Among American divines in the nineteenth century, the doctrine of deification was either rejected as being too closely aligned with Hegelian pantheism or simply ignored when discussing the doctrine of union with Christ. Salvation was forensic justification, and the incarnation was the context through which God could suffer in the person of Christ. Union with Christ was part of the ordo salutis, but the eschatological implications of that union were considered only rarely. Among Reformed theologians, Princeton’s Charles Hodge was always ready to reject any theological offerings that seemed too close to Germany. Several Southern Presbyterian theologians, such as Dabney and Thornwell, were interested in the implications of union with Christ in their theological explorations but did not bring Calvin’s doctrine of deification into America’s theological discussion.
One American theologian, however, had a greater appreciation and appropriation of German thinking than did Hodge and plumbed the depths of Calvin’s doctrine of union with Christ, finding application in a number of theological areas, including a more generous stance on deification and its eschatological and soteriological implications. Though not as well-known as his teacher, Hodge, John Williamson Nevin is an important voice in nineteenth-century American theology. In this paper, I will argue that Nevin’s theological emphases can only be understood through the lens of deification, even though Nevin never formally developed a doctrine of deification. I will do this by bringing together three of Nevin’s most important doctrinal loci. First, his doctrine of the incarnation, in which he incorporates Schleiermacher’s emphasis on the incarnation, which introduces a life principle into humankind. Second, Nevin’s incarnational theology allows him to explore aspects of Calvin’s theology that had gone fallow, especially Calvin’s sacramental theology. Nevin also highlighted the Reformed doctrine of the church as mediating salvation. This was again built on Nevin’s doctrine of the incarnation. The life that was introduced in the incarnation is carried forward in the life of the church as the body of Christ. Finally, Nevin focused on the idea of the supernatural end of human existence. Nevin uses two foci here—union with Christ and elevating grace—to speak of the end of humanity’s life as being united with God through the theanthropic life of Christ. While Nevin does not speak of deification, these realities all point to an understanding of deification without formally using the words. This paper will argue, using these three foci, that the totality of Nevin’s theological work can only be understood through the lens of a doctrine of deification. This conclusion is important because it gives an important American voice among the nineteenth-century Western theologians who were considering deification or theosis as an important theological consideration.