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Christology (from ''Christ'' and Greek grc -λογία, ''-logia'') is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ, particularly with how the divine and human are related in his person. Christology is generally less concerned with the details of Jesus' life than 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-topics within the field of Christology include:

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 (Son of Man) and divine (God the Son) 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 First Council of Nicaea (325) until the Third Council of Constantinople (680). 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.

History of major controversies

Trinitarian background

The early Christians first defined exactly how Jesus is related to God the Father in the late first and early second century. However, this definition had taken a long time to formulate. Many of the Christological controversies of the first two centuries of the common era had direct implications for later thinking about how the human and divine are related within the person of Jesus.

The Christological positions known as Arianism and Ebionitism - groups that in one manner or another argued that Jesus was an ordinary mortal - and other groups, in particular those, such as Gnosticism, that adhered to the idea that Christ was, if anything, a completely supernatural being, a view known as docetism. By the fourth century tensions within the Church between Christological positions that stressed the humanity of Jesus and Christological positions that stressed the divinity of Jesus lead to several wide schisms in the church. The groups still in imperial favour produced councils in the fourth and fifth-century that affirmed that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human, making this part of their ''orthodox'' Christian declaration/creed 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'').” Nevertheless, MacLeod notes that “one crucial respect in which Christ was not like us is that he was not tempted by anything within himself.” MacLeod places this struggle in the context of the incarnation, “...he has become a man and must accept not only the appearance but the reality.” According to Philippians 2:7, Christ was emptied when he ''added'' the human nature, and no clear indication is given that he emptied himself ''of'' divine nature, per se.

Virgin Birth

The Gospel according to Matthew and Gospel according to Luke suggest a virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Some now disregard or even argue against this ''doctrine'' to which most denominations of Christianity ascribe. This section looks at 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:

Equality of persons

The discussion of whether the three distinct persons in the Godhead of the Trinity were of greater, equal, or lesser by comparison was also, like many other areas of early Christology, a subject of debate. In Athenagoras of Athens(ca. 133-190) writings we find a very developed Trinitarian doctrine.On the one end of the spectrum was Modalism, a doctrine stating that the three persons of the Trinity were equal to the point of erasing their differences and distinctions. On the other end of the spectrum was Subordinationist views, which emphasized the primacy of the Father of Creation to the deity of Christ and Jesus's authority over the Holy Spirit. During the Council of Nicea, the Modalist Bishops of Rome and Alexandria aligned politically with Athanasius; whereas the Bishops of Constantinople (Nicomedia), Antioch, and Jerusalem sided with the Subordinationists as middle ground between Arius and Athanasius.

Resurrection of Jesus

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 and as a confessional response. 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, rather that he merely passed out on the cross and later revived in the tomb – the swoon theory. This has been refuted by evidence of the Roman Army's methodologies - such as the 'replacement' consequences for soldiers if pronounced sentences were not fully executed - and medical comment regarding the actual likelihood of someone surviving 39 lashes followed by hanging on a cross for almost a full day (Roman soldiers had determined 40 lashes are what is required to kill a man). Some have also suggested that those who went to the empty tomb actually went to the wrong tomb. Again this is refuted by arguing that prominent Jews’ burial sites were frequently visited and not easily forgotten and that the Bible states a Roman guard was posted.

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

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 during the Reformation played a substantial role in scholastic Lutheran Christology and in John Calvin's and John Wesley's Christology.

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 /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 , Jesus Christ exclusively 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 .

Priest

Christ, whom we draw near to in confidence, offered Himself as the sacrifice to humanity as High Priest . 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.''

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 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 Achilles' heel 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

Jesus and social doctrines of the Trinity

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).

Wisdom Christology

This Christology views the Jesus as Wisdom. Since the Torah equals Wisdom, and Jesus equals the Torah, then naturally Jesus equals Wisdom. In the Gospel of John, John tells a story of how Jesus came across a woman at the well and offered her living, eternal water but the Samaritan woman thinks he is talking about natural, drinking water to quench her bodily thirst. In this story, John employs six distinct techniques:

1. Poetic Form (similar to the Wisdom poetry in Hebrew scriptures)

2. Misunderstandings

3. Two-Fold Meanings

4. Irony

5. Inclusions and Transitions

6. Parentheses and Footnotes

John uses all of these techniques together in order to draw in the reader and allow the reader to take the place of the person who is actually encountering Jesus so that the reader may find out who Jesus is ontologically. Wisdom Christology highlights that Jesus is Wisdom and able to offer the living water that will forever satisfy, also showing how he is unique and set apart from all other prophets who are not able to make this offer.