Christus Victor

This honours thesis explores the intertextual connections between Psalm 49 and Mark 8-10, focussing especially on the concept of ransom in each passage. It also explores the implications of Isaiah 53's substitutionary metaphor, also being present in Mark 8-10, for atonement theology.

How does the death of the Lord Jesus Christ result in our salvation? It's like this: 

The worthiness of the Son ( His love for His Father, and His obedience, faithfulness, humility, endurance, etc.) is demonstrated and tested in the context of trials and sufferings.  God delights in His worthy Son and then rewards His worthy Son with resurrection, a throne, a kingdom, and all power in heaven and on earth.  The Son then uses that power and authority to judge, save, and redeem.  A redeemed creation then praises and honors its Savior and Lord.

There are five main points in this process that are repeated over and over in scripture in various ways.  These are the five main points:

1) Worthiness. The worthiness of the Son especially as that worthiness is tested, and
                        demonstrated in the context of trials and suffering.
2)  Delight.  The delight of the Father in His worthy Son.
3) Reward.  The Father rewards His worthy Son in Whom He delights with Power, Authority, a
                      kingdom, a throne etc.
4) Judging, saving, redeeming, etc.  The Son uses His power and authority to
                    save, judge, redeem, etc.
5) Praise and Honor.  Every knee bows and every tongue confesses to praise and honor Him.


                                                        The example of Joseph

1) Worthiness:
      -God was with him. (Gen 39:2; 21) A man in whom is the spirit of God.(Gen 41:38)
        The spirit of God in man is the very cause and foundation of his worthiness.
      -Everything he did prospered (Gen 39:3;23) 
      -He was a faithful, and wise administrator of Potiphar's household and
        of the prison.
      -He resisted the temptation of Potiphar's wife.
      -He was discerning and wise(Gen 41:39)
2) Delight, Favor
      -He was a delight and found favor in Potiphar's sight (Gen 39:4) and the Keeper of the
        Prison.(Gen 39:21)
      -He found favor and wisdom in Pharaoh’s sight (Acts 7:10)
3) Reward
      -Joseph's worthiness is rewarded when He is "resurrected" out of slavery and prison and
        exalted to the highest position in Egypt just under Pharaoh.  All power and authority in
          Egypt became his.  Joseph found favor in Potiphar’s eyes and so Potiphar rewarded
        Joseph with the highest position of authority in his household.  Joseph also found favor
        in the eyes of the keeper of the prison and was rewarded with authority over the prison.
        And finally, just as Jesus taught that those who are faithful in little will be rewarded with 
        authority over much(Matt 25:23), Joseph finds favor and wisdom in the eyes of Pharaoh and
        is rewarded with authority over all of Egypt.

4) Judging, saving, redeeming, etc.
      The worthiness of Joseph becomes not only the foundation of blessing for himself, but
        also for all of Egypt.  Joseph uses his power and authority to save Egypt from famine and
        death. When the people no longer have money to buy food from Joseph, then Joseph uses
        the food to buy the people themselves and their land for Pharaoh and all the Egyptians
        become Pharaoh's servants and belong to Pharaoh. (Gen 47:13-22)

5) Praise, Honor and worship.  Even before his trials and sufferings came upon him,
        Joseph has two dreams in which his parents and brothers bow before him and
        honor him. (Gen 37:5-11) Since Joseph became known as an interpreter of dreams,
        these dreams/promises no doubt comforted him and gave him hope within his trials. 
        Joseph is honored with Pharaoh's ring, fine clothes, a gold chain, and Pharaoh's
        second chariot (Gen 41:42,43).  All of Egypt bowed before Joseph (41:43).
        Joseph's brothers bowed before him (Gen 42:6).

What was Satan's role in the crucifixion?  His role was to get the Son to disobey the Father and thereby to find some flaw, sin, or disobedience in the Son.  The Father directed the Son to give Himself up into the hands of wicked men to be crucified and Satan's goal was to make the road of obedience as difficult as possible so that the Son would disobey.

1 The specific form of satisfaction atonement treated in this paper is that of penal substitution developed during the Reformation period. In his book, The Nonviolent Atonement, Weaver groups various forms of substitutionary models under the term "satisfaction theory." This paper will employ the term substitution or substitutionary to represent the penal view and satisfaction for the classic Anselmic view.

This work sets out to explain the atonement theory of Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus' atonement theology is often described simply as “Christus Victor” but I argue that is simply a narrow sliver of the wider atonement theory of recapitulation. In this thesis I systematically try to expound what it is Irenaeus believed and why he believed it. In the first chapter I explain the problem at hand and a short biography of the bishop. In the second chapter I seek to summarize the Gnostic school of Valentinianism, which is the key opponent against Irenaeus writes in his best-known work “Against Heresies.” In the third chapter I expound on Irenaeus' hamartiology. In the fourth chapter Irenaeus' theory of recapitulation is covered, looking at his understanding of the role of Christ, of Mary, and Christ's defeat of Satan. In the fifth chapter Irenaeus' understanding of deification is broken down. Finally in the sixth chapter we look at the role of the church in Irenaeus' soteriology.

This is a short introduction and summary of my longer paper called "For this Christ dies and lives that He may be Lord of the dead and of the Living(Rom 14:9)"  I explain the logic of "Christus Victor" and how the death of Jesus Christ results in the salvation of mankind.  I also compare and contrast Christus Victor to Penal Substitutionary Atonement.

This essay examines the rise of Wicca, Paganism, Satanism and New Age Religions in first-world cultures, and the links between these movements and feminist/liberal theology. The essay challenges theological academia to recognize that the very demonology they have sought to dismiss entirely, is now to a great extent being promoted in their institutions, and contributing to the rise of Witchcraft.

In part one, I categorize and summarize what the New Testament documents say about the purpose of Christ's death, enumerating eight reasons: Jesus died to provide eternal life, to reconcile us to God, to express love, to defeat evil, to provide an example, to justify us apart from the Law, to free us from sin to live righteously, and for our sins. These biblical reasons are non-negotiable for any biblical atonement theory-not that each must find representation in a given theory, but that a theory should not contradict any of them. Next I consider seven atonement theories and evaluate each, including (1) ransom, (2) Christus victor, (3) moral exemplar, (4) satisfaction, (5) penal substitution, (6) governmental, and (7) communal substitution. Between theories (4) and (5) I take an excursus to consider advantages and disadvantages of believing in Christ’s deity in the context of atonement. In the end I suggest my own theory, drawing on (5), (6), and (7).

This paper aims to demonstrate the relationship between Luther’s atonement theology and the work of recent theologians who have in one way or another fostered and development his theology on the cross of Christ. I argue that Luther’s theology has shaped much of recent atonement theology. His theology was grounded in the earlier theological traditions as well as in scripture, and yet it was informed by specific spiritual, historical, theological and sacramental contexts. Some theologians have identified the Christus Victor motif as Luther’s theology of atonement, without consideration for the other themes. Others, on the other hand, have focused on satisfactio or/and penal substitution as Luther’s major theme, neglecting the Christus Victor motif altogether. However, it is argued that the development of Luther’s atonement theology is far more variegated and inclusive of the various themes. Luther made the cross the very centre of his theology, evident in his 1518 Heidelberg Disputation. But his theology of atonement is really more fully articulated in his commentary on Galatians 3:13 and in both his small and large catechisms. It is then demonstrated how in some recent theologians’ work, the themes of atonement have become far more varied and composite than they have since Luther. It is not unreasonable to view Luther as a significant influence on recent atonement theology. Beginning with Gustaf Aulén, the discussion explores ways in which Luther’s atonement theology has shaped today’s theology on the cross of Christ.

Scholars throughout the past century have engaged in debate regarding the meaning and significance of Genesis 3:15 and particularly the identity of the offspring of the woman. 2 One element of the verse that has received somewhat less attention is the meaning of the Hebrew word ‫,ׁשוף‬ often translated "bruise." The primary purpose of this paper is to determine how ‫ׁשוף‬ should be understood in Genesis 3:15 and to determine what exactly the serpent and the woman's offspring will do to one another. In arriving at this understanding of 3:15, three concerns will be addressed. The first concern is the English translation of the Hebrew term ‫.ׁשוף‬ The second matter is whether Genesis 3:15 expects either the serpent or the woman's offspring to be the victor in their conflict. The third concern is more specific, and it relates to whether Romans 16:20 is alluding to Genesis 3:15, though Paul uses συντρίβω, which means "to crush," instead of τηρέω, which means "to keep/guard," as the LXX does. If Genesis 3:15 is indeed "the foundation of the Old Testament" 3 and "the chief promise of the new covenant itself," 4 then it is critical to understand this part of the verse correctly. This study is necessary because of the continuing confusion regarding the term "bruise" in Genesis 3:15 and the lack of thorough treatment of the term in the scholarly literature. In modern English, the verb "to bruise" means "to injure by a blow which discolours the skin but does not lacerate it or break any bones; to cause to develop bruising." 5 C. John Collins, however, uses "bruise" as his default translation of ‫,ׁשוף‬ without discussing any alternative options. 6 He then argues that Romans 16:20 cannot refer to Genesis 3:15, since the latter "speaks of 'wounding' or 'bruising' rather than 'crushing.'" 7 Collins, though, does believe that Genesis 3:15 represents "a promise that God will 1 Jonathan Cheek completed his PhD in Theology from BJU Seminary in 2019. His dissertation was entitled "Genesis 3:15 as the Root of a Biblical Theology of the Church and the World: The Commencement, Continuation, and Culmination of the Enmity Between the Seeds." 2 See Jonathan M. Cheek, "Recent Developments in the Interpretation of the Seed of the Woman in Genesis 3:15,"

This article compares six different models of atonement: (1) Jesus as teacher of true knowledge; (2) Jesus as moral example; (3) Jesus as victorious champion or liberator; (4) Jesus as our satisfaction; (5) Jesus as the happy exchange; and (6) Jesus as scapegoat. The final model, Jesus as Scapegoat, develops the the mimetic theory of Rene Girard for theological usage.

Throughout church history theologians have sought to move beyond the doctrine of the atonement—the articulated belief that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born, lived, suffered, died, rose from the dead, ascended to the Father, and continues his ministry in the world—to develop various theories of the atonement, seeking to explain why it happened in the way that it did, particularly in reference to Jesus' death. It will be argued in this paper that, while theories of the atonement have informed and shaped Christian thought throughout church history, no one theory of the atonement can adequately express the complex and multi-faceted nature of the work of God in Jesus Christ. It will be proposed that, rather than attempting to capture the atonement in one single theory, the atonement should be viewed within the context of the kingdom of God. It will be shown that such a way of viewing the atonement is in keeping with the larger narrative of Scripture and offers the possibility of seeing what Jesus has done as part of God's redemptive intentions for the whole of creation.

In this paper I suggest that theologizing is a significant missionary task because theology defines the church's mission and priorities. Theology drives methodology. In a next step I break this down for my missionary work in Thailand looking at issues like evangelism, discipleship and ecclesiology.

Reinier Sonneveld wrote his book "het vergeten Evangelie" (The Forgotten Gospel) to promote the Christus Victor idea and to criticize penal substitution. This is a review of his book, published in the Dutch National newspaper "Reformatorisch Dagblad" (Reformed Daily)

Gregory of Nyssa's use of deception in his story of salvation comes in for harsh modern criticism. We argue not only that wiliness is a virtue in the ancient and late antique world, but also that God's deception of Satan is in actuality mainly self-deception on Satan's part. Much more interesting than simply exonerating God of charges of deception, or Gregory of charges that he casts God in the role of deceiver, are the implications for Gregory's soteriology of taking seriously Satan's self-deception. Satan becomes an important foil for human salvation.

I föreliggande PM kommer jag att redogöra för olika modeller och metaforer för frälsningen och undersöka deras inbördes förhållanden. Jag kommer också att utforska svagheter och styrkor i de olika modellerna. Två modeller, satisfaktionsläran och Christus Victor, kommer att analyseras mer i detalj. Dessa har haft stor betydelse för synen på frälsningen.

This work sets out to explain the atonement theory of Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus' atonement theology is often described simply as "Christus Victor" but I argue that is simply a narrow sliver of the wider atonement theory of recapitulation. In this thesis I systematically try to expound what it is Irenaeus believed and why he believed it. In the first chapter I explain the problem at hand and a short biography of the bishop. In the second chapter I seek to summarize the Gnostic school of Valentinianism, which is the key opponent against Irenaeus writes in his best-known work "Against Heresies." In the third chapter I expound on Irenaeus' hamartiology. In the fourth chapter Irenaeus' theory of recapitulation is covered, looking at his understanding of the role of Christ, of Mary, and Christ's defeat of Satan. In the fifth chapter Irenaeus' understanding of deification is broken down. Finally in the sixth chapter we look at the role of the church in Irenaeus' soteriology. Contents Introduction Chapter 1-The Historical Backdrop: Valentinian Gnosticism Chapter 2-Irenaean Hamartiology Chapter 3-Irenaean Recapitulation