PhD, St. Louis University
MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary
BA, University of Nebraska

Dr. K. J. Drake

K.J. Drake is Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Indianapolis Theological Seminary. A native of Friend, Nebraska, he earned his BA in History, Classics, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Latin from the University of Nebraska in 2008. He attended Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis receiving his M.Div. in 2012 and completed his Ph.D. in Historical Theology at Saint Louis University in 2018.

Dr. Drake's scholarly contributions include articles in the Journal of Reformed Theology, Westminster Theological Journal, and Reformed Theological Review, as well as online publications with MereOrthodoxy, Modern Reformation, and Credo Magazine. His first book, The Flesh of the Word: The extra Calvinisticum from Zwingli to Early Orthodoxy (2021), was published as part of the Oxford Studies in Historical Theology series. Dr. Drake is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America having previously served as a Ruling Elder at churches in Missouri and Ontario. He has been married to Heather since 2024.

Courses at ITS

BT 502 The Story of Scripture
BT 701 Biblical Overview
HT 601 Church Fathers/Middle Ages
HT 602 Reformation and Today
HT 620 Calvin

PH 601 History of Philosophy
PH 650 Ethics
ST 601 God and Scripture
ST 602 Humanity & Christology
ST 603 Salvation and Last Things
ST 604 The Church

FEATURED PUBLICATION

The extra Calvinisticum, the doctrine that the eternal Son maintains his existence beyond the flesh both during his earthly ministry and perpetually, divided the Lutheran and Reformed traditions during the Reformation. This book explores the emergence and development of the extra Calvinisticum in the Reformed tradition by tracing its first exposition from Ulrich Zwingli to early Reformed orthodoxy. Rather than being an ancillary issue, the questions surrounding the extra Calvinisticum were a determinative factor in the differentiation of Magisterial Protestantism into rival confessions. Reformed theologians maintained this doctrine in order to preserve the integrity of both Christ's divine and human natures as the mediator between God and humanity. This rationale remained consistent across this period with increasing elaboration and sophistication to meet the challenges leveled against the doctrine in Lutheran polemics.

The study begins with Zwingli's early use of the extra Calvinisticum in the Eucharistic controversy with Martin Luther and especially as the alternative to Luther's doctrine of the ubiquity of Christ's human body. Over time, Reformed theologians, such as Peter Martyr Vermigli and Antione de Chandieu, articulated the extra Calvinisticum with increasing rigor by incorporating conciliar christology, the church fathers, and scholastic methodology to address the polemical needs of engagement with Lutheranism. The Flesh of the Word illustrates the development of christological doctrine by Reformed theologians offering a coherent historical narrative of Reformed christology from its emergence into the period of confessionalization. The extra Calvinisticum was interconnected to broader concerns affecting concepts of the union of Christ's natures, the communication of attributes, and the understanding of heaven.

SELECTED ARTICLES