“Well before the transdenominational convergence of what we now call the evangelical church, B. B. Warfield spent forty years as the Presbyterian Horatius, holding the bridge that leads into the citadel of the Westminster Standards against those he saw as spoilers from the wastelands of liberalism. A heavyweight academic and a complete player in the fields of systematic, exegetical, historical, and polemical theology, he scattered his wisdom in hundreds of articles, which this book surveys and integrates with great skill. Warfield can now be seen in his full stature as the godly giant that he was, thanks to Fred Zaspel’s labor of love. Best thanks, and hallelujah!” J. I. Packer, Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College “B. B. Warfield’s distinguished achievements as a systematic theologian have been obscured by the episodic, ad hoc publication of his major theological statements. But even if Warfield did not think it necessary that he write a single, connected systematic theology, it is nonetheless most welcome that Fred Zaspel has done the job for him! The result is a very useful compendium that gives both admirers and detractors of Warfield a full and coherent account of his theology. All who are in the least interested in Warfield or who care at all about vigorous Calvinist theology will find this a most valuable book.” Mark Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame; author, America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln “Serious Christians who have dipped into Warfield find his writings to be a wholly admirable mix of rigorous exegesis, mature theological synthesis, and frank devotion to Christ. Much of his work is known only to specialists, not least because when Warfield first published it, it was scattered over many journals and books. Indeed, a fair bit of it was never published. Zaspel’s Theology of B. B. Warfield remedies the problem admirably. One hopes and prays that it will entice a new generation of readers to delve deeply into Warfield’s contributions.” D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School “The ‘Lion of Old Princeton’ roars and purrs in this helpful survey. The author finely displays the passion and wit as well as intellectual credibility of Warfield’s remarkable work.” Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California “B. B. Warfield was the last towering figure in a long line of Old School Presbyterian intellectuals known for their unshakable faith in the truth of Scripture and their practical, experiential Calvinism. Both profound and prolific, Warfield produced an invaluable body of theological and polemical writings that remain deservedly influential today. Fred Zaspel’s work is the first detailed, readable digest of Warfield’s theology, and it is an immensely helpful volume. Dr. Zaspel puts Warfield’s published writings in clear perspective against the theological issues that dominated that era. He also shows how those same issues—and Warfield’s clear and persuasive teaching—remain relevant to us today. Dr. Zaspel writes with such clarity and simplicity that this volume will be a valuable help and encouragement to lay people and serious theologians as well—a highly recommended addition to anyone’s library.” John MacArthur, Pastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California; President, The Master’s College and Seminary Zaspel BBWarfield Book.indd 1 7/7/10 12:03:06 PM “B. B. Warfield was without doubt the greatest of the theological minds of Old Princeton, and he remains a towering influence within both his own confessional Presbyterian tradition and wider conservative evangelicalism. Nevertheless, while his writings are still in print, clearly written, and very accessible, their occasional nature means that there is no convenient way of gaining from them a good grasp of the overall shape of his theology. Until now, that is. In this volume, pastor-theologian and passionate Warfield aficionado Fred Zaspel has produced a work of historical and theological synthesis that sets Warfield’s thought in context and offers a comprehensive account of his thought on the major loci of theology and the controverted points of his day. In this, Fred has left us all—the veteran Warfield fan and the neophyte—deeply in his debt.” Carl Trueman, Academic Dean and Vice President, Westminster Theological Seminary “B. B. Warfield does not need an introduction for evangelical Christians. He is well known as a major conservative theologian at the close of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. His scholarship in biblical, historical, and doctrinal fields was often without a match. As a Professor in Didactic and Polemic Theology in Princeton Theological Seminary, he was content to use the three volumes of Charles Hodge’s Systematic Theology as the textbook and to pour out the fruits of his labor in a flow of searching articles in a number of theological reviews. Many of these have been republished in book form, but they have not been systematically arranged in one text. That is what Dr. Zaspel has done in culling from the great mass of Warfield’s writings his actual statements in the order they could have followed had Warfield written a one-volume Reformed theology. In this form Warfield may enjoy a renewed effectiveness for our age. With great enthusiasm I highly recommend this volume and hope it will receive a wide reception.” Roger Nicole, Professor of Theology Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida “The great B. B. Warfield was essentially an occasional writer. His works are largely made up of learned articles, encyclopedia entries, and popular journalism. Fred Zaspel had the great idea of rendering this vast body of material into a compendium, a Warfield systematic theology. He clearly has what it takes to do the job superbly well: a love for his subject, care and attention to detail, and, above all, a thorough knowledge of Warfield’s writing. The result is a book that does not replace the Warfield volumes, but provides an accurate, thematic entry into them. It will be of inestimable benefit to all students of this outstanding Reformed theologian. Well done!” Paul Helm, Teaching Fellow, Regent College; author, Faith with Reason “This work is long overdue. That a theologian of the stature of B. B. Warfield should not have had a comprehensive overview of his entire corpus, such as this one by Dr. Zaspel, says far more about the thinking of evangelicals and the ranks of the Reformed in the twentieth century than it does about Warfield. This truly excellent and eminently readable work will serve both as a primer to Warfield’s thought and as an outline of the systematic theology he never wrote. Highly recommended.” Michael G. Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Director, The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies Zaspel BBWarfield Book.indd 2 7/7/10 12:03:06 PM Zaspel BBWarfield Book.indd 3 7/7/10 12:03:06 PM The Theology of B. B. Warfield The Theology of B. B. Warfield A Systematic Summary Fred G. Zaspel Foreword by Sinclair B. Ferguson WHEATON, ILLI NOI S Zaspel BBWarfield Book.indd 5 7/7/10 12:03:06 PM The Theology of B. B. Warfield: A Systematic Summary Copyright © 2010 by Fred G. Zaspel Published by Crossway 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys- tem, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Cover design: Amy Bristow Cover image: Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, by Ernest Ludvig Ipsen (1925) Special Collections, Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries Typesetting: Lakeside Design Plus First printing 2010 Printed in the United States of America Except for scattered phrases translated by Warfield, Scripture quotations not otherwise identi- fied are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American Standard Bible.® Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author. Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-1395-4 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-1396-1 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-1397-8 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2435-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zaspel, Fred G. The theology of B. B. Warfield : a systematic summary / Fred G. Zaspel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes. ISBN 978-1-4335-1395-4 (hc) 1. Warfield, Benjamin Breckinridge, 1851–1921. 2. Theology, Doctrinal. I. Title. BX9225.W236Z37 2010 230'.51092—dc22 2010009037 Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. SH 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Zaspel BBWarfield Book.indd 6 7/7/10 12:03:06 PM To James and Connie Zaspel, loving and beloved parents who faithfully pointed me to Christ, and through whom God first instilled in me a love for himself and his Word. Zaspel BBWarfield Book.indd 7 7/7/10 12:03:06 PM CONTENTS Foreword by Sinclair B. Ferguson 15 Preface 19 Abbreviations 23 1 Historical Context 27 0S\XO[W\0`SQYW\`WRUSEO`TWSZR<]d#&#³4SP$'