Christology Research Paper
THEO201
Short Essay #2
Short Essay on Christology
Jesus Christ was both man and God. To some people, this claim can defy our
human logic. How could one person be both man and God at the same time? With this
essay, we will take a look at this claim from a theological, Biblical and personal view to
further understand Christology.
According to the Bible, we see several bases for Jesus’ humanity.1 In Luke 2:16,
we see Jesus as an infant lying in a manger as the Magi come to worship Him. We then
see Jesus eating with His disciples in Mark 2:15 and finally in Luke 23:46, we see Jesus
pass away from His crucifixion.
There are also several biblical bases for Jesus deity as well. We read in Acts
10:38 …show more content…
how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, to be the true Messiah,
giving Him the authority to heal and do miraculous works.
Luke 4:16-22 refers back to
when Jesus was prophesied through the Old Testament in Isaiah 61, fulfilling and
becoming the anointed One. Jesus gives Himself various titles the Bible indicting His
authority and His power of who He is.2
The Council of Chalcedon officially set the Hypostatic Union forth in 451. This
doctrine formally explains the duality of Jesus Christ’s both deity and humanity. The
doctrine explains how the incarnation of the Son of God’s human nature is intertwined
and in separately united with the divine nature of Jesus Christ. To prove that Jesus is truly man and truly God, the doctrine further explains that the “two natures remain distinct, whole, and unchanged and without mixture or confusion.”3 For Jesus to be both
God and man, the council concluded that the two natures of Christ, first the
consubstantial with the Godhead in Christ’s divine nature and consubstantial with us as to
his human nature, were coalesced in one person. 4
Jesus needed to become incarnate to save humanity because He has both a human
and divine nature that cannot be separate from each other. Because the …show more content…
Chalcedonian
Creed safeguarded this truth, the authors of this creed knew that this was the only way
that Jesus could save man by being both truly God and truly man.5 By overemphasizing or denying the deity or humanity of Christ, which are both intertwined within each other, we underestimate the necessity of both for salvation.
We
define each the human nature and the divine nature to its own attributes rather than the
entire nature of Christ as one. It is the strength of Christ to be both human and divine to
complete the work of Jesus Christ.6
There are several common objections to the tradition of Christology. Apologists
began teaching the Gospel only to the educated to refute the Jews and the Pagans. They
placed the conception of Christ in a philosophical sense rather than from a historical
viewpoint. This led them to make Christianity into a new law with Christ becoming a
lesser god to God. This claim is refuted due to Christ’s human nature and divine nature
being intertwined into one.
Gnosticism was combated in Christology through Tertullian when he began
teaching that God and Jesus are of “one substance.” He was the first to refute any claims
that Jesus was an inferior god to God. Being one of the first people to speak of the
Godhead, he rebelled against current teachings of the time. He claimed the truth
that
Jesus’ human nature and divine nature are one.
In the East, Origen had an influence on the beliefs of Christology. He taught
about an eternal generation of Christ, who was “an intermediate being, spanning the
distance between the utterly transcendent being of God and this created world. He failed
to teach the truth of Jesus’ human and divine nature.7
Christ in His humanity is an example and a comfort to me knowing the Jesus
lived just as I do. I know that everything I experience, He experienced and this makes me feel closer than ever to our Savior.
Word Count: 782
Bibliography
Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Reference Library, 2001. (assessed October 14, 2013).
Short Essay #2
Short Essay on Christology
Jesus Christ was both man and God. To some people, this claim can defy our
human logic. How could one person be both man and God at the same time? With this
essay, we will take a look at this claim from a theological, Biblical and personal view to
further understand Christology.
According to the Bible, we see several bases for Jesus’ humanity.1 In Luke 2:16,
we see Jesus as an infant lying in a manger as the Magi come to worship Him. We then
see Jesus eating with His disciples in Mark 2:15 and finally in Luke 23:46, we see Jesus
pass away from His crucifixion.
There are also several biblical bases for Jesus deity as well. We read in Acts
10:38 …show more content…
how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, to be the true Messiah,
giving Him the authority to heal and do miraculous works.
Luke 4:16-22 refers back to
when Jesus was prophesied through the Old Testament in Isaiah 61, fulfilling and
becoming the anointed One. Jesus gives Himself various titles the Bible indicting His
authority and His power of who He is.2
The Council of Chalcedon officially set the Hypostatic Union forth in 451. This
doctrine formally explains the duality of Jesus Christ’s both deity and humanity. The
doctrine explains how the incarnation of the Son of God’s human nature is intertwined
and in separately united with the divine nature of Jesus Christ. To prove that Jesus is truly man and truly God, the doctrine further explains that the “two natures remain distinct, whole, and unchanged and without mixture or confusion.”3 For Jesus to be both
God and man, the council concluded that the two natures of Christ, first the
consubstantial with the Godhead in Christ’s divine nature and consubstantial with us as to
his human nature, were coalesced in one person. 4
Jesus needed to become incarnate to save humanity because He has both a human
and divine nature that cannot be separate from each other. Because the …show more content…
Chalcedonian
Creed safeguarded this truth, the authors of this creed knew that this was the only way
that Jesus could save man by being both truly God and truly man.5 By overemphasizing or denying the deity or humanity of Christ, which are both intertwined within each other, we underestimate the necessity of both for salvation.
We
define each the human nature and the divine nature to its own attributes rather than the
entire nature of Christ as one. It is the strength of Christ to be both human and divine to
complete the work of Jesus Christ.6
There are several common objections to the tradition of Christology. Apologists
began teaching the Gospel only to the educated to refute the Jews and the Pagans. They
placed the conception of Christ in a philosophical sense rather than from a historical
viewpoint. This led them to make Christianity into a new law with Christ becoming a
lesser god to God. This claim is refuted due to Christ’s human nature and divine nature
being intertwined into one.
Gnosticism was combated in Christology through Tertullian when he began
teaching that God and Jesus are of “one substance.” He was the first to refute any claims
that Jesus was an inferior god to God. Being one of the first people to speak of the
Godhead, he rebelled against current teachings of the time. He claimed the truth
that
Jesus’ human nature and divine nature are one.
In the East, Origen had an influence on the beliefs of Christology. He taught
about an eternal generation of Christ, who was “an intermediate being, spanning the
distance between the utterly transcendent being of God and this created world. He failed
to teach the truth of Jesus’ human and divine nature.7
Christ in His humanity is an example and a comfort to me knowing the Jesus
lived just as I do. I know that everything I experience, He experienced and this makes me feel closer than ever to our Savior.
Word Count: 782
Bibliography
Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Reference Library, 2001. (assessed October 14, 2013).