Christology by Joshua Oluwaseun Oke

CHRISTOLOGY
Christology ||||||||| || Page 1 ||

CHRISTOLOGY
CHRISTOLOGY
BY
OKE JOSHUA OLUWASEUN
PUBLISHED BY:
JSD CONCEPT PUBLICATION
Jsdglobalconcept23@gmail.com

CHRISTOLOGY
+2349065230590

CHRISTOLOGY
TABLE OF S
INTRODUCTIO
N
Introduction
CHAPTER 1 : The Importance of CHRISTOLOGY
CHAPTER 2 : Basics of CHRISTOLOGY

CHAPTER 3 : Incarnation in CHRISTOLOGY
CHAPTER 4 : Resurrection in CHRISTOLOGY
CHAPTER 5 : Soteriology
Other books by JSD concept publication

CHRISTOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
Christology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the
nature of Jesus the Christ. In particular, how the divine and human are related in his person.
Christology is generally less concerned with the details of Jesus’ life than it is with how the
human and divine co-exist in one person. Although this study of the inter-relationship of
these two natures is the foundation of Christology, some essential sub-topic within the
field of Christology include:
√ the Incarnation,
√ the resurrection,
√ and the salvific work of Jesus (known as soteriology).
Christology is related to questions concerning the nature of God like the Trinity,
Unitarianism or Binitarianism. However, from a Christian perspective, these questions are
concerned with how the divine persons relate to one another; whereas Christology is
concerned with the meeting of the human and divine in the person of Jesus.Throughout the
history of Christianity, Christological questions have been very important in the life of the
church. Christology was a fundamental concern from the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) until the
Third Council of Constantinople (680 AD). In this time period, the Christological views of
various groups within the broader Christian community led to accusations of heresy, and,
infrequently, subsequent religious persecution. In some cases, a sect’s unique Christology is
its chief distinctive feature; in these cases it is common for the sect to be known by the
name given to its Christology.
TrinityThe early Christians first defined how Jesus is related to God the Father, a
doctrine known as the Trinity. Many of the Trinitarian controversies of the first four centuries
AD had direct implications for later thinking about how the human and divine are related
within the person of Jesus.The Trinitarian controversies known as Arianism, Adoptionism,
and Ebionitism – groups that in one manner or another denied the divinity of Christ – led the
early Christians to affirm that Jesus was fully divine. Other groups, in particular those that
adhered to Docetism and Gnosticism, denied the humanity of Christ, leading the early
Christians to strongly affirm that Christ was also fully human.The Trinitarian controversies
came to a head at the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD), at which the church defined the
persons of the Godhead and their relationship with one another. The language used was that
the one God exists in three persons (Father, Son, and Spirit). The Creed of the Nicene Council
made statements about the full divinity and full humanity of Jesus, thus preparing the way for
discussion about how exactly the divine and human come together in the person of Christ
(Christology).
 Chalcedonian
Christology

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Chalcedonian and Hypostatic unionThe Council of Nicaea defined that Jesus was
fully divine and also human. What it did not do was make clear how one person could be
both divine and human, and how the divine and human were related within that one person.
This led to the Christological controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries of the
common era.The most important event in these controversies was the Council of
Chalcedon, held in 451 AD. The Council promulgated a Christological doctrine known as
the hypostatic union. In short, this doctrine states that two natures, one human and one
divine, are united in the one person of Christ. The Council further taught that each of these
natures, the human and the divine, was distinct and complete. This view is sometimes
called Dyophysite (meaning two natures) by those who rejected it.The Chalcedonian
Creed did not put an end to all Christological debate, but it did clarify the terms used and
became a point of reference for all other Christologies.
 Historical
controversies concerning the denial
of Christ’s divine nature
As noted above, there were theologies rejected by the Trinitarianism of Nicaea that
denied the divinity of Christ. The Adoptionists taught that Jesus was born fully human, and
was adopted as God’s Son because of the life he lived. Another group, known as the
Ebionites, taught that Jesus was not God, but the human Moshiach prophet promised in
the Old Testament. Arianism affirmed that Jesus was divine, but taught that he was less
divine than God the Father. Some of these views could be described as Unitarianism
(although that is a modern term) in their insistence on the one-ness of God. These views,
which directly affected how one understood the Godhead, were declared heresies by the
Council of Nicaea.Most Christology following the Council of Nicaea sought to affirm the
divinity of Christ (thus adhering to the Nicene Creed), and controversies centered on also
preserving the humanity of Christ. Throughout much of the rest of the ancient history of
Christianity, Christologies that denied Christ’s divinity ceased to have a major impact on the
life of the church until the modern era.
 Historical
controversies concerning denial of
Christ’s human nature
The Council of Nicaea rejected theologies that entirely denied the humanity of Christ,
affirming in the Nicene Creed the doctrine of the Incarnation as a part of the doctrine of the
Trinity. That is, that the second person of the Trinity became incarnate in the person Jesus
and was fully human.This understanding of the Trinity rejected theologies that denied the
humanity of Jesus. Included among these was the understandings of some Gnostic groups,
who held to a Docetic theology. Docetism (from the Greek verb “to seem”) taught that Jesus
was fully divine, and only “seemed” or appeared to be human.Following the Council of
Nicaea, theologians often sought
to make sense of the interplay of the human and divine in the person of Christ while
upholding the doctrine of the Trinity by denying, in part or in whole, the humanity of Christ.
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Various forms of Monophysitism taught that Christ only had one nature; that the divine had
either dissolved or taken the place of the human in the person of Christ. Notable
Monophysite theologians included Eutyches (c. 380-456 AD) and Apollinaris of Laodicea (d.
390 AD).Monophysitism was rejected as heresy at the Council of Chalcedon. As theologians
continued to reach a compromise between the Chalcedonians and the Monophysites, other
Christologies developed that partially rejected the full humanity of Christ. Monothelitism
taught that in the one person of Jesus there were two natures, but only a divine will. Closely
related to this is Monoenergism, which held to the same doctrine as the Monothelites, but
with different terminology. These positions were declared heresy by the Third Council of
Constantinople (the Sixth Ecumenical Council, 680-681 c.e.).
 Other
Christological Concerns
 Concerning
the Sinlessness of Christ
The controversy concerning the sinlessness of Christ focuses upon the human nature
which Christ assumed. The question must be asked if it is possible to be fully human and
not be a participant in the “fall” of Adam? Adam and Eve existed in an “unfallen” status
before the “fall” according to Genesis 2-3.
 Kinds of sin
The sinless nature of Christ involves two elements according to MacLeod, “First,
Christ was free of actual sin.” Studying the gospels there is no reference to Jesus praying
for the forgiveness of sin, nor confessing sin. The assertion is that Jesus did not commit
sin, nor could he be proven guilty of sin; he had no vices. In fact, he is quoted as asking,
“Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” in John 8:46. “Secondly, he was free from inherent
sin [or “original sin“].”
 The temptation of
Christ
The temptation of Christ presented in the gospels affirms that Christ was tempted.
Indeed, the temptations were genuine and of a greater intensity than normally experienced
by human beings. He experienced all the frail weaknesses of humanity. Jesus was tempted
through hunger and thirst, pain and the love of his friends. Thus, the human weaknesses
could engender temptation. Nevertheless, MacLeod notes that “one crucial respect in
which Christ was not like us is that he was not tempted by anything within himself.” The
temptations Christ faced focused upon his person and identity as the incarnate Son of God.
MacLeod writes, “Christ could be tempted through his sonship.” The temptation in the
wilderness and again in

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Gethsemane exemplifies this arena of temptation. Regarding the temptation of
performing a sign that would affirm his sonship by throwing himself from the pinnacle of
the temple, MacLeod observes, “The sign was for himself: a temptation to seek reassurance,
as if to say, ‘the real question is my own sonship. I must forget all else and all others and all
further service until that is clear.’” MacLeod places this struggle in the context of the
incarnation, “…he has become, a man, and he must accept not only the appearance but the
reality.”
 Communication of
attributes
The communion of attributes (Communicatio idiomatum) of Christ’s divine and

human natures is understood according to Chalcedonian theology to mean that they exist
together with neither overriding the other. That is, both are preserved and coexist in one
person. Christ had all the properties of God and humanity. God did not stop being God and
become man. Christ was not half-God and half-human. The two natures did not mix into a
new third kind of nature.
Although independent, they acted in complete accord; when one nature acted, so did
the other. The natures did not commingle, merge, infuse each other, or replace each other.
One was not converted into the other. They remained separate (yet acted with one accord).
 Kenosis
The kenotic theory states that the logos laid aside some of God’s characteristics
when God became human. Typically, omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence were
laid aside, since these characteristics seem incompatible with a being a human. This also
attempts to solve the problems when Jesus appears to show incomplete knowledge
(Matthew 24:36), presence (Luke 13:33), or ability (John 4:6). Reformed theology suggests
that Jesus put self-imposed limitations on himself. Jesus chose to only be in one place at a
time, to limit his power, and to limit his knowledge.
 Virgin Birth
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke clearly attest to a virgin birth for Jesus Christ.
Some now disregard or even refute this doctrine. We turn to consider the Christological
issues surrounding belief or disbelief in the virgin birth.A non-virgin birth would seem to
require some form of adoptionism. This is because a human conception and birth would
seem to yield a fully human Jesus, with some other mechanism required to make Jesus
divine as well.A non-virgin birth would seem to support the full humanity of Jesus. William
Barclay: states, “The supreme problem of the virgin birth is that it does quite undeniably
differentiate Jesus from all men; it does leave us with an incomplete incarnation.” Barth
speaks of the virgin birth as the divine sign “which accompanies and indicates the mystery of
the incarnation of the Son.” Donald MacLeod gives several Christological implications of a
virgin birth:
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Highlights salvation as a supernatural act of God rather than an act of human
initiative. Avoids adoptionism (which is virtually required if a normal birth).
Reinforces the sinlessness of Christ, especially as it relates to Christ being outside

the sin of Adam (original sin).

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 The Resurrection
The resurrection is perhaps the most controversial aspect of the life of Jesus Christ.
Christianity hinges on this point of Christology, both as a response to a particular history.
Some Christians claim that because he was resurrected, that the future of the world was
forever altered. Most Christians believe that Jesus’ resurrection brings reconciliation with
God (II Corinthians 5:18), the destruction of death (I Corinthians 15:26), and forgiveness of
sins for followers of Jesus Christ.Many people are dependent on Scripture to provide
details of the resurrection. Most Christians hold to the Bible as a reliable source. The Bible
says the tomb he was buried in was empty. Even those in Scripture who doubted his
resurrection acknowledge that the tomb was empty, claiming that Jesus’ body was stolen
from the tomb.After Jesus had died, was buried, and was raised, Christians believe he
appeared to others in bodily form. Some skeptics say his appearances were only perceived
by his followers in mind or spirit – a sort of collective hallucination. The Bible also states
that it was still a physical body because he talked, ate, was touched, and still retained visible
wounds from the crucifixion. Some who doubt his resurrection state that Jesus never died in
the first place. He merely passed out on the cross and later revived in the tomb – the
swoon theory. Some have suggested that those who went to the empty tomb actually went
to the wrong tomb. This is refuted by arguing that prominent Jews’ burial sites were
frequently visited and not easily forgotten.[One cannot dispute that at the very least, a major
world religion began at this point. The gospels tell us that the disciples believed they
witnessed Jesus’ resurrected body and that led to the beginning of the faith. They had
previously hid in fear of persecution after Jesus’ death. After seeing Jesus they boldly
proclaimed the message of Jesus Christ despite tremendous risk. They obeyed Jesus’
mandate to be reconciled to God through repentance (Luke 24:47), baptism, and obedience
(Matthew 28:19-20).
 Work of Christ
The Offices of Christ: “Prophet, Priest, and King”
Jesus Christ, the Mediator of humankind, fulfills the three offices of Prophet, Priest,
and King. Eusebius of the early church worked out this threefold classification, which John
Calvin developed[ and John Wesley discussed.
 Prophet
Christ is the mouthpiece of God as the Prophet, speaking and teaching the Word of
God, infinitely greater than all prophets, who spoke for God and interpreted the will of God.
The Old Testament prophet brought God’s message to the people. Christ, as the Word (John
1:1- 18)/Logos is the Source of revelation. Accordingly, Jesus Christ never used the
messenger formula, which linked the prophet’s words to God in the prophetic phrase, Thus
says the Lord. Christ, being of the same nature, provides a definitive and true exposition of
God.The Word/Logos is Light. As the true Light (John 1:1-18), Jesus Christ exclusively
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enlightens humankind in the office of Prophet. Jesus affirmed his divine identity and
ultimate authority, revealing God to humanity, continuing His work into the future as the
Light (Revelation 22:3).
 Priest
Christ, whom we draw near to in confidence, offered Himself as the sacrifice to

humanity as High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). Old Testament priests declared the will of God,
gave the covenant of blessing, and directed the processing of sacrifices. The priest
represented humankind before God. While humankind took the office of priesthood in
their weakness, Jesus holds the position with an indestructible power that overcomes the
weakness of humanity as described throughout the book of Hebrews. As High Priest, Christ
became one with humanity in human weakness, offered prayers to God, chose obedience
through suffering, and sympathized with the struggles of humanity.The atoning death of
Christ is at the heart of His work as High Priest. Metaphors are used to describe His death
on the cross, such as, “Christ, the Lamb of God, shed His blood on the cross as the sin
offering for humankind.” Christ made one sin offering as High Priest in contrast to the Old
Testament priests who continually offered sacrifices on behalf of humanity. Because of the
work of Christ on the cross, humanity has the opportunity to have a living relationship with
God. Conversely, the individuals that deny the work of God are described as dead in sin,
without God and without hope.
 King
Christ, exalted High Priest, mediates the sin that estranges humankind from the
fellowship of God. In turn, He has full rights to reign over the church and world as King. Christ
sits at the right-hand of God, crowned in glory as “King of kings and Lord of lords.” God put
this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right
hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and
above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has
put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church.
 Approaches to
Christology: Methodologies
Theologians like Jurgen Moltmann and Walter Kasper have characterized

Christologies as anthropological or cosmological. These are also termed ‘Christology from
below’ and ‘Christology from above’ respectively. An anthropological Christology starts with
the human person of Jesus and works from his life and ministry toward what it means for
him to be divine; whereas, a cosmological Christology works in the opposite direction.
Starting from the eternal Logos, a cosmological Christology works toward his humanity.
Theologians typically begin on one side or the other and their choice inevitably colors their
resultant Christology. As a starting point these options represent “diverse yet

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complementary” approaches; each poses its own difficulties. Both Christologies ‘from above’
and ‘from below’ must come to terms with the two natures of Christ: human and divine. Just
as light can be perceived as a wave or as a particle, so Jesus must be thought in terms of both
his divinity and humanity. You cannot talk about “either or” but must talk about “both and”.
 Cosmological
Approaches
Christologies from above start with the Logos, the second Person of the Trinity,
establish his eternality, his agency in creation, and his economic Sonship. Jesus’ unity with
God is established by the Incarnation as the divine Logos assumes a human nature. This
approach was common in the early church – e.g., St. Paul and
St. John in the Gospels. The attribution of full humanity to Jesus is resolved by
stating that the two natures mutually share their properties (a concept termed communicatio
idiomatum).
 Anthropological
Approaches
Christologies from below start with the human being Jesus as the representative of
the new humanity, not with the pre-existent Logos. Jesus lives an exemplary life, one to which
we aspire in religious experience. This form of Christology lends itself to mysticism, and some
of its roots go back to emergence of Christ mysticism in the sixth century East, but in the West
it flourished between the 11th and 14th centuries. A recent theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg
contends that the resurrected Jesus is the “eschatological fulfillment of human destiny to live in
nearness to God.”
 Political Approaches
The Christian faith is inherently political because allegiance to Jesus as risen Lord
relativises all earthly rule and authority. Jesus is called “Lord” over 230 times in Paul’s
epistles alone, and is thus the principle confession of faith in the Pauline epistles. Further,
N.T. Wright argues that this Pauline confession is the core of the gospel of salvation. The
Achille’s heal of this approach is the loss of eschatological tension between this present age
and the future divine rule that is yet to come. This can happen when the state co-opts
Christ’s authority as was often the case in imperial Christology. Modern political
Christologies seek to overcome imperialist ideologies.
 Other Approaches
o Jesus and Social Doctrines of the Trinity

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The doctrine of Perichoresis is the doctrine of how the three Persons of the Trinity
are one in their threeness. Perichoresis is the mutual indwelling or mutual relatedness within
the Trinity. Recently Perichoresis has been applied to the two natures, human and divine,
of Jesus to help explain how they remain in perfect union yet unconfused, inseparable but not
commingled.
Further, “perichoretic realities” are considered to be somehow brought down into the
world by the Incarnation. Jesus characterizes his relation to his Father in terms of mutual
indwelling, “believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (John 14:11). Jesus also
suggested that people can participate in these perichoretic realities – “I do not ask in behalf
of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be
one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us” (John 17:20-
21).

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..
CHAPTER
THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTOLOGY
"If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain... and
you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15: 14-17). With these strong words from the First
Letter to the Corinthians, St Paul makes clear the decisive importance he attributes to the
Resurrection of Jesus. In this event, in fact, lies the solution to the problem posed by the
drama of the Cross.
The Cross alone could not explain the Christian faith, indeed it would remain a
tragedy, an indication of the absurdity of being. The Paschal Mystery consists in the fact that
the Crucified man "was raised on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures" (1
Corinthians 15: 4), as proto-Christian tradition attests. This is the keystone of Pauline
Christology: everything rotates around this gravitational centre. The whole teaching of Paul
the Apostle starts from, and arrives at, the mystery of him whom the Father raised from the
dead. The Resurrection is a fundamental fact, almost a prior axiom ( 1 Corinthians 15: 12), on
the basis of which Paul can formulate his synthetic proclamation (kerygma). He who was
crucified and who thus manifested God's immense love for man, is risen again, and is alive
among us.
It is important to understand the relationship between the proclamation of the

Resurrection, as paul formulates it, and that was in use since the first pre-Pauline Christian
communities. Here indeed we can see the importance of the tradition that preceded the Apostle
and that he, with great respect and care, desires to pass on in his turn. The text on the
Resurrection, contained in first Corinthians chapter 15: 1-11 of the First Letter to the
Corinthians, emphasizes the connection between "receiving" and "transmitting". St Paul
attributes great importance to the literal formulation of the tradition, and at the end of the
passage under consideration underlines, "What matters is that I preach what they preach" (1
Corinthians 15: 11 ), so drawing attention to the oneness of the kerygma, of the proclamation
for all believers and for those who will proclaim the Resurrection of Christ. The tradition to
which he refers is the fount from which to draw. His Christology is never original at the
expense of faithfulness to tradition. The kerygma of the Apostles always presides over the
personal re-elaboration of Paul; each of his arguments moves from common tradition, and in
them he expresses the faith shared by all the Churches, which are one single Church. In this
way St Paul offers a model for all time of how to approach theology and how to preach. The
theologian, the preacher, does not create new visions of the world and of life, but he is at the
service of truth handed down, at the service of the real fact of Christ, of the Cross, and of the
Resurrection. His task is to help us understand today the reality of "God with us" that lies
behind the ancient words, and thus the reality of true life.

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We should here be explicit: St Paul, in proclaiming the Resurrection, does not worry
about presenting an organic doctrinal exposition he does not wish to write what would
effectively be a theological handbook but he approaches the theme by replying to doubts and
concrete questions asked of him by the faithful; an unprepared discourse, then, but one full of
faith and theological experience. We find here a concentration of the essential: we have been
"justified", that is made just, saved, by Christ who died and rose again for us. Above all else
the fact of the Resurrection emerges, without which Christian life would be simply in vain. On
that Easter morning something extraordinary happened, something new, and at the same
time very concrete, distinguished by very precise signs and recorded by numerous
witnesses. For Paul, as for the other authors of the New Testament, the Resurrection is
closely bound to the testimony of those who had direct experience of the Risen One.
This means seeing and hearing, not only with the eyes or with the senses, but also
with an interior light that assists the recognition of what the external senses attest as
objective fact.
Paul gives, therefore, as do the four Gospels, primary importance to the theme of
the appearances, which constitute a fundamental condition for belief in the Risen One who
left the tomb empty. These two facts are important: the tomb is empty and Jesus has in fact
appeared. In this way the links of that tradition were forged, which, through the testimony of
the Apostles and the first disciples, was to reach successive generations until it came down
to our own. The first consequence, or the first way of expressing this testimony, is to
preach the Resurrection of Christ as a synthesis of the Gospel proclamation and as the
culminating point in the salvific itinerary. Paul does all this on many occasions: looking at
the Letters and the Acts of the Apostles, we can see that for him the essential point is to
bear witness to the Resurrection. I should like to cite just one text: Paul, arrested in
Jerusalem, stands accused before the Sanhedrin. In this situation, where his life is at stake,
he indicates what is the sense and content of all his preaching: "with respect to the hope and
the resurrection of the dead I am on trial" (Acts 23: 6). This same phrase Paul continually
repeats in his Letters ( 1 Thessalonians 1: 9ff; 4: 13-18; 5: 10), in which he refers to his
own personal experience, to his own meeting with the Risen Christ (cf. Galatians 1: 15-16,
1 Corinthians 9: 1).
But we may wonder, what, for St Paul, is the deep meaning of the Resurrection of
Jesus? What has he to say to us across these 2,000 years? Is the affirmation "Christ is risen"
relevant to us today? Why is the Resurrection so important, both for him and for us? Paul
gives a solemn answer to this question at the beginning of his Letter to the Romans, where he
begins by referring to "the Gospel of God... concerning his Son, who was descended from
David according to the flesh, and designated Son of God in power according to the spirit of
holiness by his resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1: 3-4). Paul knows well, and often
says, that Jesus was always the Son of God, from the moment of his Incarnation. The novelty
of the Resurrection, consists in the fact that Jesus, raised from the lowliness of his earthly
existence, is constituted Son of God "in power". Jesus, humiliated up to the moment of his
death on the Cross, can now say to the Eleven, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me" (Matthew 28: 18). The affirmation of Psalm 2: 8 has come to pass. "Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession". So,
with the Resurrection begins the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ to all peoples the
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Kingdom of Christ begins, this new Kingdom that knows no power other than that of truth
and love. The Resurrection thus reveals definitively the real identity and the extraordinary
stature of the Crucified One.
An incomparable and towering dignity: Jesus is God! For St Paul, the secret identity
of Jesus is revealed even more in the mystery of the Resurrection than in the Incarnation.
While the title of Christ, that is "Messiah"; "the Anointed", in St Paul tends to become the
proper name of Jesus, and that of "the Lord" indicates his personal relationship with
believers, now the title "Son of God" comes to illustrate the intimate relationship of Jesus
with God, a relationship which is fully revealed in the Paschal event. We can say, therefore,
that Jesus rose again to be the Lord of the living and the dead, ( Romans 14: 9; and 2
Corinthians 5: 15) or in other words, our Saviour ( Romans 4: 25).
All this bears important consequences for our lives as believers: we are called upon
to take part, in our inmost selves, in the whole story of the death and Resurrection of
Christ. The Apostle says: we "have died with Christ" and we believe we shall "live with him.
For we know that Christ being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer
has dominion over him" (Romans 6: 8-9). This means sharing in the suffering of Christ,
which is a prelude to that full unity with him through the resurrection that we hope for. This
is also what happened to St Paul, whose personal experience is described in the Letters in
tones as sorrowful as they are realistic: "that I may know him and the power of his
Resurrection, and may share his sufferings becoming like him in his death, that if possible I
may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3: 10-11; 2 Timothy 2: 8-12). The
theology of the Cross is not a theory it is the reality of Christian life. To live in the belief in
Jesus Christ, to live in truth and love implies daily sacrifice, implies suffering. Christianity is
not the easy road, it is, rather, a difficult climb, but one illuminated by the light of Christ and
by the great hope that is born of him. St Augustine says: Christians are not spared
suffering, indeed they must suffer a little more, because to live the faith expresses the
courage to face in greater depth the problems that life and history present. But only in this
way, through the experience of suffering, can we know life in its profundity, in its beauty, in
the great hope born from Christ crucified and risen again. The believer, however, finds
himself between two poles: on the one hand, the Resurrection, which in a certain sense is
already present and operating within us ( Colossians 3: 1-4; Ephesians 2: 6); on the other, the
urgency to enter into the process which leads everyone and everything towards that
fullness described in the Letter to the Romans with a bold image: as the whole of Creation
groans and suffers almost as with the pangs of childbirth, so we groan in the expectation of
the redemption of our bodies, of our redemption and resurrection ( Romans 8: 18-23).
In synthesis, we can say with Paul that the true believer obtains salvation by
professing with his mouth that Jesus is the Lord and believing in his heart that God has
raised Him from the dead
( Romans 10: 9). Important above all else is the heart that believes in Christ, and
which in its faith "touches" the Risen One; but it is not enough to carry our faith in our heart,
we must confess it and bear witness to it with our mouths, with our lives, thus making the
truth of the Cross and the Resurrection present in our history. In this way the Christian
becomes part of that process by which the first Adam, a creature of the earth, and subject to
corruption and death, is transformed into the last Adam, heavenly and incorruptible ( 1

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Corinthians 15: 20-22 and 42-49). This process was set in motion by the Resurrection of
Christ, and it is, therefore, on this that we found our hope that we too may one day enter with
Christ into our true homeland, which is in Heaven. Borne up by this hope, let us continue with
courage and with joy.

CHRISTOLOGY
CHAPTER
2
BASICS OF CHRISTOLOGY
 Who is Jesus Christ?
This question marks the starting point of Christology, a major branch of theology that
studies the nature and being of Jesus.
Christology has had a prominent role in Christian history, helping to shape major
areas of doctrine. Perhaps most notable is the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451, which
rebuffed several controversial beliefs undermining either the human or divine nature of
Jesus. The council’s findings became a point of reference for future contributions in
Christology, as found in the thought of theologians such as Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas
Aquinas, Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar.
Today, mainstream Christianity agrees that Jesus is the incarnate God, one person
with two complete natures, human and divine. This foundational statement in Christology,
rooted in Scripture, holds unparalleled practical and theological significance.
 What Is Christology?
Christology is primarily concerned with the identity of Jesus. Because Christianity

asserts that Jesus is human and divine, the discipline asks how both of these can exist in one
person.
Christology also investigates how this relates to the life and works of Jesus. How
and why did the incarnation and resurrection occur? Why is salvation offered through
Christ? These questions and topics lead to a greater understanding of who Jesus is, what he
did and what all of this means.
Christology is the Christian reflection, teaching, and doctrine concerning Jesus of

Nazareth. Christology is the part of theology that is concerned with the nature and work of
Jesus, including such matters as the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and his human and divine
natures and their relationship.
The underlying methodological assumption of Christology is that the New Testament

contains the authentic and accurate record of Jesus, both explicitly and implicitly. The New
Testament is taken to convey that the earliest followers of Jesus were convinced that God

CHRISTOLOGY
was revealed in him and that they attributed a number of titles to him, such as “Messiah,”
“Son of Man,” “Son of God,” and “Lord.” Christian discourse uses the portrayal of Jesus in the
foundational documents of Christianity as a point of departure. Traditionally, Christological
reflection has focused on two specific aspects of that portrayal—namely, the person and the
work of Jesus. It has also sought to clarify and systematize the meaning of the scriptural
depiction of Jesus.
 Sources and concepts
The basic sources for the historical development of Christology are the New
Testament, containing the foundational Christian writings; the creeds of Christianity,
especially those from the first five centuries; and the reflections of theologians. Clearly, those
three are interrelated, with theological reflection occupying a pivotal place. Theologians
explicated what they understood to be the meaning of both the New Testament and the
creeds. In so doing they played a crucial role in the formulation of the Christological creeds.
The argument has also been put forward that the liturgy of early Christianity played an
incisive role in the formulation of the creeds, including those of Christology.
Reflections about Jesus dominated Christian discourse from the apostolic age
onward. Most of that Christological reflection took place in the eastern Mediterranean,
where it utilized the language (Greek) and concepts of Classical antiquity. The Christological
debate is quite unintelligible without an awareness of how it was shaped by that context.
Since there seem to be echoes of Classical concepts in Scripture, it is not surprising that
Christian theologians appropriated them in order to explicate the meaning of Christian
affirmations. Two notions in particular played important roles: logos theology and
preexistence.
Logos theology, which was formulated by the Jewish philosopher Philo, sought to
describe how God is active and effective through the divine will, reason, and power. That
activity was named the logos (Greek: “word”) of God. Christian reflection understood Jesus
as the manifestation of the divine will, reason, and power and therefore applied the
concept of the logos to him—dramatically so in the opening of The Gospel According to John.
(“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”) The
startling newness of the Christian affirmation lay in the belief that the logos “became
flesh.”
There are intimations of the concept of preexistence both in the Hebrew Scriptures
and in the thought of Classical antiquity. That concept held that everything good on earth
was preexistent with God, existing in God’s cognition. The good thus existed with God
before any earthly appearance, which is merely the transition from hiding to
manifestation. The concept of preexistence is related to the notion that there is nothing that
God does not know, that there is neither past nor future with God, and that God is the Lord
of History. In the New Testament, notions of preexistence, which Christian exegetes have
found expressed in the Hebrew Bible, are applied to Jesus. The Letter of Paul to the
Philippians (2:7), for example, speaks of the preexistent Jesus who is sent down by God
“in human form,” while the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (8:9) portrays Jesus’

CHRISTOLOGY
Incarnation as an impoverishment, noting that he gave up his riches to become poor so that
believers could become rich. According to the apostle Paul, Jesus is voluntarily obedient
in his descent from heaven, which is followed by his return there.
 Significance
Christology is linked to several theological disciplines. Soteriology, or the study of the

doctrine of salvation, requires an understanding of Jesus’ nature. The same is true for subjects
such as ecclesiology, or the study of the Christian Church, and Trinitarian theology, or the
study of God in the Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).
Christology relates to many areas of theology, but most important is its place in the life
of the believer. Recognizing who Jesus is, what he did and why — these are essential to
knowing him. Only then may someone believe in Jesus and have eternal life (John 3:11-21).
 Christological Roots in Scripture: Key Terms for Jesus
Dozens of names and titles are used to refer to Jesus, and many have Christological
significance. The following terms in the Bible are among the most relevant to understanding
the nature of Jesus.
o “Messiah” and “Christ”
Messiah and Christ are interchangeable terms. Messiah comes from the Hebrew
word mashiach, and the Greek equivalent is christos, or Christ.
A messianic figure means one who is anointed. In the Old Testament, messianic
figures were kings, priests and prophets who were anointed, such as Saul in 1 Samuel 10:1.
Yet in other places, the Old Testament speaks to prophecies of a redeemer for Israel. This
figure, who became known as the Messiah, would be God (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7).
The New Testament affirms that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah. John states that this is
the purpose of his work: “But these are written so that you may come to believe that
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his
name” (John 20:31, New Revised Standard Version). And in an exchange with Peter, Jesus
acknowledges that he is the Messiah:
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus
answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my Father in heaven.” Matthew 16:16-17
According to William Lane Craig in Reasonable Faith, the apostles used connections
from the Old Testament to demonstrate how Jesus fulfilled prophesies of the Messiah: “In
dealing with jewish audiences, the apostles appealed to fulfilled prophecy, Jesus’
miracles, and especially Jesus’ resurrection as evidence that he was the Messiah” (Acts
2:22-32).
CHRISTOLOGY
Furthermore, Jesus’ role as a messianic figure is established in Scripture. He fulfilled all
three messianic roles: prophet (Luke 24:19), priest (Hebrews 4:14) and king (John 18:36).
o “Son of God” and “Son of Man”
Son of God and Son of Man are separate phrases that have similar Christological
implications.
The Old Testament uses son of God to refer to one who belongs to God (Exodus 4:22, 2
Samuel 7:14). In the New Testament, the name was refined to apply to believers who are
children, or adopted sons, of God (Galatians 3:26). But another meaning in the New
Testament for Son of God is found in the description of Jesus’ unique relationship to God (1
Thessalonians 1:10; Romans 1:3-4; John 5:17-29, 10:30-39). The term applies to both
Christians and Christ — sons of God by adoption and the Son of God by Jesus’ divine sonship.
Son of Man was similarly redefined in the New Testament, especially the Gospels. In
the Old Testament, son of man routinely denotes an ordinary person, although there is
theological debate concerning whether it was a messianic title and whether Daniel 7:13-14 is
a prophecy about Jesus. But in the Synoptic Gospels (Luke, Matthew and Mark), Jesus uses
Son of Man to speak to his authority, suffering and resurrection (Mark 2:10; 8:31, 38). In
John’s Gospel, Son of Man refers to Christ being “lifted up” (John 3:14, 8:28, 12:32), linking to
his crucifixion and exaltation.
Jesus affirms all these titles at his trial:
Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What
is it that they testify against you?” But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest
asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will
see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of
heaven.’” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? You
have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving
death. Mark 14:60-wit
Craig says that “Here in one fell swoop Jesus affirms that he is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and the coming Son of Man … The trial scene beautifully illustrates how in Jesus’
self- understanding all the diverse claims blend together thereby taking on connotations that
outstrip any single term taken out of context.”
o “Lord”
Lord may be the most striking term used for Jesus, due to its relationship to YHWH
— God’s name in Hebrew, as represented in English letters.
Out of fear of taking God’s name in vain, Jews began a tradition of not saying his name
out loud. Another practice developed for not writing out the name, due to its holiness. Instead,
two primary words — which both mean Lord — replaced YHWH, or Yahweh, in the Old
Testament.
The Hebrew word adonai was used, and in the Septuagint, or the primary Greek
translation of the Old Testament, kyrios was used.

CHRISTOLOGY
The New Testament continued using the term kyrios, or Lord, to refer to Jesus. By
doing this, the writers were saying that Jesus is the Lord, applying what the Old
Testament said about Yahweh to Jesus. Paul says that “If you confess with your lips that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”
(Romans 10:9), later quoting Scripture in saying that “Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). This is a direct reference to Joel 2:32, taken verbatim
from the Septuagint.
Thus, the New Testament writers used the same name for God from the Old
Testament. They applied these texts to Jesus, confirming his deity while retaining a distinct
identity from God the Father:
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things and for whom we
exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things and through whom we exist. 1
Corinthians 8:6.
 Moving Toward an Identity for Christ
Christological titles can have significance for understanding the identity of Christ. Many
other topics in Scripture, such as Jesus’ miracles and proclamations of divine authority and
place in the kingdom of God, are significant Scriptural starting points in the field of
Christology.
These areas form an important background to understanding the historical
developments of Christology, specific topics in current Christological study and the
relationship of Christology to other topics in theology and ministry. And, of course,
knowledge about Christ is significant for any Christian to grow in his or her relationship with
the Lord and Savior.
Individuals with a passion for furthering their knowledge of Christ can consider an
online degree from Campbellsville University. Programs are available in Christian ministry,
Christian studies, pastoral ministries and theology, which can help transform one’s career path
toward a specific calling. All programs offer the flexibility and convenience of studying online,
with a quality curriculum that can help graduates make an impact on the lives of others.

CHRISTOLOGY
Chapter
3
INCARNATION IN CHRISTOLOGY
Incarnation, central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, that God assumed a
human nature and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second
person of the Trinity. Christ was truly God and truly man. The doctrine maintains that the
divine and human natures of Jesus do not exist beside one another in an unconnected way
but rather are joined in him in a personal unity that has traditionally been referred to as the
hypostatic union. The union of the two natures has not resulted in their diminution or
mixture; rather, the identity of each is believed to have been preserved.
The word “Incarnation” (from the Latin caro, “flesh”) may refer to the moment when
this union of the divine nature of the second person of the Trinity with the human nature
became operative in the womb of the Virgin Mary or to the permanent reality of that union in
the person of Jesus.
The term may be most closely related to the claim in the prologue of the Gospel
According to John that the Word became flesh—that is, assumed human nature. (See logos.)
The essence of the doctrine of the Incarnation is that the preexistent Word has been
embodied in the man Jesus of Nazareth, who is presented in the Gospel According to John as
being in close personal union with the Father, whose words Jesus is speaking when he
preaches the gospel.
 Christianity: Human redemption
Specifically Christian view of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.
Belief in the preexistence of Christ is indicated in various letters of the New

Testament but particularly in the Letter of Paul to the Philippians, in which the Incarnation
is presented as the emptying of Christ Jesus, who was by nature God and equal to God
(i.e., the Father) but who took on the nature of a slave (i.e., a human) and was later
glorified by God.
The development of a more refined theology of the Incarnation resulted from the
response of the early church to various misinterpretations concerning the question of the
divinity of Jesus and the relationship of the divine and human natures of Jesus. The First
Council of Nicaea (325 CE) determined that Christ was “begotten, not made” and that he was
therefore not creature but Creator. The basis for this claim was the doctrine that he was “of
the same substance as the Father.” The doctrine was further defined by the Council of

CHRISTOLOGY
Chalcedon (451 CE), at which it was declared that Jesus was perfect in deity and in humanity
and that the identity of each nature was preserved in the person of Jesus Christ. The
affirmation of the oneness of Christ with God and with humanity was made while
maintaining the oneness of his person.
Subsequent theology has worked out the implications of this definition, although
there have been various tendencies emphasizing either the divinity or the humanity of Jesus
throughout the history of Christian thought, at times within the parameters set by Nicaea and
Chalcedon, at times not. It has commonly been accepted that the union of the human nature
of Christ with his divine nature had significant consequences for his human nature—for
example, the grace of great sanctity. The union of the two natures has been viewed by
theologians as a gift for other humans, both in terms of its benefit for their redemption from
sin and in terms of the appreciation of the potential goodness inherent in human activity that
can be derived from the doctrine of the Incarnation.
CHAPTER
4
CHRISTOLOGY
RESURRECTION IN CHRISTOLOGY
The Person of Christ is unique because of the addition of His perfect humanity to that
which from all eternity has been His undiminished Deity.
The fact that He was truly human forces the world to stand up and take notice of the
miracle of the Resurrection.
Exegesis is determining the text’s meaning by examining the original language through
the skillful use of its vocabulary, its grammatical expression, and its literary genre and
expression.
This use of the original language is combined with its historical setting (isagogics), and
its theological scope (categorical), in order to accurately communicate the meaning of the text
to the contemporary church.
“highly exalted” is the aor-act-ind of huperupsoo which means to exalt supremely, to

exalt to the maximum.
The aorist tense is a constantive aorist which contemplates the action of the verb in
its entirety which includes resurrection, ascension, and sesson.
The indicative mood is declarative indicating the reality of the resurrection, ascension,
and session of Jesus Christ.
The subject is the intensive pronoun auton which gives great emphasis to the person
involved. It denotes seating at the right hand of the Father after His resurrection and session.
The conjunction kai plus the aor-act-ind of charizomai which means to give freely, to
bestow a favor on someone, to give generously.
“Him” is the dative singular intensive pronoun auto emphasizing the uniqueness of
the person of Jesus Christ as He is seated at the Right Hand of God the Father.
“the name” is the definite article to plus the accusative singular direct object onoma,
which means name in the sense of rank or title or office.
Philippians 2:9 Therefore also the God has exalted Him to the maximum, and
bestowed on Him the name or rank which is above every name or rank
The Doctrine of Resurrection.
Definition
a. There is resuscitation which means a person returns from the dead in a body
of corruption and eventually dies again.

CHRISTOLOGY
Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 was resuscitated from the dead.
During the Tribulation, Elijah and Moses will be resuscitated from the dead.
b. There is resurrection which means a person returns from the dead in a body
of incorruption and never dies again.
Resurrection is one of the basic doctrines all believers must understand for spiritual
growth, Hebrews 6:1-2.
Anyone who dies during the Church Age has an interim body in heaven until the
resurrection of the Church at the Rapture.
The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union terminated with the resurrection,
ascension and session of the humanity of Christ.
The great power experiment of the Church Age will terminate with the resurrection or
Rapture of the Church – the Bride of Christ.
 Death is abolished with the possession of the resurrection body.
The sign of our Lord’s strategic victory was His resurrection, ascension and session at
the right hand of the Father.
Resurrection terminates each of the Christocentric dispensations, i.e., the great power
experiments of the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age.
 The Sovereignty of God and Physical Death.
The death of the believer is always a matter of the wisdom, integrity , and sovereignty of
God. PSALM 68:20
God is to us a God of deliverances; And to God the Lord belong escapes
from death. The death of the believer is always God’s victory.
“The Lord gave; the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
PSALM 116:15 :-
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”
PHILLIPIANS 1:20 “On the basis of my intense concentration and confident

expectation [a personal sense of destiny] that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but with
all confidence, Christ shall even now [in time] as always [in eternity] be glorified in my body,
whether by life or by death.”
PHILLIPIANS 1:21

CHRISTOLOGY
For me, living is Christ, likewise dying is profit.
 The Resurrection of Christ: the Pattern for the First Resurrection.

✓ the resurrection of Christ at the end of the great power experiment of the
Hypostatic Union, for He is “the first fruits of them that slept.” Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luk
24;
John 20-21; ACT 2:31-34.

✓ the resurrection of the royal family of God at the end of the great power
experiment of the Church Age, JOHN 14:1-3; PHILLIPIANS 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57;
1 Thessalonians 4:13-
18; 1John 3:1-2.
✓ the resurrection of the Old Testament believers and Tribulational martyrs at the
end of the
Tribulation and the Second Advent, Daniel 12:13; Isaiah 26:19-20; Matthew 24:31;
Revelation 20:4.
✓ the resurrection of the millennial saints at the end of the Millennium.
1. For believers only: resurrection to eternal life. The resurrection body is eternal
and permanent, superior to that of angelic creatures, Daniel 12:2; John 5:24-29; 1 Corinthians
15:20-22; Revelation 20:6; Revelation 6:13.
2. For unbelievers only: resurrection and cast into the lake of fire forever,
Matthew 25:41 ; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Revelation 20:5-15.
√ The direction for the first resurrection: eternal life.
√ The direction for the second resurrection: eternal condemnation and judgment.
√ The first Christocentric dispensation is the great power experiment of the Hypostatic
Union.
√ The second is the great power experiment of the Church Age.
 Physical Death is the prerequisite for Resurrection.
a. The Rapture generation of the Church Age.
b. The millennial believers alive at the end of time and human history.
 The Significance of the Resurrection as the Lord’s Victory.
No distinction is made between winners and losers at the point of receiving
resurrection bodies. Resurrection is the Lord’s Victory,
1 Corinthians 15:55-56.
CHRISTOLOGY
“Sin” here, the imputation of Adam’s sin at physical birth, has two results: real spiritual
death and subsequent physical death.
This is in compliance with Genesis 2:17, in which God warned Adam, “The day you eat
from this tree, dying thou shalt die.”
The Mosaic Law defines and reveals personal sin: 1Timothy
1:8-10. The Grace of God and Resurrection,
1 Corinthians 15:57.
Until our Lord went to the cross and achieved the strategic victory of the great
power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, no one could be resurrected.
In the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, Jesus Christ died physically
on the cross, was resurrected by the omnipotence of God the Father and omnipotence of the
Holy Spirit, ascended, and sat at the Father’s right hand.
While the believer has control over whether he is a winner or loser in time, he has
no control over two factors: the time, place, and manner of his death, and the time of the
Rapture of the Church.
 Summary of Grace and Resurrection.
When we die, our soul and spirit are absent from the body and face to face with the
Lord in a state of perfect happiness until the resurrection occurs.
1 Corinthians 15:57
“Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Your Challenge in Application of Resurrection,
1 Corinthians 15:58.
The Greek word GINOMAI means to become something you were not before.
To “become stabilized” means you have the right to use your own volition to execute
and fulfill the plan of God.
The apposition, “not distracted,” which is translated immovable more clearly defines
what it means to become stabilized.
And always abounding in the work of the Lord means “to excel” to be outstanding, to
become an invisible hero.
It is called “your toil or labor” because you use your volition during this time on earth.
 Resurrection and the Omnipotence of God.

CHRISTOLOGY
Our first birth is natural generation, in which God the Father creates human life and
imputes it to the soul at birth.
The second birth is regeneration, by which God the Holy Spirit creates from His
omnipotence a human spirit for the imputation of eternal life by God the Father.
The power that resurrected Christ from the dead is the same power delegated and
made available to every Church Age believer for the fulfillment of the mandate and plans of
God in man.
The royal family of God is designed and empowered to
glorify God.
His body went into the grave.
His human spirit went into the presence of God the Father in the third heaven.
His human soul went into the first compartment of Hades, Paradise, where all the
Old Testament believers resided until the resurrection of Christ.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 was resuscitated from the dead.
Hebrews 5:8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He
suffered. Jesus Christ called Himself a man, John 8:40.
The Bible says that Jesus was a man, Philippians 2:7-8.

CHRISTOLOGY
CHAPTER
SoTERIOLOgY
The doctrine of salvation is known as soteriology. This doctrine explains how sinful
men can escape the wrath of God and be reconciled to Him.
Soteriology is a branch of theological study that is rooted in Christology.
Soteriology (/səˌtɪəriˈɒlədʒi/; Greek: σωτηρία sō tē ria "salvation" from σωτή ρ sō tē r

"savior, preserver" and λό γος logos "study" or "word") is the study of religious doctrines of
salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in religious studies.
 What is the gospel?
The gospel is that God sent Jesus Christ to reconcile sinners to Himself. One key
passage is 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 19 says, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word
of reconciliation.” God through Christ reconciled sinners to Himself. We are reconciled to
God; God is not reconciled to us. God doesn’t need reconciliation because He hasn’t sinned
against us; we need reconciliation to Him because we have sinned against Him, and that is
exactly what the gospel accomplishes.
Jesus’ perfect life of obedience and substitutionary death provides the basis for a
believer’s restoration to God. If there is one word that explains the gospel it is the word
“substitution.” That word explains the truth that on the cross Christ gets my sin and I get His
righteousness. I don’t deserve His righteousness and He doesn’t deserve my sin, and, yet,
that’s the great exchange that happens because of Jesus’ sacrifice (2 Cor 5:21). Jesus gets the
sin; we get His righteousness. When that exchange happens there is a propitiation of God’s
wrath, there is a satisfaction for God’s wrath, and there is atonement for God’s wrath. Our
sin debt is paid by Christ and along with that there is an imputation of righteousness from
Christ to us. And Christ’s substitutionary death provides for propitiation, imputation,
redemption, and reconciliation.

CHRISTOLOGY
 The Significance of the Gospel
What’s the significance for this while we are counseling? The significance is that
salvation frees us from the penalty of sin — we are no longer under God’s wrath — and it also
frees us from the power of sin. So we can tell our counselees that Christ has given
everything to purchase their freedom. There is hope in Christ and the ability to be free
from the power of sin. That freedom allows us to enjoy God. And that’s the goal of
salvation. We get to enjoy God. I love what John Piper says, “Therefore to believe the
gospel is not only to accept the awesome truths that 1) God is holy, 2) We are hopeless
sinners, 3) Christ died and rose again for sinners, and 4) This great salvation is enjoyed by
faith in Christ — but believing the gospel is also to treasure Jesus Christ as your
unsearchable riches. What makes the gospel [the] gospel is that it brings a person into the
everlasting and ever-increasing joy of Jesus Christ.” In a phrase, the gospel means we get
God. We get to be with Him, and we get to enjoy Him.
 How is the Gospel Received?
The sinner is reconciled to God through repentance and faith (2 Cor. 7:10-11; Eph. 2:8-
10). We get to be with Him through the process of turning away from our sin and trusting in
Jesus Christ for our salvation (see also Romans 4, the most definitive chapter in the Bible
on justification through faith, sola fide).
Clarity with the gospel is essential because however people come to trust in Christ,
whatever they think the gospel is, that is the way they will grow in Christ. This is the reason
why Paul
wrote the letter to the Galatians (cf. 3:1ff). We need to be crystal-clear with what the
gospel is and articulate it carefully and accurately so that people can grow in Christ
appropriately.There are many different ways you can communicate the gospel. One of the
simple ways I like to use is a tract that Matthias Media has published called Two Roads. I’ve
looked at a lot of tracts over the years, and most of them are not completely helpful. What
makes this tract particularly helpful is that it emphasizes that faith in Christ is not a one-time
event, but a way to live — our lives are oriented towards Christ and we live for Him in all that
we do. That’s the true gospel — we are freed from sin (both its penalty and power) and
empowered by the Spirit to live for Christ. And that leads to the next doctrine.
 THE MEANING AND SCOPE OF SALVATION
Even a casual look at the world quickly reveals man’s condition in sin and the awful
plight in which this fallen condition has left him. Furthermore, it is a condition against which
mankind is completely helpless when left to his own human resources. In spite of all man’s
expectations of a new society in which he is able to bring about peace and prosperity, the
world remains shattered and torn by the ravages of sin locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Bible speaks, however, of God’s gracious plan to provide a solution to man’s problem. We
call it salvation or soteriology. Ryrie writes:

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Soteriology, the doctrine of salvation, must be the grandest theme in the Scriptures. It
embraces all of time as well as eternity past and future. It relates in one way or another to all
of mankind, without exception. It even has ramifications in the sphere of the angels. It is the
theme of both the Old and New Testaments. It is personal, national, and cosmic. And it
centers on the greatest Person, our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to the broadest meaning as used in Scripture, the term salvation

encompasses the total work of God by which He seeks to rescue man from the ruin, doom,
and power of sin and bestows upon him the wealth of His grace encompassing eternal life,
provision for abundant life now, and eternal glory (Ephessians. 1:3-8; 2:4-10; 1 Peter. 1:3-5;
John 3:16, 36; 10:10).
The word “salvation” is the translation of the Greek word soteria which is derived
from the word soter meaning “savior.” The word “salvation” communicates the thought of
deliverance, safety, preservation, soundness, restoration, and healing. In theology, however,
its major use is to denote a work of God on behalf of men, and as such it is a major doctrine
of the Bible which includes redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, conviction, repentance,
faith, regeneration, forgiveness, justification, sanctification, preservation, and glorification. On
the one hand, salvation is described as the work of God rescuing man from his lost estate.
On the other hand salvation describes the estate of a man who has been saved and who is
vitally renewed and made a partaker of the inheritance of the saints.
 THE MOTIVATIONS FOR SALVATION
When we look at the stubbornness and rebellion of man, we ask the question, why
should God want to save sinners? And especially, why should He want to give His unique and
beloved Son to die the agony of God’s holy judgment in bearing our sin on the cross?
Scripture’s answer is that salvation redounds to the glory of His grace. Salvation brings
glory to God and it does so because it manifests the nature and character of His person
(Ephesians. 1:6; Philippians. 2:11). Salvation reveals a number of things about God that bring
glory to the person of God and show us something of the reasons for salvation:
(1) It reveals His love. That God would reach out to sinful man by sending His only
begotten Son is the greatest manifestation of His love. It declares God provided salvation
because He is a loving God (John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-10, 16).
(2) Salvation through the person and work of Christ is also a manifestation of
God’s grace, the non-meritorious favor of God (Ephesians. 2:7-9). Only Christianity offers a
salvation based on grace rather than works. All the other religions of the world have man
working to acquire salvation.
(3) The salvation of the Bible also manifests the holiness of God. God
provided salvation through the person and work of His Son because He is a holy God.
In His love and grace God desired fellowship with man, but man’s rebellion and sin
created a barrier between God and man that hindered any fellowship with man

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whatsoever because of God’s infinite holiness. Both God’s holiness and His love are
satisfied, however, by the person and work of God’s Son so that man can be reconciled to
God and fellowship restored.
(4) Adam and Eve were created in the image of God that they might give a visible
display of God’s character as they walked in fellowship with the invisible God. But when the
human race fell through Adam’s sin, the image was not only marred, but man lost the capacity
for fellowship with God. Through salvation, the capacity for fellowship is restored and also is
man’s ability to manifest, though imperfectly, the goodness of God.
 THE THREE PHASES (TENSES) OF SALVATION
Salvation in Christ, which begins in eternity past according to the predetermined plan
of God and extends into the eternal future, has three observable phases in the Bible.
Understanding this truth can relieve a lot of tension from the standpoint of security and
enable the believer to relax in the Lord and His grace while simultaneously moving forward in
spiritual growth.
Phase I. This is the past tense of salvation—saved from sin’s penalty. Several
passages of Scripture speak of salvation as wholly past, or as accomplished and completed
for the one who has believed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This aspect views the
believer as delivered once and for all from sin’s penalty and spiritual death (Luke 7:50; 1
Corinthians. 1:18; 2 Corinthians. 2:15; Ephesians. 2:5, 8; Titus 3:5; Hebrew. 7:25; 2 Timothy.
1:9). So complete and perfect is this work of God in Christ that the believer is declared
permanently saved and safe forever (John 5:24; 10:28, 29; Romans. 8:1, 37-39; 1 Peter. 1:3-
5).
Phase II. This is the present tense of salvation and has to do with present deliverance
over the reigning power of sin or the carnal nature’s power in the lives of believers (Romans.
6:1-23; 8:2; 2 Corinthians. 3:18; Galatians. 2:19-20; 5:1-26; Philippians. 1:19; 2:12-13; 2
Thessalonians. 2:13). This phase of salvation in Christ is accomplished through the ministry of
the indwelling Spirit, but it is based on the work of Christ and the believer’s union and co-
identification with Christ in that work.
Phase III. This is the future tense of salvation which refers to the future deliverance
all believers in Christ will experience through a glorified resurrected body. It contemplates
that, though once and for all saved from the penalty of sin and while now being delivered
from the power of sin, the believer in Christ will yet be saved into full conformity to Jesus
Christ (Romans. 8:29; 13:11; 1 Peter. 1:5; 1 John 3:2). This recognizes and shows that the
Christian in his experience never becomes perfect in this life (Philippians. 3:12-14). Full
conformity to the character of Christ, experientially speaking, awaits ultimate glorification.
However, the fact that some aspects of salvation for the one who believes are yet to be
accomplished in no way implies that there is ground for doubt as to the outcome of eternal
salvation because all three phases are dependent upon the merit and the work of God in
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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 THE NATURE OF SALVATION AS THE WORK OF GOD
Salvation is the free gift of God to man by grace through faith, completely aside from
human works. Works in the life of a believer are tremendously important, but they are to be
the result of receiving and appropriating God’s grace in the salvation they receive. As the
prophet declares, “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). “Therefore, in every aspect it is a
work of God in behalf of man and is in no sense a work of man in behalf of God.”
Salvation as the saving work of God so completely provides for the believer that
believers are declared “complete in Christ” and “blessed with every spiritual blessing”
(Colossians. 2:10; Ephesians. 1:3). A fathomless source of blessings become the possession
of all believers when they trust in Christ as their Savior. The Apostle Paul refers to these
blessings as “the unfathomable riches of Christ” in Ephesians 3:8. “Unfathomable” is the
Greek anexichniastos which means “past finding out, unsearchable, not to be tracked out.”
The idea is that our blessings in Christ are “too deep to be measured.”
This saving work of God encompasses various aspects which together accomplish
salvation: these include redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation, propitiation, justification,
imputation , regeneration, propitiation, expiation, sanctification, and even glorification. It is all
of this and much more which provide salvation, make believers qualified for heaven and
become the children of God (John 1:12; Colossians. 1:12; Ephesians. 1:6).
 AS A FINISHED WORK
The last words uttered by the Savior just before He died on the cross were, “It is
finished.” He was not referring to the end of His life or ministry, but of His substitutionary
sufferings on the cross which He would complete by His death which occurred
immediately following His shout, “It is finished.” He was declaring He had finished the
special work of salvation which the Father had given Him to accomplish. We speak of “the
finished work of Christ” because there is nothing left to be done to provide man’s
salvation. God has done it all in the person and work of His Son and He raised Him from
the dead as the proof of that very fact. The work of God in Christ is a once-and-for-all
work of God accomplished in total by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Christ’s death
was distinctly a work accomplished for the entire world (John 3:16; Hebrew. 2:9) and,
provisionally speaking, it provided redemption (1 Timothy. 2:6), reconciliation (2
Corinthians. 5:19), and propitiation (the appeasement or satisfaction of God’s holiness) (1
John 2:2) for every person in the world.
Salvation is a done proposition. Man’s responsibility is to accept this by faith, faith

alone in Christ alone. The finished work of Christ includes not only deliverance from the
penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin. Faith in Christ for salvation means coming to
Him as the source of salvation from every aspect of sin through trusting in the accomplished
work of Christ. When Christ cried out, “It is finished” (Greek, telesthai, the perfect tense of
teleo, “to complete, finish” expressing completed action with continuing results), He was
affirming the fact of the finished nature of what He had accomplished on the cross for the
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world. Regarding Christ’s work as a finished work, Lewis Chafer wrote:
The fact that Christ died does not in itself save men, but it provides the one and only
sufficient ground upon which God in full harmony with His perfect holiness is free to save
even the chief of sinners. This is the good news which the Christian is appointed to
proclaim to all the world.
In all the other religions of the world, salvation is a work that man does for God. This
is what makes biblical Christianity distinct from all the religions of the world because in the
Bible, salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:0); it is the work of God for man and Christ’s final
shout of victory affirmed this truth.
Since the Christ’s work is finished, it should be clear that salvation is not a work of man
for God. When a person comes to Christ, he is acknowledging that he cannot save himself but
has now recognized the work of salvation God has wrought for him and which he accepts as
God’s gift. Salvation originates in God’s purposes, not in man’s and is forever delivered from
any legalistic approach that would elevate human works as a ground for salvation.
o THE NECESSITY OF SALVATION—THE BARRIER
In Ephesians 2:14-16 Paul speaks of the barrier of separation which exists between
God and man. As long as this barrier exists, there is no possibility of fellowship between
God and man. The barrier, or literally the dividing wall mentioned in Ephesians 2:14, referred
historically to the dividing wall in the temple in Jerusalem. This wall separated the court of
the Gentiles from the rest of the temple and excluded the Gentiles from the inner
sanctuaries. But this wall was a picture of the spiritual barrier that stands between God and
man which precludes man’s access into God’s presence. The Jews could go beyond the
dividing wall, but this was only because they had access through their God-given sacrificial
system which pointed to the person and work of Christ, the Messiah, the One who would
make peace and remove the barrier.
The study of the Bible reveals there are several spiritual factors which go together
to make up this barrier of separation between God and man. Though sin is the root
problem, it is not the only issue. A combination of factors make up this wall of separation.
So just what constitutes the barrier between God and man?
 BARRIER 1: THE HOLINESS OF GOD
We often think of God as a God of love—which He is—but more is said in the Bible of
God’s holiness than of God’s love. In fact, Isaiah 57:15 even declares that His “name is holy.”
In Isaiah 6:3, the holy cherubim continuously proclaimed the holiness of God. After seeing this
in the vision of God’s absolute holiness given to the Prophet, Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me, for I
am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For
my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Habakkuk spoke of the holiness of God and
said, “Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, and thou canst not look on wickedness with favor
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…” (Habakkuk. 1:13). John wrote, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
Abraham confessed God as the Judge of all the earth who had to act in accordance
with His holy justice (Genesis. 18:25). In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul called God the righteous Judge.
In Deuteronomy 32:4, Moses spoke of God’s holy character:
Deuteronomy 32:4 The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of
faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
These and many other passages point to the perfect holiness of God and stress the
fact that God cannot and will not act contrary to His holy character. If He is without injustice
and completely righteous in all that He is and does, how can He have fellowship with sinful
man or anything less than His perfect holiness?
The holiness of God has two branches: perfect righteousness and perfect justice.
God is absolute righteousness and perfection. It is impossible for God to do anything
wrong or to have fellowship with anything less than His perfect righteousness. Since God
is also perfect justice, which acts in accord with His perfect righteousness, He cannot be
partial or unfair to any creature and He must deal with the creature in perfect justice. This
means all that is unrighteous or sinful must be judged and separated from Him ( Psalm.
119:137-138; 145:17 with Habakkuk. 1:13; Romans. 2:5-6, 11; 1:18; 14:11-12; 1 Peter.
4:5).
 BARRIER 2: THE SIN OF MAN
Galatians teaches us that man is shut up (locked out, shut out from God) because man
is under the eight ball of sin. Romans 3:23 declares that all have sinned and fall short (miss
the mark) of the glory of God (His holy character). In Isaiah 59:1-2 the prophet said, “Behold,
the LORD’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; Neither is His ear so dull that it cannot
hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins
have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” Isaiah was reminding Israel that
though God has the ability and desire to deliver men, He cannot act contrary to nor bypass
His perfect holiness.
Sin creates a barrier between God and man which hinders access to God. This is true
for the unbeliever who can only come to God through Christ who alone is the Way, the Truth,
and the Life (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). It is also true for the believer in Christ. Even though they
are saved and have access to God in Christ, fellowship with God as His children is broken by
known sin which must first be confessed so that fellowship can be restored and God can
answer prayer (Psalm. 66:18).
The barrier of sin is one of the reasons why God, in His sovereign love, gave His Son
to die on the cross for man’s sin. There are three aspects which go to make up the barrier of
sin which will be mentioned just briefly in this study.
Imputed Sin: Romans 5:12 teaches us the fact of imputed sin. Adam is the
representative head of the human race and because of our natural relationship to him, his
sin is imputed, reckoned, to the entire human race. God views the human race as though we
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all sinned in Adam or with Adam. But in this we also see God’s grace as Paul explains in
Romans 5:12-18, for just as Adam’s sin was imputed to every human being as a
descendent of Adam because of Adam’s one act of sin, so Christ’s righteousness is imputed
to all who become children of God by faith in Christ because of His one act of
righteousness (Romans. 5:16-18). As such, Adam was a type of Christ (Romans. 5:14).
Inherited Sin: The Bible teaches the fact that, as the posterity of Adam, every child is
born with a sinful nature inherited from his parents. Many passages of Scripture refer to this
principle.
According to Ephesians 2:1-3, all are dead in sin and are “by nature the children of
wrath.” Other important verses are:
Genesis 5:3 When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the
father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother
conceived me. Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak
lies go astray from birth.
The vital principle is that men do not sin and become sinners, rather they sin because
they are sinners.
Individual or Personal Sin: This refers to the products of the sinful nature of inherited
sin, the actual deeds or acts of sin which all men do because they are sinful (Romans. 3:18,
23).
 BARRIER 3: THE PENALTY OF SIN
Because God is holy and man is sinful, God’s perfect justice must act against man to
charge him as guilty and under the penalty of sin with a debt to pay, and a sentence to serve.
Thus, the Law of the Old Testament functions as a bill of indictment. It shows man guilty and
under the penalty of sin. This is clear from the following passages:
Romans 3:19-20 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who
are under the Law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become
accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight;
for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Galatians 3:19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having
been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to
whom the promise had been made.
Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith
in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Colossians 2:14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees

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against us (the Old Testament law) and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of
the way, having nailed it to the cross.
The “certificate of debt consisting of decrees” refers to the Law and its indictment that
man is under the penalty of sin which is death. Man has a debt to pay. But the thing which must
be understood is that the debt is so great that man himself cannot pay it either by religion, or
good deeds, or morality. The very best that a man can come up with falls far short of the
glory of God. Man is dead, incapacitated in his sinful condition (Romans. 3:9-23; Ephesians.
2:1-3). Paul’s argument in Romans 1:18-3:23 is that all men are in the same boat whether
immoral (Romans. 1:18-32), or moral (Romans. 2:1-16), or religious (Romans. 2:17-3:8). All
miss the mark of God’s holiness and are under the penalty of sin which is death (Romans. 3:9-
20, 23; 6:23). Man’s only hope is in the righteousness of God which He supplies through faith
in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Romans. 3:21-5:21). How the work of God in Christ
removes the barrier will be discussed in the material below on the doctrine of
reconciliation.
As a further by-product of these three parts of the barrier, other things automatically
occur which compound the problem and add to the barrier and the impossibility of salvation
apart from Christ.
 BARRIER 4: SPIRITUAL DEATH
Paul teaches us that “in Adam all die” (1 Cor. 15:22). Man’s position in Adam brings
spiritual death, eventually physical death, and ultimately eternal death—eternal separation
from God. Romans 6:23 tells us “the wages of sin is death,” and in Romans 5:12 we read
“therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Death is the awesome consequence of sin (
Genesis. 2:17; 1 Corinthians. 15:21, 56; Ephesians. 2:1, 5; Colossians. 2:13). The point of these
verses is that death, whether physical or spiritual, is a product of man’s position in Adam and
his own personal sin. This means that man in himself is without spiritual life and spiritual
capacity. The result of this is spiritual failure. No matter how hard he tries he fails and falls
short of God’s holy character. Men simply cannot save themselves no matter how hard they
try or no matter how sincere they are. This is why the Savior told Nicodemus, a very religious
man, “you must be born again” (John 3:3-7). This was Christ’s way of teaching this religious
man that he needed spiritual capacity, a new spiritual birth, a spiritual birth from above
accomplished by the Spirit of God in order to see, understand, and be a part of the kingdom of
God.
So man is not only separated from God by sin, by God’s holy character, and by the
penalty of sin, but he is faced with the problem of spiritual death and the need of spiritual life.
Being spiritually dead, man needs spiritual life and eternal life which can only come through the
new birth and a new position in Christ as the source of life.
 BARRIER 5: UNRIGHTEOUSNESS

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The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and
all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our
iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isaiah. 64:6). (Italics mine.) Quoting Psalm 14:1-3,
the Apostle Paul exclaims, “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one.’” In
order for people to have fellowship with God they must have a standing, a righteousness
equal with God. Because of their condition, dead in sin, they can never establish a
righteousness sufficient to pass the righteous judgment of God.
This is the error of the typical religious person who, by his morality and religious
deeds, attempts to establish his own standing before God. The error is twofold: First, he does
not recognize the absolute awesome holiness of God’s character. For many, if not most, God
is simply an elevated man, the man upstairs. Second, such a person does not see the effect
of sin on their own character and ability. The Apostle speaks to this very thing in Romans
10:1-4 when he writes of his religious brethren:
Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I
bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For
not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not
subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes.
Therefore, all of man’s human good or religious works are just dead works and
worthless from the standpoint of acceptance with God (Romans. 4:1-4; Hebrews. 6:1; 9:14).
What then is the solution to this dilemma of mankind, this five-fold barrier? The
solution is God’s work of grace in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. This work of grace is
called reconciliation.
2 Corinthians. 5:18-19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to
Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in
Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He
has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
 THE WORK OF SALVATION: THE REMOVAL OF
THE BARRIER THE DOCTRINE OF
RECONCILIATION EXPLAINED
Reconciliation is one of the key words of Scripture because it means the sinner,
separated and alienated from God by the barrier, can be restored to fellowship with a holy God.
How? Through that which God has done for man in His Son, Jesus Christ. This work of God in
Christ results in the reconciliation of the believing sinner to God. Precisely and biblically just
what does the doctrine of reconciliation include? What does reconciliation itself mean? Who is

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reconciled, how, when, and where? These are some of the questions that will be answered in
this study.
 DEFINITION OF RECONCILE
(1) The English word “reconcile” means to cause to be friendly again; to bring back
to harmony, make peace.
(2)The Greek words for reconciliation and their definition:
(a) Katallasso, the verb, and katallage, the noun form. This word comes from
kata which means “down,” and allaso which means “to change” or “exchange.” Thus,
katallasso means “to change from enmity or disharmony to friendship and harmony,” or “to
reconcile” (Romans. 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
(b) Apokatallaso. This is a triple compound word (adds the preposition apo,
“from,”). It does not occur in earlier Greek and seems to be used by Paul to express the idea
of the completeness of reconciliation (Ephesians. 2:16; Colossians. 1:20-21). We can properly
translate it “to reconcile completely.”
Each of these Greek words primarily referred to a one-way kind of reconciliation, one
accomplished by one person. This is important because the Greeks had a word, diallasso,
that referred to a two-way or mutual reconciliation—one dependent upon the work of both
parties.
Diallasso “denotes a mutual concession after mutual hostility, an idea absent from
katall-.” Though katallasso could be used of a reconciliation between people (1
Corinthians. 7:11), the exclusive choice of the katalasso family of words for the
reconciliation of the sinner stresses that salvation is totally the work of God that man may
either accept by faith or reject, but either way, salvation is a work not partly of man and
partly of God as it might occur between people, but totally, 100%, a work accomplished by
God through His Son, the Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians. 5:17-19; Romans. 5:11).
(3) The concept of reconciliation is, of course, not limited to the word “reconcile.”
When Scripture speaks of “peace with God” (Romans. 5:1), of Christ as “our peace”
(Ephesians 2:14), and of His work of “establishing peace” (Ephesians. 2:15-17), this is
reconciliation, the work of God in Christ to remove the enmity and alienation that separate
God and man (Romans. 5:1-11).
(4) Doctrinal Definition: In short, reconciliation is the whole work of God in Christ
by which man is brought from the place of enmity to harmony or peace with God (Romans.
5:1). There are other terms used in Scripture of God’s gracious work in Christ like
redemption, justification, regeneration, and propitiation, but reconciliation seems to be the
over-all term of Scripture which encompasses all the other terms as a part of what God has
done through the Lord Jesus to completely remove the enmity or alienation, the whole of the
barrier (sin, God’s holiness, death, unrighteousness, etc.). It is this work that sets God free to

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justify the believing sinner by faith in Christ so there is peace with God, the change of
relationship from hostility to harmony.
 THE SOURCE OF RECONCILIATION
The source of reconciliation is God and not man as 2 Corinthians 5:18 and the Greek
words mentioned above make perfectly clear. Reconciliation is a work which has its source
in the love, holiness, goodness, and grace of God. It is all by His doing that we come to be in
Christ Jesus, the place of peace with God (1 Corinthians. 1:30-31).
THE AGENT OF RECONCILIATION—WHO?
The agent of reconciliation is the Lord Jesus alone. It is He who personally died for all
the world and bore our sin, the cause of alienation, in His body on the tree ( Romans. 5:10-
11; 2 Corinthians. 5:18; Colossians. 1:20-21; 1 Peter. 2:24).
 THE OBJECT OF RECONCILIATION—WHO?
Three answers are often given to this question: God is reconciled to man, man is
reconciled to God, or both are reconciled to each other. But clearly, Scripture teaches that the
object of reconciliation is man and not God. God is not reconciled; He is propitiated and man is
reconciled. Man is the one at enmity with God and who must be brought back into relationship
with God.
Ryrie writes:
Second Corinthians 5:19 seems clear: God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself.
The world of mankind is clearly the object of reconciliation. Romans 5:10 agrees by stating
that we were reconciled to God. “God is the one who is active in reconciliation (2
Corinthians. 5:18-19), and men are said to be reconciled (Romans. 5:10; 2 Corinthians.
5:20); i.e., they are acted upon by God. Thus believers are said to receive reconciliation. They
are recipients of a relationship of peace and harmony brought about by God.”
THE INSTRUMENT (CAUSE) OF RECONCILIATION
The instrument and cause of reconciliation is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
“God made Him to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (
2 Corinthians.
5:21). It is the death of Jesus Christ that changes man from enmity to harmony with
God (Romans. 5:10; Ephesians. 2:10; Colossians. 1:20).
THE RESULTS OF RECONCILIATION
(1) Removal of the barrier, those things which separate man from God as sin,
God’s holiness, penalty of sin, spiritual death, unrighteousness (Ephesians. 2:14-18).
(2) Positional sanctification and a perfect standing before God (Romans 5:1; 1
Corinthians. 1:2; 2 Corinthians. 5:17; Colossians 2:10).

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(3) Justification (declared righteous before God) through Christ’s righteousness
imputed to us (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

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THE MINISTERS OF RECONCILIATION
The ministers of reconciliation are all believers in Christ. Every believer is an

ambassador of Christ and a minister of reconciliation. Since Christ died for us, we are each
obligated to live not for ourselves, but for the Lord and to be His representatives in a world
that is alienated from God (2 Corinthians 5:15-21).
THE GOAL OF RECONCILIATION
The goal of reconciliation or the ultimate purpose is imputed righteousness or

justification so each believing sinner may have fellowship with God (2 Corinthians. 5:21).
Another goal of reconciliation is transformed character, Christlikeness here on earth. This is
probably the emphasis in Colossians 1:21-23 according to the context of Colossians.
THE WORK ACCOMPLISHED BY RECONCILIATION
In that which follows, we will look at the specific aspects of the precious work of the
Savior that accomplished our reconciliation. It is helpful for a better understanding of the
work of Christ to see how each aspect of Christ’s work discussed below blots out the various
aspects of the barrier as it was discussed above.
PROPITIATION
Propitiation is that part of the work of reconciliation which deals with the barrier of
God’s holiness, the obstacle erected or caused by man’s sin. Thus, the holiness of God becomes
a key part in removing the alienation or enmity against God.
Holiness is the most central and epitomizing character or attribute of God’s being. Not
even love or grace surpass it. In defense of this statement we should note that God is called
holy more than anything else in Scripture. As an epithet to God’s name “holy” is found the
most. In fact, “holy” is one of the names of God. In Isaiah 57:15 we read, “For thus says the
high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy …” ( Exodus. 15:11; Psalm. 30:4;
47:8; 48:1; 89:35;

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Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; Isaiah 5:16; Revelation 15:4; 1 Peter. 1:15-16).
(1) The Derivation: The Hebrew word for holiness or holy is qadosh which contains
the basic idea of separation or apartness, and then “sacred, holy.” The Greek word for holy is
hagios which similarly, in its most fundamental meaning, means “separate, set apart.” Hagios
was used of what was separated from the secular world to a sacred and set apart place.
(2) The Definition: Negatively, holiness is that perfection in the being of God
which totally separates Him from all that is evil and defiling. As we call gold pure when it
is free from any dross or other metals, so the nature and actions of God are 100% free from
any impurity or evil of any kind. Light is a symbol of God’s holiness and so John wrote, “God
is light and in Him is no (none whatsoever) darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Positively,
holiness stands for the absolute integrity and purity of the being and nature of God. It means
God must always think and act in a way that is consistent with His perfect righteousness
and justice, what we might call the executive and judicial branches of God’s pure holiness.
(3) The Description and Application of God’s Holiness in Relation to Salvation: (1)
Holiness is an essential and necessary perfection of God. This means God’s holiness is not
maintained by an act of God’s will. God does not choose to be holy because He wants to.
God always thinks and acts in a holy manner because He is inherently holy. God wills
holiness because He is holy and not in order to be holy. He cannot be anything else. (2)
God’s holiness means He can never approve of anything evil, but that He perfectly,
necessarily, universally, and perpetually abhors evil. (3) God’s holiness in its outworking and
manifestation in history has two branches or aspects. There is the legislative side, God’s
perfect righteousness, and the judicial side, His perfect justice. (4) Because God is perfect
righteousness, He cannot have fellowship with anything less than His own perfect
righteousness (Habakkuk. 1:13; Isaiah. 59:2). God is offended by man’s sin. Thus, because
God is also perfect justice, He must by His own character condemn, pass judgment and the
penalty of death and separation upon the sinner who falls short of God’s righteousness
(Romans. 3:9-23). Therefore, propitiation is that part of God’s work of reconciliation in Christ
which deals with satisfying the holiness of God. Propitiation is toward God.
(4)Definition of Propitiation: Propitiation is the doctrine or truth that the person and
death of

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Jesus Christ appeased, turned away, God’s wrath, satisfied His holiness, and so met
God’s righteous demands that the sinner can be reconciled into God’s holy presence.
(5) The Description of Propitiation and the Problem it Solves: The problem of
antinomy—the contradiction of opposing laws or attributes—love and grace versus
righteousness and justice. God is perfect love and grace and desires to forgive and bless the
sinner. He desires to bestow His love and grace on man. But God is also perfect holiness and
because of man’s condition in sin, He must judge the sinner. God’s own character or
attributes, His holiness and love, stand in opposition to each other. God’s attributes are
infinite, absolute, and immutable. This means neither God’s love nor His holiness can be
bypassed at the expense of one over the other. All must be satisfied. In His love, God cannot
accept the sinner to Himself and bypass His holiness, but neither can God in His holiness
bypass His love and send the sinner to the Lake of Fire without providing a solution. All
aspects of the character of God must be satisfied. Therefore, in His perfect wisdom, power,
love, grace, and holiness, God provided the person and work of His own Son, the Lord Jesus,
who by His life and death reconciled the conflict (antinomy) of God attributes.
God’s righteousness is satisfied by the person of Christ and His life. Jesus perfectly
fulfilled the law. He was without sin and lived in perfect righteousness and harmony with the
will of God. At His baptism, the Father said, “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased.” Here God the Father verified the sinlessness of Jesus and showed that He was
qualified by His person and life to begin His ministry. By the miraculous events
surrounding the cross, the darkness, the shaking of the earth, the rending of the veil, and the
resurrection of Christ, the Father further showed that Christ was not only qualified to be
our sin bearer, but that He had successfully satisfied the holiness of God and had dealt
with man’s sin (1 John 2:1-2; Hebrew. 2:17; 1 Peter. 1:18).
God’s justice, which requires judgment for sin, is likewise satisfied by the death of
Christ as the substitutionary payment for our sin (Romans. 3:25-26). Christ’s death redeemed
and expiated man from sin and its penalty by His judicial substitutionary death—the innocent
for the guilty. As our substitute He bore our penalty. This satisfied the requirements of God’s
justice.
God is now free to bestow His love and grace on the unworthy sinner and still act in
harmony

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with His holiness because Jesus Christ satisfied the demands of God’s holy
character (Romans. 3:25-26). The cross is much more than the display of God’s love; it is
also the supreme display of God’s absolute holiness. It shows that God could by no means
still be just and accept the sinner apart from the person, life, and death of Christ.
(6)The Greek words used for propitiation and their significance:
Hilasmos: This word occurs two times, once in 1 John 2:2 and once in 1 John 4:10. It
means “an appeasement, a satisfaction, or a propitiation.” It may also refer to the means of
propitiation or satisfaction. Jesus Christ is the means and only means of satisfying God’s
holiness and appeasing His holy wrath.
Hilasterion: This noun occurs twice also, once in Romans 3:25 and once in Hebrews
9:5. The ending of this word, terion, often indicates a place of something, i.e., the place of
propitiation or satisfaction. Hilasterion is used in Hebrews 9:5 of the mercy seat which
covered the ark. The mercy seat was the lid to the ark of the covenant which stood in the
Holy of Holies into which the High Priest of the Old Testament could go but once a year
and then not without the blood of an animal that had been shed at the altar of sacrifice.
This all foreshadowed and spoke of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
First, there was the location of the ark. The ark was located in the center of the Holy of
Holies just as Jesus Christ is the center of life and the heart of our salvation. All things
revolve around and depend on Him; He is the center of our life.
Second, there were the materials of the ark. It was a wooden box of acacia wood
overlaid within and without with gold. Acacia wood was practically incorruptible and this
naturally spoke of Jesus Christ in His humanity without sin, without corruption. It was a
product of the earth, but it was not subject to any chemical action which could cause it to rot.
Thus, the Lord had a real human body, but by the virgin birth He was not subject to the
normal laws of genetics and the inheritance of a sinful nature. The gold, of course, spoke of
His deity. So as the gold and the wood were united into one, yet separate and distinct, they
spoke of Jesus Christ as the God- man. The gold within and without spoke of Christ’s
perfection and glory.

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Third, there was the function of the ark. The ark represented God’s throne. He did not
sit upon it in a literal sense, but He dwelt between the cherubim which stood on top of the
ark on the mercy seat. In Psalm 99:l we read, “The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble; He
is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!” This naturally represented the holy
presence of God.
Fourth, there were the contents of the ark. Hebrews 9:4 tells us that it contained three
items all of which spoke of Jesus Christ, of God’s provision, and of man’s sin and failure.
The Golden Jar holding manna: This spoke of Christ as the bread from heaven, the
life-giver and prophet of God who came to earth to reveal the Father (John 6:32-35). But it
also stood for and reminds us of man’s sin and failure. In view of Israel’s history in the
desert, it spoke of the leanness of soul, or soul barrenness and spiritual revolt that occurs
when men seek their happiness in this world and its things rather than in the Lord and His
Word (Deuteronomy. 8:3, Number. 11:1-6; Psalm. 106:15 [KJV]).
Aaron’s rod that budded: Aaron was the High Priest and the budding of his staff spoke
of Christ as our priest offering Himself and representing man before God as our great High
Priest. The budding speaks of Christ’s resurrection, His authority, and the eternal nature and
validity of His priesthood. The resurrection proves that the Father was satisfied with both the
person and work of Jesus Christ and that He continually remains our means of access and
acceptance with God. Let us not forget, however, that the occasion for the budding of the rod
was the rebellion of Korah and the grumbling of Israel against God’s authority and
appointment of His servants to positions of authority (Number. 16:-17:10). Again, it stands for
man’s sin and rebellion.
The Tablets of the Covenant: Literally “The stone tablets.” These tablets represented
the Law and stood for the fact that Israel was a theocracy under the rule and authority of
God. As such, they also spoke of Jesus Christ as King and of His right to rule over the earth
as King of Kings. He was born a King, He lived as a King rejected, He died as a King, but He
will return as King of Kings.
The Law also stood for the Holiness of God, but it also pointed to the sinfulness of
man, hopelessly separated from God in himself.

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We can see, therefore, how each item first spoke of Jesus Christ as Prophet, Priest,
and King, but also we must see how it spoke of man’s failure and need of Christ as that
One who reveals God, represents us before God, and who alone can reign over us in
perfect righteousness.
Fifth, there was the lid to the Ark, the mercy seat and the cherubim of glory. There
were actually two articles of furniture in the Holy of Holies. They appeared as one, but on
closer examination they were two, the Ark and the mercy seat which furnished a top for the
Ark. Its material was solid gold, including the cherubim which were seen coming out of the
mercy seat on either end. The Hebrew word for mercy seat is kapporeth which meant a
propitiatory place or a covering. It formed a covering for the Ark and was the place where
the blood was to be sprinkled. This pictured the covering of sin by the blood which
propitiated God’s holiness and thereby represented God as passing over sin. This was done,
however, with a view to Christ’s death which would remove the sin problem once and for all
and satisfy the holy demands of God (Romans. 3:25-26). The emphasis of the word “mercy
seat” is not that of a covering or lid, but a place of propitiation.
The mercy seat typified the divine throne and the place where God communed with
Israel. God did not sit on the mercy seat but hovered above it between the two cherubim in
the form of the shekinah cloud or glory, the manifestation of the divine presence of God.
The two cherubim stood with wings outstretched and forward over the mercy seat.
This portrayed the holiness of God. Undoubtedly one cherubim represented the perfect
righteousness of God, signifying that God, as perfect righteousness, could not have
fellowship with sinful man. The other represented His perfect justice and signified that He
must condemn and judge man in sin as represented in the contents of the Ark.
The lid or seat was transformed from a throne of judgment to one of propitiation and
mercy by the action of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. On this day, blood that had
come from the offering of a bullock and a goat on the altar of sacrifice was brought within
the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the mercy seat and before the Ark. This was done first
for the High Priest himself and then for the people. The blood satisfied the holiness of God
because it represented the merit of the person and work of Christ symbolized by the bullock
and the goat which had been offered on the altar of sacrifice. Christ as our substitute
satisfied the holiness

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of God, therefore, God would pass over the sin of the Old Testament saints with a
view to who Christ would be and what He would do as the means of propitiation (Romans.
3:24-26).
Hilaskomai. This is the verb form and the final word used for the concept of
propitiation. It means “to make propitiation” or “be propitiated.” It is used in Hebrews 2:17
and in Luke 18:13. The Luke passage is especially significant. This is the passage of the
Pharisee and the Publican (tax collector). The Pharisee thought in his own self-
righteousness that he had something by which he could be received before God, something
which could change God’s attitude toward him and make him acceptable to God. By
contrast, the Publican literally said, “Oh God, be propitiated to me, a sinner.” This man
realized because of his sin and God’s perfect righteousness that he had nothing that could
satisfy and meet the just and righteous demands of God. By his prayer he was confessing
his sin and, by faith, he was trusting in the Levitical offerings which, portraying the death of
Christ, could alone propitiate or meet the holy demands of God. Christ said that this man, the
Publican, went down to his house justified.
Propitiation is the Godward aspect of the value of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Redemption, as we will see, is sinward, reconciliation is manward, and propitiation is Godward.
Therefore, because God is propitiated by the work of Christ, He is free to justify the sinner and
accept him into His presence (Romans. 3:25-26).
REDEMPTION
Redemption is another part of the overall work of God by which God has brought
about our reconciliation and the removal of the barrier. It deals specifically with the problem
of man’s sin and with the fact that man is viewed in Scripture as imprisoned or enslaved
because of sin (Galatians 4:3-8; 3:22).
Sometimes the term redemption is used rather loosely by theologians and Christians
meaning nothing more than simply deliverance. It does mean deliverance, but it means a
particular kind of deliverance, a deliverance that results from the payment of a great price.
This concept is always in view even when the word redemption is used in passages such as
Exodus 6:6; 15:13;

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Psalm 74:2; and 78:35. Redemption is based on some great expenditure of God. The
price God paid is always in view.
Redemption means liberation because of a payment made. In the New Testament, that
payment is the death of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE KEY GREEK WORDS USED FOR THE CONCEPT OF REDEMPTION:
Agorazo: This word comes from agora which means “market place.” It literally means
“to purchase, buy from the market place.” In ancient times slaves were brought to the market
place, put on the slave block, and then traded or sold to the highest bidder. Scriptures that
use this word are 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; 2 Peter 2:1; Revelation 3:9-10. Agorazo stresses
Christ’s sovereign worth, value, and thus His ability to redeem us from the slave block of sin
by paying the price of our redemption.
Exagurazo: This is a compound verb derived from the preposition ek meaning “out
of” plus agorazo. It means to “purchase out, buy out” or “ransom out.” The word is intensive
and adds the idea of “deliverance and freedom through the price paid” (Galatians. 3:13; 4:5).
This word places more emphasis on the deliverance and freedom. Believers have been set
free from the slave master, the law and its indictment and condemnation of man as a sinner.
Lutrao: This word comes from lutron which means a “ransom price.” Lutron comes
from luo, a verb meaning “to release, set free.” So lutrao carries the meaning of “to release by
paying a price” (1 Peter. 1:18-19; Hebrew. 9:14). This word emphasizes the price paid and the
resultant freedom. The price paid was the death and shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Apolutrosis: Apolutrosis comes from the preposition apo meaning “from” plus
lutrosis, the noun form of lutrao mentioned earlier. This word with the preposition is
somewhat intensive and means “to permanently set free” (Ephesians. 1:7; Colossians 1:14).
AN EXPLANATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF REDEMPTION
The Agent of Redemption: The agent is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ who, in His
sinless person and by His death on the cross, purchased our redemption (Ephesians 1:7;
Colossians

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1:14; Romans 3:24). As part of the work of reconciliation, God the Father removed the
sin problem through the person and work of His Son.
The Instrument and Point of Redemption: This is the blood and the cross of Jesus
Christ (Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter. 1:18-19). The blood stands for the fact Christ died as the lamb of
God sacrificially and as the substitute for sinners.
The Object of Redemption: This is man’s sin and slavery to sin. The object of
redemption is not simply man, but man’s sin problem and his bondage to sin (Ephesians. 1:7;
Colossians. 1:14; Galatians. 3:13).
The Results of Redemption: (a) forgiveness of sin (Ephesians. 1:7; Colossians. 1:14),
(b) deliverance from bondage to sin and the Law (Galatians. 3:13), (c) provides the basis for
imputation and justification (Romans. 3:24; 2 Corinthians. 5:9), (d) provides the basis for our
adoption as adult sons of God (Galatians. 4:5-6), (e) provides the basis for an eternal
inheritance (Hebrew. 9:15), and (f) provides the basis for capacity to glorify God (1
Corinthians. 6:20).
FOR WHOM DID CHRIST DIE?
In connection with the doctrine of redemption and the our consideration of the doctrine
of reconciliation, there is the question, “For whom did Christ die?” Did He die for the entire
world, or for only the elect? The strict Calvinist who believes in the five points of Calvinism
believes Christ died only for the elect. This is what theologians call the doctrine of Limited
Atonement.
But the Bible plainly teaches that Christ’s death and His work of redemption was not
only sufficient for the entire world, but that He actually died for the sins of all the world. This
belief, known as Unlimited Atonement, does not mean universal salvation, but only that
Christ’s death paid the penalty for the sin of all the world and for all time. For the Savior’s
death to be effective for any individual that person must personally believe or trust in Jesus
Christ as his/her personal Savior.
1 Timothy 4:10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on
the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. (Emphasis mine.)

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The one sin for which Christ did not die is rejection of His person and work
(John 3:18, 36).
John 3:18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been
judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
EXPIATION
As redemption was that part of God’s work of reconciliation that dealt with the
problem of man’s sin, so expiation is that part that deals with the penalty of sin that the Law
exacts on man the sinner.
Expiation means to undo the wrong done by paying or suffering the penalty for that
wrong as demanded by law. In essence, expiation means to remove the penalty officially
imposed by law which indicts and proves the sinner guilty. While there are no Greek words
used in the New Testament that mean “to expiate” as used here, there is a key passage that
deals with this specific truth. It’s Colossians 2:14.
Explanation of Colossians 2:14:
having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which
was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
In verse 13 Paul speaks of the regeneration and redemption of the believing sinner
when he says “… He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our
transgressions …” Then in verse 14, he shows how this was accomplished through the
death of Christ by the expiation of the sinner’s penalty.
“Having canceled out.” “Canceled” is the Greek exaleipho which means “to wipe out
or off.” It was used (1) of smearing out letters written on wax, (2) of an erasure of an
indebtedness, and
(3) of wiping out an item on an account. The question is, just what has been wiped out
or

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canceled?
“The Certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us” answers this question.
Literally we can translate this “the handwritten document in decrees (or commands) which
was hostile to us.” This refers to the Old Testament Law that, in revealing God’s holy
character, also reveals man’s sinfulness.
“Certificate of debt” is the Greek cheirographon which means “a hand writing” or “a

handwritten document.” “Decrees” is the plural of dogma, “a decree, command, or
ordinance.” It is interesting to note that the word cheirographon was actually used of a
certificate of indebtedness like an IOU or a bond. In this regard, the Law was indeed, at least
in part, a handwritten document consisting of laws or commands written by the finger of
God (2 Cor. 3:7; Deut. 9:10). But these commands became indictments which charge all of
mankind to be under sin and guilty before God. The Apostle strongly emphasizes this point.
Though the Law is good, was designed for man’s blessing, and reveals God’s holy character,
it also stands against man because it shows man to be a sinner and under the penalty of sin
which is death (Rom. 3:19-20; 6:23; 7:7; Gal. 3:10). So because of man’s condition in sin, the
Law is viewed as against us (Col. 2:14), as bringing a curse (Gal. 3:10-12), as bringing death
or as an administration of death (2 Cor. 7:7-13), and as holding man in bondage to sin and
death (Gal. 4:3-5, 9; Rom. 7:10-14). No wonder the Apostles stressed it is against us and
hostile to us.
“And He has taken it out of the way.” How blessed and glorious this is. It strongly
shows how reconciliation is a work accomplished by God in Jesus Christ alone. The verb
“taken it out of the way” is the perfect tense of airo, “to lift up, take up or away, to remove or
carry off.” The perfect tense presents this as a completed act with continuing results. The
barrier has been taken out of the way, out of the picture.
“Having nailed it to the cross.” “Having nailed” is an adverbial participle in the Greek text
which points us to the means of removal. The penalty of sin demanded by the decrees
against us was taken out of the way by the death of Christ for believers. The culture and
procedures of that day shed some interesting and illuminating light here.
Under the Roman procedure of trial and conviction, no one could be legitimately brought
to trial

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until he had been officially indicted or charged with a prepared certificate of debt or a
written indictment. On the certificate the criminal’s unlawful deeds or crimes were written.
Then after trial, if convicted of the charges, his indictment with its offenses and the penalty
was nailed to his prison cell door. There it remained, standing in the way of his freedom
until the sentence was served or otherwise paid or removed. When once paid or served, the
constituted authority would write “canceled” or “paid in full” on the indictment. The freed
person would than take his indictment and nail it to his door showing his penalty had been
paid and removed.
The Apostle’s point is Jesus Christ has paid our certificate of debt with its charges
and nailed it to His cross, showing forever that it has been paid in full.
Therefore, in the doctrine of expiation, Jesus Christ is the agent, the cross is the point
and place, and the penalty of sin is its object.
 SUBSTITUTION
Isaiah 53:4-11 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we
ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced
through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our
well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have
gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of
us all To fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His
mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its
shearers, So He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken
away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the
living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? 9 His grave was
assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done
no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. 10 But the LORD was pleased To crush
Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His
offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His
hand. 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His
knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their
iniquities.
The doctrine of the substitutionary death of Christ is closely related to expiation. As
redemption was that part of reconciliation aimed at the problem of man’s sin, and expiation
was that part which dealt with the concept of the penalty that man must pay, so substitution
is directed toward the specific penalty required, the penalty of death.
By the substitutionary death of Christ we mean that Christ, as the innocent Lamb of
God, died and suffered the penalty of death in the place of the sinner, the actual guilty party.
This means He took our place and bore the penalty of God’s judgment which we rightly
deserve.

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 GREEK WORDS WHICH IMPLY SUBSTITUTION
There are two Greek prepositions that are important to this doctrine because they
are used in the New Testament for the concept of the substitutionary death of Christ.
Anti. The basic and most common meaning of anti is “in the place of, in the stead of”
and naturally teaches the concept of substitution, one thing in the place of another. The
following passages illustrate this common usage. (1) “… Archelaus was reigning over Judea in
place of (anti) his Father Herod” (Matt. 2:22). (2) “… he will not give him a snake instead (anti)
of a fish, will he?” (Luke 11:11) With this in view, compare the following two parallel accounts
in the Gospels which clearly point to the substitutionary work of Christ: (1) “Just as the Son
of Man did not come to be served but serve, and to give his life a ransom for (anti—in the
place of) many” (Matt. 20:28). (2) “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for (anti) many” (Mark 10:45).
Huper. The most common meaning of huper is “for the sake of,” but it may also be
used like anti to mean “in place of.” That huper may mean “in the place of” is clear from the
following passages:
(1) Philemon 13 provides a good illustration that huper can be used in the sense of
“in the place of.” Paul writes of Onesimus, the servant of Philemon and says: “whom I wished
to keep with me, so that on your behalf (huper) he might minister to me in my
imprisonment for the gospel.” Had the Apostle kept Onesimus with him, Onesimus would
have served as a substitute for Philemon.
(2) Then in 2 Corinthians 5:20 Paul says: “therefore we are ambassadors for
(huper) Christ (in the place of Christ), as though God were entreating through us.” Since
Christ is no longer on earth preaching the gospel, believers are left here in His place as His
ambassadors and representatives to entreat men to believe in the person and work of
Christ.
The following are verses where huper is used of the substitutionary death of Christ:
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for (huper) us.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also

received, that Christ died for (huper) our sins according to the Scriptures.
2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (huper),
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Hebrews 2:9 But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower
than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory
and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for (huper) everyone.
Hebrews 2:9 teaches us that Christ tasted death for every man and since man’s
penalty for being a sinner is both spiritual and physical death, Christ tasted, partook of both
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in our place. When Jesus shouted out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” He
was speaking judicially of God as the holy and righteous Judge who had placed the iniquities
of all mankind on Him and who had thereby turned His face from the Son while He was
bearing our iniquity in our place. At this time Christ died spiritually and was in some
mysterious way cut off from the fellowship He had always known with the Father because
He was bearing our sin (Isa. 53:4-11; 2 Cor. 5:21). After these dark hours on the cross Christ
called out “it is finished,” meaning His redemptive work was done, He had borne our sin.
He then bowed His head, gave up His spirit and physically died. By His death on the cross,
He paid the penalty for all humanity and He became our substitute.
In Scripture the death of Christ is revealed to be a sacrifice for the sins of the whole
world. Accordingly, John the Baptist introduced Jesus with the words, “Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus in His death was actually the
substitute dying in the place of all men. Although “substitute” is not specifically a biblical
word, the idea that Christ is the sinner’s substitute is constantly affirmed in Scripture. By His
substitutionary death the unmeasured, righteous judgments of God against a sinner were
borne by Christ. The result of this substitution is itself as simple and definite as the
transaction. The Savior has already born the divine judgments against the sinner to the
full satisfaction of God.11
 REGENERATION
Though the word “regeneration” is only found twice (Matt. 19:28; Tit. 3:5), it is
nevertheless an important doctrine and a concept that is found in many New Testament
passages.
Regeneration is specifically revealed as the direct work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-
6; Tit. 3:5), but the Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son as a result of the work of Christ on
the cross. It thus becomes a part of the reconciling work of Christ whereby man who is
spiritually dead can have life and fellowship with God (John 7:37-39).
In relation to the barrier, the regeneration is that part of the reconciling work of Christ
which deals with man’s spiritual death. It deals with man’s need of spiritual life or the new
birth (John 3:3-6; Eph. 2:1-4). Though it is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit, all three
persons of the trinity seem to be involved in this blessed work of imparting new life. James
1:17-18 relates the Father to regeneration under the figure of being “brought forth”
(apokueo, “to give birth to”). The Son, the Lord Jesus, seems also to be involved in
regeneration, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son
also gives life to whom He wishes” (John 5:21).
Regeneration is the supernatural act of God whereby the spiritual and eternal life of
the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is imparted to the individual through faith in Jesus Christ.
(1) The Greek Word for “Regeneration” is palingenesia (from palin, “again, once
more,” and genesis, “birth”) and means “a new birth, a renewal, rebirth, or regeneration.”
(2) Usage: It is used in Matthew 19:28 to describe the refurbished conditions that
will exist during the millennial reign of Christ. But in Titus 3:5 the word is used of the
bestowal of spiritual and eternal life to the believer on the basis of God’s mercy.
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(3) Synonyms Used for Regeneration: While the word regeneration itself is used
of spiritual regeneration only once (Tit. 3:5), the concept is clearly taught in a number of
passages by a combination of other terms.
John 1:13. “Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God.” The Greek word for “born” is gennao, “to bring forth, give birth, be born.” The
context is clearly speaking of new spiritual birth by which men become the children of God (vs.
12).
John 3:3. “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” The words “born again” mean either “born
again” or “born from above.” Actually, both ideas apply here. Because men are born spiritual
dead, they need a new birth, one from above accomplished by God the Holy Spirit.
For other passages and synonymous words compare John 5:21; Ephesians 2:5;
Romans 6:13; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and James 1:13.
(4) Three Figures of Regeneration:
The New Birth: As a man is born physically by physical birth to human parents so also
he must be born by spiritual birth to a spiritual parent whereby he or she becomes a child of
God (Gal. 3:26; John 1:12; 3:3-6).
Spiritual Resurrection: Man is born spiritually dead in sin, but by regeneration the
believer is made alive, spiritually resurrected so to speak. This means he has spiritual life
and can now have fellowship with God and can function for God in newness of life (Rom. 6:5,
13; Eph. 2:5-10; John 5:21-23). The emphasis here is on a new kind and quality of life.
o A New Creation: Regeneration also views the born again believer as a

creation, a new spiritual creation of God created for Good works. This calls
attention to our need to operate out of our new life in Christ through the
power of God (Rom. 6:4-14; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10).
(5) What Regeneration is not:
It is not conversion. Conversion is what man does in turning to God. Regeneration is

what God does for man to give him life.
It is not sanctification or justification.
It is not an experience though it is the basis for personal experience with God
since it bestows new life and new spiritual capacity.
(6) The Mechanics of Regeneration:
Faith is the human requirement. Compare John 1:12-13 and note the order.
Scripture: The Bible provides the content one must believe so regeneration may
occur (1 Pet. 1:23).

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God is the cause of regeneration. He regenerates men according to His will (John
1:13; Jam. 1:13).
The Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration (Tit. 3:5; John 3:6).
The Time of Regeneration: Does it occur before or after faith? In Reformed

theology, regeneration precedes faith, for it is argued, a sinner must be given new life in
order to be able to believe, but the emphasis of the Bible is that one becomes a child of God
through faith. If there is new life through regeneration, why does one need to believe?
Undoubtedly, faith and regeneration occur simultaneously. Regeneration is instantaneous
and occurs at the moment of faith in Christ. It is an instantaneous act of God which bestows
new and eternal life.
(7) The Results of Regeneration:
Provides the believer with spiritual and eternal life (cf. Eph. 2:1 with vss. 5f; 1 John
5:11).
Provides a new nature and capacity for fellowship with God (John 3:6; 2 Pet. 1:3-4).
(8) Some Lesson from Regeneration:
Stresses man’s spiritual and eternal death apart from faith in Christ and the new life He
gives.
Stresses man’s total helplessness to be a part of God’s kingdom or to change his life
without God’s supernatural intervention through Christ and the work of the Spirit of God.
 JUSTIFICATION AND IMPUTATION
In the parable of the religious and self-righteous Pharisee and the tax-gatherer, Christ
declared that the tax-gatherer, in contrast to the Pharisee, was justified through his faith in the
Levitical offerings which alone could propitiate the holy character of God (Luke 18:10-14). In
Romans 3:25-26 Paul speaks of Jesus Christ as the means of propitiation and then shows
the death of Christ demonstrated God’s righteousness so that He might remain just and at
the same time be free to justify the one who has faith in Jesus Christ. But what is meant by
justification and what is involved?
Justification and imputation are those aspects of reconciliation that deal with the
barrier of man’s lack of righteousness. Sometimes, in order to keep the definition of
justification nice and simple, one often hears it defined as meaning, “Just as if I’d never
sinned.” This definition is simple, but it misses the heart of the truth of justification. Being
acceptable before God involves more than just the removal of our sins.
The barrier, remember, consists not only of man’s sin, but of man’s negative
righteousness, his lack of perfect righteousness. Isaiah declares that all of our righteous deeds
are as filthy rags in the sight of the perfect holiness of God (Isa. 64:6). Man not only needs the
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subtraction of his sin, but also the addition of perfect righteousness, the righteousness of
Christ. God’s solution to
this problem is found in the doctrines of “imputation” and “justification” as set forth in
the Bible.
 JUSTIFICATION DEFINED
Justification is a judicial or a forensic concept and is therefore related to God as the

righteous Judge of all the earth (Gen. 18:25; Deut. 32:4; 2 Tim. 4:8). Ryrie writes:
If God, the Judge, is without injustice and completely righteous in all His decisions,
then how can He announce a sinner righteous? And sinners we all are. There are only three
options open to God as sinners stand in His courtroom. He must condemn them, compromise
His own righteousness to receive them as they are, or He can change them into righteous
people. If He can exercise the third option, then He can announce them righteous, which is
justification. But any righteousness the sinner has must be actual, not fictitious; real, not
imagined; acceptable by God’s standards, and not a whit short. If this can be accomplished,
then, and only then, can He justify.
Job stated the problem accurately when he asked, “how can a man be in the right
before God?”
Justification answers this question posed by Job. Doctrinally, justification is the

judicial act of God, based on the work of Jesus Christ, which justly declares and treats as
righteous the one who believes in Jesus Christ and who stands by imputation in the
righteousness of Christ.
Scripture reveals a number of important aspects to the process of justification defined

below:
(1) The Plan and Manifestation of Justification Righteousness—Romans 3:21
Through the Gospel of the New Testament, this righteousness from God has now,
since the coming of Christ, been clearly made known. This was the fullness of time when
God brought the Suffering Savior into a sin-ridden world to deal with man’s sin. However,
though revealed more clearly than before, this gospel message is not new.
God revealed His righteousness in many ways before the full revelation of the
Gospel. He did so in His Law, His judgments against sin, by the preaching of the prophets,
and by His blessings on the obedient. These were all ways by which God revealed His
righteousness. But that was not all. Even this gospel message in which righteousness is
received by faith was witnessed to and anticipated throughout the Old Testament in the
many prophecies of the Messiah who must not only reign on the throne of His father, David,
but must first suffer and die for our sin.
Beginning at Genesis 3:15, and continuing through the entire Old Testament, witness
is given to salvation by faith in Messiah. God bore witness to the righteousness from God in
the Old Testament sacrifices, the tabernacle, the priesthood, the prophecies, the types, and
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passages like Isaiah 53. But though the Law could witness to God’s righteousness, it could
never provide it for sinful man, “weak as it was in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3).
What, then, were some of the other characteristics of this righteousness from God?
Most importantly, as a righteousness from God (Rom. 3:21), it is independent of the Law.
Note that the words “apart from the Law” are literally, “apart from law.” Law is anarthrous,
that is, without the article. It is broader than just the Law of the Old Testament. It refers to
any kind of law whether it is the Law of the Old Testament, or the law of one’s conscience
(2:14-15), or even the righteous principles of the sermon on the mount. So then, what’s the
source of this righteousness from God? Note verse 22.
(2) The Pre-requisite and Channel for Justification Righteousness—Romans 3:22a
Righteousness comes through the channel of faith in the person and work of Christ.
“Even” of the NASB represents the Greek conjunction de. It is transitional and introduces this
verse as an explanation which points us to the channel by which man may receive this
righteousness from God.
“The righteousness of God.” “Of God” is a genitive of source. It means either “the
righteousness derived from, sourced in,” or “dependent on God.”
“Through faith in Jesus Christ” points us to the means or the channel.

Righteousness from God is received “by means of” faith in Jesus Christ.
In the final analysis, all men end up trusting in something, if only in their own works or
record; but the Apostle’s point is that the only means of having God’s righteousness is
through t r u s t i n g in Jesus Christ.
(3) The Problem or Reason for Justification Righteousness—Romans 3:22b-23
God can show no favoritism with people since He is perfect holiness and since all
have sinned and fallen short of His holiness. As the Judge, He must deal with their actual
righteousness.
(4) The Price or Cost of Justification Righteousness—Romans 3:24-25a
While justification is free to the believer, without cost, it was not without cost. The
price paid to redeem us from the slave block of sin was nothing short of the death of Christ
who alone could satisfy (propitiate) the holy character of God.
(5) The Place or Position of Justification Righteousness—2 Corinthians 5:21
When the individual receives Christ he is placed into Christ. This is what makes him
righteous. We are made the righteousness of God in Him. This righteousness alone
overcomes our desperate, sinful condition, and measures up to all the demands of God’s
holiness.
(6) The Pronouncement of Justification Righteousness—Romans 3:25b-25
God must be perfectly consistent with Himself. He cannot break His own Law nor
violate His own nature. “God is love” (1 John 4:8), and “God is light” (1 John 1:5). A God of
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love wants to forgive sinners, but a God of holiness must judge sin and uphold His
righteous character as witnessed in the Law.
How can God be both “just and the justifier” of those who are sinners? The answer is
found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. When Jesus took upon Himself the wrath of
God on the Cross for the sins of the world, He fully met the demands of God’s holiness as
demonstrated in the Law. At the same time, He fully expressed the love of God’s heart. As the
book of Hebrews makes so clear, the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament never took away
sin, but when Jesus died, His death was retroactive all the way back to Adam and took care of
all the sins of the past, especially of those who were believers. No one (including Satan) could
accuse God of being unjust or unfair because He appeared to pass over the sins of Old
Testament Saints.
(7) The Proof of Justification Righteousness—Romans 4:24
The words, “and was raised because of our justification” points to the resurrection
of Jesus Christ as that momentous event following the cross which gave proof of God’s
acceptance of the death of Christ for our sin.
 JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION COMPARED
(1) Sanctify means to “set apart.” Sanctification has three aspects: positional
(unchangeable), experiential (progressive), and ultimate (complete: being in God’s
presence).
(2) Positional sanctification (Rom. 6:1-11) is the basis for experiential

or progressive sanctification (Rom. 6:12-14).
(3) Experiential sanctification is the process whereby God makes the believer
more and more like Jesus Christ through our union with Christ and the indwelling
Spirit. Note: Just as in justification, sanctification is the work of God that must also be
appropriated by faith.
(4) Sanctification (experiential) may change from day to day. Justification never
changes. When the sinner trusts in Christ as his or her Savior, God declares him or her to be
righteous, and that declaration will never be repealed nor need to be repeated.
(5) Justification looks at our eternal position in Christ (positional sanctification)

whereas sanctification, depending on the context, may look at our experiential condition
from day to day.
(6) Justification exempts us from the Great White Throne judgment, whereas
experiential sanctification prepares us for the Bema, the Judgment Seat of Christ, and
the blessings of rewards.
(7) Justification removes the guilt and penalty of sin for us. Experiential
sanctification removes the growth and power of sin in and over us.
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(8)In justification Christ died for sin’s penalty, where as in sanctification He died
unto Sin’s power.
 IMPUTATION DEFINED
Imputation is the reckoning or “charging to the account” of one what properly belongs
to the account of another. Because of the person and work of Christ, God imputes or
credits our sin to the person of Jesus Christ and imputes His righteousness to our account
through faith in Him. The key word used of this is the verb logizomai which means “to count,
reckon, credit, charge to the account of another.” In Romans 4, the Apostle writes:
Romans 4:3-8 For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it
was reckoned (logizomai) to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wage
is not reckoned (logizomai) as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not
work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned (logizomai) as
righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God
reckons (logizomai) righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless
deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose
sin the Lord will not take into account (logizomai).”
2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we
might become the righteousness of God in Him.
In these verses, we clearly see both the negative, our sin imputed to Christ who was
made sin for us along with the non-imputation of our sin to us, and the positive, His
righteousness reckoned or imputed to the account of those who trust in Christ.
The key word in the doctrine of justification and imputation is the verb dikaioo
(dikaiovw). This verb ends in oo (ow), and verbs which end in oo (ow), are usually causative
and mean “to make the object of the verb into the idea of the word.” For instance ikanoo
(ikanovw) means “to make sufficient, empower someone for something.” But when a verb is
formed from an adjective of a moral or spiritual connotation it means “to regard as, treat as,
pronounce or declare as.” Thus dikaioo does not mean to make righteous, but to “declare,
treat as righteous” when in essence the object may be just the opposite. Thus, the justified
sinner is still a sinner and not without personal sins, but he is still viewed and treated as
righteous by God and justly so because of the gift of Christ’s righteousness by imputation.
The believer stands in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and his sins are not imputed to
him. Not only are his sins subtracted, but Christ’s perfect righteousness has been added to
the account of the believer.
Justification, then, does not mean “to make righteous.” If it did, the believing sinner
would never again sin because he would have been made constitutionally righteous so he
could not and would not sin. That condition will occur in our ultimate condition of
sanctification at the resurrection, but not now. Justification means that God accepts us and
views us as perfectly righteous in Christ even though in our experience we will commit acts
of sin or unrighteousness.

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The failure to make this distinction has throughout history led people into various
works systems by which they tried to become righteous and acceptable before God. Our
acceptance before God comes through the gift of Christ’s righteousness to the believing
sinner.
Justification is by faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:19-25; 4:1-12).
It is important to understand that there are two kinds of righteousness. There is the
perfect and absolute righteousness of Christ which God gives to anyone who will believe
and trust in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior (Rom. 3:22-24). Then there is the relative, less-
than-perfect righteousness of men, which on a scale of 1 to 100 can never even come close to
100% in comparison to the standard of God’s righteousness. No matter how good or
religious, all fall short of the righteousness which God requires (Rom. 3:23). Only the
righteousness of Christ (which man can receive freely by faith) can give him acceptance with
God.
The Apostle Paul who had been one of the most religious men who ever lived said in
relation to these two types of righteousness:
Philippians 3:7-9 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as
loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the
surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in
Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is
through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.
In other words when Paul saw the glory of Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road he
came to realize that all his works of righteousness or human good were no better than
refuse as far as providing a standing before God. Or as Isaiah put it, “… And all our righteous
deeds are like a filthy garment …” (Isa. 64:6).
 A Personal Application
In the preceding sections we have seen the marvelous provision of God whereby
men might be saved. In His grace and mercy, God has removed those things that separated
man from God. Yet, while God has done this, there still remains another barrier. This is the
barrier of Christ Himself and His work on the cross. For unless one personally trusts in
Jesus Christ and His death on the cross as the sole solution for his sin, he remains cut off
and separated from God.
There is only one sin today which can keep a person separated from God and lost, the
sin of rejection of Christ or unbelief in Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Note carefully,
therefore, the following verses of Scripture which illustrate this fact.
John 3:17-18 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that
the world should be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who
does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.

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John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
John 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges
him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
John 14:12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall
he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.
If you have never put your trust in Jesus Christ, may we invite you to do so right
now. He has removed the barrier that stands as a separation between you and God and an
abundant life of fellowship and significance as a child of God, but you must personally
receive Jesus Christ by faith. Your failure to personally trust in Christ as your Savior is the
only thing that stands between you and a personal relationship with God so that you can
begin to experience the abundant life of Christ and deliverance over your sin, the powers
of darkness, and the things that have held you in bondage (life dominating patterns)
all your life.
Just pray this prayer in faith (or one similar) and we assure you by the promises of
the Word of God, you will be saved and enter into the family of God as a child of God, born
anew by the Spirit of God.
“Father, I understand that I am a sinner and separated from you, but that Jesus Christ
has died for my sin and offers me eternal life and an abundant life can turn my life around
through a relationship with Him. Right now I turn from myself and place my trust in Him as
my personal Savior. Thank you heavenly Father for saving me and giving me eternal life
through the Lord Jesus Christ.”
If you have prayed this prayer, you are now a child of God, but you are also a babe in
Christ who needs to grow through spiritual nurture. You need to be discipled, to have
fellowship with other Bible believing Christians in a Church that truly teaches the Bible so
you learn the Word of God. These things are crucial for your spiritual health and growth.
1 Peter 2:2 like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it
you may grow in respect to salvation.
2 Peter 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work.

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When anyone accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour they are instantaneously
enriched with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3) and declared to be complete in
Christ (Col. 2:10). In fact, the Apostle Paul refers to these blessings as “the unfathomable
riches of Christ” in Ephesians 3:8. “Unfathomable” is the Greek anexichniastos which means
“past finding out, unsearchable, not to be tracked out.” The idea is that the believer’s blessings
in Christ are “too deep to be measured.” Many of these blessings, however, are clearly defined
for us in the Bible. When you receive Jesus Christ by faith, at least the following 34 things are
unconditionally promised to you as a member of the body of Christ, the Church, as stated in
God’s holy Word.
However, if you never receive Jesus Christ by faith as the only begotten Son of God
who died on the cross in your place to pay the penalty for your sins, and rose again to ever
reign with God the Father, then you will forfeit these awesome blessings.
How can you receive these God-given blessings in Christ? The Bible says:
John 1:12 As many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on His name.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John 8:12 Then Jesus spake unto them, saying, “I am the light of the world: he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes
in Me shall live even if he dies. And whosoever liveth and believeth me shall never die.
Believest thou this?
If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, let me encourage
you to believe what the Scripture says about all people and about the Lord Jesus Christ. God
declares to us in the Bible that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (His holy
character), and that the wages of sin is death, physical death and eternal separation from God.
But God also declares to us in Scripture that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, the God-man
Savior who died on the cross for the sin of all the world. So what must you do to receive eternal
life and the 34 things listed below?
Simply put your trust in Jesus Christ and thank Him for your salvation which He
purchased for you by His death on the cross. As soon as you accept Him, you will be born
again by the Spirit of God and Christ will come into your heart. At that moment, you will
receive the “unfathomable riches of Christ” and the blessings listed below will become your
eternal possession.
THE POSITION AND POSSESSIONS OF THE BELIEVER
1. IN THE ETERNAL PLAN OF GOD14
a. Foreknown

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Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to
the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;
1 Peter 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work
of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and
peace be yours in fullest measure.
b. Elect of God
1 Thessalonians 1:4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;

Inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the
counsel of His will,
Romans 8:29-30 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed

to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and
whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified;
and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to

Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
d. Chosen
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
1 Peter 2:4 And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and
precious in the sight of God,
e. Called
1 Thessalonians 5:24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
2. RECONCILED
a. Reconciled by God
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to
Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was
in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and
He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Colossians 1:20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made
peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things
in heaven.
b. Reconciled to God
Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the
death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were
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entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

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3. REDEEMED
Colossians 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
1 Peter 1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or
gold from. your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
Romans 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in
Christ Jesus;
4. NO CONDEMNATION
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus.
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent
Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that
we may not be condemned along with the world.
John 3:18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been
judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
5. RELATED TO GOD THROUGH PROPITIATION (THE SATISFACTION OF GOD’S

HOLINESS)
Romans 3:24-26 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in
Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This
was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the for bearance of God He passed over
the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the
present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but
also for those of the whole world.
6. ALL SINS REMOVED BY HIS EFFICACIOUS BLOOD

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1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die
to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Romans 4:25 He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was
raised because of our justification.
7. VITALLY JOINED TOGETHER WITH CHRIST FOR JUDGMENT OF THE OLD

SELF “UNTO A NEW WALK”
a. Crucified With Christ
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;
b. Dead With Christ
Romans 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we
might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
c. Buried With Christ
Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in
order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of life.
Colossians 2:12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised
up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
d. Raised With Christ to Walk by a New Life Principle
Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in
order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of Life.
Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things
above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
8. FREE FROM THE LAW
a. Dead to the Law
Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the
body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that
we might bear fruit for God.
b. Delivered From the Law

CHRISTOLOGY
Romans 7:6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which
we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
Galatians 3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under
grace.
2 Corinthians 3:11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that
which remains is in glory.
9. CHILDREN OF GOD
a. Born Again
John 3:7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God, even to those who believe in His name,
1 Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but
imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.
b. Quickened
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Colossians 2:13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our
transgressions,
c. Children of God
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet
what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see
Him just as He is.
2 Corinthians 6:18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and
daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.
Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
d. A New Creation
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old
things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Galatians 6:15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new
creation.

CHRISTOLOGY
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
e. Regeneration
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
John 13:10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his
feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”
1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of
Our God.
10. ADOPTED (PLACED AS ADULT SONS)
Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you
have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
Also a future adoption:
Romans 8:23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons,
the redemption of our body.
Galatians 4:5-7 in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we
might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the
Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave,
but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
11. ACCEPTABLE TO GOD BY JESUS CHRIST
a. Made the Righteousness of God in Christ
Romans 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those
who believe; for there is no distinction;
1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us
wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Philippians 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own
derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which
comes from God on the basis of faith,
b. Sanctified Positionally (Positionally Set Apart in Christ)

CHRISTOLOGY
1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us
wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
our God.
(This is in no way to be confused with experiential sanctification as mentioned in

John 17:17 or the final perfection of the believer as mentioned in Ephesians 5:27 and 1
John 3:3.)
c. Perfected Forever
Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are
sanctified.
d. Made Accepted in the Beloved
Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He freely bestowed
on us (made us accepted [KJV]) in the Beloved.
1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
e. Made Qualified
Colossians 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the
inheritance of the saints in light.
12. JUSTIFIED
Romans 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in
Christ Jesus;
Romans 8:30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called,
these He al so justified; and whom He justified, these He also Glorified.
our God.
Titus 3:7 that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life.
13. FORGIVEN ALL TRESPASS
Colossians 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

CHRISTOLOGY
Colossians 2:13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the
transgressions,
Colossians 3:13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a
complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,
Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as
God in Christ also has forgiven you.
(A distinction is necessary here, between the complete and abiding judicial

forgiveness and there often-repeated forgiveness within the family of God. See 1 John 1:9.)
14. MADE NIGH
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been
brought near by the blood of Christ.
(With this, there is a corresponding experience, see James 4:8 and Hebrews 10:22.)
15. DELIVERED FROM THE POWERS OF DARKNESS
Colossians 1:13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to
the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Colossians 2:13-15 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the
transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us
and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them,
having triumphed over them through Him.
16. TRANSLATED INTO THE KINGDOM
Colossians 1:13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to
the kingdom of His beloved Son,
17. ON THE ROCK, CHRIST JESUS
1 Corinthians 3:11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which
is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:20 having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
2 Corinthians 1:21 Now He who establishes (make firm as on a rock) us with

you in Christ and anointed us is God,
18. A GIFT FROM GOD THE FATHER TO CHRIST

CHRISTOLOGY
John 17:6, 11-12, 20 I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest Me out of
the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they have kept Thy word … 11
And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to Thee.
Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be
one, even as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou
hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that
the Scripture might be fulfilled … 20 I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also
who believe in Me through their Word;
John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is
able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
19. CIRCUMCISED IN CHRIST
Colossians 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made
without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
Philippians 3:3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and
glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.
Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of
the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
20. PARTAKERS OF THE HOLY AND ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
a. Holy Priesthood
1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
b. Royal Priesthood
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for
God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out
of darkness into His marvelous light;
Revelation 1:6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to
Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
21. CHOSEN GENERATION, A HOLY NATION, AND A PEOPLE OF GOD’S OWN

POSSESSION
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you
out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed
and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
22. HAVING ACCESS TO GOD

CHRISTOLOGY
Ephesians 2:18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
Romans 5:2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this
grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Hebrews 4:14-16 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a
high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted
in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the
throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 10:19-20 Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy
place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through
the veil, that is, His flesh,
23. WITHIN THE “MUCH MORE” CARE OF GOD
Romans 5:9-10 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be
saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall
be saved by His life.
a. Objects of His Love
Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us,
Ephesians 5:2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for
us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
b. Objects of His Grace
(1) For salvation: Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
(2) For security: Romans 5:2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction
by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 1 Peter 1:5
who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time.
(3) For service: Ephesians 2:7 in order that in the ages to come He might show
the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
(4) For instruction: Titus 2:12-13 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly
desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the
blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;
c. Objects of His Power
Ephesians 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who
believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
CHRISTOLOGY
Philippians 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His
good pleasure.
d. Objects of His Faithfulness
Hebrews 13:5 Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with
what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in
you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
e. Objects of His Peace
Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you
were called in one body; and be thankful.
f. Objects of His Comfort
2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our
Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace.
g. Objects of His Personal Care
1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
h. Objects of His Intercession
Hebrews 7:25 Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God
through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Romans 8:34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather
who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the
true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
24. HIS INHERITANCE
Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you
may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints,
25. OUR INHERITANCE
1 Peter 1:4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not
fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

CHRISTOLOGY
Ephesians 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the
redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Colossians 3:24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the
inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
Hebrews 9:15 And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that
since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed
under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal
inheritance.
26. A HEAVENLY ASSOCIATION
Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly
places, in Christ Jesus,
a. Partners With Christ in Life
Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be
revealed with Him in glory.
1 John 5:11-12 And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this
life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of
God does not have the life.
b. Partners With Christ in Position
Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly
places, in Christ Jesus,
c. Partners With Christ in Service
1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship
with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s
building.
2 Corinthians 6:4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants

of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of
the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were
entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
d. Partners With Christ in Suffering
2 Timothy 2:12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will
deny us;

CHRISTOLOGY
Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in
Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
1 Peter 2:20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you
endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently
endure it, this finds favor with God.
1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which
comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but
to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the
revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.
1 Thessalonians 3:3 so that no man may be disturbed by these afflictions; for you
yourselves know that we have been destined for this.
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do
my share on behalf of His body which is the church in filling up that which is lacking in
Christ’s afflictions.
27. HEAVENLY CITIZENS
Philippians 3:20 But our common wealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, (RSV)
Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow
citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,
Luke 10:20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but
rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.
28. OF THE FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD OF GOD
Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow
citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
Ephesians 3:6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of
the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Galatians 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and
especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
29. LIGHT IN THE LORD
Ephesians 5:8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk
as children of light.
CHRISTOLOGY
1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should
overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night
nor of darkness;
30. VITALLY UNITED TO THE FATHER, SON, AND SPIRIT
a. In God
1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the
Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
Ephesians 4:6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
b. In Christ
John 14:20 In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
Colossians 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
(1) A member in His Body: 1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all
made to drink of one Spirit.
(2) A branch in the Vine: John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who
abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.
(3) A stone in the Building: Ephesians 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers
and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having
been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the
corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy
temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the
Spirit.
(4) A sheep in the Flock: John 10:27-29 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,
and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one
shall snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than
all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
(5) A part of His Bride: Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as
Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; 26 that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to
Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she
should be holy and blameless.
(6) A priest of the kingdom of priests: 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim
the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous Light;
(7) A saint of the new generation: 1 Peter 1:3; Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to
CHRISTOLOGY
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, … 1 Peter 2:9 But
you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s
OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out
of the darkness into His marvelous light.
c. In the Spirit
Romans 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of
God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to
Him.
Compare the Spirit in you:
1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit
who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God,
31. BLESSED WITH THE “FIRST-FRUITS” AND THE “EARNEST” OF THE SPIRIT
a. Born of the Spirit
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit.
b. Baptized by Means of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether
Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 10:7 And do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written,

“The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.”
c. Indwelt by the Spirit
1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who
is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your Own ?
1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God,
John 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to
receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Romans 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured
out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of
God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to
Him.
2 Corinthians 1:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us
is God,

CHRISTOLOGY
Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into
our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
1 John 3:24 And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He
in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
d. Sealed With the Spirit
Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for
the day of redemption.
2 Corinthians 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a
pledge.
e. Anointed With the Spirit
2 Corinthians 1:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed
us is God. 1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.
32. GLORIFIED
Romans 8:30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called,
these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
33. COMPLETE IN HIM
Colossians 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all
rule and authority;
34. POSSESSING EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

CHRISTOLOGY
OTHER BOOKS BY JSD CONCEPT AND THE SAME AUTHOR
 Christ morning star
 The Hope are sleeping The God's heritage The Curse
 Martyrs and Martyrdom
 Man of fire - true life story of Benson Andrew idahosa Miraculous journey of Apostle
Joseph Ayodele Babalola City of storm ( drama)
 King of jungle (drama)
 Seventy disciples of christ (- in volumes) Harmatiology
 Hymnology
 Something's you need to know about James Hudson Taylor Pneumatology

CHRISTOLOGY

Christology by Joshua Oluwaseun Oke

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CHRISTOLOGY

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OKE JOSHUA OLUWASEUN

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CHAPTER 2 : Basics of CHRISTOLOGY

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√ and the salvific work of Jesus (known as soteriology).

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the Sinlessness of Christ

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The communion of attributes (Communicatio idiomatum) of Christ’s divine and

initiative. Avoids adoptionism (which is virtually required if a normal birth).

Reinforces the sinlessness of Christ, especially as it relates to Christ being outside

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The Offices of Christ: “Prophet, Priest, and King”

Christ, whom we draw near to in confidence, offered Himself as the sacrifice to

Theologians like Jurgen Moltmann and Walter Kasper have characterized

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o Jesus and Social Doctrines of the Trinity

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THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTOLOGY

It is important to understand the relationship between the proclamation of the

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 Who is Jesus Christ?

Christology is primarily concerned with the identity of Jesus. Because Christianity

Christology is the Christian reflection, teaching, and doctrine concerning Jesus of

The underlying methodological assumption of Christology is that the New Testament

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 Sources and concepts

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Christology is linked to several theological disciplines. Soteriology, or the study of the

 Christological Roots in Scripture: Key Terms for Jesus

o “Messiah” and “Christ”

o “Son of God” and “Son of Man”

Jesus affirms all these titles at his trial:

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 Moving Toward an Identity for Christ

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 Christianity: Human redemption

Specifically Christian view of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.

Belief in the preexistence of Christ is indicated in various letters of the New

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“highly exalted” is the aor-act-ind of huperupsoo which means to exalt supremely, to

The Doctrine of Resurrection.

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 Death is abolished with the possession of the resurrection body.

 The Sovereignty of God and Physical Death.

God. PSALM 68:20

God is to us a God of deliverances; And to God the Lord belong escapes

from death. The death of the believer is always God’s victory.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

PHILLIPIANS 1:20 “On the basis of my intense concentration and confident

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 The Resurrection of Christ: the Pattern for the First Resurrection.

John 20-21; ACT 2:31-34.

√ The direction for the first resurrection: eternal life.

√ The second is the great power experiment of the Church Age.

 Physical Death is the prerequisite for Resurrection.

a. The Rapture generation of the Church Age.

 The Significance of the Resurrection as the Lord’s Victory.