Theology
The Incarnation as God’s First Intention Supralapsarian Christology for Faith and Practice Edwin Chr. van Driel In The Incarnation as God’s First Intention, Edwin Chr. van Driel advocates a transformative perspective on the incarnation, proposing that God’s decision to become incarnate was not a response to human sin but was instead God’s first and foundational intention. Engaging the historical and theological roots of this supralapsarian (before the fall) Christology, Van Driel invites readers to reconsider long-held views on God’s engagement with creation. With clarity and depth, Van Driel unpacks how understanding the incarnation as God’s original purpose reshapes the doctrines of creation, election, salvation, and eschatology. His insights offer a fresh framework for the church’s mission in today’s world, suggest- ing that God’s presence with us is not merely a remedy for human fallenness but, rather, God’s first intention and ultimate goal for creation. Written for students, theologians, and all who seek a deeper under- standing of God’s relation to the world, this book challenges readers to see the incarnation, God’s dwelling among us, as God’s central purpose. “Van Driel is an exemplary scholar. His philosophical argumentation is delicious in its meticulousness and rigor. The Christology for which he contends in this book reaches back before the foundation of the world and thus has transformative ramifications for funda - mental commitments in theology. This is the best kind of theology— the kind that brings us to praise the living God more profoundly and humbly than we did before we read it.”— Samuel Wells, King’s College London “In this wide-ranging study, Van Driel not only makes his case for a radically supralapsarian Christology; he also works out its implica - tions for topics ranging from the Trinity and creation to missions and everlasting life. The Incarnation as God’s First Intention offers a powerful vision of what it means to confess Jesus as Emmanuel— God with us.” —Ian A. McFarland, Candler School of Theology “In this courageous, exegetically driven, and historically informed analysis Van Driel considers what it means to rethink Christian doctrine by placing Jesus Christ at the center of the theological task. The result is a trinitarian interpretation of God and creation that not only elevates God’s covenantal and koinonial purposes but provides profound insight into the account of the atonement and the vision of participation at the heart of the New Testament. A brilliant and timely study!” —Alan J. Torrance, University of St. Andrews (emeritus)
OCTOBER 2025 • 320 pages • $37.99 • paper • 9781540969477
Edwin Chr. van Driel (PhD, Yale University) is the Directors’ Bicen- tennial Professor of Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is the author of Incarnation Anyway: Arguments for Supralapsarian Christology and Rethinking Paul: Protestant Theology and Pauline Exegesis . He is the editor of What Is Jesus Doing? and the T&T Clark Handbook of Election . He is also an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
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