Christology

The discipline that seeks to understand as comprehensively as possible all that Christ is and has done, including his divinity and humanity. In essence all christology does is to clarify two answers: 1) Peter's answer ("You are the Christ, the Son of the living God") to Jesus's question, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matt 16:15-16; Mk 8:28; Lk 9:20), and 2) our answer "You are Lord." Framed more specifically, christology seeks to understand 1) what it means to say that Jesus is fully man and fully God, and 2) what it means for Jesus to say that God is his Father, i.e., what is the nature of his relationship to God?

The simplicity of the definition given above, however, hides a multitude of complexities and has generated warehouses of books. That this should be the case is hardly surprising, since Christ remains the greatest, and a most wonderful, enigma in human history. Some of these complexities will be dealt with elsewhere in ALBERITH. Here we clarity only two pairs of expressions that are often used in the discipline. First, high christology refers to the perspective that views Christ as divine, the Son of God, exalted and seated at God's right hand, in contrast to a 'low christology' that views him in his humanity. Then there is christology from below and from above. Christology from above refers to the approach to the study that focuses on Christ as God, while christology from below begins its study from His humanity, with the historical Jesus. These complexities have resulted in one of the most intensive theological debates in the modern church, i.e., the quest for the historical Jesus.

When all these other issues have been examined and considered, the fact remains that no other subject is more personally and cosmically significant than who Jesus is and what it was and is that He has accomplished, no subject more endearing to the heart and soul.

Media Resources

Third Millenium Ministrys has developed this extremely helpful course on We Beleive in Jesus. These lectures open in the SPanel.

We Believe in Jesus. Lesson 1. The Redeemer. video 2:04:34.

We Believe in Jesus. Lesson 2: The Christ. video 2:02:03.

We Believe in Jesus. Lesson 3: The Prophet. video 1:44:44.

We Believe in Jesus. Lesson 4: The Priest.
video 2:06:05.

We Believe in Jesus. Lesson 5: The King.
video 2:05:59.