Good Book – God With Us: Knowing the Mystery of Who Jesus Is

Rev. Daniel R. Hyde, pastor of Oceanside United Reformed Church, keeps churning out good books.  One I’ve been meaning to recommend for a while is God With Us: Knowing the Mystery of Who Jesus Is.  Although not specifically about liturgy, Hyde reminds us of central truths about the One we worship and serve in the Liturgy.

I found Rev. Hyde’s book a noteworthy example of pastoral-scholarship.  His book is thoroughly Reformed (containing many insights from the Continental Reformed tradition) as well as ecumenical and catholic (highlighting the insights of the church fathers). 

Although the book is brief (151 pgs.), Hyde covers the basics of Biblical Christology and does an admirable job of explaining the major Christological heresies.  As a teacher who has struggled to explain Arianism and Apollinarianism to bewildered high-school students, I wish I had this book years ago!

An especially helpful section for today’s culture is the chapter comparing the teachings of the Qur’an and the Bible on the nature of Jesus Christ.

The four Appendices also exemplify Hyde’s concern with presenting the teaching of the historical Church.  Appendix 1 contains the major Ecumenical Creeds, along with brief introductions to each creedal statement.  Appendix 2 highlights the Christological teaching of the major Protestant confessions.  Appendix 3 encapsulates the teaching of the 7 Ecumenical Councils (which all dealt with different areas of Christology).  Finally, Appendix 4 presents a portion of Leo I’s Tome (which contributed to the Definition of Chalcedon). 

I’ve dwelt at length on the Appendices because there is such widespread ignorance of Church History among Protestants, and even among the Reformed.  Rev. Hyde’s book is an important contribution to helping us recover Reformed Catholicity.  More importantly, he constantly reminds us of how the doctrines of Christology should comfort and challenge us practically and spiritually as he ends each chapter with a meditation and hymn or psalm.  As we’ve all probably heard, theology should lead to doxology.  Rev. Hyde’s book provides a good balance of both.

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