Book Recommendations on the Person of Christ Jesus from Pastor-Theologians
April 9, 2025
April 9, 2025
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).
9Marks asked pastor-theologians Stephen Wellum, Burk Parsons, and Fred Zaspel to recommend five books on the person of Christ. Some of their recommendations are entry-level while others are intermediate or even academic. We hope this range of books means there is something useful for every reader.
Dr. Wellum is a professor of Christian theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
This book works through key biblical passages from Genesis to Revelation that focus on the person of Christ. It moves from the Old Testament where Christ is promised to the New Testament focusing on the incarnation of our Lord and his saving work for us in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The appendix covers the area of historical theology which helps us understand not only the Christological heresies within the church but also Chalcedonian orthodoxy.
This is a classic from the Patristic era of the church. Athanasius was crucial in defending the deity of Christ against the Arians. In this work, he discusses who Jesus is from Scripture and why God the Son became human for our salvation.
This book is a simplified version of God the Son Incarnate but written for those who want a basic biblical, historical, and theological understanding of the person of Christ and the nature of the incarnation. It seeks to set Christology in our present context where the exclusivity of Christ is denied outside the church and biblical and theological knowledge and precision in the church is lacking. It helps the reader address both of these problems from Scripture and the historic tradition of the church.
This is a standard work laying out who Christ is from Scripture and historical theology. It works through all the main issues in Christology rooted deeply in historical theology and helpful expositions of key biblical texts.
This work helps the reader to think through the biblical, historical, and theological grounding to classical Chalcedonian Christology. It also seeks to help the reader to respond to current challenges to Christology both outside and inside the evangelical church.
This is a classic of early Reformed theology on the person of Christ. It was written to counter Lutheran Christology, but in so doing, Vermigli gives us a wonderful defense of the person of Christ from Scripture and consistent with the Chalcedonian Definition.
Dr. Parsons is senior pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida and a Ligonier Ministries Teaching Fellow.
This short book is a very helpful introduction to the person of Christ with particular focus on the divinity of Christ. As a pastor and scholar, Dr. Lanier is a clear and thoughtful communicator and writer. This book is thoroughly biblical with insightful interactions with contemporary scholarship.
This book is an introductory and thorough examination of the person of Christ that is filled with references to our faithful forefathers throughout church history. As an academic and a pastor, Dr. Jones writes in an accessible way while carefully examining many aspects of the person of Christ that are not as prevalent in other similar books.
This is a more intermediate to advanced treatment of the person of Christ that interacts with a broad range of theologians and scholars, particularly from nineteenth-century and twentieth-century Europe. Thus, a greater level of doctrinal discernment is advised.
This more academic compilation of essays from more than a century ago remains a classic work on the person and work of Christ. Although many of Warfield’s interactions are with scholars from the nineteenth century and, thus, unfamiliar to many readers today, his work is nevertheless clear and accessible.
This work by Owen is a doctrinal and devotional masterpiece. Every Christian would do well to savor every part of this most beloved classic.
Dr. Zaspel is pastor of Reformed Baptist Church in Franconia, Pennsylvania, adjunct professor of systematic theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and executive editor of Books at a Glance.
Stephen Wellum’s God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ is the best up-to-date discussion of the doctrine available. First pick for the advanced reader. His The Person of Christ: An Introduction is a comprehensive yet concise introduction to the doctrine, drawing from his larger work, for the intermediate reader.
Mark Jones’s A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Jesus Christ is brief and accessible, the “best first,” entry-level introduction to the doctrine. His Knowing Christ is deeply informed by historic definitions and especially the works of Puritans, a clear, comprehensive, accessible, and even devotional treatment of the doctrine.
Stephen Nichols’s For Us and for Our Salvation is the most accessible introduction to the historical discussion, in particular the early development of Christological thinking.
Michael Reeves’s Rejoicing in Christ is a thoroughly delightful popular-level survey of Christ’s person and saving work. Informative and inspirational reading for Christians of every level.
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For more book recommendations from pastors, professors, and counselors on a variety of topics, click here.
The more I studied 1 John piece-by-piece, the more my appreciation grew.
Preach through this Gospel and bring your people to the feet of the Messiah to understand his identity, his power, his mission, and their own mission.
This book is an instant classic—historical theology at its best.
