The Incarnation as God’s First Intention: Supralapsarian Christology for Faith and Practice

In The Incarnation as God’s First Intention, Edwin Chr. van Driel advocates a transformative perspective on the incarnation, proposing that God’s decision to become incarnate was not a response to human sin but was instead God’s first and foundational intention. Engaging the historical and theological roots of this supralapsarian (before the fall) Christology, Van Driel, a leading scholar on the topic, invites readers to reconsider long-held views on God’s engagement with creation.

With clarity and depth, Van Driel unpacks how understanding the incarnation as God’s original purpose reshapes the doctrines of creation, election, salvation, and eschatology. His insights offer a fresh framework for the church’s mission in today’s world, suggesting that God’s presence with us is not merely a remedy for human fallenness but, rather, God’s first intention and ultimate goal for creation.

Written for students, theologians, and all who seek a deeper understanding of God’s relation to the world, this book challenges readers to see the incarnation, God’s dwelling among us, as God’s central purpose.

Edwin Chr. van Driel (PhD, Yale University) is the Directors’ Bicentennial Professor of Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Incarnation Anyway: Arguments for Supralapsarian Christology and Rethinking Paul: Protestant Theology and Pauline Exegesis. He is the editor of What Is Jesus Doing? God’s Activity in the Life and Work of the Church and the T&T Clark Handbook of Election. He is also an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).