Christology: Christ, the Church, and the Christian Life

Over the past six years I’ve lived in Boise, Idaho, an area that is predominately Mormon. Before this, however, I lived for 26 years in the greater Seattle, Washington area. While Boise’s predominate religions are Mormonism and Catholicism, in Seattle the most highly followed religions are liberal Christianity, Atheism (although some would argue that it’s not a religion), and New Age/Occultism. The difference in these cities couldn’t be starker. The variety of views throughout the United States and world regarding the person and work of Christ is massive. Many people view Christ as either a “good person”, prophet, or teacher. Jesus is all of those things to be sure, but He is so much more. Consider in the Gospel of John alone. Seven times John uses the “I Am” statement in reference to describe an aspect of who He is. All of the world’s religions except biblical Christianity diminish some aspect of the deity of Christ. Biblical Christianity stands on who the Bible proclaims who Jesus is and what He has done. While the deity of Christ doesn’t say everything about who Jesus is and what He’s done it does articulate a crucial aspect of Jesus work. The deity of Christ proclaims that Jesus is fully God and fully man. We know this because Jesus taught it, the Apostles proclaimed it and the early church defended and contended for the deity of Christ. The Church throughout its history has also proclaimed, defended and contended for this truth.

In this issue of Theology for Life, we are going to explore the person and work of Christ. Theologians use the fancy word “Christology” to express this truth. As we explore the person and work of Christ you’ll learn why a fully rounded understanding of Christology is so important, not only from Scripture, but also from church history, and how this doctrine relates to your life. A robust and biblical understanding of the person and work of Christ is absolutely essential to a healthy Christian Church, the Christian life, and to the spread of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this magazine issue, you’ll learn not only how the person and work of Christ is under attack, but also how Jesus is fully God and fully man, the incarnation of Christ, and other biblical topics beneﬁcial to your Christian growth. As you read this magazine, we encourage you to share the Issue with your friends. We also encourage you to provide feedback on the articles, or submit questions. Thank you for reading and supporting the work of Theology for Life. We also want to especially thank our partners, B&H Publishing and Beeson Divinity School, for their partnership with Theology for Life. My prayer is that the person and work of Jesus Christ would become more precious to your heart, mind, and soul as you absorb the words printed here.

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