Salvation[edit]

In Christian theology, atonement is the method by which human beings can be reconciled to God through Christ's sacrificial suffering and death.^[21] Atonement is the forgiving or pardoning of sin in general and original sin in particular through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus,^{[web 6]} enabling the reconciliation between God and his creation. Due to the influence of Gustaf Aulèn's (1879-1978) Christus Victor (1931), the various theories or paradigma's of atonement are often grouped as "classical paradigm," "objective paradigm," and the "subjective paradigm":^{[22][23][24][25]}

• Classical paradigm:^{[note 6]}
  • Ransom theory of atonement, which teaches that the death of Christ 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 thory,^[26] calling it the Christus Victor 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.;^{[27][note 7]}
  • Recapitulation theory,^[29] which says that Christ succeeded where Adam failed. Theosis ("divinization") is a "corollary" of the recapitualtion.^[30]
• Objective paradigm:
  • Satisfaction theory of atonement,^{[note 8]} developed by Anselm of Canterbury (1033/4–1109), which teaches that Jesus Christ suffered crucifixion as a substitutefor human sin, satisfying God's just wrath against humankind's transgression due to Christ's infinite merit.^[31]
  • Penal substitution, also called "forensic theory" and "vicarious punishment," which was a development by the Reformers of Anselm's satisfaction theory.^{[32][33][note 9][note 10]} 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.
  • Moral government theory, "which views God as both the loving creator and moral Governor of the universe."^[35]
• Subjective paradigm:
  • Moral influence theory of atonement,^{[note 11]} developed, or most notably propagated, by Abelard (1079-1142),^[36][37] 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.^[38][39]
  • Moral example theory, developed by Faustus Socinus (1539-1604) in his work De Jesu Christo servatore (1578), who rejected the idea of "vicarious satisfaction."^{[note 12]} According to Socinus, Jesus' death offers us a perfect example of self-sacrificial dedication to God."^[39]

Other theories are the "embracement theory" and the "shared atonement" theory.^[40][41]

 Early Christologies (1st century)[edit]

Early notions of Christ[edit]

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.^{[42][web 2][note 13]} The earliest Christian writings give several titles to Jesus, such as Son of Man, Son of God, Messiah, and Kyrios, which were all derived from the Hebrew scriptures.^{[web 2][15]} According to Matt Stefon and Hans J. Hillerbrand,

Until the middle of the 2nd century, such terms emphasized two themes: that of Jesus as a preexistent figure who becomes human and then returns to God and that of Jesus as a creature elected and “adopted” by God. The first theme makes use of concepts drawn from Classical antiquity, whereas the second relies on concepts characteristic of ancient Jewish thought. The second theme subsequently became the basis of “adoptionist Christology” (see adoptionism), which viewed Jesus’ baptism as a crucial event in his adoption by God.^{[web 2]}

Historically in the Alexandrian school of thought (fashioned on the Gospel of John), Jesus Christ is the eternal Logos who already possesses unity with the Father before the act of Incarnation.^[45] In contrast, the Antiochian school viewed Christ as a single, unified human person apart from his relationship to the divine.^{[45][note 14]}

Pre-existence[edit]

The notion of pre-existence is deeply rooted in Jewish thought, and can be found in apocalyptic thought and among the rabbis of Paul's time,^[47] but Paul was most influenced by Jewish-Hellenistic wisdom literature, where "'Wisdom' is extolled as something existing before the world and already working in creation.^[47] According to Witherington, Paul "subscribed to the christological notion that Christ existed prior to taking on human flesh [,] founding the story of Christ [...] on the story of divine Wisdom."^{[48][note 15]}

Kyrios[edit]

The title Kyrios for Jesus is central to the development of New Testament Christology.^[49] It is the Greek translation of Aramaic Mari, which in everyday Aramaic usage was a very respectful form of polite address, which means more than just "Teacher" and was somewhat similar to Rabbi. While the term Mari expressed the relationship between Jesus and his disciples during his life, the Greek Kyrios came to represent his lordship over the world.^[50]

The early Christians placed Kyrios at the center of their understanding, and from that center attempted to understand the other issues related to the Christian mysteries.^[49] The question of the deity of Christ in the New Testament is inherently related to the Kyrios title of Jesus used in the early Christian writings and its implications for the absolute lordship of Jesus. In early Christian belief, the concept of Kyrios included the pre-existence of Christ, for they believed if Christ is one with God, he must have been united with God from the very beginning.^[49][51]

Development of "low Christology" and "high Christology"[edit]

Two fundamentally different Christologies developed in the early Church, namely a "low" or adoptionist Christology, and a "high" or "incarnation Christology."^[52] The chronology of the development of these early Christologies is a matter of debate within contemporary scholarship.^{[53][54][55][web 7]}

The "low Christology" or "adoptionist Christology" is the belief "that God exalted Jesus to be his Son by raising him from the dead,"^[56] thereby raising him to "divine status."^{[web 8]} According to the "evolutionary model"^[57] c.q. "evolutionary theories,"^[58] the Christological understanding of Christ developed over time,^[59][60][61] as witnessed in the Gospels,^[54] with the earliest Christians believing that Jesus was a human who was exalted, c.q. adopted as God's Son,^[62][63] when he was resurrected.^[61][64] Later beliefs shifted the exaltation to his baptism, birth, and subsequently to the idea of his eternal existence, as witnessed in the Gospel of John.^[61]This "evolutionary model" was proposed by proponents of the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule, especially Wilhelm Boussets influential Kyrios Christos (1913).^[62] This evolutionary model was very influential, and the "low Christology" has long been regarded as the oldest Christology.^{[65][66][web 8][note 16]}

The other early Christology is "high Christology," which is "the view that Jesus was a pre-existent divine being who became a human, did the Father’s will on earth, and then was taken back up into heaven whence he had originally come,"^{[web 8][67]} and from where he appeared on earth.^{[note 17]} According to Bousset, this "high Christology" developed at the time of Paul's writing, under the influence of Gentile Christians, who brought their pagan Hellenistic traditions to the early Christian communities, introducing divine honours to Jesus.^[68] According to Casey and Dunn, this "high Christology" developed after the time of Paul, at the end of the first century CE when the Gospel according to John was written.^[69]

Since the 1970s, these late datings for the development of a "high Christology" have been contested,^[70] and a majority of scholars argue that this "High Christology" existed already before the writings of Paul.^{[52][note 18]} According to the "New Religionsgeschichtliche Schule,"^{[70][web 10]} c.q. "Early High Christology Club,"^{[web 11]} which includes Martin Hengel, Larry Hurtado, N. T. Wright, and Richard Bauckham,^{[70][web 11]} this "incarnation Christology" or "high Christology" did not evolve over a longer time, but was a "big bang" of ideas which were already present at the start of Christianity, and took further shape in the first few decades of the church, as witnessed in the writings of Paul.^{[70][web 11][web 8][note 19]} Some 'Early High Christology' proponents scholars argue that this "High Christology" may go back to Jesus himself.^{[72][web 7]}

New Testamentical writings[edit]

The study of the various Christologies of the Apostolic Age is based on early Christian documents.^[73]

Paul[edit]

 

Saint Paul delivering the Areopagus sermon in Athens, by Raphael, 1515

The oldest Christian sources are the writings of Paul.^[74] The central Christology of Paul conveys the notion of Christ's pre-existence^[47][48] and the identification of Christ as Kyrios.^[75] Both notions already existed before him in the early Christian communities, and Paul deepened them and used them for preaching in the Hellenistic communities.^[47]

The Pauline epistles use Kyrios to identify Jesus almost 230 times, and express the theme that the true mark of a Christian is the confession of Jesus as the true Lord.^[76] Paul viewed the superiority of the Christian revelation over all other divine manifestations as a consequence of the fact that Christ is the Son of God.^{[web 1]}

The Pauline epistles also advanced the "cosmic Christology"^{[note 20]} later developed in the fourth gospel,^[78] elaborating the cosmic implications of Jesus' existence as the Son of God, as in Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Also, in Colossians 1:15: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."^[75][77]

The Gospels[edit]

 

The Four Evangelists, by Pieter Soutman, 17th century

The synoptic Gospels date from after the writings of Paul. They provide episodes from the life of Jesus and some of his works, but the authors of the New Testament show little interest in an absolute chronology of Jesus or in synchronizing the episodes of his life,^[79] and as in John 21:25, the Gospels do not claim to be an exhaustive list of his works.^[73]

Christologies that can be gleaned from the three Synoptic Gospels generally emphasize the humanity of Jesus, his sayings, his parables, and his miracles. The Gospel of John provides a different perspective that focuses on his divinity.^{[web 1]} The first 14 verses of the Gospel of John are devoted to the divinity of Jesus as the Logos, usually translated as "Word", along with his pre-existence, and they emphasize the cosmic significance of Christ, e.g. John 1:3: "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." In the context of these verses, the Word made flesh is identical with the Word who was in the beginning with God, being exegetically equated with Jesus.^{[web 1]}

Topics[edit]

Nativity and the Holy Name[edit]

The Nativity of Jesus impacted the Christological issues about his Person from the earliest days of Christianity. Luke's Christology centers on the dialectics of the dual natures of the earthly and heavenly manifestations of existence of the Christ, while Matthew's Christology focuses on the mission of Jesus and his role as the savior.^[112][113] The salvific emphasis of Matthew 1:21 later impacted the theological issues and the devotions to Holy Name of Jesus.^{[114][115][116]}

Matthew 1:23 provides a key to the "Emmanuel Christology" of Matthew. Beginning with 1:23, Matthew shows a clear interest in identifying Jesus as "God with us" and in later developing the Emmanuel characterization of Jesus at key points throughout the rest of his Gospel.^[117] The name Emmanuel does not appear elsewhere in the New Testament, but Matthew builds on it in Matthew 28:20 ("I am with you always, even unto the end of the world") to indicate Jesus will be with the faithful to the end of the age.^[117][118] According to Ulrich Luz, the Emmanuel motif brackets the entire Gospel of Matthew between 1:23 and 28:20, appearing explicitly and implicitly in several other passages.^[119]

Crucifixion and resurrection[edit]

The accounts of the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Jesus provides a rich background for Christological analysis, from the canonical Gospels to the Pauline Epistles.^[120]

A central element in the Christology presented in the Acts of the Apostles is the affirmation of the belief that the death of Jesus by crucifixion happened "with the foreknowledge of God, according to a definite plan".^[121] In this view, as in Acts 2:23, the cross is not viewed as a scandal, for the crucifixion of Jesus "at the hands of the lawless" is viewed as the fulfilment of the plan of God.^[121][122]

Paul's Christology has a specific focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus. For Paul, the crucifixion of Jesus is directly related to his resurrection and the term "the cross of Christ" used in Galatians 6:12 may be viewed as his abbreviation of the message of the gospels.^[123] For Paul, the crucifixion of Jesus was not an isolated event in history, but a cosmic event with significant eschatological consequences, as in Cor 2:8.^[123] In the Pauline view, Jesus, obedient to the point of death (Phil 2:8), died "at the right time" (Rom 4:25) based on the plan of God.^[123] For Paul, the "power of the cross" is not separable from the resurrection of Jesus.^[123]

Threefold office[edit]

The threefold office (Latin munus triplex) of Jesus Christ is a Christian doctrine based upon the teachings of the Old Testament. It was described by Eusebius and more fully developed by John Calvin. It states that Jesus Christ performed three functions (or "offices") in his earthly ministry – those of prophet (Deuteronomy 18:14–22), priest (Psalm 110:1-4), and king (Psalm 2). In the Old Testament, the appointment of someone to any of these three positions could be indicated by anointing him or her by pouring oil over the head. Thus, the term messiah, meaning "anointed one", is associated with the concept of the threefold office. While the office of king is that most frequently associated with the Messiah, the role of Jesus as priest is also prominent in the New Testament, being most fully explained in chapters 7 to 10 of the Book of Hebrews.

Mariology[edit]

Some Christians, notably Roman Catholics, view Mariology as a key component of Christology.^{[web 16]} In this view, not only is Mariology a logical and necessary consequence of Christology, but without it, Christology is incomplete, since the figure of Mary contributes to a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what he did.^[124]

Protestants have criticized Mariology because many of its assertions lack any biblical foundation.^[125] Strong Protestant reaction against Roman Catholic Marian devotion and teaching has been a significant issue for ecumenical dialogue.^[126]

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) expressed this sentiment about Roman Catholic Mariology when in two separate occasions he stated, "The appearance of a truly Marian awareness serves as the touchstone indicating whether or not the Christological substance is fully present"^[127] and "It is necessary to go back to Mary, if we want to return to the truth about Jesus Christ."^[128]

References[edit]