All About Christology

CHRISTOLOGY
Christology, derived from “Christ,” referring to Jesus, and “-

ology,” meaning “the study of,” is the study of Christ, both Jesus
as a person and the works of Christ. Christology is far-reaching.
As one might expect, it covers Jesus’ earthly birth, life, death,
resurrection, and ascension. However, it also pertains to His
eternal existence prior to His earthly life, His humanity and deity,
Old Testament Christological prophecies, and His future return
and reign.
Christology is one of three studies of the persons of the Trinity, the other two
being Paterology, the study of God the Father, and Pneumatology, the study
of the Holy Spirit.
Christology is the branch of theology which reflects systematically on the
person, being and doing of Jesus of Nazareth. Since Christianity regards the
primary purpose of the Incarnation as salvific, the functional aspect of
Christology largely coincides with soteriology, which reflects systematically
on Christ’s redemptive activity for human beings and their world.
In History of Christology
People began asking questions about Jesus and who He is immediately after His
death and resurrection. In the New Testament books of Acts and the Epistles,
apostles like Peter and Paul began to lay out Christology, explaining who Jesus is,
what He did, and what it means.
Of course, early believers and inquisitors had plenty of questions and theories,
ranging from the Gnostics, who rejected Jesus’ humanity as incompatible with
their ideas that the material world was inherently evil, to the ideas of Arius, who
portrayed Jesus’ divinity as lesser than that of the Father, making Him more
human.
• Arianism, Gnosticism, Docetism — the church needed to figure out what
it believed about Christ. At the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, the leaders
of the church put together the Nicene Creed. The creed was tweaked at
further councils, and the section on Jesus now reads as follows:
“We believe… in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.”
This Nicene Creed is an excellent starting point for Christology and is
accepted as authoritative by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican,
and major Protestant churches.
CHRISTOLOGY
It is a study Jesus Christ
CHRIST Not a last Name

From the Greek term “christos” meaning “Messiah”
The literal translation of “Jesus Christ” is
Messiah “Jesus the Messiah.”
It is a Hebrew word meaning “Anointed One”
Jesus’ Deity
•
The deity of Jesus is considered an essential
doctrine and is a central non-negotiable belief within
Christianity. Also known as the "divinity of Christ,"
this doctrine asserts that Jesus Christ was and is the
Son of God incarnate. As the apostle Paul stated, "the
whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Col. 2:9).
According to a Theologian J. Gresham Machen, he says that
"Now the Christian meaning of the term "deity of Christ" is fairly
clear. The Christian believes that there is a personal God, Creator
and Ruler of the universe, a God who is infinite, eternal and
unchangeable. So when the Christian says that Jesus Christ is
God, or when he says that he believes in the "deity of Christ," he
means that that same person who is known to history as Jesus of
Nazareth existed, before He became man, from all eternity as
infinite, eternal and unchangeable God, the second person of the
holy Trinity."
Hypostatic union, a term uniquely used in reference to the person of Christ,
namely the one, unique, ontological subject of being, action, knowledge,
will, and power who worked, suffered, died and rose.
Homoiousios means “similar in substance”; Homoousios “of the same
substance”. Nicaea I claimed that Christ is of the same substance/being as
(consubstantial with) the Father.
Jesus’ Humanity
The self-designation of Jesus
Jesus calls himself (the) “Son of man” 69 times in the synoptic Gospels. It is
a Greek expression which in its Aramaic (and Hebrew) background could
be: - an oblique way of indicating the speaker’s own self (eg Matt 8:20); -
“someone” or “a human being” (as in Psa 8:4 where it is a poetic variant on
“man”); - linked to the enigmatic “Son of man” of Daniel 7: 9 – 10, 13 – 14,
which speaks of thrones, authority, judgment and an everlasting kingdom.
What was this self-designation?
According to the synoptic Gospels, Jesus refers to
himself as “Son of man” in three contexts, with fairly
well demarcated meanings: - his earthly work and its
(frequently) humble condition (eg Mark 2:10); - his
coming suffering, death and resurrection (Mark 9:9, 12;
14:21, 41; 8:31; 9:31; 10:33) - his future coming in
heavenly glory to act with sovereign power at a final
judgment (eg Mark 8:38; 13:26 – 7; Matt 24:27 = Luke
17:24; Matt 25:31 – 2; see John 5:27).
Was Jesus a prophet?
Jesus does interpret his mission in prophetic terms (Mark 6:4 par.;
Luke 13:33) and refers to himself as someone sent by God (Mark
9:37 par.; 12:6 par.).
However, there is also a difference between Jesus and a conventional
prophetic figure. For example, Mark 12:6, after describing how the
wicked tenants insult, beat and kill the master’s servants (prophets)
refers to this, final messenger as being the “beloved son”.
How did he understand his
relationship to God?
What is most significant (particularly in the
light of the sparse OT precedent) is that Jesus
refers to God as “my Father” (51 times)
(whom he addresses as “Abba”, cf. Mark
14:36). “Abba” is an Aramaic word.
How did he understand his personal
authority?
The personal authority with which Jesus taught and performed his miracles
was blatant and extraordinary. So closely were the message and messenger
related, that to respond positively to the message was to commit oneself as a
disciple and follower of Jesus. With authority Jesus encouraged people to
break normal family ties and commitments and join him in the service of the
kingdom (Mark 10:17 – 31; 3: 31 – 5; Luke 8:1 – 3). This authority was
manifested in:
- healings / miracles in his own name; - teaching in his own name (eg Matt
5:21 – 44, “I say to you...”); - the use of “Amen” (“truly indeed”) to
introduce his sayings at times (eg Matt 5:18; Mark 3:28; Luke 4:24);
- authority over the Sabbath, Temple and Law including issues of marriage
and divorce and food purity laws (Mark 7:15, 19); - forgiving sins.

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CHRISTOLOGY

Christology, derived from “Christ,” referring to Jesus, and “-

CHRIST Not a last Name

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