Theopedia

G. C. Berkouwer

Overview

Gerrit Cornelis Berkouwer (1903-1996) was a Dutch Reformed theologian who taught systematic theology at the Free University of Amsterdam.1 He produced Studies in Dogmatics, a multi-volume series treating Scripture, election, sin, and the person and work of Christ, and engaged both Karl Barth’s theology and post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism directly in two of its volumes.2

Life and Ministry

Berkouwer held the chair of systematic theology at the Free University of Amsterdam.1 His Studies in Dogmatics volumes appeared across three decades: Faith and Justification in 1954, The Triumph of Grace in the Theology of Karl Barth in 1956, Divine Election in 1960, Man: The Image of God in 1962, The Second Vatican Council and the New Catholicism and The Work of Christ both in 1965, Sin in 1971, and Studies in Dogmatics: Holy Scripture in 1975.345678 Martyn Lloyd-Jones reviewed two of the series’ volumes in the Evangelical Quarterly in 1953.1

Theological Contribution

Doctrine of Scripture

In Studies in Dogmatics: Holy Scripture, Berkouwer located Scripture’s authority in the Spirit’s own testimony rather than in an abstract doctrine of the text: “The Spirit’s witness begins by binding us to the center of Scripture, namely Jesus Christ.”4 Michael Kruger quotes this in support of his own point that Scripture’s excellency rests on the way it displays the excellency of Christ himself.4 Berkouwer’s The Second Vatican Council and the New Catholicism, cited by Kruger for its account of the council’s doctrinal developments, took up the changes in Roman Catholic teaching after Vatican II.2

The Way of Salvation and the Order of Election

Berkouwer, together with Karl Barth and Otto Weber, criticized the practice of structuring a fixed ordo salutis (order of salvation) out of Paul’s language in Romans 8:28-30, arguing that Paul did not intend to lay down a precise sequence there.3 Matthew Barrett reports that Berkouwer “would rather speak of a ‘way of salvation’ than an ‘order of salvation.’”3 Berkouwer took up the doctrine of election in a separate volume, Divine Election, and engaged Barth’s own account of election and grace directly in The Triumph of Grace in the Theology of Karl Barth.75

The Obedience of Christ

In The Work of Christ, Berkouwer argued, against a sharp separation of Christ’s active and passive obedience, that Calvin himself understood the two as united throughout Christ’s whole life rather than confined to his death.5

Anthropology and Sin

Oren Martin cites Berkouwer’s Man: The Image of God, alongside Anthony Hoekema’s work on the same subject, as a standard treatment of what it means for humanity to be created in God’s image.6 His Studies in Dogmatics volume on Sin likewise addresses the imputation of Adam’s sin to his descendants.8

Historical Significance

Individual volumes of Studies in Dogmatics continue to be cited in Reformed scholarship on Scripture, election, Christology, and anthropology.3456 Kenneth Stewart notes that Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s 1953 review of two of its volumes showed his theological interests extended beyond the Puritan studies for which he is better known.1

Related Doctrines

References

  1. Kenneth J. Stewart, “Hardier than Supposed: The Resurgence of Calvinism Across the 20th Century,” Themelios 50, no. 2 (2025): 293. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Michael J. Kruger, Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), chap. 1, citing G. C. Berkouwer, The Second Vatican Council and the New Catholicism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965). ↩ ↩2

  3. Matthew Michael Barrett, “Introduction,” in “Reclaiming Monergism: The Case for Sovereign Grace in Effectual Calling and Regeneration” (PhD diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011), 12-13, citing G. C. Berkouwer, Faith and Justification, trans. Lewis B. Smedes (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1954), 25-36. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. Kruger, Canon Revisited, chap. 4, quoting G. C. Berkouwer, Studies in Dogmatics: Holy Scripture, trans. Jack Rogers (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975), 44. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. Carol Man Fen Chen, “A Historical, Biblical, and Theological Interpretation of Covenants: Unconditionality and Conditionality in Relation to Justification and Sanctification” (PhD diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2019), 53: “G. C. Berkouwer also claims Calvin concluded that the two aspects of Christ’s obedience were manifested in his whole life,” citing G. C. Berkouwer, The Work of Christ, trans. Cornelius Lambregtse (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 321; and G. C. Berkouwer, The Triumph of Grace in the Theology of Karl Barth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. Oren Rhea Martin, “Introduction,” in “Bound for the Kingdom: The Land Promise in God’s Redemptive Plan” (PhD diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013), 4, citing G. C. Berkouwer, Man: The Image of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. G. C. Berkouwer, Divine Election, trans. Hugo Bekker (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960). ↩ ↩2

  8. G. C. Berkouwer, Sin, trans. Philip Holtrop (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), 454-58. ↩ ↩2