Christology (Christ's Work and Functions)
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The Stages of Christ’s Work
The Stages of Christ’s Work
The Humiliation
The Humiliation
Incarnation
Incarnation
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Death
Death
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus as a man became subject to death.
Jesus as a man became subject to death.
15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
The Exaltation
The Exaltation
Resurrection
Resurrection
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
Ascension and Session at the Father’s Right Hand
Ascension and Session at the Father’s Right Hand
62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
5 “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Second Coming
Second Coming
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Functions of Christ
The Functions of Christ
Revelatory Role of Christ
Revelatory Role of Christ
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,
16 according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’
17 “And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good.
18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
40 Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.”
Peter Identified Christ as the Prophet
22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Jesus is the prophet whom Moses predicted, yet he is also far greater than any of the Old Testament prophets, in two ways:
1. He is the one about whom the prophecies in the Old Testament were made.
2. Jesus was not merely a messenger of revelation from God, but was himself the source of revelation from God.
In the broader sense of prophet simply meaning one who reveals God to us and speaks to us the words of God, Christ is of course truly and fully a prophet. In fact, he is the one whom all the Old Testament prophets prefigured in their speech and in their actions. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 624–626.
Rule of Christ
Rule of Christ
In the Old Testament the king has authority to rule over the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, Jesus was born to be King of the Jews (Matt. 2:2
2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
but he refused any attempt by people to try to make him an earthly king with earthly military and political power (John 6:15).
Look at what He told Pilate,
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
Nonetheless, Jesus did have a kingdom whose arrival he announced in his preaching (Matt. 4:17, 23; 12:28, et al.).
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
He is in fact the true king of the new people of God. Thus, Jesus refused to rebuke his disciples who cried out at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38
38 saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
cf. vv. 39–40; also Matt. 21:5; John 1:49; Acts 17:7).
After his resurrection, Jesus was given by God the Father Eph1.20-22
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
far greater authority over the church and over the universe. God raised him up and “made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church” (Eph. 1:20–22; Matt. 28:18; 1 Cor. 15:25). That authority over the church and over the universe will be more fully recognized by people when Jesus returns to earth in power and great glory to reign (Matt. 26:64; 2 Thess. 1:7–10; Rev. 19:11–16). On that day he will be acknowledged as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16
16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
and every knee shall bow to him (Phil. 2:10
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 628–629.
Reconciling Work of Christ: Intercession and Atonement
Reconciling Work of Christ: Intercession and Atonement
In the Old Testament, the priests were appointed by God to offer sacrifices. They also offered prayers and praise to God on behalf of the people. In so doing they “sanctified” the people or made them acceptable to come into God’s presence, albeit in a limited way during the Old Testament period. In the New Testament Jesus becomes our great high priest (Remember the High Priestly prayer in John 17). This theme is developed extensively in the letter to the Hebrews, where we find that Jesus functions as priest in two ways.
1. Jesus Offered a Perfect Sacrifice for Sin.
1. Jesus Offered a Perfect Sacrifice for Sin.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
The sacrifice which Jesus offered for sins was not the blood of animals such as bulls or goats: “For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). Instead, Jesus offered himself as a perfect sacrifice: “But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26
26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
This was a completed and final sacrifice, never to be repeated, a theme frequently emphasized in the book of Hebrews (see 7:27; 9:12, 24–28; 10:1–2, 10, 12, 14; 13:12). Therefore Jesus fulfilled all the expectations that were prefigured, not only in the Old Testament sacrifices, but also in the lives and actions of the priests who offered them: he was both the sacrifice and the priest who offered the sacrifice. Jesus is now the “great high priest who has passed through the heavens” (Heb. 4:14
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
and who has appeared “in the presence of God on our behalf” (Heb. 9:24
24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
since he has offered a sacrifice that ended for all time the need for any further sacrifices.
2. Jesus Continually Brings Us Near to God.
2. Jesus Continually Brings Us Near to God.
The Old Testament priests not only offered sacrifices, but also in a representative way they came into the presence of God from time to time on behalf of the people. But Jesus does much more than that. As our perfect high priest, he continually leads us into God’s presence so that we no longer have need of a Jerusalem temple, or of a special priesthood to stand between us and God. And Jesus does not come into the inner part (the holy of holies) of the earthly temple in Jerusalem, but he has gone into the heavenly equivalent to the holy of holies, the very presence of God himself in heaven (Heb. 9:24). Therefore we have a hope that follows him there: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever” (Heb. 6:19–20
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
This means that we have a far greater privilege than those people who lived at the time of the Old Testament temple. They could not even enter into the first room of the temple, the holy place, for only the priests could go there. Then into the inner room of the temple, the holy of holies, only the high priest could go, and he could only enter there once a year (Heb 9:1–7). But when Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sins, the curtain or veil of the temple that closed off the holy of holies was torn in two from top to bottom (Luke 23:45), thus indicating in a symbolic way on earth that the way of access to God in heaven was opened by Jesus’ death. Therefore the author of Hebrews can make this amazing exhortation to all believers:
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary [lit. “the holy places,” meaning both the “holy place” and the “holy of holies” itself] by the blood of Jesus … and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. (Heb. 10:19–22
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21 and having a High Priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Jesus has opened for us the way of access to God so that we can continually “draw near” into God’s very presence without fear but with “confidence” and in “full assurance of faith.”
3. Jesus as Priest Continually Prays for Us.
3. Jesus as Priest Continually Prays for Us.
One other priestly function in the Old Testament was to pray on behalf of the people. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus also fulfills this function: “He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Paul affirms the same point when he says Christ Jesus is the one “who indeed intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Some have argued that this work of high priestly intercession is only the act of remaining in the Father’s presence as a continual reminder that he himself has paid the penalty for all our sins. According to this view, Jesus does not actually make specific prayers to God the Father about individual needs in our lives, but “intercedes” only in the sense of remaining in God’s presence as our high priestly representative.
However, this view does not seem to fit the actual language used in Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25. In both cases, the word intercede translates the Greek term ἐντυγχάνω (G1961). This word does not mean merely “to stand as someone’s representative before another person,” but clearly has the sense of making specific requests or petitions before someone. For example, Festus uses this word to say to King Agrippa, “You see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me” (Acts 25:24). Paul also uses it of Elijah when he “pleads with God against Israel” (Rom. 11:2). In both cases the requests are very specific, not just general representations.
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
We may conclude, then, that both Paul and the author of Hebrews are saying that Jesus continually lives in the presence of God to make specific requests and to bring specific petitions before God on our behalf. This is a role that Jesus, as God-man, is uniquely qualified to fulfill. Although God could care for all our needs in response to direct observation (Matt. 6:8), yet it has pleased God, in his relationship to the human race, to decide to act instead in response to prayer, apparently so that the faith shown through prayer might glorify him. It is especially the prayers of men and women created in his image that are pleasing in God’s sight. In Christ, we have a true man, a perfect man, praying and thereby continually glorifying God through prayer. Thus, human manhood is raised to a highly exalted position: “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 626–628.
Theories of the Atonement
Theories of the Atonement
The Socinian Theory : The Atonement as Moral Example
The Socinian Theory : The Atonement as Moral Example
They rejected vicarious satisfaction and instead pointed to 1 Pet 2.21
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
They advocated that the death of Jesus fills two human needs
The need for an example of that total love for God
Provides inspiration. What He could do, we can also
The Moral-Influence Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of God’s Love
The Moral-Influence Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of God’s Love
Sees Christ’s death as a demonstration of God’s love. They say that God’s nature is essentially love and ignore the justice, holiness, and righteousness of God. They viewed man’s problem is that our own attitudes keep us apart from God
The Governmental Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of Divine Justice
The Governmental Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of Divine Justice
The Ransom Theory: The Atonement as Victory over the Forces of Sin and Evil
The Ransom Theory: The Atonement as Victory over the Forces of Sin and Evil
The Commercial or Satisfaction Theory: The Atonement as Compensation to the Father
The Commercial or Satisfaction Theory: The Atonement as Compensation to the Father