TheosGuy

Following is the dogmatic Christological definition from the Council of Chalcedon, which was held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD.

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

Following are some Scriptural evidences of the Son’s submission to the Father.¹ Please note that this submission does not in any way imply subordination of Divine essence on the part of God the Son.

• The Son submitted to the Father before creation (Rom 8:29–30; Eph 1:3–6, 8–12; 3:11; 2 Tim 1:9).
• The Son submitted to the Father in the act of creation (Heb 1:2; John 1:3; 1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:16).
• The Son submitted to the Father before his earthly ministry (John 3:16–17; 8:42; Gal 4:4; 1 John 4:9–10).
• The Son submitted to the Father during his earthly ministry (John 8:28–29; 4:34; 5:19, 30; 6:38; 10:18; 12:49; 15: 10; 17:4).
• The Son has been submitting to the Father since he ascended into heaven.
• The Son intercedes to the Father on behalf of his people (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24).
• The Son did not pour out the Holy Spirit until the Father gave the Holy Spirit to the Son (Acts 2:33).
• The Father gave the Son what the Son revealed to John in the book of Revelation (Rev 1:1).
• The Son sits at the Father’s right hand (Ps 110:1; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:33–34; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; Heb 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:22).
• The Son will submit to the Father after the final judgment in order to glorify the Father (1 Cor 15:24–28; Phil 2:9–11).

1. The outline is excerpted from materials developed by Andy Naselli, which relies heavily on Wayne Grudem and Bruce Ware’s opening statement in a 2.5-hour debate versus Tom McCall and Keith Yandell on the question, “Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?” (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL, October 9, 2008). See this blog entry for more information on the debate.

The following outline was inspired and adapted from an outline of the same name in the book, Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines.¹

1. “He Is Able—We Are Able,” Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines, Pickering Hy. (Editor). London: Pickering & Inglis, 1918. p. 21.

Tags: HyP

The following outline about the humiliation and exaltation of Jesus Christ is taken from the book, Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines.¹

Seven Steps in His Humiliation
Philippians 2:7-8

1. Made Himself of no reputation.
2. Took upon Himself the form of a slave.
3. Made in the likeness of men.
4. Found in fashion as a men.
5. Humbled Himself.
6. Became obedient unto death.
7. Even the death of the Cross.

Seven Steps in His Exaltation
Philippians 2:9-11

1. God hath highly exalted Him—Humanity occupying the highest place in the universe.
2. Given Him a Name which is above every name.
3. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.
4. Of things in heaven.
5. And things on earth.
6. And things under the earth.
7. And every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

1. “Christ’s Humiliation and Exaltation,” Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines, Pickering Hy. (Editor). London: Pickering & Inglis, 1918. p. 13.

Tags: HyP, Jesus Christ

The following definition is given by Dr. Bruce Ware in the seminar he conducted at The Master’s Seminary on The Universal Reign of the Triune God.

God’s whole and undivided essence belongs equally, eternally, simultaneously, and fully to each of the three Persons of the Godhead, so that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each is fully God while each is his own personal expression, in role and activity, of the one eternal and undivided divine essence.

Tags: Ware

The following reading, Steps in the Christian Life is taken from F.E. Marsh’s, 500 Bible Readings.¹

THERE are some terms that relate to the Christian life which are of pressing importance, because of the issues involved in relation to them. The following seven words indicate a few aspects of the Christian’s life, namely, “Believe,” “Pray,” “Abide,” “Walk,” “Take,” “Stand,” “Watch.”

1. To believe on Christ is the secret of the Christian life (Galatians 2:20 NKJV).
2. To pray to Christ is the stay of the Christian life (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).
3. To abide in Christ is the strength of the Christian life (John 15:4 NKJV).
4. To walk as Christ is the shining out of the Christian life (1 Peter 2:21 NKJV).
5. To take from Christ is the supply of the Christian life (Isaiah 27:5 NKJV).
6. To stand with Christ is the staple of the Christian life (Ephesians 6:14 NKJV).
7. To watch for Christ is the standing order of the Christian life (Mark 13:33 NKJV). The term watchfulness is a comprehensive one. It signifies far more than merely holding the truth of the Lord’s coming. It covers the whole trend of the spiritual life in the variety of its traits.

1. 500 Bible Readings, Marsh, F.E., (London: Marshall Brothers, 1897). Reading number 382.

Tags: Christian Living, Marsh, Theology

When I hear people talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I notice that many things are tacked on to the Gospel that I don’t think should be there. At the Together for the Gospel conference in 2006, I saw a book entitled, God Is the Gospel, by Dr. John Piper. Dr. Piper in this book used Biblical texts to define what is the Gospel. I decided to take it one step further and only use Biblical texts that use the Greek words translated as gospel or good news. To do this I followed the following procedure.

• I did a “LexiConc” search for the word “gospel” at Blue Letter Bible. This gave me all the Greek root words that are translated in the English to “Gospel.”
• I analyzed the results and noticed that three root Greek words were translated “gospel” 149 times in 121 distinct verses in the Greek text supporting the KJV.

From these results we can find some distinct elements that are comprised in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (also known as, the Good News). Some of these are the same as in Dr. Piper’s book, as well.

1. A living God, who is the Creator of all things.
   (Act 14:15 ESV ESV) “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

2. A Sovereign God.
   (Rom 10:15 NKJV) And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

   Note that Rom 10:15 is referencing Isa 52:7, which reads:

   (Isa 52:7 NKJV) How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

3. God has intervened into the life of man. The Kingdom of God is at hand! God is King!
   (Mar 1:14-15 ESV) Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
4. Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of David
   (Rom 1:1-3 ESV) Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
5. Great joy for all the people, a savior is come into the world!
   (Luk 2:10-11 ESV) And the angel said to them, Afear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
6. Christ died for our sins!
   (1Cor 15:1-3 ESV) Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
7. He was resurrected and it was witnessed by those who abandoned Him.
   (2 Tim 2:8 ESV) Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel
8. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
   (Luke 3:16, 18 ESV) John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire… So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
9. The power unto salvation.
   (Rom 1:16-17 ESV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The Gospel could be preached from Biblical text as:
The living Sovereign God, the Creator, the King of Israel and the universe, the son of David, has come in His Son, Jesus the Messiah, and has died for our sins and been raised from the dead, with the power to give us eternal life and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

I attended the Together for the Gospel (2010) conference this week. The theme for the conference was The (Unadjusted) Gospel. Dr. Ligon Duncan gave an address entitled, Did the Father’s Know the Gospel. It was referring to whether the pastristic fathers of the church preached the same Gospel that evangelicals preach today (i.e., personal justification, imputation of our sin to Christ and His righteousness to us, by faith alone).

In the address he referenced a document from the early second century (dated as early as 117 A.D.) known as The Epistle to Diognetus, which clearly states the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is the excerpt from that document. The citation is from The Epistle to Diognetus as translated by J.B. Lightfoot, chapter 9, verses 2-6:

[2] And when our iniquity had been fully accomplished, and it had been made perfectly manifest that punishment and death were expected as its recompense, and the season came which God had ordained, when henceforth He should manifest His goodness and power (O the exceeding great kindness and love of God), He hated us not, neither rejected us, nor bore us malice, but was long-suffering and patient, and in pity for us took upon Himself our sins, and Himself parted with His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy for the lawless, the guileless for the evil, “the just for the unjust,” the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. [3] For what else but His righteousness would have covered our sins? [4] In whom was it possible for us lawless and ungodly men to have been justified, save only in the Son of God? [5] O the sweet exchange, O the inscrutable creation, O the unexpected benefits; that the iniquity of many should be concealed in One Righteous Man, and the righteousness of One should justify many that are iniquitous! [6] Having then in the former time demonstrated the inability of our nature to obtain life, and having now revealed a Saviour able to save even creatures which have no ability, He willed that for both reasons we should believe in His goodness and should regard Him as nurse, father, teacher, counsellor, physician, mind, light, honour, glory, strength and life.

Thank the LORD for the sweet exchange, i.e., imputing our Saviour’s righteousness to us and taking our sins upon Himself.
The righteousness of One is a very sweet gift

Tags: Imputation, Righteousness, Salvation

James MacDonald in one of his sermons was discussing the resurrection. He indicated that when dealing with someone who questioned the authenticity of the Resurrection, he would ask 10 questions. Here they are, as paraphrased.

1. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who moved the stone?
2. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, why did the Pharisees bribe the guards?
3. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who or what overcame the Roman soldiers?
4. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, appeared to the Apostles after His crucifixion?
5. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, empowered the Apostles to heal as in the instance where Peter and Paul said “in the Name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk”?
6. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, how did 500 people confirm seeing Him after the crucifixion and testify to the appearance? Did they lie? There is no record of any one of them recanting!
7. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, why did the Apostles die as martyrs? All but one—John—died terrible deaths as martyrs, and John was tortured for His belief in and preaching of Christ!
8. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who appeared to Saul of Tarsus? Saul, the feared murderer of believers, repented and became the greatest Christian missionary of the Church!
9. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who changed me and forgave me of my sins?
10. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, who changed the believers throughout the Church age?

From the message, YWHW in Psalm 34, Pt. 3 about 36 minutes into the message.

Tags: Christ, Salvation

I grew up in a church background that did not encourage Systematic Theology. From childhood to adulthood, I grew up in a denomination that relied on the catechism and the teachings of the church. From young adulthood I grew in the Lord in a church that stressed Biblical Theology. Somewhere along the way I became interested in Systematic Theology.

In April 2008 I attended the “Together for the Gospel” conference. The first speaker, Lingon Duncan, spoke on the importance of sound doctrine. During that talk he stated that Jesus and Paul did systematic theology, so why shouldn’t we. That caught my attention. Dr. Duncan then gave the scriptural evidence for his assertion. These were the Scriptures he gave, and I heartily agreed.

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself…And they told about the things [that had happened] on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. (Luke 24:27, 35 NKJV)

If it was good enough for Jesus, then I should be interested in it as well.

Tags: Christ, Theology