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Theoretical-Practical Theology, Vol. 2: Faith in the Triune God
Petrus van Mastricht’s Theoretical-Practical Theology presents one of the most comprehensive methods of treating Christian doctrine. In it, Mastricht treats every theological topic according to a four-part exegetical, dogmatic, elenctic, and practical. As a body of divinity, it combines a rigorous, scholastic treatment of doctrine with the pastoral aim of preparing people to live for God through Christ. Students and pastors will find it a valuable model for moving from the text of Scripture to doctrinal formulation that will edify the people of God. Volume 2, Faith in the Triune God, delivers a thorough treatment of the doctrine of God. Mastricht begins his consideration of theology proper with a substantial chapter on saving faith, reminding readers that contemplating God apart from true faith will fall short of the salvation of their soul. Mastricht then discusses the subject of God in three main divisions. First, he treats the existence of God and our knowledge of him. Second, he discusses the divine essence as it is revealed through the names and attributes of God. Third, Mastricht carefully details the Trinitarian nature of the one God who subsists in three persons. Author and Editors Petrus van Mastricht (1630–1706) was a Dutch theologian who studied at Utrecht under Gisbertus Voetius and Johannes Hoornbeeck. He pastored churches in the Netherlands and taught at the universities of Duisburg and Utrecht. His Theoretical-Practical Theology was praised by many as one of the great works of systematic theology and is noted for treating Christian doctrine comprehensively from its exegetical foundations to its practical use for one’s soul. Todd M. Rester is a historian of early modern theology and philosophy in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy, and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast, as well as Associate Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. He also volunteers as the director of The Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research. Joel R. Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, and a pastor of the Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Endorsements “As to the books you speak Mastricht is sometimes in one volume, a very large thick quarto, sometimes in two quarto volumes. I believe it could not be had new under 8 or 10 pounds. Turretin is in three volumes in quarto, and would probably be about the same price. They are both excellent. Turretin is on polemical divinity, on the 5 points & all other controversial points, & is much larger in these than Mastricht, & is better for one that desires only to be thoroughly versed in controversies. But take Mastricht for divinity in general, doctrine, practice & controversy, or as an universal system of divinity; & it is much better than Turretin or any other book in the world, excepting the Bible, in my opinion.” — Jonathan Edwards to Joseph Bellamy, January 15, 1747 “Any serious student of Reformed theology needs to sit at the feet of Petrus van Mastricht. The challenge has been that to do so you needed to know Latin or Dutch. Thanks to the herculean efforts of the folks at the Dutch Reformed Translation Society and Reformation Heritage Books, English readers can now learn the art of ‘living for God through Christ.’” — Stephen J. Nichols, president of Reformation Bible College and chief academic officer of Ligonier Ministries
783 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 21, 2020
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March 22, 2025
Petrus van Mastricht, Faith in the Triune God, ed. Joel R. Beeke, trans. Todd M. Rester, vol. 2, Theoretical-Practical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2019.
Petrus van Mastricht (1630-1706) was a pastor and professor in the Netherlands in the last moments of “Reformed High Orthodox” (cf. Richard Muller, Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics). Although he follows the typical outline in dogmatics, moving from Prolegomena to the one God, he adds another angle to it. This volume is not simply about The Triune God. It is about Faith in the Triune God, adding an experiential dimension to the work.
Van Mastricht subdivides faith into seminal faith, dispositional, habitual, and actual faith. “Saving faith is nothing other than the act of the whole rational soul by which it receives God as the highest end and Christ as the one and only Mediator” (van Mastricht 41). The whole soul includes intellect, will, and affections. Faith as assent stirs up the motions in the will by which we take hold of God.
Existence and knowledge of God
In line with the Reformed scholastics (though probably chafing at the term ‘scholastic’), PvM begins with the existence, knowledge, and essence of God. In other words, he uses natural theology and the standard proofs. This is the history of Reformed orthodoxy. One cannot get away from what would later be known as classical theology.
Later on van Mastricht defines God as “nothing other than the absolutely first being, that is, a being that excludes the idea, not only of a preexisting being, but also of a coexisting being” (255). There cannot be an infinite number of causes, for such a number would have to “precede a proximate cause, then a proximate cause will never be able to exist, and thus also nothing will be able to exist” (82). Likewise, an infinite world would have an infinite number of parts, and thus there will be several infinites” (84).
Attributes of God
God’s essence is made known to us through his attributes (154). Anticipating some gains of analytic theology, van Mastricht notes that attributes are more properly called “properties,” “denoting the essential reckoning of a subject” (155). Property has a more objective connotation than attribute. An attribute is what I, quite literally, “attribute” to the divine essence. A property signifies the divine essence from God’s side.
As with all Western thinkers, van Mastricht holds to divine simplicity, where “all attributes together in God are nothing but one certain most simple and pure act.” This must be the case because an absolutely first being cannot have one thing then another in composition, “because that would require one who composed those things, who was prior to the absolutely first being” (156).
Spirituality and Simplicity of God
God is spirit because “he is the absolutely first being, who spurns the idea of corporeal parts,” and such a corporeal being “depends on its members” (171). Mastricht then lists five ways God is free from composition:
Quantity
Matter and form
Substance and accident
Essence and existence
Genus and difference
Nota bene: “God’s personality is nothing other than the subsistence of his essence, and his subsistence is nothing other than the actual existence of his substance” (185).
The Intellect, Knowledge, and Wisdom of God
God’s intellect belongs with his act, and so with knowledge and wisdom (292). Van Mastricht defines God’s intellect as “the most perfect intuition of himself or his own ideas, and yet without any reception of them” (297). An idea in God “is the pattern and the things themselves are the expressed image” (298).
Because of his commitment to divine simplicity, van Mastricht makes a strange, but probably accurate, observation: “God knows all things, not in the things themselves, but in himself” (299). This is clear upon reflection. A thing cannot exist prior to God’s decision; therefore, God cannot know things in the things, but only in himself.
God’s natural knowledge is his knowledge of all possibles. His free knowledge is his knowledge of what he decrees. This distinction, standard among the Reformed, allows van Mastricht to oppose middle knowledge on the grounds that a knowable thing is either possible, falling under natural knowledge, or connected with secondary causes, thus falling under knowledge of vision (307).
The Will and Affections of God
The will “denotes three things: (1) that force of mind which is the principle of will or the faculty of willing; (2) the act of that faculty, or the willing itself; finally, (3) the willed object” (334).
Because in God there is no distinction between potency and act, there can be no distinction from the faculty of willing and the act of willing (336).
God and Free Will
With the Reformed tradition, van Mastricht holds to free will, properly understood. God wills freely with the understanding that such willing is according to his nature.
Conclusion
Van Mastricht’s unique style serves him well, though some of the pastoral points at the end feel “tacked on,” making the chapters sometimes longer than one would wish for. Such is only a minor inconvenience, if that.
Petrus van Mastricht (1630-1706) was a pastor and professor in the Netherlands in the last moments of “Reformed High Orthodox” (cf. Richard Muller, Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics). Although he follows the typical outline in dogmatics, moving from Prolegomena to the one God, he adds another angle to it. This volume is not simply about The Triune God. It is about Faith in the Triune God, adding an experiential dimension to the work.
Van Mastricht subdivides faith into seminal faith, dispositional, habitual, and actual faith. “Saving faith is nothing other than the act of the whole rational soul by which it receives God as the highest end and Christ as the one and only Mediator” (van Mastricht 41). The whole soul includes intellect, will, and affections. Faith as assent stirs up the motions in the will by which we take hold of God.
Existence and knowledge of God
In line with the Reformed scholastics (though probably chafing at the term ‘scholastic’), PvM begins with the existence, knowledge, and essence of God. In other words, he uses natural theology and the standard proofs. This is the history of Reformed orthodoxy. One cannot get away from what would later be known as classical theology.
Later on van Mastricht defines God as “nothing other than the absolutely first being, that is, a being that excludes the idea, not only of a preexisting being, but also of a coexisting being” (255). There cannot be an infinite number of causes, for such a number would have to “precede a proximate cause, then a proximate cause will never be able to exist, and thus also nothing will be able to exist” (82). Likewise, an infinite world would have an infinite number of parts, and thus there will be several infinites” (84).
Attributes of God
God’s essence is made known to us through his attributes (154). Anticipating some gains of analytic theology, van Mastricht notes that attributes are more properly called “properties,” “denoting the essential reckoning of a subject” (155). Property has a more objective connotation than attribute. An attribute is what I, quite literally, “attribute” to the divine essence. A property signifies the divine essence from God’s side.
As with all Western thinkers, van Mastricht holds to divine simplicity, where “all attributes together in God are nothing but one certain most simple and pure act.” This must be the case because an absolutely first being cannot have one thing then another in composition, “because that would require one who composed those things, who was prior to the absolutely first being” (156).
Spirituality and Simplicity of God
God is spirit because “he is the absolutely first being, who spurns the idea of corporeal parts,” and such a corporeal being “depends on its members” (171). Mastricht then lists five ways God is free from composition:
Quantity
Matter and form
Substance and accident
Essence and existence
Genus and difference
Nota bene: “God’s personality is nothing other than the subsistence of his essence, and his subsistence is nothing other than the actual existence of his substance” (185).
The Intellect, Knowledge, and Wisdom of God
God’s intellect belongs with his act, and so with knowledge and wisdom (292). Van Mastricht defines God’s intellect as “the most perfect intuition of himself or his own ideas, and yet without any reception of them” (297). An idea in God “is the pattern and the things themselves are the expressed image” (298).
Because of his commitment to divine simplicity, van Mastricht makes a strange, but probably accurate, observation: “God knows all things, not in the things themselves, but in himself” (299). This is clear upon reflection. A thing cannot exist prior to God’s decision; therefore, God cannot know things in the things, but only in himself.
God’s natural knowledge is his knowledge of all possibles. His free knowledge is his knowledge of what he decrees. This distinction, standard among the Reformed, allows van Mastricht to oppose middle knowledge on the grounds that a knowable thing is either possible, falling under natural knowledge, or connected with secondary causes, thus falling under knowledge of vision (307).
The Will and Affections of God
The will “denotes three things: (1) that force of mind which is the principle of will or the faculty of willing; (2) the act of that faculty, or the willing itself; finally, (3) the willed object” (334).
Because in God there is no distinction between potency and act, there can be no distinction from the faculty of willing and the act of willing (336).
God and Free Will
With the Reformed tradition, van Mastricht holds to free will, properly understood. God wills freely with the understanding that such willing is according to his nature.
Conclusion
Van Mastricht’s unique style serves him well, though some of the pastoral points at the end feel “tacked on,” making the chapters sometimes longer than one would wish for. Such is only a minor inconvenience, if that.
September 2, 2023
(read in the Latin edition, so I can't comment on the translation).
I enjoyed this section of Van Mastricht for its presentation of the doctrine of God, which did a good job in terms of distinguishing attributes according to the faculties of God (intellect and will), as well as clearly distinguishing the ontological and economical aspects of the doctrine of God.
It was also strong in terms of giving practical applications.
However, in terms of giving a full-orbed discussion of the doctrine of God, the discussions of Zanchi and Polanus are lenghtier and more detailed, and in terms of getting into the details of the doctrine they are helped by not spending around half their discussion on practical applications.
I anticipate recommending Mastricht on the doctrine of God for the foreseeable future.
I enjoyed this section of Van Mastricht for its presentation of the doctrine of God, which did a good job in terms of distinguishing attributes according to the faculties of God (intellect and will), as well as clearly distinguishing the ontological and economical aspects of the doctrine of God.
It was also strong in terms of giving practical applications.
However, in terms of giving a full-orbed discussion of the doctrine of God, the discussions of Zanchi and Polanus are lenghtier and more detailed, and in terms of getting into the details of the doctrine they are helped by not spending around half their discussion on practical applications.
I anticipate recommending Mastricht on the doctrine of God for the foreseeable future.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews