Doctrinal Statement – Christology

I. The Deity of Christ – I believe that Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1). Being God, Christ possesses all the divine attributes of God and is worthy of worship as God. This fact is foundational to salvation, for only One who is God can be the Savior (Isa. 43:11). Christ’s deity is seen throughout Scripture in divine names and attributes ascribed to Christ as well as by the worship that He accepted.

A. Divine Names of Christ

1. God – He is called “God” (John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Rom. 9:5). Christ exists in “the form of God” (Phil 2:6). Christ is “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15).
2. Lord – New Testament passages site Old Testament verses which refer to Christ. Yahweh is referred to in passages such as Luke 1:68 (Psalm 106:48) and 1 Cor. 1:30 (Jer. 23:5-6). Adonai is referred to in Matt. 22:41-46 (Psalm 110:1) and John 12:37-42 (Isa. 6:1).
3. The Word – Jesus is God’s expression of Himself to mankind. Only One who is God can fully reveal God (John 1:1; Rev. 19:13).
4. The Son of God – This name expresses Christ’s eternal divine relationship and equality with God the Father (Psalm 2:7; John 5:18-26; Gal 4:4).
5. Messiah – The official title Messiah, or Christ (Matt. 1:1; Luke 2:11) means “Anointed One.” This name points to God’s consecration of Christ to the specific work of the cross (Isa. 42:1-7; 61:1-2; Matt. 3:13-17; Acts 4:27; 1 Pet. 2:4).

B. Divine Attributes of Christ – Christ is shown throughout Scripture to possess attributes that belong to God alone.

1. Eternality – Mic. 5:2; John 1:1; Rev. 1:11
2. Omnipresence – Matt. 28:20; John 3:13; Col. 1:27
3. Omnipotence – John 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 1:24; Heb. 1:3
4. Omniscience – John 2:24-25; 6:64; Col. 2:3
5. Sinlessness – 1 John 3:3,5; Heb. 2:17; Rev. 19:11
6. Sovereignty – Mark 4:37-41
7. Immutability – Heb 1:10-12; 13:8
8. Self-existence – John 5:26; Col. 1:16-17

C. Worship Accepted by Christ – Scripture states plainly that God alone is to be worshiped (Ex. 20:2-6). Several times during His earthly ministry Christ accepted the worship of man, making Him either God or a liar (Matt. 14:33; 28:9, 17; John 9:38).

II. The Person of Christ – I believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man in one Person.

A. Preincarnate Christ – I believe that prior to His incarnation, Christ exercised a periodic ministry on the earth, appearing in bodily form at different times to express His will to His servants (Josh. 5:13-15). Many times the Preincarnate Christ is referred to as “the Angel of the Lord.” The divine position of the Angel of the Lord is verified by the divine actions for which He takes credit (Judges 2:1-3) and by the worship that He accepts (Josh. 5:14; Judges 6:12-24).

B. Incarnate Christ – I believe that part of God’s redemptive plan required that Jesus become a man. This was necessary for representative obedience (Luke 4:1-13), to be a substitute sacrifice, to be the one mediator between God and man, to fulfill God’s original purpose for man to rule over creation and to be our example and pattern in life.

1. Virgin Birth – Christ was conceived in the virgin Mary by a work of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35). There was absolutely no presence or intervention of a man (Matt. 1:18). The virgin birth made possible the uniting of full Deity and full humanity (hypostatic-union) in one Person, without the presence of inherited sin.
2. Human Weaknesses and Limitations – Jesus had a human mind and body which required Him to grow, learn to walk, be obedient to His earthly parents, develop skills, learn, gain wisdom, etc. (Luke 2:40, 52). His human body also affected people around Him as they saw Him as only a man (Matt 13:53-58).
3. Sinlessness – The Bible affirms that Christ was fully man and was tempted in every way that we are and yet was without sin! (Heb 4:15).
4. Kenosis – I believe that when Christ came to earth He came in the form of a bondservant, giving up the voluntary, or independent exercise of His divine attributes (Phil 2:7) always acting in accordance with His Father’s will.

III. The Works of Christ

A. Divine Works – I believe that Christ displays His divine nature through works that only God can do and that are by nature above science. These divine works include His preincarnate activities (i.e. Creation) and the miracles He performed on earth.

1. Creation – “All things were made through Him [Christ], and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3).
2. Sustaining All Things – He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power (Heb 1:3a).
3. Forgiving of Sins – “And when He saw their faith, He said, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you’” (Luke 5:20-25).
4. Giving Life – “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).

B. Atoning Works – I believe the atonement is the work that Christ did in His life and death to earn our salvation.

1. Christ’s Obedience for Us – I believe that Christ had to live a righteous, obedient life for us so that His righteousness might be imputed to us (Matt 3:15; Rom. 5:19; 1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 3:9).

2. Christ’s Suffering and Death for Us – I believe that in Christ’s suffering and death He took on Himself all that was necessary to bear the wrath of God in order to pay the complete penalty for our sins (Isa. 53:6, 12; John 1:29; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 1 Peter 2:25).

3. Christ’s Exaltation

a. Resurrection – I believe that Christ rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion (Luke 24:5-6; Acts 2:32; 26:23; Rev. 1:8). Christ’s resurrection was a validation by the Father of Christ’s earthly ministry (Acts 2:22-24), and of His claims to be the Messiah (Acts 2:36; Rom. 2:4). Furthermore, the resurrection provides a guarantee of future resurrection for the believer (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:20-23), and is the basis for Christ’s return (1 Pet. 1:3; Titus 2:13).
b. Ascension – I believe that forty days after Christ’s resurrection He ascended bodily into Heaven (Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:6-12).
c. Seated at the Right Hand of God – I believe that Christ is presently seated at the right hand of the Father and is acting as High Priest and Sovereign over all of creation (Matt 26:64; Acts 2:33-36; 5:31; 7:56; Col. 3:1).
d. The Second Coming – I believe that Christ will physically return to earth in power and glory (Matt. 24:30; 2 Thess. 1:7-10) to destroy His enemies and to rule over His people (Rom. 11:26-27; Rev. 19:11-15).

IV. The Offices of Christ – I believe Christ fulfills three major offices for the people of God.

A. Prophet – In a broad sense, Christ fulfilled the role of a prophet because He reveals God to us and speaks the words of God to us. While Christ is truly and fully a prophet, the Bible is clear that Jesus is also much more than a prophet (Heb 1:1-2).
B. Priest – Christ both offers a sacrifice to God on our behalf and is Himself the sacrifice that is offered (Heb. 9:26)! As a priest brings men closer to God, so Christ is continually bringing us near to God (Heb 6:19-20; 10:19-22) and continually praying for us (1 Tim 2:5; Heb 7:25).
C. King – Christ is the true King of the people of God, the Head of the Church and King over the entire universe (Matt 4:17, 23; 12:28; Eph. 1:20-22; 1 Cor. 15:25; Rev. 19:11-16).