Category: Doctrine of Christ

Christ is the Greek-based equivalent of the Hebrew-based word messiah, which literally means anointed one.[i] In the OT, messiah is generally used when referring to a savior or a liberator of people. For example, when a new Jewish king or priest was installed, they were anointed with oil to sanctify them and make them holy.… Read more

C.S. Lewis considers the fact of the Atonement as central to Christianity but considers theories of the Atonement important only if they are personally helpful. Lewis writes, “The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start. Theories about it are another matter … Theories about Christ’s… Read more

In Christianity, the Atonement refers to the redemptive effect of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Through these works, Christ atoned for our sins, making it possible for unrighteous sinners to become positionally righteous in the eyes of God and to be adopted into His family. The words atone and atonement are portmanteaus of “at” and “one”… Read more

There are three offices associated with Christ: the priestly, the prophetic, and the kingly. These offices are clearly anticipated in the OT. For example, Moses foretells the prophetic office (Dt 18:15) and the joint offices of king and priest are foretold by Zechariah (Zec 6:13). Charles Hodge writes, “Nothing, therefore, can be plainer than that as the… Read more

From the time of His incarnation to the time of His ascension, Christ is said to have been in a state of humiliation. From the time of His ascension onward, Christ is said to be in a state of exaltation. The word “state” in this context refers to Christ’s position in life, particularly with respect… Read more

And so, Christ is the God-man. This is what is meant when theologians refer to Christ as the Theanthropos (theo=God; ánthrōpos=human). This ontological characterization of Christ is summarized in the Chalcedonian Definition (CD) which asserts these four fundamental theses about Christ: (1) Christ is numerically one person; (2) Christ is both fully human and fully divine; (3)… Read more

The early church understood Christ to be both human and divine, the Son of Man and the Son of God. The concept of Jesus as divine was, however problematic for many with Jewish backgrounds due to the strong emphasis in Judaism on monotheism. There were therefore many heretical teachings that emerged that viewed God the Father as… Read more