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Fundamental to Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. But how this actually plays out in time and space became a point of debate and division during the Reformation.

Dr. KJ Drake, sessional assistant professor of history, has spent the last six years digging into this doctrine, coined the extra Calvinisticum, culminating with the release of his book The Flesh of the Word: the extra Calvinisticum from Zwingli to Early Orthodoxy.

鈥淭o be divine is to be everywhere,鈥� says Drake. 鈥淕od is not bound by time or space. He is eternal and omnipresent. But human beings are local, we鈥檙e finite, we鈥檙e limited. Christ took on everything it was to be a human being as well. So how does that work out?鈥�

God is not bound by time or space. He is eternal and omnipresent. But human beings are local, we鈥檙e finite, we鈥檙e limited.

This question became an important one during the Reformation as the Lutheran and Reformed branches of Protestantism debated how Christ could be present in the Eucharist. What appeared to be a debate about the Lord鈥檚 Supper was actually more about the very nature of Jesus. Drake explores this deep debate in his book.

鈥淲hat the Reformed are arguing is that Christ is simultaneously present in his human body as a man, and at the same time, present everywhere in his divine nature as the eternal Son. And this is important because certain positions of Lutheranism argue that Christ鈥檚 human body becomes omnipresent so that he can be at all the altars bodily throughout the world,鈥� he says.

The topic, though foundational to the Christian faith, is not one that has been extensively researched or written about, particularly prior to 2010. Drake鈥檚 book, a high-level academic work meant mostly for specialists, is the most comprehensive on the 16th-century history of the topic that exists.

鈥淭he name extra Calvinisticum can trick us into thinking this is just about Calvin. Calvin actually doesn鈥檛 talk much about the doctrine because he relied on other figures to explain it more fully,鈥� says Drake. 鈥淚 expand the discussion beyond Calvin to look at its origination in Zwingli, who was one of the first Protestant Reformers outside of Germany, and then other figures throughout the Reformed tradition, to show that this wasn鈥檛 a peculiar doctrine of Calvin that he kind of mentioned offhand, but that it鈥檚 a developed doctrine throughout the entire 16th century.鈥�

The book was made part of the prestigious series, Oxford Studies in Historical Theology, devoted to the history of Christian thought from its early and medieval beginnings to its later development in the modern period. But despite the academic and historical nature of his book, Drake says the topic holds significance for all Christians today.

鈥淭he extra is guaranteeing that Christ is present,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his reflection is not about a past event (yes, we鈥檙e reflecting on historical theology), but the question is really: How do we relate to Jesus? Jesus is not just a historical figure or one who will come in the future, but our contemporary. Christ, by ascending, is currently present with us by his spirit, but his body is absent, and understanding that when we come to things like the Lord鈥檚 Table, there is a celebration of the fact that he is being made present to us through the elements, not in a bodily manner, but by us being lifted up. That鈥檚 a foretaste. We long for the day when Christ will return and be with us bodily, just as we will be with him in the resurrection.鈥�

For Drake, efforts to research and write this work of technical historical theology have also had a personal impact. 鈥淚t is a point of constant remembrance,鈥� he says, adding that he has relied on prayer to gain understanding. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a humbling aspect of this. The doctrine is not saying this is Christ nailed down. It鈥檚 saying this is how best to understand the mystery, and it remains a mystery. I鈥檓 content with that.鈥�

The Flesh of the Word: the extra Calvinisticum from Zwingli to Early Orthodoxy is available in store and online at