Journal: Journal of the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies
Volume: JIRBS 10:1 (NA 2025)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

JIRBS 10 (2025) p. 137

Book Reviews

Ancient Christian Texts: Pe Gospel of John, Cyril of Alexandria (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, Volume 1, 2013, 407pp.; Volume 2, 2015, 426pp.) Reviewed by James P. Butler*

*James P. Butler is pastor of Free Grace Baptist Church, Chilliwack, BC, Canada.

The pastor who wants to teach the biblical doctrine of the Trinity to his congregation can do so by preaching through the Gospel of John. He who is engaged in preaching through the Gospel of John will be well served by Cyril of Alexandria in expounding the sacred text in a manner that is consistent with the best commentary and theology of the Christian church. The church has always recognized the importance of using language found outside of the Bible to protect the language used inside of the Bible for the simple fact that heretics distort the meaning of the sacred text. For instance, John 1:1 introduces the reader to the “Word” by declaring, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Apostle goes on to appropriate the work of creation (1:3) to the Word in order to underscore the Word’s co-eternality and consubstantiality with God the Father (1:1) and then declares, unequivocally, that this Word who was distinct from God the Father and one with God the Father “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The church employed tactics and strategies (i.e., hermeneutics) to explain how these things can be so

JIRBS 10 (2025) p. 138

and Cyril of Alexandria, an inheritor of the Nicene tradition, faithfully applies those hermeneutics to the Gospel of John.

For those familiar with commentaries on John, there are obvious differences in approach to the text which prove helpful for the pastor working through John’s Gospel. Cyril’s method is not one that is dedicated to cultural backgrounds, lexical analysis, or explanations of every jot and tittle of the passage under examination; rather, his is a theological commentary of the highest order. Not that Cyril does not give a good explanation of “what is happening” in John’s Gospel, but his strength lies in the explanation of inseparable operations and the relations between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He constantly affirms the two primary emphases in trinitarian thought: The unity of the divine nature and the trinity of Persons in the Godhead. For this reason, his commentary is invaluable for the pastor who wants to preach through John’s Gospel without compromising the text of Scripture and also without compromising the best commentary and theology that the church has produced to explain the text of Scripture.

Cyril employs the necessary distinction between theologia and oikonomia�...