In this study of the relation of form, content, and method in christology, Colin Gunton argues for the continuity of modern times with the patristic era. While he believes that the philosophical, theological, and cultural problems facing moderns are similar to those that confronted the Fathers, Gunton does not ignore the distinctively modern context.

Because the development of modern culture provides a more "this-worldly" context for christological discussion, says Gunton, the question becomes how far it is possible for the this-worldly figure of Jesus of Nazareth to be conceived as the presence of the eternal God in time and place. Gunton pursues the question by first discussing the place of the Bible in christology, and then comparing the way philosophical presuppositions have operated in some modern and ancient christologies.

In exploring the relation of Jesus Christ to space and time, Gunton shows that contemporary difficulties about a theory of incarnation, far from being peculiar to the modern era, in fact derive from ancient thought forms. He develops a view of the language of christology which avoids the rigidities of some recent approaches. Finally, Gunton examines the relation of christological thinking to questions of soteriology and to the world of political culture.