person of jesus

• Christology


  The study of the nature of Jesus
• Jesus


  • As the Son of God
  • As a teacher of wisdom
  • As a liberator
• In early Christianity, there were debates over Christology, specifically over the extent to which Jesus was both human and divine
• The Council of Nicaea where the doctrine of the hypostatic union became the official position of the church

  325 AD
• Hypostatic union


  The belief that Jesus is both fully God and fully human; two natures united in one person
• The hypostatic union


  Key Christian beliefs depend on it, such as the incarnation, salvation and the resurrection
• It is through God becoming man (the incarnation) and being the willing sacrifice on the cross that human sin is atoned for, the relationship between God and humanity is restored, and through which salvation is possible
• The belief that Jesus was fully divine explains his ability to perform miracles and be resurrected after his death
• A belief in the resurrection is a necessary part of Christian faith, not an optional one
• St Paul: 'if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins'
• Belief in the hypostatic union


  Gives Jesus his authority for Christians
• A belief in the hypostatic union poses significant problems for those theologians who may wish to argue that Jesus was solely a teacher of wisdom or solely a political liberator
• Such views go against mainstream Christian teaching and appear to ignore or contradict clear biblical teachings on the divinity of Jesus
• Without a belief in his divinity, Jesus becomes no different from many other moral, political and social teachers, and thus his authority is diminished
• Council of Nicaea


  Very important meeting where those who attended decided on the divine nature of Jesus and his relationship to God the Father
• Doctrine of the trinity

  • Firmly established at the Council of Nicaea
  • Claimed that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine
• Arianism and Ebionititsm


  Views labelled as heretical at the Council of Nicaea
• Hypostatic Union


  Belief that Jesus is both fully God and fully human; two natures united in one person
• The meaning of 'Son of God' has changed over time
• Son of God (in Jewish times)


  Referred to the king, as someone chosen by God to carry out his will on earth
• Messiah or Christos


  Hebrew for 'anointed one'
• Son of God (in non-Jewish Greek world)


  Referred to a human who had been elevated to become a divine being
• The belief that Son of God meant that Jesus was Divine, God incarnate, developed after his death and is now one of the central beliefs in Christianity
• Unless someone believes that Jesus was the Son of God, God incarnate, then they cannot, by definition, be a Christian
• Evidence that Jesus was divine (God incarnate, the Son of God)


  • God states that Jesus is the Son of God
  • Jesus' knowledge of God
  • Jesus' ability to perform miracles
• God states that Jesus is the Son of God

  1. The annunciation

  2. When Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist

  3. The transfiguration
• Jesus' knowledge of God


  Jesus had special knowledge of God due to his unique relationship with God, as one person of the trinity
• The exact relationship between God and Jesus is complex and mysterious
• The doctrine of the trinity is not something that can be rationally explained, but is instead a matter of faith
• The New Testament records 37 miracles that Jesus performed