The Multifaceted Work of Christ: Herman Bavinck’s Doctrine of Atonement as Both Corrective and Retrieval

This essay examines Herman Bavinck’s doctrine of atonement within his treatment of Christ’s humiliation in volume three of his Reformed Dogmatics. Through an investigation of Bavinck’s critiques of key nineteenth century theologians and of Bavinck’s own constructive account of the atonement, I show that Bavinck intended his theology of Christ’s work to serve as a corrective to the dominant approach to the theology of the atonement in his day. Against what he considered one-sided views of Christ’s work, I argue that Bavinck sought to offer an account which emulates Scripture in its multifaceted character. This theology further sought to retrieve and build upon historical Christian theology, most notably that of Anselm and especially the Protestant Reformers, in its focus on Christ’s vicarious satisfaction as the central (though not only) concern of his redeeming action. This exploration of Bavinck’s doctrine of the atonement not only deepens our understanding of Bavinck’s theological method but has relevance for broader studies of nineteenth and early twentieth century conceptualizations of Christ’s person and work and shows Bavinck’s attractiveness for contemporary constructive approaches to the atonement.