Theology of Christ - Essay Example

Theology of Christ Speaking of the church, there are hundreds of Christians denominations, which subscribe to the same doctrines and documents. Saint Paul, according to the Christian traditions understood the church to mean ‘the Body of Christ’. As one body is made up of several parts working together to accomplish different functions. The theology of Christ describes the church as the congregation that has faith in Jesus Christ (Grenz, 34). This, therefore, means that individual Christian congregations are the church, not in mere isolation but in a worldwide body of Christ. The understanding of Christ and the concept of the church has been discussed widely in the church doctrines and councils. These conferences have a traceable development of the theology of Christ (Flannery). This paper will focus on the development of the theology of Christ through the ecumenical councils and how through these councils the understanding of Christ beyond the New Testament has been developed. Ecumenical Councils The word ecumenical is coined from the Greek word “oikoumene” which means “the whole inhabited earth”. During the early days of the development of the Catholic Church, several meetings were held between the 4th and 7th centuries. During these ecumenical councils key doctrinal issues including how the church understood Christ and the trinity were being discussed. The councils also discussed to settle the unity of the church and its teachings. However, this unity was soon to be broken as schism and splits within the leadership started to surface and threaten to divide the people. The primary motive of these councils and the establishment of the World Council of Churches was not to create a super denomination but rather ta fellowship of churches. This was the initial forum to seek understanding of the Christian faith in witnessing Christ as the leader and serving the rest of the humanity in the whole world (Flannery). This movement involves all the Christians from all over the world who are connected to prayers, faith and actions. The Roman Catholic is however not a member of the WCC but cooperates with the council through the Pontifical council to promote Christian unity all over the world. To reach that point in time, several ecumenical councils. The first council was held in 325 in Nicaea. The council sought in this meeting to use the expanding religion whose potential was well visible to make strong the Roman Empire. Constantine wanted to persuade the council to work towards this for the favor of the empire which was being threatened by the growing disunity. His plans were however made futile by the fact that many regions where he wanted to establish a Roman rule such as Egypt, Palestine and Syria developed and started teaching the nature of Jesus Christ (Grenz, 34). This was followed by the intense controversy surrounding the person of Jesus Christ and His presumed relationship to the father and the Trinity. Constantine was able to convince the bishops to elect him as one of them with an equal vote for the doctrines. However, this was to gain political mileage in the region and take advantage of the spreading belief of Christ and the teachings of the church (Flannery). After this council, the bishops continued teaching the people while the atheist Constantine enjoyed the spread of the religion. In the year 381, a second council was held in Constantinople and an approval of the Nicene Creed was adopted. This creed was originally used by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. This creed is still used in the Roman Catholic Church. In this creed, the understanding of Christ was stressed as being ‘Deum de Deo´ (God from God). To verify the becoming man of Christ, the council condemned the Apollinarism teachings which disputed the presence of a body and soul in Christ. The third council was held in Ephesus in 431 and the main agenda was to settle Nestorian controversy on the devotion to Mary as the bearer of God (Grenz, 13). From this council, the addition of a belief in the theology of Christ as having been born of Mary was widely accepted. Further, any contrary teaching was declared unlawful. In Chalcedon in 451, the council continued to illuminate the nature and understanding of Christ as human and divine. This was the largely acceptable teaching and was adopted by the Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Many of the Protestants denominations. This meant that all Christians had to believe in Christ’s existence in two forms; as a human and as a divine being. The three remaining councils, held in Constantinople (553, 680) and Nicaea (&87) largely affirmed that Christ indeed had both human and divine will, hope and personalities. It is also in the last council that the veneration of icons of Mary and Christ were restored and iconoclasm ended. Understanding of Christ The understanding of Christ throughout this period developed from being just a human being whose teachings were being followed by a being who not only had a divine self but also rose from the dead. Further, the person of Christ and his relationship with the father as explained by most of the bishops from the scriptures was affirmed through comparison of understanding. This affirmation was then followed by the adoption of the Nicene Creed which confirmed the Christian faith in Christ, the Father, and the Spirit. From the creed, Christ is declared as God from God who is consubstantial with the father and the spirit. This also affirms the Christians faith in the Holy trinity. The New Testament church broadly refers to the community of Christians who believe in the Christ Jesus as he is portrayed in the New Testament. This means that as the understanding of the scriptures and the deeper interpretation of the same is done, the same community of Christians has new additions to their faith. All Christians have agreements on the fundamentals of the faith and these include the person and divinity of Christ. The fundamentals of faith include the inspiration and authority of the Holy Scriptures, the virgin conception, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, atonement of sins, second coming of Christ, the Holy Trinity and other related doctrines (Placher). Whereas these fundamentals are coined from the New Testament scriptures, the understanding of the theology Christ beyond the New Testament has developed from the common understanding and interpretation of the scriptures. The question of Jesus as God is of extreme importance. The Christians have first agreed that Jesus Christ is really God. Through the discussions of the ecumenical councils during their meetings as discussed, the person of Christ as having both the human and divine selves has served to strengthen this fundamental of the faith. Beyond the New Testament, Christians believe that Jesus as God deserves praise and worship, similar to that offered to God. Jesus in the New Testament repeatedly claimed to be the Son of God, accepted the title God and claimed to have similar attributes to God. This implies that anyone who claims to be a Christian, after this was to believe in Jesus and the Trinity (Grenz, 48). For most Christians, convictions about God are cherished in the convention of Trinitarianism, which holds that the three persons of God together shape a solitary God. The Trinitarian perspective underlines that God has a will and that God the Son has two wills, celestial and human, however, these are never in the clash. Notwithstanding, this point is questioned by Oriental Orthodox Christians, who hold that God the Son has stood out the will of bound together eternality and mankind. The Christian tenet of the Trinity instructs the solidarity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one God. The precept expresses that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases yet one being. Personhood in the Trinity does not coordinate the basic Western comprehension of "individual" as utilized as a part of the English dialect it doesnt suggest an "individual, finished toward oneself middle of unrestrained choice and cognizant activity. To the people of old, personhood "was in some sense individual, however dependably in the group as well. Each individual is seen as having the one indistinguishable quintessence or nature, not only comparable natures (Macquarrie, 87). Since the start of the 3rd century, the teaching of the Trinity has been expressed as "the one God exists in three Persons and one substance, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is past immediate human experience and perception. Christians, similar to Muslims, remain in wonderment of the loftiness and domain of God over the earth. Christians declare that pretty much as the human eye cant look straightforwardly into the sun, so individuals cant appreciate the full heavenliness of God. Then again, the Bible is loaded with natural analogies for God, for example, a guardian, a shepherd, a lady scanning for a lost coin, a ruler, and even a mother hen. So Christians likewise accept God adores mankind like a shepherd tending a group or a guardian watching over youngsters (Placher). The challenge for Christians is to keep up an adjusted perspective of God as both in and outside of the world to keep in mind that despite the fact that they accept God cares for them gently as a mother, God likewise remains a riddle outside their ability to understand. Therefore, Christians generally feel respect, love, and trust towards God: they perceive Gods as wondrous, yet they are additionally thankful for Gods tolerant and close sympathy toward them and the whole world. Works cited Flannery, Austin, ed. Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations. Costello, 1996. [Vatican II documents also online at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm] Grenz, Stanley J, and William C. Placher. Essentials of Christian Theology. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003. Print. Macquarrie, John. Principles of Christian Theology. London: SCM, 2003. Print. Placher, William. A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction. Westminster John Knox, 1983. Introduces the development of Christian theology chronologically (as it developed through history) from a Protestant perspective. Read More