Edward Irving’s Christological thought was at the center of a theological storm in the early nineteenth century. For Irving, that God the Son assumed a fallen human nature was of the upmost importance. Without this, he believed, the reality of salvation was questioned, the trinitarian grammar of the work of God was neglected, and the basis of Christian discipleship in the power of the Spirit was emptied of its power. Irving’s views on this matter went on to inform the thought of John McLeod Campbell, Thomas F. Torrance, and Karl Barth. This abridgement presents Irving’s distinctive views regarding the person of Jesus Christ in an accessible format. Readers will be further assisted in engaging with Irving’s views with an introduction and a critical response.

In this revealing book, Graham McFarlane assesses the prophetic, yet so far neglected, contribution of Scottish minister, Edward Irving (1792-1834) to theological reflection on the Incarnation. He asserts that only now are the by-passed thinkers of previous generations being listened to again. At the time Irving was writing, the Trinity and the Incarnation were both being undermined by contemporary theology. Irving's work related Trinity and the Incarnation intimately, intertwining the Trinity with the work of the Spirit in the Incarnation. The author gives an example and explanation of Irving's christology: explaining his understanding both of the location of the Divine being and also of the human being in relation to the Holy Spirit.

Christ’s Sinful Flesh explores the life and theology of Edward Irving, a nineteenth-century Scottish preacher and theologian, focusing on his theological framework in the perspective of his understanding of Christ’s humanity. Irving is especially known for his teachings regarding the return of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, pre-millennialism, and his distinct Christology. Most scholarly interpretations of Irving have focused on particular aspects of his thought, such as his teachings on the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, his millenarianism, or his understanding of Christology. This book provides a new interpretation of Irving’s contributions to developments in nineteenth-century theology within the English-speaking world, examining the interrelationship of his theological ideas and exploring the development of them within the context of his life. The book offers a fascinating historical account of Irving’s ministry and theology, bringing in the backdrop of his theological dissident companions and contemporary Romanticism, coupled with the tension between his Presbyterianism and his desire of pursuing the truth. Christ’s Sinful Flesh shows that Irving’s theological views, including his views on the gifts of the Spirit and his millennialism, formed a coherent system, which focused on his doctrine of Christ, and more particularly on his belief that Christ had taken on a fully human nature, including the propensity to sin. Only by sharing fully in the human condition with its “sinful flesh” concerning all temptations, Irving believed, could Christ become the true reconciler of God and humanity and a true exemplar of godly living for humankind. This interesting study is a rare exception in the research of Irving, in that it shows the origin of Irving’s Christology and his methodology. Its description of Irving’s theological development in accordance with the critical moments in his life provides the reader with not only a more vivid interpretation of Irving’s life and theology, but also shows the coherence of the preacher’s theological framework.

In The Doctrine of the Incarnation Opened, an abridgement of Edward Irving's (1792-1834) sermons, readers have fresh access to and insightful comment on Irving's distinctive views regarding the person of Jesus Christ. The book follows the sermons in a logical progression: the goal and method of the incarnation, the events of the incarnate life and the death of Christ, and the effects of the incarnation. For Irving, God the Son's assumption of a fallen human nature was of the upmost importance, and garnered most attention. This view also dominates Irving's soteriology, according to which the incarnate Son takes over the human will, reforming the very origin of sin, and offers obedience to the Father as a sacrifice of praise. Irving's radical Christological thought informed the thinking of notable theologians such as John McLeod Campbell, Thomas F. Torrance, and Karl Barth. With an introduction by G. McFarlane and a critical response by J.D. Cameron, The Doctrine of the Incarnation Opened provides an accessible format to engage with Irving's influential thoughts and ideas.

This volume sensibly examines whether an inconsistency exists between a Canadian Pentecostal denomination's trinitarian statement of faith and the songs they most commonly sing. Colin Gunton's trinitarian theology is utilized as a framework for this landmark analysis.

Edward Irving (1792-1834) has been known as a controversial pastor-theologian in nineteenth-century Britain, particularly given his belief that Christ took on sinful flesh in His incarnation. This book focuses on Irving’s teaching of the church as the body of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and the eschatological community in holiness. It explores Irving’s emphasis upon the exalted humanity of Christ after His resurrection in relation to the church. Such a Christ-centred and Spirit-empowered concept of the church has relevance to the twenty-first century church in China as the Chinese church leaders attempt to reconstruct a contemporary theology of the church.