The idea that Christ "emptied himself" (as Paul writes in Philippians 2) has always been difficult to grasp and may even be called one of the great mysteries of the faith.
A. B. Bruce addressed the doctrine of Christ's humanity in a series of lectures that later became The Humiliation of Christ. This work presents a review of historical theories regarding Christ's humiliation, from the church fathers through Bruce's own time, along with a defense of what he believed to be orthodox views on the subject. A. T. Robertson called it "Bruce's Masterpiece."
Additional Details
If you own one of the Logos Bible Software base products, you're probably familiar with Bruce's Training of the Twelve. The author's theological and pastoral sensitivity make him a joy to read, and he still has many valuable insights to offer today's reader. You will see Bruce's Humiliation of Christ cited in the bibliography of Bible dictionary articles on "Incarnation" or "kenosis."
- Full Title: The Humiliation of Christ in its Physical, Ethical, and Official Aspects: The Sixth Series of the Cunningham Lectures
- Author: Alexander Balmain Bruce, D.D.
- Fifth Edition, printed September 1900
- Publisher: T&T Clark, Edinburgh
- Pages: 455
Introduction from Lecture 1
"I purpose in the following lectures to employ the teaching of Scripture, concerning the humiliation of the Son of God, as an aid in the formation of just views on some aspects of the doctrine of Christ's person, experience, and work, and as a guide in the criticism of various Christological and Soteriological theories. The task I enter on is arduous and delicate. It is arduous, because it demands at least a tolerable acquaintance, at first hand as far as possible, with anextensive literature of ancient, modern, and recent origin, the recent alone being sufficiently ample to occupy the leisure of a pastor for years. It is delicate, because the subject, while of vital interest in a religious point of view, is also theologically abstruse. The way of truth is narrow here, and through ignorance or inadvertence one may easily fall into error, while desiring to maintain, and even honestly believing that he is maintaining, the catholic faith."
About the Author
Excerpted from the 1911 Encyclopedia
BRUCE, ALEXANDER BALMAIN (1831-1899), Scottish divine, was born at Aberargie near Perth on the 31st of January 1831. His father suffered for his adherence to the Free Church at the Disruption in 1843, and removed to Edinburgh, where the son was educated, showing exceptional ability from the first. His early religious doubts, awakened especially by Strausss Life of Jesus, made him throughout life sympathetic with those who underwent a similar stress. After serving as assistant first at Ancrum, then at Lochwinnoch, he was called to Cardross in Dumbartonshire in 1859, and to Broughty Ferry in 1868. There he published his first considerable exegetical work, the Training of the Twelve. In 1874 he delivered his Cunningham Lectures, afterwards published as The Humiliation of Christ, and in the following year was appointed to the chair of Apologetics and New Testament exegesis at the Free Church College, Glasgow. This post he held for twenty-four years. He was one of the first British New Testament students whose work was received with consideration by German scholars of repute. The character and work of Christ were, he held, the ultimate proof and the best defence of Christianity; and his tendency was to concentrate attention somewhat narrowly on the historic Jesus...
Sample Page Scans from the Print Edition
Title Page
Table of Contents: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Introductory Remarks (Lecture 1): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5