Lord And Servant: A Covenant Christology

Covenant series

by Michael Scott Horton

Building on "Covenant and Eschatology: The Divine Drama," this volume is part two of a three-part project surveying essential topics of Christian theology through the lens of covenant. In "Lord and Servant: A Covenant Christology," Michael Horton explores the topics that are generally grouped under the doctrines of God, humanity, and Christology. Rather than attempt a general systematic theology, Horton revisits these topics at the places where covenant and eschatology offer the most promising insight and where there is the most contemporary interest and debate.

Genres: Theology

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2005

About the author

Dr. Horton has taught apologetics and theology at Westminster Seminary California since 1998. In addition to his work at the Seminary, he is the president of White Horse Inn, for which he co-hosts the White Horse Inn, a nationally syndicated, weekly radio talk-show exploring issues of Reformation theology in American Christianity. He is also the editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. Before coming to WSC, Dr. Horton completed a research fellowship at Yale University Divinity School. Dr. Horton is the author/editor of more than twenty books, including a series of studies in Reformed dogmatics published by Westminster John Knox.

Reviews

[Eric Chappell · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you struggled through Covenant & Eschatology, press on. Horton's Pt. II in the dogmatic theology tetralogy (Lord & Servant) is sick nasty. Polemically engaging with some of contemporary systematic and biblical-theological big boys, Horton shows how employing a covenantal and eschatological hermeneutic to the canon of Scripture (which is the framework Scripture itself uses) yields bomb-diesel insights to theology proper, anthropology, and Christology. I continued to be amazed that Horton has any critics whatsoever. This book is biblically-deep, theologically-rich, historically-informed, pastorally-sensitive, and mind-blowing.

[Alan Giles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone wanting to dig deeper into Christology. Dr. Horton is simply brilliant. Sometimes more brilliant than I can keep up with, but it is always worth trying.

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what an impressive work here. I will probably write a more substantial review later, but for now I'll simply say this: this volume is a prime example of how Michael Horton exemplifies the very best of Evangelical scholarship. Deeply enriching, engaging, and learned. The picture Horton paints here, of a Christology that is developed and examined squarely within a covenantal framework, is very compelling. He examines various competing theories about epistemology, revelation, cosmology, Christology, the atonement, and eschatology, and in turn argues that the covenantal framework maintains all of the positive contributions of all the competing theories, without any of their baggage. In this way, Horton is a biblicist-scholar in the best sense.

Particularly strong was the connection he explored between the covenant of redemption, the covenant of creation, the covenant role of Adam (and the recapitulated, corporate Adam, Israel), and Christ as the fulfillment; the God-man who both (G0d) speaks out in covenant-initiation, and (man) answers back in faithful covenantal-obedience according to the power of the Spirit.

I was, however, uncomfortable with some of Horton's articulations of the divine attributes (immutability and impassibility, specifically). For this reason alone, *Lord and Servant* falls one star short of five, for me.

[Timothy Bertolet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just phenomenal. The whole series is great! Horton interacts with much of what is going on in modern theology. He is strongly Reformed and his exegesis is sensitive to the contours of redemptive history. His discussion of Christ is thoroughly orthodox and his use of the 'Second Adam' paradigm of federal theology is penetrating. Horton weds historic Reformed orthodoxy with contemporary redemptive historical hermeneutics (in the Vos, Kline, Ridderbos tradition). This book shows that Reformed theology is not something sitting on a dusty shelf but engages the most elaborate constructs of modern theology. He shows their major pitfalls while the corrective through a use of a Reformed theology deeply embedded the redemptive history of the Word of God. This book continues to vindicate Reformed theology as a Biblical enterprise.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishing work of Christological scholarship. Words fail to do justice to a book as excellent as this one. I had my misgivings about doing Christology through the lens of the covenant, but my concerns were misplaced. My only small gripes would be a) the defense of divine impassibility was a bit clumsy; b) the reference to the Northern Ireland "Troubles" in relation to Constantinianism was silly. Still, this book is a classic that ought to be read by all serious theologians. The breadth and width of reading on the part of the author is very impressive. The arguments from scripture, systematic, and historical theology are well-marshaled and usually correct.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Mike Horton's second installment in his Covenant series. He reframes Christology around "covenant" and is stunningly successful. His genius is in using the covenant to contrast two ontologies: overcoming estrangement (classical metaphysics) and meeting a Stranger.

Similar to proposals by Robert Jenson, Horton shows how we meet the Stranger by his own revealing himself to us, and doing so "by strong verbs" (23, 55). The noun (God) is revealed by the verb (his actions). From this Horton draws the brilliant conclusion about Speech-Act: speech is an act. There is no dilemma between word-revelation (Propositional Protestants) and Act-Revelation (the truth at what Barth was aiming, if not fully getting there).

This segues into God's freedom (and freedom in general). Horton refuses to see freedom in the abstract. We do not abstract God's will from his nature. Freedom (of any sort) is a natured freedom and if our ousia is a covenanted ousia, then we have a covenantal freedom (this is much more concrete and refreshing than discussions about "Free will," whatever that means).
The next theological locus is creation. Contra Anchoretism, the covenant allows us to view creation in its integrity. It is neither divine nor demonic, rather "Nature has capacities for answering back to the creative speech-act of God" (66). (While Horton doesn't draw out the implications, this could explain how the land is said to be defiled by man's sin).

Horton suggests that the covenant is the nexus between transcendence and immanence. The God-world bond is covenantal relation (I realize that Aristotle used "relation" as a thinner form of essence; I am not using it in that sense).

Anthropology

Horton does a wonderful job in establishing the "federal-ness" of Adamic humanity. Horton will contrast his model with the Platonic paradigm (Overcoming Estrangement). Continuing with the covenantal paradigm, Horton sees the imago dei as:

Sonship/ Royal Dominion: Adam was invested with kingship as the imaged-son on the Sabbath day. In Christ this dominion is restored. Shades of Rushdoony!

Representation: We are God's embassy to the world.

Glory: The glory is ethical-eschatological, rather than essential.

Prophetic Witness:

All of this is recapitulated in Christ. Interestingly enough, Horton rightly points out that Scripture never speaks of anthropology in the abstract, but always in the covenant.

Christology Proper

Horton gives a brief and lucid description of Reformed Christology against Lutheranism, particularly in the non capax. He has a very interesting suggestion that the debate between Alexandrians (Divinized humanity) and Antiocheans (Schizo Jesus) is because neither could locate Jesus as he is given for us in the covenant (166).
Atonement

The basic challenge he gives to anyone who rejects penal substitution: on said gloss, how is the work of Christ appropriated pro nobis? How does "defeating Satan" (or any such Christus Victor, political liberation variant) become actual for us?
Conclusion

It's hard to say which one is better, this book or the one on soteriology. Both are magnificent. I think Horton's use of the covenant model is more tightly argued in this book.