pilgrim people

Maintaining the two-natures doctrine is critical in order for us to understand who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Due to our finitude, we cannot fathom the mystery of God and man as one person. Due to our fallen-ness, we cannot avoid making idols out of what we do not understand. Yet, the challenge of maintaining the two-natures doctrine is not for the seminary classroom and ecclesiastical court alone; it must also take place in the catechesis of a local congregation. While our creeds, confessions and catechisms aid us (and unite us) to that end, further instruction on this incomprehensible doctrine is always needed. Pastors and laypeople alike are in want of a clear and biblically faithful explanation of the two-natures of Christ. Danny Hyde’s book, God with Us, provides such an explanation in fewer than 160 pages.

As I read God with Us, five strong qualities stood out to me:

1. This book is clear and simple. Hyde has a lucid writing style. He walks the reader through the pathways of sublime doctrine, carefully explaining the details as he moves along. God with Us is very impressive in what it makes clear in its short number of pages. It is evident that Hyde is one who spends the majority of his time preparing and delivering sermons to ordinary people. His experience and skill as a preacher and teacher comes through in each chapter.

2. This book is pastoral. Hyde writes as a pastor to laypeople. He instructs with doctrine, and then shows why the doctrine is important for the Christian life. He states that this is his intention from the beginning. In his introduction he writes, “We will apply this mystery [i.e. the two-natures doctrine] to our comfort and confidence in our sufferings as pilgrims in this life, to our witness to the world, and to our worship before the throne of God’s heavenly grace.” Hyde keeps his focus throughout the book.

3. This book surveys critical church history. As anyone who has studied systematic theology knows, getting a grasp on the historical development of the two-natures doctrine is indispensable to orthodox Christology. Too much has happened in church history for us to neglect learning about the ecumenical councils and the major Christological heresies. Hyde does an excellent job of introducing the reader to the heroes and villains of church history and defining important terms such as Nicea, Chalcedon, Docetism, Arianism, Eutychianism, Apollinarianism, Nestoriansim, and Monothelitism. He shows why understanding each one of these terms is necessary in order to avoid theological pitfalls, uphold sound doctrine, and, most importantly, grow in his knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.

4. This book is equipped with helpful appendixes. Hyde wisely included relevant creedal and confessional material and provided a brief explanation of each. This is very useful for the person uninitiated to the study of theology and church history. It gives the reader a neatly organized arrangement of the most significant ecclesiastical statements of the historic Christian church, and helps her to see that the discussion of the two-natures doctrine has been taking place for a very long time.

5. This book has footnotes rather than endnotes! While this may not seem like an obvious strength to some, it deserves mentioning. Reformation Heritage Books had the good sense to use footnotes, allowing the reader to stay on the page he is reading when checking a reference (and Hyde has a good number of them), rather than being forced to flip back and forth to the end of the book. (A note to all publishers: endnotes are cumbersome, unwieldy, and should be banned forever!)

I noticed two possible weaknesses of Hyde’s book. Notwithstanding the importance of appealing to the witness of history for a proper Christology, it is possible that God with Us could use a little more in the area of biblical exegesis and a little less in lengthy quotes from the ancient fathers. Moreover, I was surprised that Hyde did not do more on the theological significance of the Virgin Birth. 

Nevertheless, God with Us is an excellent introduction to the Reformed doctrine of the Person of Christ. As a pastor, I frequently encounter professing Christians and potential new members who have unwittingly embraced (or partially embraced) one of the historical Christological heresies. God with Us is a first-rate resource to give to someone who is thinking through this difficult doctrine for the first time. Likewise, people at all levels of theological understanding and in different stages of their journey in the Christian life are certain to find Hyde’s book immensely helpful. People have a lot of questions about who Jesus is. This is the book to give them. I recommend it enthusiastically.