The timing of this title is no coincidence. In the past few years we have seen several attacks on the doctrine of Christ, most of the accusers claiming that the doctrine of Jesus' divinity was a fabrication of those who followed centuries after His death.

This book tells the story of how the doctrine of Christ was formulated by the early church and how this doctrine was forged in the fires of controversy. It relies, as do many of Nichols' books, on primary source materials from the key councils and theologians. Nichols offers compelling proof that the divinity of Jesus Christ was not fabricated by his followers centuries later, but was central to the church from its earliest days.

He ultimately has to conclude that

The early church was right in spending so much time and effort on the doctrine of Christ. They were right to contend that Christ is the God-man, very God of very God and at the same time truly human with flesh and blood. They were right to content that Christ is two natures conjoined in one person without division, separation, confusion, or mixture, to use the language of the Chalcedonian Creed. They were also right to contend that the gospel collapses without this belief. In the words of Athanasius and the Nicene Creed, Christ is the God-man "for us and for our salvation."

I've long believed that church historians do not receive their due in today's church. But a man like Stephen Nichols shows what an integral role they can (and should!) play. Historians have a unique perspective on contemporary struggles in the church and are able to show, to borrow a great little phrase from French, "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose." Or, to translate, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." There is a sense in which history seems cyclical--controversies arise and are put to rest for a time, but seem to rise again. Those with a view to the church's past are specially equipped to see these controversies for what they are and to teach how the church dealt with them in the past. Nichols does just this in For Us and for Our Salvation. He leaves no doubt that the answers to these contemporary issues lie in the past.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Christ's Deity Defended..., December 19, 2007

By 

Seth McBee (Maple Valley, WA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church (Paperback)

Stephen J. Nichols hit a homerun in this book. As the title suggests, Dr. Nichols' goal is to establish what the early church thought of the Deity of Christ. He lays this out by going through a quick examination of who the "players" are, what and who they were fighting, and then laying out their arguments.

After this, he lets the men speak for themselves with their own writings. I really enjoyed this format. You get some explanation and then you get to read for yourself. Most books will either focus on just the explanation and yet others just lay out the entirety of a writing. This book is a great medium. Although it is short, it gets to the point and shows that the Council of Nicaea was definitely not the first time that Jesus' deity was brought forth in the church, but was orthodoxy handed down from the Apostles to those in the early church.

The book is broken down in chapters based on the different centuries and includes many men and their beliefs, from the early centuries all the way to the fifth century. You read from men like Ignatius, Irenaeus, Turtullian, Hippolytus, Athanasius, Leo the Great, and more. You also encounter some of the heretical writings so that you see what these men were fighting against.

All and all, I would use this book as a resource for any that doubt the doctrine of Christ's divinity in relation to the early church. No doubt the Bible speaks of the divinity of Christ, but now we are getting attacked that it was a foreign concept to the church fathers. This book puts that to rest in a quick and easy read on the subject that Jesus Christ was no doubt God, and was For Us and Our Salvation. Highly Recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Clear, Brief and Helpful look into church history, October 13, 2007

By 

Erik Raymond "IrishCalvinist.com" (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church (Paperback)

Whenever I read something from church history I have the same approach and the same reaction. I approach the book thinking that I am going to have to jump into a time machine to relate to the subjects and issues of the day. However, I am quickly reminded that aside from the cool names there is very little that we do not have in common today with them.

In reading For Us and For Our Salvation I had the same response. Stephen Nichols does an admirable job of contextualizing the issues of yesterday while also helping us to see the commonality of what we are facing today. From the introduction Nichols writes:

The early church fathers wrestled with the same problems presented by The Da Vinci Code phenomenon and its fanciful speculations about Jesus. The wrestled with the same problems presented by Islam and its adamant denial of the deity of Christ. And they wrestled with the same problems presented by the scholars working in the Jesus Seminar or in Gnostic texts like the Gospel of Judas who quickly dismiss the four canonical Gospels as God's true revelation to humanity. In the days of the early church, the names of the opponents were different from those faced by us today, but the underlying issues bear a striking resemblance. When the church fathers responded with the orthodox view of Christ, they did the church of all ages a great service.

Nichols begins his book under the shadow of the completion of the New Testament and traces the development of the attacks and defense of the doctrine of Christ through the first four centuries. We are introduced to valiant defenders of a biblical Christology such as Tertullian, Ignatius, Irenaeus, and Hippolyteus. We learn of their battles against the Ebionites, Marcion, Sabellius and others. Furthermore, Nichols provides helpful detail concerning Athanasius and his battles with Arius.

In effort to help us see, feel and better understand the gravity of the issue at hand in these days Nichols intermixes chapters containing selections of the original documents written by both the "good guys" and the "bad guys". This is helpful in that it helps us remember that these were `regular' guys just living their lives, aiming to exalt Jesus by standing firm to what he Bible teaches. They had their 60-70 years to live and this is what they chose to fight for.

Nichols' book is a helpful look into the past for encouragement in the present. I really appreciated Nichols' ability to be both clear and brief in his chronicling of the doctrine of Christ in the early church. The book weighs in at more than manageable 172 pages which includes a couple of appendixes and a helpful glossary. For Us and For Our Salvation will doubtless prove helpful to all--pastors, teachers, students, and `laymen'.