Reading Bavinck on the state of exaltation. Brilliant as always. He shows how only Reformed Christology affirms an actual state of exaltation. The Catholics, Lutherans, and Anabaptists already had Christ exalted in his humiliation, in one way or another.

The Catholics did affirm some kind of exaltation, but only in Christ's "lower soul" and body. His higher soul already had the beatific vision from the moment of conception.

The Lutherans' genus maiestaticum held that Christ's human nature possessed the divine attributes from its conception, they were simply veiled (krypsis) until the resurrection.

And the Anabaptists' celestial flesh view went even further in denying real limitations to Christ's human nature during his state of humiliation.

Only the Reformed, according to Bavinck, held it all together properly: Christ's human nature was just like ours, excepting sin, and through his obedience during the state of humiliation he actually merited his exaltation: resurrection, ascension, session, and return in glory.

I read all of this stuff during my PhD studies, but going back to it, I realize just how much Bavinck has affected my understanding of this doctrine.