Book Review: Systematic Theology, 2nd ed. (Wayne Grudem)

Is Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology (2nd Edition) worth reading? In this review, I assess Grudem’s updated systematic theology, summarize the major additions, examine controversial revisions on the Trinity, discuss strengths and weaknesses, and explain who would benefit most from this massive evangelical systematic volume.

What Is Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology?

Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology has become one of the most widely used evangelical theology textbooks of the last several decades, selling hundreds of thousands of copies since its original publication in 1994. In 2020, Grudem released a substantially expanded second edition containing updated discussions on the Trinity, eternal functional submission (EFS), Molinism, the New Perspective on Paul, creation and evolution, worship, church issues, and more.

Despite areas where readers may disagree with Grudem, particularly regarding the Trinity, eternal submission, and historical theology, Grudem’s book remains one of the clearest and most accessible evangelical systematic theologies available today.

The Structure of Grudem’s Systematic Theology

Grudem organizes Christian doctrine into a logical, easy-to-follow structure that moves from Scripture to God, humanity, salvation, the church, and the future. Each section synthesizes latge swaths of theology from the Bible, assisted by other systematics, and makes complex theology accessible for students, pastors, and lay people.

1. The Doctrine of the Word of God

   1. Grudem begins with the foundation: the Bible as God’s Word (Calvin and Hodge began with God himself). He explains its authority, clarity, necessity, and sufficiency, while also defending its inerrancy. Grudem helps us see why Scripture is trustworthy and central to Christian belief.

2. The Doctrine of God

   1. Here Grudem lays out complex truths of God in a simple way. He explores
      1. God’s existence and knowability,
      2. his incommunicable attributes
         1. eternality, unchangeableness, etc.
      3. communicable attributes
         1. love, holiness, wisdom, etc.
      4. the Trinity, creation, providence, prayer, miracles, and spiritual beings,
      5. He engages critically with open theism.

3. The Doctrine of Man in the Image of God

   1. This section takes a deeper dive into creation to look at the creation of mankind specifically, how we are made a male and female, what our nature is, what happened when sin disrupted everything, and the resulting covenants God made with mankind to bring us into relationship with himself. (See Stephen Wellum’s Systematic Theology for a better view of the covenants.)

4. The Doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit

   1. This section focuses on Jesus Christ’s humanity, deity, sinlessness, and explores if Jesus even could have sinned. Grudem looks at how these fit together in the incarnation and summarizes a few of the heretical views.
   2. Grudem evaluates different views of the atonement and discusses its meaning and scope, engaging both Reformed and non-Reformed perspectives.
   3. He also critiques the idea of Christ descending into hell, while interacting with historical and theological arguments. He disagrees that Christ descended into hell/hades between his death and resurrection and argues that it should be removed from the Apostle’s Creed. (I side with Matt Emerson, who provides a better explanation for keeping the descent clause because it is based on a true event.)

5. The Doctrine of the Application of Redemption

   1. Grudem explains (in thirteen chapters) how salvation is applied in the life of a believer, covering topics like election, justification, conversion, perseverance, and union with Christ.
   2. He also interacts extensively with N. T. Wright’s view of justification, arguing for a traditional understanding based on Scripture and Greek lexical evidence.
   3. He emphasizes that the gospel includes both Christ’s lordship and the promise of salvation. Proclaiming Christ as Lord leads to the forgiveness of sins, receiving of the Holy Spirit, adoption as God’s child, etc. (Acts 2:21; 4:12; 5:31; 13:38; 15:11).

6. The Doctrine of the Church

   1. This section explores the nature, purpose, and structure of the church. Grudem discusses what makes a church healthy and how authority functions through discipline and spiritual warfare.
   2. He compares different models of church government.
      1. For example, Episcopal // Presbyterian // Congregational churches.
   3. He also addresses baptism and the challenges of differing theological views within church membership.

7. The Doctrine of the Future

   1. Grudem concludes with teachings on Christ’s return, the millennium, final judgment, and the new creation. He presents and evaluates amillennial, postmillennial, and premillennial views, and he lands on premillennialism. He argues against a pre-tribulation rapture and offers a very thin critique of annihilationism.

What Changed in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology 2nd Edition?

1. The bibliographies are updated.
   1. Grudem includes Gentry and Wellum’s Kingdom Through Covenant, Wellum’s God the Son Incarnate, Emerson and Stamp’s Trinitarian Theology, and Amiee Byrd’s Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
   2. There is no mention of Michael Heiser’s The Unseen Realm (my review here).  
2. New sections:The differences between evangelical Protestant theology and Protestant theological liberalism (additional note in chapter 4),
   1. Mormonism (additional note in ch. 14),
   2. Roman Catholicism (additional note in ch. 45).
3. Deeper discussion on specific “problem verses” in the Gospels for biblical inerrancy (ch. 5).
4. Completely revised the chapter on Scripture’s clarity (ch. 6).
5. Updated sections:God’s atemporal eternity (ch. 11),
   1. the eternal submission of the Son to the Father in the Trinity (ch. 14),
   2. seeker-sensitive churches (ch. 44),
   3. the role of women in the church (ch. 47),
   4. contemporary worship music (ch. 51),
   5. miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit (chs. 52 and 53).
6. Critiques open theism (ch. 12).
7. He completely revised the chapter on creation and evolution (ch. 15):includes recent evidence for intelligent design,
   1. a longer critique of theistic evolution,
   2. summarizes recent evidence regarding the age of the earth.
8. Gives a new discussion and critique of middle knowledge/Molinism (ch. 16).
9. Gives extensive discussion of “Free Grace” theology (ch. 35).
10. Critiques of the “new perspective on Paul” and its view of justification (ch. 36).
11. Critiques of the preterist view that Christ has already returned in AD 70 (ch. 54).
12. A discussion of recent criticisms of the penal substitutionary view of the atonement.
13. Adds a contemporary worship song at the end of each chapter (retains the traditional hymns too)
14. Indexes topics from twenty-one new systematic theology texts published since 1993.
15. And many many smaller modifications throughout the entire book. 

Grudem, The Trinity, and Eternal Functional Submission (EFS)

In 2016 (right before Mari and I went to SBTS) a giant brawl rose up over trinitarian issues. I won’t rehearse any of these issues (click the link and read to your heart’s content), but, as of 2016, Grudem affirms the eternal generation of the Son and still affirms eternal functional submission (EFS). Concerning EFS, Grudem believes it is still proper to use the terms “authority” and “submission” in regard to the Father and the Son’s relations to one another.

No matter which terms we use, it is a mistake to insist that the Father-Son relationship in Scripture is always perfectly symmetrical. It would be unfaithful to the consistent pattern of Scriptural language to deny any primacy to the role of the Father… However, if in the Trinity the Son is always subject to the authority of the Father yet also equal to the Father in deity and in honor, then it is understandable that, in carious kinds of relationships between persons, the existence of authority and submission within the relationship is compatible with both persons being equal in importance and honor. (305)

Grudem lists some objections from Luke and Stamps in their Trinitarian Theology and from D. Glenn Butner Jr. and replies to their objections (pp. 310-314). He lists evangelical theologians who affirm the eternal obedience/submission of the Son to the authority of the Father:

• Charles Hodge
• Herman Bavinck
• Augustus Strong
• Louis Berkhof
• J. I. Packer
• Carl F.H. Henry
• Thomas Oden
• John Feinberg
• John Frame
• Robert Letham
• Bruce Ware
• Michael Horton

In regards to EFS, Grudem understands God to have one will, but there are three expressions of this will (307). He uses John 6:38 as an example, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (p. 307). John 8:27, 29, 42 and Philippians 2:6 can be seen as examples of these three distinctive wills (though these verses don’t mention the Holy Spirit).

Craig Carter has recently written an article against Grudem’s take on Jesus’ eternal submission to the Father, his renewed understanding of monogenes, and really of his book as a whole arguing that it is closer to being a biblical theology of sorts than a true systematic theology.

As Carter writes, John 6:38 “is not speaking of two expressions of one unified Divine will, but rather of two wills, namely, the human will of Christ and the Divine will of the Father, (which is unified with the Divine will of Christ). The incarnate Jesus Christ has two wills, one human and one divine, not two expressions of the one, unified Divine will… He thus reads economic relations back into the eternal Trinity.”

(Here is a post from Fred Sanders with his take on Grudem’s change of thought. He was happy to see Grudem’s acceptance of eternal generation and believes “the persuasiveness of EFS will continue to fade.”)

Is Grudem’s Systematic Theology Recommended?

Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology (2nd Edition) remains one of the most accessible evangelical systematic theologies available today. While readers will disagree with aspects of Grudem’s theology, especially on the Trinity, Grudem succeeds in offering a deeply Scripture-centered introduction to Christian doctrine for pastors, students, and lay readers alike.

Lagniappe

• Author: Wayne Grudem
• Hardcover: 1,616 pages
• Publisher: ‎ Zondervan Academic, 2nd edition (December 8, 2020)

Buy it on Amazon or from Zondervan Academic

Disclosure: I received this book free from Zondervan. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.

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