The Doctrine of the Person of Christ (Christology)

1. Introduction to Christology
 Christology is the area of theology focused on understanding the identity and
significance of Jesus Christ.
 It aims to answer two key questions:
o Who is Jesus Christ?
o Why is he central to the Christian faith?
 Jesus of Nazareth is seen as the key to understanding God and human destiny.
2. The Centrality of Jesus
 According to John Paul II’s encyclical Faith and Reason (1998), the Incarnation
represents a synthesis where the eternal enters time, and God takes on a human face.
 Jesus’ revelation is universally significant for all humanity, offering meaning and
purpose for life.
3. The Importance of Christology
 Christology explores how Jesus fits within the concepts of:
o Time and eternity
o Humanity and divinity
o Particularity and universality
 It addresses how an event tied to a specific time and place can hold relevance for all
people and times.
4. Incarnation and the Two Natures
 Central to Christology is the concept of the incarnation (God becoming human).
 The “two natures” doctrine states that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human.
 The church formulated this idea through centuries of reflection, debate, and
exploration of biblical evidence.
5. Wrestling with the Identity of Jesus
 The early church faced challenges in articulating Jesus’ identity, trying various models
to encapsulate his significance.
 The process of refining Christological understanding occurred gradually, with the
early church experimenting with ways to reconcile Jesus’ humanity and divinity.
6. The Chalcedonian Definition (451)
 The Council of Chalcedon (451) formalized the “two natures” doctrine, declaring
Jesus “truly divine and truly human.”
  This definition has become the standard expression of Jesus’ dual nature in Christian
theology.
7. The Mystery and Paradox of Incarnation
 The incarnation remains a mysterious and startling concept, posing the question of
how a historical figure can be both fully divine and fully human.
 Karl Barth emphasized the difficulty in “freezing” divine revelation, as it cannot be
fully captured in human language.
8. Historical Development of Christology
 The classical understanding of Christology emerged through the church’s reflection
on New Testament witness.
 Before the Enlightenment (1750s), the debate focused on Jesus’ identity within
theological frameworks.
 Post-Enlightenment questions concerning faith and history introduced new
dimensions to Christological discussions.
The Person of Christ
I. Historical Views on the Person of Christ
A historical overview of Christological views reveals diverse interpretations regarding the
person of Christ. Below are the most prominent ones:
A. The Ebionites
 Belief: Jesus was the son of Mary and Joseph, and through fulfilling the Mosaic law,
God chose him as the Messiah.
 View of Christ: The deity and virgin birth were denied. Jesus only became aware of
his Messiahship at his baptism when he received the Holy Spirit.
 Heresy: The Ebionites rejected Christ’s deity, seeing it as incompatible with
monotheism.
B. The Gnostics
 Dualism: Gnosticism involved a dualism between spirit (good) and flesh (evil),
making the incarnation of Christ problematic.
 Views of Christ:
1. Cerinthian Gnosticism: The divine Christ came upon the human Jesus at
baptism and left before his crucifixion.
2. Docetic Gnosticism: Jesus had only the appearance of being human, but was
actually a phantom.
 New Testament Refutations: Passages like Colossians 1:15-18, Hebrews 2:14, 1
John 4:2-6, and others refute these errors.
C. The Arians
 Belief: Christ, while called “God,” was a created being, not truly God, and not equal
to the Father in essence or eternity.
 Arian Teachings: Christ, the Logos, was the first created being and took the place of
the human spirit in Jesus.
 Condemnation: The Council of Nicaea (325) declared Arianism heretical, affirming
that Christ was “begotten, not made” and of the same substance as the Father.
D. The Apollinarians
 Belief: Jesus had a true body and soul, but not a rational human spirit. The Logos took
the place of his human mind.
 Heresy: This view denied Christ’s full humanity by diminishing the human aspect of
his nature.
 Condemnation: The First Council of Constantinople (381) condemned
Apollinarianism.
E. The Nestorians
 Belief: Nestorius argued for two separate natures in Christ, to the point of implying
two distinct persons. The divine Logos dwelled in the man Jesus.
 Heresy: This view endangered the unity of Christ’s person by splitting the divine and
human natures.
 Condemnation: The Synod of Ephesus (431) condemned Nestorianism.
F. The Eutychians
 Belief: Eutychians held that Christ had only one nature (Monophysitism), a mixture of
divine and human into a third nature.
 Condemnation: The Council of Chalcedon (451) rejected Monophysitism, affirming
the distinction of Christ’s two natures.
 Later Heresy: Monothelitism, the idea that Christ had only one will, was condemned
at the Third Council of Constantinople (681).
G. The Orthodox View
 Belief: Christ is one person with two distinct natures—fully divine and fully human—
united without confusion or division.
 Council of Chalcedon: The doctrine, formalized in 451, states that Christ is
consubstantial with the Father in divinity and consubstantial with humanity, except for
sin. The two natures are preserved and united in one person.
This represents the classical position held by the Christian church regarding the person of
Christ.
II. The Preincarnate Christ
In studying the person of Christ, we also examine His preincarnate state, revealing His true
existence before becoming human. Some key points from this state, some of which overlap
with Trinitarian theology, include the following:
1. Eternal Existence:
o Christ was with God in eternity and was God (John 1:1).
o This was before the world existed (John 17:5).
o He is referred to as “the Word” (John 1:1, 14; Revelation 19:13), meaning He
is the medium of manifestation, communication, and revelation of God.
2. The Logos as Personal:
o John’s use of the phrase “theos en ho logos” (the Word was God) affirms the
divinity of Christ without equating the Logos with all of God, avoiding
Sabellianism (modalism).
3. First-born of All Creation:
o Christ is described as “the first-born of all creation” (Colossians 1:15, Psalm
89:27), indicating His pre-existence and His authority over creation, not that
He was created.
o He holds the privilege of primogeniture, the divine heir of all things (Hebrews
1:2), and the agent through whom creation was made.
4. Christ’s Role in Creation:
o Scripture affirms Christ’s involvement in creation:
 John 1:3 states that “all things came into being through Him.”
 Paul emphasizes that “in Him all things were created” (Colossians
1:16) and that “in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).
o Christ is portrayed as the Creator, Preserver, and the ultimate goal of creation.
5. Christ in Old Testament Appearances:
o Though not called “Christ” in the Old Testament, He appears under different
names such as “Son,” “Jehovah,” and “the Angel of Jehovah.”
o In Psalm 2:7, He is called the “Son” by Jehovah.
o Christ also appears frequently as “Jehovah” (Genesis 19:24) and as the “Angel
of Jehovah” in many Old Testament accounts.
6. Old Testament Appearances of the Angel of Jehovah:
o Hagar: Christ appeared to Hagar and promised to multiply her descendants
(Genesis 16:7-14).
 o Abraham: He intervened during the near-sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:11-
18).
o Jacob: He promised prosperity despite Laban’s treatment (Genesis 31:11-13).
o Moses: Appeared in the burning bush as the Angel of Jehovah and called the
ground holy (Exodus 3:2-5).
o Exodus: The Angel of God led Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 14:19).
o Gideon: The Angel of Jehovah called Gideon to deliver Israel (Judges 6:11-
24).
o Manoah: He appeared to promise the birth of Samson (Judges 13:2-24).
o David: The Angel of the Lord brought a plague after David’s census (1
Chronicles 21:1-27).
o Elijah: The Angel refreshed Elijah when he fled from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:5-
7).
o Sennacherib’s Invasion: The Angel smote 185,000 Assyrians (2 Kings
19:35).
o Zechariah’s Vision: The Angel of the Lord stood among the myrtle trees and
engaged with various messengers (Zechariah 1:11; 3:1).
7. Distinct Personal Existence:
o Through all these appearances, the preincarnate Christ maintained a distinct
personal existence and had multiple interactions with the Israelites,
demonstrating His active role before the incarnation.

The Nature of the Incarnation

The incarnation refers to the act by which the eternal Son of God, the second person of the
Trinity, took on human flesh and became fully human while remaining fully divine. This
central Christian doctrine emphasizes that Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly man, two
natures united in one person. Several key aspects of the nature of the incarnation include:
1. The Union of Divine and Human Natures
The incarnation involves the union of two complete natures—divine and human—in the one
person of Jesus Christ. This union is described as hypostatic (meaning it involves the union
of two distinct natures in one person). Jesus did not become less divine when He took on
human flesh, nor did He diminish His humanity by remaining divine. Scriptures such as John
1:14 ("The Word became flesh") and Philippians 2:6-7 ("emptied Himself, taking the form of
a servant") emphasize this mysterious union.
 Fully Divine: Jesus retained all divine attributes, including omniscience,
omnipotence, and eternity. Colossians 2:9 affirms this, saying, "For in Him all the
fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."
  Fully Human: Christ also took on a complete human nature. He was born of a
woman (Gal. 4:4), experienced hunger (Matt. 4:2), fatigue (John 4:6), and even death
(Phil. 2:8). He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52) and was tempted in all ways
as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15).
2. The Kenosis or Self-Emptying
The concept of kenosis is derived from Philippians 2:7, where it states that Christ "emptied
Himself." This "emptying" does not mean that Christ gave up His divine attributes, but rather
that He voluntarily limited their independent exercise during His earthly ministry. Christ took
on the limitations of human experience without ceasing to be God.
 Voluntary Humility: In His incarnation, Christ voluntarily chose to veil His divine
glory, submitting Himself to the will of the Father and the constraints of human
existence.
 Subordination in Function, Not Essence: Though equal with the Father in essence,
Christ subordinated Himself in function to accomplish the work of salvation (John
5:19; 14:28).
3. Sinlessness of Christ
While fully human, Christ was without sin. This sinlessness is crucial to the nature of the
incarnation, as it qualified Him to be the perfect sacrifice for sin. 1 Peter 2:22 says, "He
committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth." The humanity Christ assumed was
free from the corruption of original sin, which sets Him apart from all other humans (Heb.
4:15).
4. The Virgin Birth
The incarnation was accomplished through the virgin birth, as foretold in Isaiah 7:14
("Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son") and fulfilled in Matthew 1:18-23 and
Luke 1:26-38. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, and she conceived Jesus without the
involvement of a human father. This miraculous birth underscores the divine initiative in the
incarnation and ensures that Christ did not inherit the sinful nature of Adam.
5. The Immutability of Christ’s Divine Nature
Even though Christ became incarnate, His divine nature remained immutable (unchanging).
Christ, as God, could not cease being God, for God’s nature is eternal and unchangeable
(Malachi 3:6; Heb. 13:8). Thus, the incarnation did not involve any change in His divine
essence but only the addition of a human nature.
6. The Communication of Attributes
In the incarnation, while the divine and human natures remain distinct, there is a
communication of attributes between the two. This means that the attributes of both natures
can be predicated of the one person, Jesus Christ. For instance, Christ can be said to be
omniscient as God and yet to have limited knowledge as man (e.g., Mark 13:32). However,
the two natures do not mix or change but are united in the one person of Christ.