A Review of B. B. Warfield’s “The Emotional Life of Our Lord”
At a time when the theological winds of his day were denying the deity of Jesus, B. B. Warfield wanted to affirm from the Bible the foundational doctrine of his humanity, that this doctrine should not be lost in the fog of controversy. This he has done well. Jesus the God-Man took upon himself the fullness of human nature that he should be a true substitute for his people. Warfield has made the case for Christ’s humanity by showing his emotional life from the Scripture. It’s a book to be commended, or as Sinclair Ferguson has noted, “It is the hidden jewel of his writings”
Here is a brief read from Crossway’s Short Classics series. Originally written in 1912, the essay itself covers only 83 pages which can be read without much time or effort. Still, the reward of doing so is significant. It begins with a forward written by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson in which he sets the stage for the essay. This is followed by a very brief biography of the author, Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield. Warfield occupied the Charles Hodge Chair at Princeton Theological Seminary and enjoyed a world-wide influence. He taught during the period of theological upheaval in the late 19th into the early 20th centuries as a stalwart defender of biblical orthodoxy. The liberal neo-orthodox denial of Scriptural Christology makes the essay especially relevant for its time but also for our day as well. The repercussions of such liberalism still remain in many churches.
After a brief introduction, the study is divided into three sections each of which addresses an emotional category within the life of Jesus. The first has to do with compassion which is presented as “the emotion that is most frequently attributed to Him” (p. 33). Love was foundational to his compassion, taking the form of pity that moved him to action. It was his love for the Father to do his will. It was love in pity for the blind, the leprous, the hungry and the widowed that caused him to act. It was love for the sinner that brought him to self-sacrifice. “Love lies at the bottom of compassion” (p. 41).
In the second section Warfield spends the majority of the essay on Jesus’ anger. Most of what he writes is straightforward for any student of the Bible but one area of Christ’s sense of anger may prove surprising. It’s commonly known about the Lord’s righteous indignation with the money changers at the temple in Jerusalem, but the author doesn’t dwell on this incident. He’s more interested in other, less well-known expressions of Christ’s vexation. Jesus was indignant at the cold-heartedness of the Jewish leaders, annoyed when the disciples tried to keep children from him, he raged against death at the tomb of Lazarus, and resented his opponents using terms like the following to describe them: hypocrites, blind guides, white-washed tombs, that fox, brood of vipers, etc.
But he chided those he healed: Jesus often met the need of those with physical challenges by healing them out of his compassion but would then ”charge” them, “rebuke” them, to tell no one what he had done. Surprisingly, Warfield defines this as “a show of anger or displeasure directed to this end” (p. 70). On at least two occasions, he moves quickly, even seamlessly, between expressing displeasure while exhorting silence from the healed to anger toward the source behind the physical need, i.e., an evil spirit or the fallenness of nature. This point is a bit unexpected and confusing. Nevertheless, Warfield is careful to ascribe the Lord’s anger to his righteous nature. He states, “…it is the righteous reaction of this moral sense in the presence of evil” (p. 76).
In the last section the author presents the joy and sorrow of “the man of sorrows.” To be sure, Jesus “exulted in the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21) as the conqueror of men’s souls yet it is pointed out that the Bible never states that Jesus laughed or smiled and only once relates that he was glad. It must be assumed that he experienced joy and happiness in his life, but it did not please the Spirit to record much of it in the Scriptures. But sorrow? That’s another matter.
The Lord in his humanity maintained his holiness and utter perfection. These were constantly assaulted by the fallenness of man. Sinful behavior and its natural repercussions assailed Jesus at every turn in the form of human suffering, stubborn unbelief, the general characteristics of inhumanity, and the great enemy of death. Thus, he is said to weep over Jerusalem, to sigh deeply (Mark 8:12) and experience pain of heart (Mark 3:5). Surely his greatest sorrow was that of being forsaken by the Father on the cross, an incomprehensible agony that has brought to the believer in him the joy of eternal life.
At a time when the theological winds of his day were denying the deity of Jesus, B. B. Warfield wanted to affirm from the Bible the foundational doctrine of his humanity, that this doctrine should not be lost in the fog of controversy. This he has done well. Jesus the God-Man took upon himself the fullness of human nature that he should be a true substitute for his people. Warfield has made the case for Christ’s humanity by showing his emotional life from the Scripture. It’s a book to be commended, or as Sinclair Ferguson has noted, “It is the hidden jewel of his writings” (p. 10).
Randy Steele is a Minister in the Bible Presbyterian Church and is Pastor of Providence BPC in Albuquerque, NM.
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A Life of Thankfulness
We are not the rightful arbiter of our circumstances. Under every good and happy thing and every bitter and sour thing is the smiling face of God, whose providence allows for nothing but our good (Romans 8:28). “Oh, give thanks!” That is why we do not direct our thankfulness toward people, places, and particular situations because they are too cheap and far too flimsy to stand under the weight of praise. People will let you down. Your body will decay. Life will sucker punch you in the teeth when you are not looking. So, dear friends, do not give your thanks to those things! Instead, give it to Almighty God, as the psalmist proclaims.
As the meat sweats, socially acceptable gluttony, and mild diabetic comas begin to subside, the question believers must continue to wrestle with, throughout the entire year is, “what is a life of thankfulness”? Who is responsible for the good in our life? And what is the telos of our thankfulness?
For the pagan man, the words “I am thankful for ____” must end at his own self. He is thankful for the things he likes. He is grateful for whatever pleases him and aligns with his value structure. But, what that man cannot be is thankful in any holistic way because innumerable things exist that are still displeasing to him.
An ounce of lucidity and self-reflection confirms it. Life is served up hot and ready with more examples of pain than there are pleasures. A man’s work is filled with futility; his family is struggling or even falling apart; inflation feels like a noose around his neck, and the holiday called Thanksgiving is just another opportunity to spread a little faux gratitude over the black hole of his existence. Without God, the love of Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Ghost, that annual November food fest reduces down to a “chasing after the wind” with a side of honey-baked ham and yams. All the world can do is participate in the farce of fatalism; they may eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow, they surely will die. That is their lot.
Yet, for the Christian, thanksgiving is much more than a day of excess eating and football. Thanksgiving takes over all of life. It invades every darkened corner of the mind, heart, will, and soul and becomes the ongoing ritual of our earthly existence.
The reason for this is simple. Giving thanks is not limited to a day or conditioned by our preferences, opinions, or circumstances. It did not originate with pilgrims and Indians. The Christian approach to Thanksgiving can and must be different. We may give thanks in all of life, in both the good times and bad, because our gratitude is rooted in the very nature and character of God, and He is the one who will fill our mouths with laughter (Psalm 126:1-3).
Notice how the psalmist describes Thanksgiving in Psalm 107:“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” – Psalm 107:1
Let us examine this more closely so that we may understand Thanksgiving.
Holistic Thanksgiving
The psalmist begins with an unconditional statement, “Oh, give thanks,” which invites neither limitation, duration, nor qualification to our thankfulness. Instead, he welcomes us into the ongoing warmth and beauty of ubiquitous gratitude that pervades every facet of our lives. He summons us into the kind of joy that sings in a storm, dances in the rain, diligently inventories, and blankets myriad aspects of reality with hearty hopeful praises. The entire plane of existence for the believer becomes the playground of current and future joy.
Think about it from the positive side of things. We have souls filled by the Spirit of God, redeemed by the King of kings, cleansed of iniquity and stain, and commissioned both temporally and eternally by our God. “Oh, give thanks!” We have eyes to see the beauty of God’s world. We have ears to hear perfect pitch and infant giggles. We possess mouths to taste a panoply of exquisite flavors, hands to touch, and arms to wrap up the ones we love in a long embrace.
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When Overthinking Sets In
Gladly surrender all your worries, problems, and troubles in the hands that bled for you. Have faith for He is in charge over everything. Always remember that our Father perfectly knows what’s best for us; that our Father perfectly loves us and wants to give what’s best for us; that our Father is sovereign and has the power to give what’s best for us.
Lately, I have been struggling with overthinking. There are nights when I cannot sleep easily because I am just overthinking problems and contemplating solutions to solve them. It is okay to ask God for wisdom and guidance over our problems and grant us the light we need so that we know the path we ought to take in light of the darkness that we are in. But there are times when I try to put matters in my own hands as if I am the one who can fully and finally solve my problems; as if I am the one who knows it all; as if I am the one who can work with all my might to be able to surpass whatever obstacles I would have in this life.
That is why there are times when overthinking becomes sinful when we try to replace the throne of God in handling and solving our problems.
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Parents: You Don’t Have to do Anything
No one is forcing us to do anything. Only God has the authority to command us, and we must follow Him. Christ has saved us, not to live for ourselves, but, “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor 5:15). So the next time you’re tempted to think that you must do something that violates your conscience to be a good parent, just remember that you don’t have to do anything.
“You have to let your kids watch/do/experience that! It’s so iconic. They’ll totally miss out!”
No. No they won’t. I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but parents, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. There is literally no one mandating the things that your kids must experience to be a full human being. Let me say it even more clearly: There is no movie that your kids must watch in order to function properly in society. There is no music your kids must listen to in order to really thrive. There is no destination that your kids must visit in order to really fit in. No one is forcing you to do any of those things. And while the world is trying to convince you that there are certain things that you must do for your children, I want to talk about the real imperative for all Christian parents.
Christian Parents Are Bound to Obey God
Christian parents have a duty to God, and God alone, in raising their children. “Each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom 14:12). God is the One who guides our parenting choices. If we know that we will give an account of our parenting to Him, why would we let the world have any say in what we do? We are commanded to, “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4).
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