Christology is a branch of Christian theology that concerns the nature of Jesus, which has been the topic of much debate over the centuries that culminated in the ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, issuing a formulation of the hypostatic union between a human and divine nature of Jesus, "united with neither confusion nor division."
Different denominations have different, sometimes mutually exclusive, beliefs on this matter, such as whether Jesus was divine in nature, human in nature, both, or neither. Jesus's mission as the Jewish messiah is also a related concern: whether he came specifically to free the Jewish people from foreign rulers, something else in addition to that, or something else entirely, and what his role is in salvation and the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
Christian writings address Jesus by numerous titles, such as Son of Man, Son of God, Christ (Messiah), and Kyrios. These terms centered around certain themes, namely "Jesus as a preexistent figure who becomes human and then returns to God" as opposed to adoptionism, the notion that Jesus was a human who was adopted by God at some point, typically when he is baptised, crucified, or resurrected.
Contemporary scholarship generally acknowledges the advent of high Christology as a monotheistic phenomenon within early Jewish Christianity,Gerd Lüdemann, "An Embarrassing Misrepresentation" , Free Inquiry, October / November 2007: "the broad consensus of modern New Testament scholars that the proclamation of Jesus's exalted nature was in large measure the creation of the earliest Christian communities." though older evolutionary models viewed it as a later gentile concept. Most scholars argue that high Christology precedes Paul. Many scholars today contend that the synoptic gospels and other New Testament texts portray Jesus as divine.
Definition and approaches
Christology (from the Greek and ), literally 'the understanding of Christ', is the study of the nature (person) and work (role in salvation) of Jesus Christ. It studies Jesus Christ's humanity and divinity, and the relationship between these two aspects; as well as the role he plays in salvation.
Ontological Christology analyzes the nature or being of Jesus Christ. Functional Christology analyzes the works of Jesus Christ, while soteriological Christology analyzes the "salvific" standpoints of Christology.
Theologians may take several different approaches to Christology. For example:
Christology from above or high Christology emphasizes approaches that include aspects of divinity (such as titles like "Lord" and "Son of God") and the idea of the pre-existence of Christ as the Logos ('the Word'), (as expressed in the prologue to the Gospel of John.) These approaches interpret the works of Christ in terms of his divinity. According to Pannenberg, Christology from above "was far more common in the ancient Church, beginning with Ignatius of Antioch and the second century Apologists". Christology from below or low Christology takes as its starting point the human aspects and the ministry of Jesus (including the miracles, parables, etc.) and moves towards his divinity and the mystery of incarnation.
Person of Christ
A standard Christological teaching describes Jesus as possessing two natures: one human, one divine. Many scholars today concede this. Some issues have arisen regarding the exact kind of union these two are in. According to post-Chalcedonian definitions, Jesus's two natures form a duality, coexisting within one hypostatic union.Introducing Christian Doctrine by Millard J. Erickson, L. Arnold Hustad 2001, p. 234 However, in the Oriental Orthodox paradigm, the union of these two natures is a composite nature that is both fully human and fully divine. There are no direct discussions in the New Testament regarding a dual nature of Jesus; theologians have debated various approaches since the early days of Christianity.
From the earliest sources, Paul's letters, Jesus is understood to receive prayer (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 12:8–9), the presence of Jesus is confessionally invoked by believers (1 Corinthians 16:22; Romans 10:9–13; Philippians 2:10–11), people are baptized in Jesus' name (1 Corinthians 6:11; Romans 6:3), Jesus is the reference in Christian fellowship for a religious ritual meal (the Lord's Supper; 1 Corinthians 11:17–34). Jesus is described as "existing in the very form of God" (Philippians 2:6), and having the "fullness of the Deity [living] in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). Jesus is also in some verses directly called God (Romans 9:5, Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1).
The standard evidences for the divinity of Jesus fall under five themes that are shared by God: his honors, attributes, names, deeds, and shares the seat of God's throne.
There are some Christological doctrines that have acquired broad support: Monophysitism (Monophysite controversy, 3rd–8th centuries): After the union of the divine and the human in the historical incarnation, Jesus Christ had only a single nature. The Council of Chalcedon and Third Council of Ephesus condemned Monophysitism as heretical in 451 AD and 475 AD, respectively. Miaphysitism (Oriental Orthodox churches): In the person of Jesus Christ, divine nature and human nature are united in a compound nature ('physis'). Dyophysitism (Eastern Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Church of the East, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and the Reformed Churches): Christ maintained two natures, one divine and one human, after the Incarnation; articulated by the Chalcedonian Definition. Monarchianism (including Adoptionism and Modalism): God as one, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity. Condemned as heretical in the Patristic era but followed today by certain groups of Nontrinitarians.
Influential Christologies broadly condemned as heretical include: Docetism (3rd–4th centuries) claimed the human form of Jesus was mere semblance without any true reality. Arianism (4th century) viewed the divine nature of Jesus, the Son of God, as distinct and inferior to God the Father, e.g., by having a beginning in time. Nestorianism (5th century) considers the two natures (human and divine) of Jesus Christ to subsist separately. Monothelitism (7th century), considered Christ to have only one will.
As councils were convened, some theological positions were rejected as heresies, yet the acceptance of these councils remains partial. Notably, certain Christological views reemerged in later centuries, such as the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, which reflect elements of Arianism.
Salvation
In Christian theology, atonement is the forgiving of sin and the method by which human beings can be reconciled to God, both through faith in Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection."Atonement". Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 Due to the influence of Gustaf Aulén (1879–1978), whose book came out in English translation in 1931, the various theories or of atonement are often grouped under the headings of the "classical paradigm," "objective paradigm," and "subjective paradigm."Gustaf Aulen, Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement, E.T. London: SPCK; New York: Macmillan, 1931Vincent Taylor, The Cross of Christ (London: Macmillan & Co, 1956), pp. 71–77
2 Classical paradigm: Ransom theory of atonement, which teaches that Jesus's death was a ransom sacrifice, usually said to have been paid to Satan or to death itself, in some views paid to God the Father, in satisfaction for the bondage and debt on the souls of humanity as a result of inherited sin. Gustaf Aulén reinterpreted the ransom theory, calling it the doctrine, arguing that Christ's death was not a payment to the Devil, but defeated the powers of evil, which had held humankind in their dominion.Leon Morris, 'Theories of the Atonement' in Elwell Evangelical Dictionary. Recapitulation theory, which says that Jesus succeeded where Adam failed. Theosis ('divinization') is a "corollary" of the recapitulation. Objective paradigm: Satisfaction theory of atonement, developed by Anselm of Canterbury (1033/4–1109), which teaches that Jesus Christ suffered crucifixion as a substitute for human sin, satisfying God's just wrath against humankind's transgression due to Christ's infinite merit. Penal substitution, also called "forensic theory" and "vicarious punishment," which was a development by the Reformers of Anselm's satisfaction theory. Instead of considering sin as an affront to God's honour, it sees sin as the breaking of God's moral law. Penal substitution sees sinful man as being subject to God's wrath, with the essence of Jesus' saving work being his substitution in the sinner's place, bearing the curse in the place of man. Governmental theory of atonement, "which views God as both the loving creator and moral Governor of the universe." Subjective paradigm: Moral influence theory of atonement, developed, or most notably propagated, by Abelard (1079–1142), who argued that "Jesus died as the demonstration of God's love," a demonstration which can change the hearts and minds of the sinners, turning back to God. Moral example theory, developed by Faustus Socinus (1539–1604) in his work (1578), who rejected the idea of "vicarious satisfaction." According to Socinus, Jesus' death offers humanity a perfect example of self-sacrificial dedication to God.
Other theories are the "embracement theory" and the "shared atonement" theory.Jeremiah, David. 2009. Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World, pp. 96 & 124. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.Massengale, Jamey. 2013.Renegade Gospel, The Jesus Manifold
Early Christologies (1st century) The earliest Christological reflections were shaped by both the Jewish background of the earliest Christians, and by the Greek world of the eastern Mediterranean in which they operated.
According to Matthew Novenson:
Historically, in the Alexandrian school of thought (fashioned on the Gospel of John), Jesus is the eternal Logos who already possesses unity with the Father before the act of Incarnation.Charles T. Waldrop (1985). Karl Barth's christology pp. 19–23 In contrast, the Antiochian school viewed Christ as a single, unified human person apart from his relationship to the divine.
Development of Christology
Two fundamentally different Christologies developed in the early Church, namely a "low" or adoptionist Christology, and a "high" or "incarnation" Christology. The chronology of the development of these early Christologies is a matter of debate within contemporary scholarship. There is no consensus on the continuity or discontinuity of earthly Jesus and post-Easter christology.
The "low Christology" or "adoptionist Christology" is the belief "that God exalted Jesus to be his Son by raising him from the dead", thereby raising him to "divine status". According to the "evolutionary model" or evolutionary theories, the Christological understanding of Jesus developed over time,Bart Ehrman, How Jesus became God, Course Guide as witnessed in the Gospels, with the earliest Christians believing that Jesus was a human who was exalted, or else adopted as God's Son, when he was resurrected.Geza Vermez (2008), The Resurrection, pp. 138–139 Later beliefs shifted the exaltation to his baptism, to his birth, and subsequently to the idea of his pre-existence, as witnessed in the Gospel of John. This "evolutionary model" was proposed by proponents of the , especially Wilhelm Bousset's influential Kyrios Christos (1913). This evolutionary model was very influential, and the "low Christology" has long been regarded as the oldest Christology.