The Christology Debate

A Research Paper

Submitted to

Pastor Ralph Baeza

Liberty University

THEO 350

Patricia Rice

July 30, 2012

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

The Gospels 1

Matthew 2

Mark 2

Luke 3

John 3

Christological Titles 3

Devotional Practices 4

The Kenosis Debate 4

Conclusion 8

Bibliography 9

1

Introduction

Christology is the doctrine of Christ and that doctrine depicts the deity of Christ. Christ is

united with God and equal to God they are as one and they have the same attributes; however,

Christ is separate in person. Jesus possessed both a human and divine nature. This means Christ

was completely human and He was, at the same time, completely God. Although Christ had a

natural and supernatural nature, He had one undivided personality which deemed Him the only

person capable of saving mankind from sin. Jesus identified himself as God on numerous

occasions. Christ showed His Godliness through love, kindness, and compassion for a sinful

humanity. Jesus’ ministry and teachings were consistent with Godly demonstrations of

knowledge, power, and omnipresence.

Christology reflects on the religious importance of Jesus in the Christian faith. The term

comes from a systematic/dogmatic theology that focuses on Christian theology. The New

Testament Christology places emphasis on the certainty and claims about Christ Jesus. Scholars

today believe that New Testament writings such as the Gospels, Christological Titles, and

Devotional Practices, provide crucial evidence of Jesus’ deity. These important New Testament

materials depict Jesus as God as well as His purpose and plan for mankind. An examination of

the New Testament writings will indeed point to fulfillment of some Old Testament prophecy

concerning the Messiah.

The Gospels “books about Jesus”

The Gospels are similar to a modern tabloid or newspaper; they provide vital information

about Jesus. Matthew advertises and announces, “The kingdom of God is at hand,” and Mark

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Headlines boldly, “Behold my servant. Luke features Jesus ‘birth, the Prodigal Son, and the

Good Samaritan while John provides the editorial with his writings on the bread of life, the

Christian life, and the true vine.

Matthew

Matthew was a publican who had conformed to Christianity (Matthew 9:9) and wrote to

the Jewish community concerning their Messiah. The Gospel of Matthew is the doorway

between the Old and the New Testament. It goes back to the Old Testament to get prophecies to

be fulfilled at the first Advent of Christ and it comes back to the New Testament and addresses

God’s new creation, “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). Matthew

describes the person, preparation, propaganda, program, passion, and power of the King. Plainly,

Matthew presents Jesus Christ as the King.

Mark

It is believed that the Gospel of Mark is the earliest written of all the gospels. It was

written during the time John Mark was with Paul in Rome and therefore it addresses the Roman

community. More importantly, Mark’s account of his gospel consists of facts given by Peter and

the gospel’s explanation is provided by Paul.

The theme of the gospel of Mark is given in the first chapter and is given in two phrases.

Verse one begins with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ” and verses 9 and 14

proclaims “Jesus came.” The last phrase is rooted in the prophecy of Isaiah. Jesus is depicted as

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the Servant of Jehovah God (Isaiah 42:1, 2). Jesus came in the wholeness of His humanity and

the fullness of His deity.

Luke

Luke, the physician, is the only Gentile author to every write anything in Scripture and is

the author of the book of Acts as well as the gospel of Luke. Luke’s gospel addressed the gentile

community and his use of terminology in his gospel was Greek. The scope of Luke’s gospel

provided a universal invitation. Many of Luke’s parables and encounters illustrated justification

by faith such as the saving of Zacchaeus (19:1-10 and the incident at the house of Simon (7:36-

50). He portrayed Jesus as the Son of Man who is denied by the Jews then subjected Him to the

hands of the world. The gospel demonstrated accounts of Gentile and other misfits who found

grace in the eyes of Jesus.

John

The gospel of John is a spiritual gospel that conveys the profound truth about Christ. The

purpose of the writing is to convince the reader of the true identity of Christ Jesus. The gospel

describes Jesus as the incarnate God-Man who possessed a human and divine nature united into

one person. That person is indeed the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament and Savior of the

lost world. The book is centered on the person and the work of Christ. Its message is found in

20:31: “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” The book places high emphasis on three key words,

signs, believe, and life.

Christological Titles

4

The New Testament provides some Christological titles that express an early belief in

Jesus as the Redeemer. Two of the most notable titles are Christ (Messiah) and Son of God. The

other less frequently used notable titles are Lamb of God (John 1:29), Word (John 1:1-14), and

Savior (Acts 5:31; Eph. 5:23; and Peter 3:2).

The Apostle Paul’s favorite title for Jesus is Christ and he often used it as though it were

the name of Jesus rather than a title. At times, Paul uses Christ as a formula expression like ‘the

Lord Jesus Christ’ (Roman 1:7; 5:1), and ‘Christ Jesus’ (Roman 1:1). In Roman 9:5 Paul’s use of

the term reflects a derivative as a title, ‘the Christ.’ Christ occurs twenty-one times in 1st Peter

some which reference the suffering of Christ (e.g.1:11; 3:18; 5:1). It is evident that the suffering

of the Lord held a messianic theme and was important to many first-century Christians.

Devotional Practices

Early Christian devotional practices confirm the belief in Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus’

name was called upon during healings , casting out of spirits, and raising some from the dead

depicts Christ as one who possessed divine powers (Acts 3:6;16). The Lord’s Supper is another

significant practice of devotion that depicts Jesus as divine figure. In the New Testament, prayers

to God are prayed through the name of Jesus which indicates the importance of Jesus in the life

of believers. These devotional practices illustrate the link that Jesus shares in the glory of God.

The elements of these practices of devotion in the New Testament represent belief about Jesus’

claim of deity and they are expressed in religious behavior.

The Kenosis Debate

5

The incarnation of Jesus is highly significant to Christian doctrine. The phrase Paul used

in Philippians 2:7 but made Himself of no reputation is defined by the Greek theological term

Kenosis which means that Jesus ‘emptied Himself’ in His incarnation. This self emptying done

by Jesus has been the topic of much controversy among scholars due to the challenge of

interpreting and understanding the word Kenosis. Most all scholars agree that Christ did empty

himself but what He emptied out is what leads to arguments on the matter.

In an attempt to undesrstand the mystery of the incarnation of Christ, kenoticists tend to

use human reasoning to interpret the authority of God. The Bible affirms three important facts

about Jesus, which are Christ is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16), “the Word became

flesh” (John 1:14), and “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2nd Cor. 5:19).

Kenosis teaching holds a totally different view of Christ emptied himself. According to Decker,

kenoticists teach that God minus the use of His dominion attributes became flesh, or that the Word remained separate from the flesh. Kenotic thinking holds that only God minus omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, was in Christ, or that God was not truly in Christ. kenoticists teach a mutation: God birthed a Son who either later became God minus boundlessness or who was never really united to human flesh.1

Scripture clearly refutes a separation of Jesus as God. Plainly, God cannot become less

than God or not God at all for a period of time, therefore, Christ was still God when He became

14 Decker, Rodney. “Philippians 2:5-11, The Kenosis.”

human. He was both completely human and completely God. He held one undivided personality

yet he had two natures both human and omnipresence. Towns explains, Christ emptied himself

by (1) veiling His glory, (2) accepting limitations of human nature, and (3) voluntarily giving up

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the use of His comparative attributes.2 The Creed of Chalcedon defends the divinity of Christ as

well as the fullness of His humanity against those who uphold that Jesus had one nature or the

other. Musick’s account of the Creed of Chalcedon declares,

We declare that the one selfsame Christ, only begotten Son and Lord, must be acknowledged in two natures, without any co-mingling, or change or division or separation, that the distinction between their natures is in no way removed by their union, but rather, that the specific character of each nature is preserved, and they are united in one person and one hypostasis. We declare that He is not split nor divided into two persons, but that there is one, selfsame, only-begotten Son, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.3

The Creed of Athenasius attempts to make some sense of the statements concerning the two

natures of Christ by stating,

“As a rational soul and flesh are one man, so God and man are one Christ.”Because I am a rational soul I can say, “I will never die. “That statement is not true of my flesh, unless Christ returns before I die. On the other hand, because I am flesh I can also say, “I will not live forever. “ That statement is not true of my soul.9

Christ emptying Himself in His incarnation was a self renunciation rather than an emptying

himself of deity in exchange of His deity for a human nature. What Christ did was set aside His

210. Towns, Elmer. Theology for Today, (2008) p.191-192

39. Musick, Dan. Kenosis: Christ “emptied Himself,” (Philippians 2:7). The Four Creeds p.451

9. Ibid., p.451

glorious privileges. He gave up have a face-to-face relationship with the Father. He relinquished

His independent authority and submitted to the will of the Father during the incarnation (Matt.

26:38; Heb. 5:8; John 5:3).

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Kenotic Christology teaches believers that the humanity of Christ was true; however, this view

does not, according to Eddy, confirm that Jesus was a human in every respect while also

affirming that he was omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent while here on earth.4

The foundation of Christianity is built on the deity of Christ Jesus. It is important to

believe in a Christ who has the power to save. Our faith will not save us from our sins; however,

faith in Christ who has the power to save us from our sins is beneficial to believers. Lutzer

describes such a Savior, in his own person he unites God and man; in his death he reconciles

man to God.5

Kenotic theology can be considered by some a new kind of orthodox biblical faith which to this

day holds much interest an still stirs a great deal of controversy. Elwell explains,

from one angle it can be seen as an attempt to give conceptual substance to the great hymn of Charles Wesley that speaks in awe that the Son would ‘empty himself of all but love’ and die for a fallen humanity. From another angle kenotic theology represents an attempt to give central place to Jesus’ limited yet sinless humanity while affirming that the ultimate significance of that humanity was and is that here on earth God the eternal Son has come, truly come, to redeem.6

45 Eddy, Gregory A. Boyd and Paul R. Acrosss the Spectrum, (2009).

58. Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines that Divide, (1998), p. 37

6 Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, (2001) .p 653

Christ retained all His attributes of deity while in He was human by veiling or concealing them. He emptied himself not by giving up what He had but rather by taking up what He had not. The Catholic Catechism explains it best by stating, “What He was, He remained and what He was not, He assumed, “sings the Roman Liturgy.”7

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Conclusion

Christ possessed both a human and divine nature at His incarnation. He had all His divine

attributes during this time; however, He voluntarily concealed (emptied himself) these glorious

attibutes and submitted to the will of God and depended upon the direction of the Spirit. He did

not lose what He was which is a sinless God but rather He gained or took on a robe of human

flesh, still sinless but He came in the likeness of men and in the form of a servant. Plainly, Jesus

became human to pay the price for human sin and so humanity could again be united to God.

73. Church Catechism of the Catholic, Profession of Faith

Biblography

Anderson, G.W. "The Problematic Translation of " emptied Himself" as found in Philippians 2:7." Ouarterly Record #538, 1997.

http://www.trinitarianbiblesociety.org/site/articles/phil2.html

Augustine. "Sermons On Selected Lessons Of The New Testament - 2. Sermon ."

Church, Catechism of the Catholic. "The Profession of Faith." Pt. 1, Sec. 2, Ch. 2, Article 3, pt.469.

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p1.htm

Decker, Rodney. " "Philippians 2:5-11, The Kenosis,"

http://www.ntresources.com/kenosis.htm

Eddy, Gregory A. Boyd and Paul R. Across the Spectrum. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009.

Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.

Henry, Matthew. The Matthew Henry Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1961.

Lutzer, Erwin. The Divine Doctrines that Divide. Grand Rapids : Kregel, 1998.

Musick, Dan. "Kenosis Christ "emptied Himself" (Philippians 2:7)." 1997-2005: 451. http://kenosis.info/four_creeds.shtml

Towns, Elmer L. Theology for Today. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2008.