Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 75:2 (Fall 2013)
Article: Accommodation—Orthodox, Socinian, And Contemporary
Author: Hoon J. Lee

WTJ 75:2 (Fall 2013) p. 335

Accommodation—Orthodox, Socinian,
And Contemporary

Hoon J. Lee

Hoon J. Lee is currently a historical theology doctoral candidate at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill.

From the early days of the Patristic Age the doctrine of accommodation, also called condescension, has been a vital element in biblical hermeneutics. John Chrysostom describes the theological principle: “God condescends whenever he is not seen as he is, but in the way one incapable of beholding him is able to look upon him. In this way God reveals himself by accommodating what he reveals to the weakness of vision of those who behold him.”1 Being God he is unknowable, and being human we are limited in what we can know. However, God has condescended to our limited capacity so that we can comprehend divine truth. Accommodation is a free act of grace, in which God reveals himself and lets himself be known.

The most recognized outworking of accommodation is the incarnation. John Calvin comments on Isa 25:9, “Therefore he lowers himself to our weakness, gives himself to us through Christ.” Jesus condescended himself in human form to show man the way to salvation. While the incarnation is not limited to accommodation, it is divine condescension at its essence.

Likewise, this doctrine is also applicable in the nature of Scripture. The divine Author condescended in the form of written word and accommodated language to communicate his message through a human medium. The Bible is truth but in an accommodated form, which allows man to know matters of God and salvation otherwise unknowable. Calvin once described God’s communication with man as “lisps” to a child, in other words, condescension to baby talk.2

Understanding the nature of God’s adapted or condescended revelation facilitates the explanation and interpretation of creaturely realities within Scripture. Why certain elements of the text are described in a particular fashion can be attributed to the accommodated manner in which Scripture was written. Commenting on God’s remorse in Gen 6:6, Martin Luther wrote, “God condescends to us in order that we may understand Him. He reveals Himself to us in

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figures, accommodating Himself to our feeble comprehension so that we may somewhat know Him.”3 The Holy Spirit is using anthropomorphic language in order to communicate an aspect of God in a manner that we would be able to comprehend. The...