236. Stephen Wellum on God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Stephen Wellum to discuss his book God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ. Jesus himself asked Peter: “Who do you say that I am?” in Matthew 16:15. Ever since, some of the most key and important debates have been about how to best understand and communicate all of what Scripture teaches regarding the Eternal Son, the Word become Flesh. What is Christology, and what is at stake in the subject? Does Scripture teach that Jesus is God? What is the “communicatio idiomatum” and what should we understand by the use of the terms: “Nature” and “Person”. With Leo’s Tome and the Definition of Chalcedon articulating the Person of Christ as “two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation” – why does it matter whether Christ had two wills, or one? Moreover, does the development in our understanding of Christology help or hurt the reading of the Bible in passages such as Mark 13:32 and John 14:28? What is Kenotic Christology, and what is the proper reading of Philippians 2: 5-11? Listen in as Dr. Wellum takes us through this and more, as we also ask about how an understanding or misunderstanding of Christology impacts the understanding and practice of the sacraments, as well as an understanding of the church.

Book: God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ

Other resources by Dr. Wellum:

- Check out: Christ Over All

- The Person of Christ: An Introduction

- Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants

- Christ Alone: The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior

- Systematic Theology, Volume One: From Canon to Concept

Other resources cited:

- Book of Mormon: Mosiah15, Ether 3, 3 Nephi 11:36;

Notice also Joseph Smith Translation Luke 10:22: “No man knoweth the Son is the Father, and the Father is the Son, but him to whom the Son will reveal it.”

- “To Know God is Eternal Life – God the Father of Our Spirits and Bodies – Things Created Spiritually First – Atonement by the Shedding of Blood” by President Brigham Young (Feb. 8, 1857)

- A Rational Theology by Elder John Widtsoe (also here)

- Q15 Statement: “The Father and the Son” (August 1916)

- Jesus the Christ by Elder James Talmage

-“The Living Christ” by Elder Bernard P. Brockbank

- “The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom Thou Hast Sent” by Elder Jeffrey Holland

Gospel Topics Essay: “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?”; “Becoming Like God”; “Mother in Heaven”

Wrestling the Angel by Terryl Givens

Also recommended: The Mormon Jesus by John Turner

The Unseen Realm; “You’ve Seen One Elohim, You’ve Seen Them All? A Critique of Mormonism’s Use of Psalm 82” by Michael Heiser

The City of God by Augustine

Dialogue on the Two Natures of Christ by Peter Martyr Vermigli

The Flesh of the Word by K. J. Drake

Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands: Recovering Sacrament in the Baptist Tradition by Michael Haykin

Scourby: Matthew, Mark, John, Philippians