Carl F. H. Henry (1913-2003) was one of the founding fathers of the postwar evangelical movement in America. He was a theologian, philosopher, ethicist, and apologist. In many ways, the lines between those disciplines were blurred in his many writings. His legacy continues to loom large in evangelicalism, especially among the sorts of theologically conservative evangelicals who affirm doctrines such as biblical inerrancy, penal substitutionary atonement, the exclusivity of Christ, and gender complementarianism.
I’ve written a couple of posts about Henry for the Land Center over the years (see here and here). I’m currently working on several research projects related to Henry’s life and thought. I’m also teaching a PhD seminar this semester for Southeastern Seminary on Henry’s thought. Most of that seminar is built around a close reading of Henry’s six-volume magnum opus, God, Revelation, and Authority (GRA).
For Carl Henry, evangelicalism was first and foremost about the evangel—the gospel—from which the movement takes its name. In volume 3 of GRA, Henry offers a robust exposition of the gospel. He looks at some of the key New Testament texts that explain the gospel, most notably 1 Corinthians 1:1-4 and Romans 3:21-26. Henry also discusses Old Testament prophecies and the messianic identity and mission of Jesus. But the bulk of his discussion focuses upon eight “crucial turning points” in the biblical message about the good news. Below, I’ve excerpted some of that material.
- God who created mankind for moral and spiritual obedience intervenes redemptively after the fall and graciously covenants to rescue a remnant of rebellious humanity. (3:67)
- God’s rule as redeemer and restorer of his chosen people has a historical character that pinpoints the messiah and servant who will stand supreme in the final end time (3:67)
- The New Testament affirms that God fulfills his prophetic promises to Israel in Jesus Christ (Matt. 11:25) and in him opens the way of salvation to Jew and Gentile alike. (3:67)
- Jesus applies to his own person and work the Isaian good news concerning the coming liberator and promised liberation (61:1–3, Luke 4:16–18). The Christ-event is the gospel: Jesus of Nazareth manifests the kingdom of God in his life and mission. His ministry reflects in deeds his verbal preaching of the kingdom of God. (3:68)
- Every fallen person can share already here and now in a spectacular sampling of Christ’s enduring final victory. (3:68)
- Jesus sent forth his disciples to summon sinners from moral poverty and spiritual death into the fellowship of the twice-born, over whom he rules as risen Redeemer. The regenerate church is a transnational, transracial, transcultural beachhead for the transcendent kingdom of God. Its very being is rooted in divine revelation and is nourished by supernatural realities that center in the risen Lord and in the Holy Spirit. (3:68)
The church is a new social entity of regenerate humans participating in the eternal life of the kingdom. Personal redemption is its ticket of entry without which no person shares in the kingdom of God. It is the nearest societal approximation of God’s kingdom on earth. In this body of humanity the kingdom takes visible form. Its members are light and salt in the world through a lifestyle conformed to the coming King’s standards, through global confession of Jesus as the Christ, and through vocational mission that consecrates talent to God for human good. (3:69)
The evangelical witness in all generations shares the good news of God’s liberating rule and of the living Word that recreates and regenerates. (3:69)
- Christians bear a special duty in relation to civil government as a divinely purposed instrument for justice in fallen society. Such engagement in the world at large is not unrelated to the gospel of Christ and the kingdom of God; it is rather an intrinsic aspect of Christian obedience. (3:69)
The authority Jesus imparts to the Christian community is correlated distinctively with the church as a supernaturally regenerated fellowship of believers. This corporate fellowship owes its existence and nature solely to him. Only through his creative power and authority do its members participate in the kingdom of God (John 1:12). (3:70)
- Through his substitutionary death and resurrection life, Jesus stands at the sluice-gates of eternity, and manifests God’s holy sovereignty as the Lord of history and of the cosmos. Only the gospel of Christ’s mediatorial work can turn sinful man’s expectation of coming judgment (Eph. 5:6; Col. 3:6; 1 Thess. 1:10; cf. Rev. 6:17; 14:1, 10) into an ardent eschatological hope, one that longs for “the ages to come” (Eph. 2:7, KJV), the coming day (Acts 2:20; 1 Thess. 5:2), the coming hour (John 4:21–23), even the moment (1 Cor. 15:52) of the Lord’s appearance. The people of God anticipate the end time not as a prospect of doom but as good news that turns their faith to sight, that fulfills their brightest hope and present joy into an unending reality. At that day the longed-for victory of righteousness will channel into open manifestation of Christ’s glory and public manifestation of the awaited King, who will forever put down all forces hostile to God and his purposes. (3:73)
Henry closes his discussion with this summary statement: “The gospel is good news, news of God’s grace to the unworthy, news of a victory of righteousness and love in which the people of God forever share. It is the only news that endures.” (3:74)
I appreciate this “thick” articulation of the gospel and some of its most important implications. For Henry, the gospel is about the redemption of both individual sinners and ultimately the entire cosmos. It has implications for both evangelism and cultural engagement. The gospel offers both present benefits and future blessings to God’s people. Any Southern Baptist or other evangelical who is committed to the centrality of the gospel will find Henry to be a consistently thoughtful voice, not just in GRA, but across many of his 40+ books and hundreds of shorter articles.
Nathan is the Kalos Chair for Intellectual Discipleship and directs the Institute for Faith and Culture at North Greenville University in Tigerville, S.C. He is the senior fellow for religious liberty for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, is a senior fellow for the Land Center for Cultural Engagement, and is a senior editor for Integration: A Journal of Faith and Learning. He also serves as teaching pastor at the First Baptist Church of Taylors, SC.