Vidu, Adonis. The Same God Who Works All Things: Inseparable Operations in Trinitarian Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2021.
Book Review
Adonis Vidu is a professor of Christian Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. Part of his formation is from a Romanian Baptist background. Vidu completed his PhD from the University of Nottingham. His theological expertise focuses on the recovery of patristic and medieval Trinitarian theology for the contemporary church.
Vidu’s work on the inseparable operations of the Trinity is remarkable. Each chapter offers a wealth of theological gems valuable for the doctrine of the Trinity, ad intra and ad extra. His aim in this work is to retrieve the classical trinitarianism teaching on the inseparable operations as a theological grammatical rule. For Vidu, trinitarian inseparable operations are perceived in at least two kinds in modern theology: hard and soft inseparable operations. Vidu argues for the former, hard inseparable operations.
Hard inseparable operations argue for the Triune act in a single agency. Vidu states, “every act token of any Trinitarian person is also an act token of the other persons.” This concept rejects the notion of the three persons merely participating in the divine act. The work of the Father is the same work of the Son and the Spirit. In contrast, the soft understands that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit agree to cooperate—or, negatively stated, never disagree—in a divine act, as if there are three separate wills. However, Vidu argues that this concept can lead to several trinitarian errors and heresies, such as functional subordinationism, semi-Arianism, adoptionism, and, in particular, social trinitarianism.
Vidu’s claim is not without support. The first chapter explores the biblical theology of inseparable operations, highlighting the unity and distinction between the persons. Vidu posits that inseparable operations emerged from scripture itself, not through monotheistic deduction. The most robust scriptural evidence is the act of creation. Only God can create. In simple terms, since creation is also attributed to Christ through mediation, He is God. Further, to support his claim, Vidu surveys the Pauline epistles (e.g., 1 Cor. 8, Phil. 2) and the Gospels.
In the second chapter, Vidu’s approach is noteworthy, even in the first chapter. It resembles what other scholars refer to as the theological interpretation of Scripture. He points out that inseparable operations should form a theological framework when reading God’s revelation. At the same time, it should be read alongside the works of early Church Fathers and medieval theologians, such as Athanasius, Didymus, and the Cappadocian Fathers, as well as Augustine and Aquinas. In short, Vidu’s theological and scriptural exegesis reflects how the entire church has understood the doctrine. Remarkably, Vidu’s treatment of the arguments from these theologians and even contemporary authors is excellent. He summarizes their perspectives, engages with and relates to the topics, and provides critical reviews, whether he agrees or disagrees with the conclusions. Moreover, in this chapter, Vidu contends that operations and will belong to nature, not to hypostasis.
In the remaining chapters, Vidu applies the trinitarian doctrine of the inseparable operations (creation) in Christology (incarnation and atonement) and Pneumatology (chapters 8 and 9), emphasizing the unity and distinction of the triune God. For example, the Son retains his divine operation, inseparable from the Father and the Spirit, even after the incarnation. But at the same time, he keeps human operation solely in his mode of sonship. Christ’s two wills and two operations in his hypostatic union through communication of properties were also explained thoroughly, especially in chapters 5 and 6. Other topics addressed in this work include criticisms of the social trinitarian concept of cooperation and the perspectives of modern theologians such as Pannenberg. Also, it includes discussions of Christ’s theandric action, the necessity of Christ’s death, the role of the Spirit in atonement, ascension, Pentecost, and indwelling.
At the end, Vidu continues to retrieve and put classical trinitarianism as theological grammar in the center of this doctrine. He concludes that even with this doctrinal knowledge, it is only through our experience of God through Christ by the Spirit. There is “no comprehension of divine action itself” even in the light of inseparable operations because “such transcendent energy is the divine being itself.” Overall, Vidu’s work on the inseparable operation is a must-read; researchers in theology proper and trinitarian theology need to engage with, interact with, and cite his work. It is not easy to read, but he offers a brief description of theological jargon. Personally, I need to re-read it to comprehend everything stated in this work.
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