Preface
The appearance of this volume has been facilitated by initial translations of its different parts by Kim Batteau and Allan Janssen. As with the previous volumes, I have reviewed and revised their work and given the translation its final form. The editorial footnotes are mine.
The relative distribution of attention to the topics treated in this volume is striking and will likely be surprising to many familiar with Vos’ interest in eschatology prominent in his later work in biblical theology. Here less than one-fifth of the whole is devoted to eschatology, the rest to the church and the means of grace. Approximately 60 percent more attention is given to baptism alone than to eschatology, and only slightly less attention given to the Lord’s Supper than to eschatology. Still, in this treatment of eschatology we find a clear recognition of the two-age construct, including the present interadvental overlapping of this age and the age to come, and the structural importance of this construct for biblical eschatology as a whole—an insight that he subsequently develops so magisterially in works like The Pauline Eschatology. The in-depth discussion of the church and of the sacraments will repay careful reading in any number of places. Even those who disagree at points—say, in the case made for infant baptism—will be stimulated by the challenge to their own thinking.
As noted in the preface to Volume One,1 the Reformed Dogmatics does not include a section on introduction (prolegomena) to systematic theology. In that regard, the answer to question 11 in part two, chapter three in this volume, “In how many senses can the expression ‘the word of God’ be understood?,” warrants careful consideration not only in its own right but also because it provides an indication of key elements that surely would have marked Vos’ formal treatment of the doctrines of special revelation and Scripture.
This is the final volume of the Reformed Dogmatics. With the completion of the translation as a whole, several points made in the preface to Volume One bear repeating. The goal throughout has been to provide a careful translation, aiming as much as possible for formal rather than dynamic equivalence. Nothing has been deleted, no sections elided or their content summarized in a reduced form. Vos’ occasionally elliptical style in presenting material, meant primarily for the classroom rather than for published circulation to a wider audience, has been maintained. The relatively few instances of grammatical ellipsis unclear in English have been expanded, either without notation or placed within brackets.
At the same time, it should be kept in mind that this is not a critical translation. Only in a very few instances has an effort been made to verify the accuracy of the secondary sources Vos cites or quotes, usually by his referring to no more than the author and title and sometimes only to the author. Also, no exact bibliographic details have been provided, and explanatory footnotes have been kept to a minimum.
The Reformed Dogmatics makes a welcome addition for anyone wishing to benefit from a uniformly sound and often penetrating presentation of biblical doctrine. Also, English readers will now be able to explore the relationship between the early Vos of the Reformed Dogmatics and his subsequent work in biblical theology. With this translation now completed, I am confident in saying that whatever differences such comparisons may bring to light, the end result will confirm a deep, pervasive and cordial continuity between his work in systematic theology and in biblical theology.
Who were teachers or other theologians, contemporary to Vos or recently past, who may have directly influenced his views and his presentation of material in the Dogmatics? That question, raised in the prefaces to several of the preceding volumes, so far remains unanswered, for others perhaps to examine.
From its beginning in 2012, this translation project has been a collaborative undertaking that would not have been possible without the substantial help of others. Those mentioned above and in previous volumes have provided initial translations of its various parts and, in some instances, reviewed them. Thanks are also due those who have been involved with the copy editing, Elliot Ritzema and Abigail Stocker—their careful work has also added a measure of smoothness to the translation at a number of points—as well as those who prepared the extensive and useful indices, Dustyn Eudaly and Spencer Jones. Finally, my heartfelt thanks go to Justin Marr, the project manager at Lexham Press, for all his help and for serving as a continuing source of patient encouragement throughout this project.
May God be pleased to grant that the value of the Reformed Dogmatics be duly appreciated. May it be used for the well-being of His church and its mission in and to the world in our day and beyond.
R. Gaffin, Jr.
May 2016