Christology is composed of the words Christ referring to Jesus Christ and ology meaning “the study of”. Christology deals with the study of Jesus Christ. It is one of the three areas related to the study of the Triune God.
Topics studied in Christology include the preexistence of Christ; prophecies about him; His humanity and deity; His attributes, names, titles; His birth, early life, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and return; and the offices He holds.
Prior to His earthly life, Jesus existed in eternity as the second person of the Triune God. He was with God in the beginning and was God (John 1:1).
John says the “word” became flesh, which implies that Jesus existed previous to His incarnation – a word which means that He became flesh.
Jesus said that He had glory with the Father before the world was (John 17:5) that He had come from the Father (John 5:43; 6:38) and that He had existed before Abraham (John 8:58).
Revelation 22:13 confirms Christ’s eternal existence when He declares “I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end”
Apostle Paul said that Christ was rich but became poor; that He was in the form of God but humbled himself and that he was before all things (Col 1:17)
These phrases all confirm that Jesus existed prior to coming to earth.
The Old Testament contains many prophecies about Jesus, and the New Testament confirms their validity.
A prophecy is an immediate word from God which reveals things about the future which cannot be known by natural wisdom.
These prophecies reveal how, when, and where Jesus was to be born and details about His life, ministry, death, and resurrection.
Familiar prophecies:
· His birth – Gen 3:15; Gal 4:4
· His lineage – Gen 49:10; Luke 3:33
· His place of birth – Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-7
· He was the prophet to come – Deut 18:15, 18-19; Acts 3:20, 22
· He would function as a priest Ps 110:4; Heb 5:5-6
· His betrayal (Ps 41:9; Luke 22:47-48
· Being sold for 30 pieces of silver – Zech 11:11-12; Matt 26:15; 27:1-10
· His violet death – Zech 12:10; John 20:27
· His resurrection – Ps 16:10; Luke 24:7; Acts 2:25-28
Jesus predicted His death and resurrection and His ascension. First Thessalonians 4:13-18 speaks of an unknown future time at which the dead in Christ will rise first, followed by all living believers immediately ascending into the air to be with Jesus forever.
Book of Revelation reveals that seven years of judgment will occur after the rapture, followed by Christ return to earth with believers to defeat the enemy. At that time, Jesus will fulfill His role as the Messiah and reign from His throne in Jerusalem for 1000 years. At the end of the millennial kingdom, one final rebellion will take place by Satan followed by final judgment.
a. Jesus had a human body
· He was born
· He grew up
· He learned how to walk, talk, and feed Himself
b. Jesus showed all the characteristics of being human
· He got hungry, thirsty, and tired
· He experienced love, sorrow, and compassion
· He wept
c. Jesus was called by human names and had human ancestors
· The Son of Man
· The Son of David
· The man Christ Jesus
Jesus was the eternal God who broke into our world of time and space, joining together His deity with our humanity. We call this as the incarnation of Jesus – God became flesh.
a. Jesus is called God in the Bible
· John said Jesus is God – John 1:1
· Paul said Jesus is the “very form of God – Phil 2:6 as well as our great God and Savior – Tit 2:13
· Jesus is referred to as Lord – Matt 2:43-45. Yahweh – Rom 10:9. As the King of Kings (a designation a Jew would only give to God – Rev 19:16)
b. Jesus does the works of God
· Jesus is the Creator – Col 1:16
· Jesus forgives sins – Mark 2:5
· Jesus will raise the dead at the final resurrection – John 5:21
· Jesus gives eternal life to those who believe in Him – John 10:28a
· Jesus will be the final judge of all mankind – Acts 17:31
c. Jesus accepts worship that belongs only to God
· Angel worship Jesus – Heb 1:6
· Demons tremble before Him – Mark 6:6-8
· His own followers saw His miracles and fell before Him in adoration – Matt 14:32-33
· Jesus accepted the worship that rightly belongs only to God – Matt 28:16-17
d. Jesus Himself claimed to be God
· Jesus claimed authority over institution that God had established – Mat 12:8; 21:13b
· Jesus made clear claim that He was eternal; that He had been in existence even during Abraham’s day – John 8:58
· Jesus placed Himself on the same level as God the Father as the object of saving faith – John 14:1b
If Jesus is just a human or a prophet and not fully God (1 Corinthian 15)
· Our salvation is at stake because the atonement is at stake
· Jesus cannot be our Firm Foundation. We cannot trust Him completely
· We should not pray to Him or worship Him. The creation will be wrongfully exalted rather than the Creator
· The independence and personal nature of God are at stake.
Jesus Christ being both fully human and fully God is what we called Hypostatic Union. This theological term is used to describe two distinct natures in one Person. United without loss of separate identity.
Jesus sometimes operated within the limitations of His humanity and sometimes in the power of His Deity, but He remained One Person.
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prediction. John said that the Word – Jesus Christ – became flesh and that God “tabernacle” among us. John 1:1, 14)
God became a man in order to redeem His creation from sin and fulfill the Davidic covenant as the promised King. His purpose was to reveal God to men, save sinners, destroy the works of the devil, judge mankind, and bring all things in creation into submission to God, and intercede for believers.
Jesus was circumcised and was presented at the temple when He was a baby. He lived in Bethlehem, in Egypt for a year, and was raised in Nazareth. His childhood was characterized by His growth in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. He was subject to His parents and was aware of His Heavenly Father’s business. His trade as a young man was a carpenter.
Jesus began His ministry with His baptism with John followed by a time of temptation by Satan.
All four gospels record the death of Christ for the forgiveness of the sins of all mankind, the establishing of the New Covenant, and the defeat of Satan.
Reasons why Jesus had to die:
· To reconcile mankind to God
· To bear our sins
· To take away sins
· To forgive us of sins
· To give us eternal life
· To do the will of God
· To save sinners
· To fulfill the law
· To redeem those under the law
· To demonstrate God’s righteousness
· To manifest God’s love
· To bring lost mankind to God
· To destroy the devil’s power
· To fulfill the functions of a faithful high priest
· To give His life as a ransom
After His death by crucifixion, Jesus was buried, but He did not remain in the tomb. Matt 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20.
Through His resurrection, He gained victory over physical death. Those who become part of the Kingdom of God may experience physical death, but they will also experience resurrection. Because our King is eternal, we are part of an eternal Kingdom and have eternal life.
Old Testament foretold His resurrection (Hosea 6:1-2 and Psalm 16:10 and New Testament confirmed His resurrection.
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to many people, confirming His resurrection.
· Mary Magdalene
· Woman returning from the tomb
· Two disciples on the road to Emmaus
· To Peter in Jerusalem
· To His disciples
· To His disciples again with Thomas
· To the seven disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
· Seen by 500 believers at one time
· To James
· On the Mount of Olives, then ascended into Heaven
· Was seen by Paul on the road to Damascus
· He was seen ascending into Heaven.
Jesus led His disciples out to a mountain, gave them a final commission to preach the Gospel to the world and ascended into Heaven in a cloud.
Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God and reigning over the universe. He is head over all things pertaining to the Church and has sent the Holy Spirit as He promised. He presently intercedes for all true believers and will remain in Heaven until time for His return time to establish the visible Kingdome of God in final form.
THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
Rapture is when Jesus will return to earth – 1 Thess 4:13-18. Those who sleep with Jesus will come with Him; the Lord will descend from the heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; the dead in Christ shall rise first and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Later, Jesus will return to earth in a second coming to subdue Satan and all enemies and to establish His eternal Kingdom.
THE THREE OFFICES OF JESUS CHRIST
Christ is a Prophet.
Deut 18:18, Moses predicted that God would send another prophet like him to the people of Israel. John and Peter both witness that Jesus is that prophet (John 6:14; 7:40; Acts 3:22-24)
Christ is Our Priest
The prophet was God representative to the people. The priest was the people’s representative before God, so this means Jesus also functioned in the office of priest. Jesus offered Himself as the final sacrifice-once and for all- for all the sins of all mankind. As a priest, He entered the holy of holies in Heaven and opened the way for us to access the presence of God. He intercedes for us.
Christ is Our King
Jesus fulfilled the office of King in contrast to the greatest of Israelites kings, Jesus rules over the entire world. On His second coming, He will assume His rightful place as “the King of Kings”