Liberal attacks on the doctrine of the divinity of Christ have led evangelicals to rightly affirm the centrality of Jesus's divine nature for his person and work. At times, however, this defense of orthodoxy has led some to neglect Christ's full humanity. To counteract this oversight, theologian Bruce Ware takes readers back to the biblical text, where we meet a profoundly human Jesus who struggled with many of the same difficulties and limitations we face today. Like us, he grew in faith and wisdom, tested by every temptation common to man. And like us, he too received power for godliness through the Holy Spirit, and thus serves not only as the divine Lord to be worshiped, but also the supreme Human to be followed.

Much of the preaching and teaching today demands that people actively earn their relationship with God. This prevailing understanding runs counter to the theology of the brothers Thomas F. Torrance (1913-2007) and James B. Torrance (1923-2003), who promoted the radical notion that all of humanity has its true being in Christ. In The Claim of Humanity in Christ, Alexandra Radcliff refutes the Torrances' many critics, asserting the significance of their controversial understanding of salvation for the interface between systematic and pastoral theology. Radcliff then widens the scope of her argument, constructively applying the implications of the Torrances' work to a liberating doctrine of sanctification. The Christian life is conceived as the free and joyful gift of sharing by the Spirit in the Son's intimate communion with the Father, revealing the reality of who we are in Christ.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, a long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives. “Anyone who strives to put their faith into action will find encouragement and inspiration in the pages of this book.”—Melinda Gates In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus’s last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understandings have been limited by culture, religious debate, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the center. Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.

In this essay, Barth discusses the relationship between Christ and Adam as understood by Paul. Moving beyond traditional exegetical and theological scholarship done on Romans 5, Barth offers an entirely new interpretation of the conception of humanity presented in Paul's view of the Christ-Adam relationship. A valid contribution to the interpretation of Romans 5, 'Christ and Adam' is also an example of Barth's exegetical method and provides insight into his broader theological project.

Christianity in the twenty-first century is a global phenomenon. But in the second century, its future was not at all certain. Michael Kruger's introductory survey examines how Christianity took root in the second century, how it battled to stay true to the vision of the apostles, and how it developed in ways that would shape both the church and Western culture over the next two thousand years.

The doctrine of the Incarnation lies at the heart of Christianity. But the idea that 'God was in Christ' has become a much-debated topic in modern theology. Oliver Crisp addresses six key issues in the Incarnation defending a robust version of the doctrine, in keeping with classical Christology. He explores perichoresis, or interpenetration, with reference to both the Incarnation and Trinity. Over two chapters Crisp deals with the human nature of Christ and then provides an argument against the view, common amongst some contemporary theologians, that Christ had a fallen human nature. He considers the notion of divine kenosis or self-emptying, and discusses non-Incarnational Christology, focusing on the work of John Hick. This view denies Christ is God Incarnate, regarding him as primarily a moral exemplar to be imitated. Crisp rejects this alternative account of the nature of Christology.