Christology: Revelation Part 1

• Christology is the study of Christ.
• Revelation is how God makes Himself known.
• Christology: Revelation Part 1 focuses on the God-Human relationship.

Revelation

• It includes God's self-disclosure to humanity.
• It is knowledge that we cannot obtain on our own.
• God gradually reveals himself and the divine plan of salvation through words, deeds, creation, the lives of saints, and human intellect and reason.
• All Revelation is Trinitarian and the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit inspires and guides the Apostles.
• The Apostles remember and teach everything they learned from Christ, which is known as Apostolic Tradition or just Tradition.

Desire for God

• Humans are created with the desire to return to God.
• God calls people to holiness.
• People are destined to return to God because they came from God.
• Throughout history, people have worshipped, had faith in, and sought out the "Divine," referred to as "sacred mystery."
• People respond to this desire through participation in worship and sacraments, prompted by the Holy Spirit.
• Original Sin causes a faulty vision or perspective, that prevents people from clearly seeing God's plan.
• Jesus "gave sight to the blind," and baptism is a means to clarify the vision and see God's plan.

Revelation: How it Occurs

• Revelation is a gift from God, which helps people to know Him.
• God cannot be fully known.
• Natural Revelation occurs indirectly through reason, intellect, and experiences of love.
• Divine Revelation happens directly through Scripture and Tradition.
• Scripture teaches Salvation History. -- Tradition is discerned from Scripture and the actions of the early Church. -- The Magisterium, comprised of the Pope and Bishops, is the teaching office of the Church.

Natural Revelation Continuous

• Natural Revelation is an outward expression.
• It is experienced in things and creation.
• Intellect recognizes something bigger and more powerful.
• People recognize a creator in love with beauty and diversity.
• Tenderness, compassion, and heroic sacrifice in human relationships are seen.
• It is possible because human beings are channeling God's love.

Natural Revelation

• God reveals Himself through creation and the natural order.
• God reveals Himself through human reason, which can lead to knowledge of God's existence.
• St. Augustine (354-430 AD) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) defended logical proofs for God's existence.
• Their proofs relied on human wisdom to prove God exists.
• They aimed to appeal to both believers and non-believers, without using Scripture or theological teachings.

St. Thomas Aquinas' Proofs for God's Existence

• Thomas Aquinas was an Italian philosopher and theologian.
• He proposed five proofs for God's existence that do not rely on the Bible or theology: -- Unmoved Mover: Motion exists in the world, and everything in motion was set in motion by something else. By looking at the series of motion back to the beginning of the universe, there must be a "First Mover" or "Unmoved Mover," otherwise, that is God. -- First Cause: The world has causes and effects. Considering causes and effects back to the moment of creation, there must be a first cause or God. -- Everything comes from Something: Nothing creates something, so an Eternal Being is needed to bring other beings into existence. -- Supreme Model: Persons and things express degrees of perfections like goodness, beauty, and truth. Since a single created being lacks all perfections, a being must exist who embodies all perfection. -- Grand Designer: Systems in the world are intricate and perfect. Their origin cannot be human. They must have been created by an Intelligent and Perfect Designer.
• Aquinas' five proofs are unique because they do not depend on Scripture or religious teachings.
• They use common sense and philosophy and are practical for dialogue with atheists because they connect with scientific fact.

Divine Revelation

• Sacred Scripture: -- Old Testament: follows salvation history from the protoevangelium until its fulfillment and contains the roots of Christianity. -- New Testament: fulfils the promise in the Incarnation, a new covenant is made through the Paschal Mystery, and the Church is born.
• Tradition: -- Magisterium: It has the teaching authority of Jesus, through the Apostles and on to bishops throughout the ages. -- Church Fathers: It contains teaching from early Christian leaders who were associated with the Apostles. -- Church teachings: Through the teachings of the Church comes doctrines and dogmas from Scripture.

Salvation History

• Protoevangelium (Gen.3:15) refers to the first promise of a savior.
• In the time of the Patriarchs like Abraham, God forms a chosen people.
• Through Moses, God reveals his Law to the people creating a Covenant through Moses.
• Judges, Kings, and Priests are called by God to lead His people.
• Prophets sent by God call people back to the covenant when leaders fall out of integrity, offering hope for a new and everlasting covenant.
• Jesus fulfills the promise of a savior through the Incarnation; the new and everlasting covenant is through Jesus.

Salvation History

• It describes the unfolding of God's plan.
• God acts within historical events to redeem and same humanity.
• It began at the dawn of the universe through events of the Old Testament and culminated in the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus.
• The current plan is to reveal the fullness of God's loving plan.

Divine Revelation Summary

• The act of God revealing Himself through, implies the need for revelation.
• Divine Revelation is God's self-communication of His plan of salvation.
• Divine Revelation is a written record of God's communication to man.
• Salvation History reveals God's plan to save from sin and death.
• The Salvatation history of the plan began with Adam and eve.
• It completes with the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• Theophany Examples: moses and the Burning bush (Ex. 3:2), column of fire and cloud (Ex. 13:21), the baptism of Jesus (Mt. 3:16-17), Pentecost (Acts 2).

New Testament highlights

• The Incarnation: The birth of God in Palestine occurs in the first century AD.
• The Trinity is revealed as true God at the Baptism of Jesus, calling the revelation of God the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit the theme of Jesus' ministry.
• The Preaching and Miracles of Jesus called all to seek the Kingdom of God.
• The Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus, also known as the Paschal Mystery, removed sin and death and established the New Covenant with God.
• This section of Scripture chronicles early Church activity.
• Some key aspects from this time: -- Sacred Tradition is the handing on of the truth of Jesus Christ from generation to generation. -- Apostolic Succession: The apostles transmit their authority to their successors, the Bishops, who are responsible for celebrating the Eucharist, teaching, and correcting. -- The Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Church. -- The Deposit of the Faith contains Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and dogmas, which are essential teachings of the Catholic Faith.

Christology

• Christ as God's self-revelation that no one reached the Father except through him.
• The Son and the Spirit are the two hands of the Father.
• There are Economic (activity) and immanent (existing) Trinity.
• There is a Trinity as persons-in-communion.
• How you conceive of God does matter.

Christ is God in the Old Testament

• Psalm 2:6-12 says, "You are my son."
• Psalm 45:6-7 says, "Your throne, O God."
• Psalm 110:1ff says, "The LORD says to my Lord."
• Isaiah 9:6 says, "The Mighty God."
• Jeremiah 23:6 says, "The LORD our Righteousness."
• Micah 5:2 refers to "from everlasting."
• Malachi 3:1 says, "the Lord will come to his".

Christ is God in the New Testament: Matthew

• Matthew 9:6 - Christ forgives sins.
• Matthew 11:7 - Christ has complete knowledge of the Father.
• Matthew 14:33 - Christ receives worship.
• Matthew 16:16 - Christ is "Son of God".
• Matthew 28:18 - Christ has "All authority".
• Matthew 28:19 - The baptismal formula includes Christ.
• Matthew 7:21, 10:32-3, 11:25-7 refers to "My Father".

Christ is God in the New Testament: John

• John 1:1 says, "Word was God".
• John 2:24 says Christ "knew what was in man."
• John 5:18 refers to Christ "making himself equal with God".
• John 11:1-14 - Christ raising Lazarus from the dead.
• John 20:28 refers to "My Lord and My God".
• Other references include I John 1:3; 2:23; 4:14-5; 5:5, 10-13, 20.

Christ is God in the New Testament: Other Texts

R- omans 9:5 says, “God, over all, blessed".

• Philippians 2:6 says, “existed in the form of God".
• Colossians 2:9 says, "in him all fullness dwells".
• Titus 2:13 says "the great God and our Savior".
• Hebrews 1:3 refers to the "exact representation of his nature".
• Hebrews 1:8 says, "Your throne, O God".
• Revelation 19:16 refers to the "King of Kings, Lord of Lords".

Christ is Human

• Genesis 3:15 refers to the Seed of the Woman.
• Genesis 49:8-10 refers to the Tribe of Judah.
• II Samuel 7, Psalm 89 refers to the Family of David.
• Isaiah 7:14 refers to born of a virgin.
• Isaiah 53 refers to to suffer and die.
• Matthew 1, Luke 2, Galatians 4:4 refers to born. Luke 2:52 - Jesus grew in wisdom and stature.
• Hebrews 2:14 - Jesus had flesh and blood.
• Luke 24:39 - Jesus had flesh and bone.
• Matthew 24:36 - Jesus was ignorant of the day of judgment.

Approaches to Christology

• Christology from Above has the Historic, Ecumenical and Creedal Approach. -- It describes that God, the Second Person, took unto himself human essence. -- It does not rule out Christology from below.
• Christology from Below -- This is a popular view among modern theologians. -- It emphasizes humanity and his openness to God. -- It does not rule out "from above" but infrequently goes there.

Humiliation and Exaltation

• It goes through The Creedal Cycle.

Humiliation

• Incarnation (Gal. 4:4, Isa. 9:6, Heb/ 2:14, Phil. 2:7)
• Made under the Law (Gal. 4;4, John 6:38, Heb. 5:8, Phil. 2:8)
• Sufferings and Death (Isa. 53)
• Wrath of God (II Cor. 5:21, Isa. 53:12, Ps. 40:12, Matt. 27:46)
• Death and Burial
• The descent into hell
• Kenosis is the act of humbling as the son of God as he "laid aside the divine majesty, the majesty of the sovereign Ruler of the universe, and assumed human nature in the form of a servant.”

Exaltation

• Resurrection: John 2:19-21;10:18, 11:25; Acts 2:24, 32; 3:26, 5:30; Rom.6:4; I Cor. 15:20; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5
• Ascension: Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-53; John 6:62; 14:2,12; 16:5, 10, 17, 28; 17:5; 20:17; Acts 1:6-11; Eph. 1:20; 4:8-10; I Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:4; 4:14; 9:24
• Session at the Right Hand of God: Matt. 26:64; Acts 2:33-36; 5:31; Eph.1:20-22; Heb. 10:12; I Peter 3:22; Rev. 3:21; 22:1; Rom. 14:9; I Cor. 15:24-28; Heb. 2:7,8; I John 2:1
• Judging the World at the Last Day: John 5:22,27; Acts 10:42,17:31; Matt. 19:28; 25:31-34; Luke 3:17; Rom. 2:16; 14:9; I Cor. 3:13-15; II Cor. 5:10; II Tim. 4:1; James 5:9

The Two-Fold Division

• Christ's person and work
• Older views and theology draw difference between, "person of Christ” (Christology) and "work of Christ" (soteriology).

Relation to Other Theological Loci

• Pneumatology: the Spirit of Christ
• Soteriology: salvation in Christ
• Ecclesiology: the body of Christ
• Revelation: self-revelation of God in Christ
• Eschatology: the coming of God's Kingdom in the person of Christ

Jesus Christ

• The revelation of God's plan is found in the Incarnation.
• Jesus became one of us, the Eternal Son of God.
• This is made flesh through God's effort to save us and bring us to the fullness of life.

Sharing in God's Life

• Revelation makes a response to the plan of loving goodness.
• There is a God's plan to live in communion, share God's life, and love as God Loves. St. Augustine says, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You, O Lord.”
• Through revelation, planting a desire in our hearts makes the divine-human bond becomes clear.

Us: Human Beings

• Human beings are made in God's image and likeness.
• God created the body "very good" (Gen. 1:31) but often abused.
• A pattern of giving Himself but with diminishing ways.
• God gave us reason/intellect but ways of destruction are still apparent.
• God loves but we hate.
• God grants freedom, but humans often don't use their freedom wisely.