1
Q
The problem of Christ’s humanity
A
1) Jesus was born into a world which had come to believe that matter was morally evil.
2) Plato (Platonic Dualism) - things in the material world were fleeting and temporary because they were simply manifestations of an ideal counter part.
3) It was believed that the human soul existed in this perfect spiritual world, “before it came to reside in a physical expel (
4) The thought was that it was impossible for God to become man because that would mean that God had to become imperfect.
2
Q
**Cerinthianism
A
Jesus was born naturally as Mary had relations with Joseph or some other man.
For some reason God chose Jesus to put the christ’ spirit upon which occurred at Jesus’ baptism
The man Jesus was not God in flesh, but simply a vehicle for diving revelation.
3
Q
**Docetism
A
Christ was a pure spirit who just appeared to be in human form but he was not truly human.
“Deko” - can have an ideal of to appear or to seem.
4
Q
The Prologue of 1 John
A
Each of the clauses demonstrate the reality of the incarnation of Christ and the personal encounter John had with him.
The order of the verb (normally the verb appears before the object, here it appears after the object) - puts emphasis on what John wants to say rather than on the act of communicating.
5
Q
**Four parallel clauses in the prologue of 1 John…
A
- that WHICH was from the beginning
- WHICH we have heard
- WHICH we have seen with our eyes
- WHICH we have looked upon and our hands have handled.
6
Q
“That which was from the beginning” (prologue of 1 John)
A
- John is speaking about the incarnation or perhaps even the start of Jesus’ earthly mission.
- Logically, since John refers to the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he is now going to speak of the apostles’ experience with the incarnate Christ. Therefore, he adds the second clause “which we have heard” because this refers to everything Jesus had said in his ministry.
7
Q
“Which we have heard” (prologue of 1 John)
A
- Everything that Jesus had said in his ministry.
- Heard (perfect tense) because Jesus had ascended some 50 years prior to the writing of this letter.
- Perfect tense refers to a past action which has continuing effects in the present.
- Implies that when John wrote the message it was ringing in his ears.
8
Q
“Which we have seen with our eyes” (prologue of 1 John)
A
- To see is even more compelling than to hear.
- John not merely saw Jesus, or glanced at him, but saw with understanding, becoming fully convinced.
9
Q
“Which we have looked upon and our hands have handled” (prologue of 1 John)
A
- Another word for seeing (theaomai)
- Theaomi connotes a perception that is above what one merely sees.
- Handled-John is indicating in contradistinction to any who would deny the humanity of Christ that the divine Lord inhabited a physical body.
- Jesus used the same word as “handled” when he told doubting Thomas to touch him (a spirit cannot have flesh, wounds, holes, etc). Thomas touched and believed.
10
Q
**Eternal Life
A
- Eternal life not only stresses duration, but the quality or kind of life (even those who will end up in Hell will have eternal life in Hell).
- John 17:3 (eternal life) - “This is life eternal, know God”
- When this “life” is called “eternal,” it means far more than an unending existence, but rather it is stressing that this process of knowing God which begins when I am saved and CONTINUES when I am someday in God’s presence.
- Life and eternal life are not to be equated with salvation.
- The highest experience of eternal life is possessed by the Son himself (Jesus knows God in a way that no one else has known him).
11
Q
Fellowship with the Father and Son
A
- “that” in verses 3 and 4 denotes purpose.
- Jesus became a man so that we would have a way to have fellowship with God, to experience life, just as He had been for all eternity.
- “I write these things so that you [the readers] can have fellowship also.
- Stunning invitation to enjoy ongoing fellowship with God to enjoy eternal life with God on the basis of the incarnation.
12
Q
The Humanity of Christ (negatives)
A
- The incarnation is a metaphor
- Christ was only a man
- Ebionism
- Nestorianism
- Monophysitism
- Apollinarianism
- Theophany/Christophany
13
Q
Christ was only a man ….
A
This is the beliefs of Arius, Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons, and the average person on the street.
14
Q
**Ebionism
A
- Hebrew word meaning “poor”
- The Ebionites taught that Jesus was the son of Mary and Joseph who was chosen by God to bear the Christ Spirit.
- They rejected Paul’s epistles
- Dualistic in nature
- The Ebionites had their own gospel (the gospel of the ebionites).
15
Q
**Nestorianism
A
- Nestorious was a monk in 400 AD, and was the bishop of Constantople
- Nestorious said that Christ was 2 persons (son of man and a divine person)
- No where in the NT do we have the human Jesus vying with the divine Jesus.
- This view had good intentions, but you end up with 2 natures which are not united into 1 person - sort of a schizoid Christ.
16
Q
**Monophysitism
A
- Instead of separating the natures of Christ, they were fused in such a way so as to create a mixture…so that the human and divine come together so that the result is a 3rd substance.
- Divine + Human = one divine nature
- In the incarnation, a new person was NOT created (like when a husband and wife have a baby, there is a new person, a mixture of genes…this was NOT the case)
- There was no charge in the personality of the 2nd member of the God-head. He was the same person that he was in eternity past
17
Q
**Apollinarianism
A
- Christ as God took on a human body; however, without a human mind. The human mind was displaced with the divine mind.
- Luke 2:52 - “Jesus increased in wisdom” - Jesus went through the normal processes of learning (talk, walk, dress himself).
18
Q
Theophany/Christophany
A
- The incarnation of Christ is not equivalent to a theophany or a Christophany.
- In the OT there were times when God appeared to man in various forms. The incarnation is something entirely different. Christ was not just an appearance of God, but one who would forever exist in bodily form.
19
Q
**Creed of Chalcedon
A
-In AD 451, Leo the Great asked the emperor to organize a council to settle and make a creed to hammer out a creed to state the relationship between the human and divine natures. The creed was mainly a denial of some of the false views mentioned with some positive statements regarding the union of Christ’s nature.
20
Q
The Humanity of Christ (positives)
A
- Christ retained his full deity.
- Christ added humanity to his deity.
- Christ was fully man (this opposes Apollinarianism) but one person (this opposes Nestorianism) with two distinct natures (this opposes monophysitism).
- Christ assumed fallen flesh (or humanity) at the incarnation.
- Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.
- Jesus was not capable of sinning.
- Jesus will retain his humanity forever.
21
Q
Christ retained his full deity…
A
In the incarnation, Christ retained his full deity. He never ceased to be God.
22
Q
Christ added humanity to his deity…
A
In the incarnation Christ added humanity to his deity. There was no exchange, only addition.
23
Q
Christ assumed fallen flesh (or humanity) at incarnation…
A
- Did not say Christ assumed a sinful nature.
- Did not say Christ sinned, absolutely not.
- Christ inherited the effects of the original sin brought about by the fall of Adam (Jesus was tired, hungry, sick, felt pain).
24
Q
Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit…
A
- This prevented the transmission of sin from Joseph.
- It was the miracle of the spirit that led to the sinlessness of Christ.
25
Jesus was not capable of sinning...
-Though Jesus assumed a true humanity, he was not capable of sinning.
26
Jesus will retain his humanity forever...
- His mode of existence is forever altered.
- He existed spiritually eternally before coming to earth.
- He changed his mode of existence and will keep it eternally.
- He kept the body after resurrection and after ascension (Rev. 5:6 - saw a lamb bearing the marks of slaughter).
27
Kenosis and Philippians 2:5
Despite its greatness, it is merely an illustration for the Philippian church as to how they are to get along with each other by putting the needs of others before their own.
28
Interpenetration
- Catholic theologians tended to humanize the divine nature and exalt the human nature while at the same time staying with the framework of the formula produced at Chalcedon. (followed by Luther and his followers).
- An example would be that Christ is everywhere present in his humanity...(the divine attribute of omnipresence has been communicated to Christ's humanity).
- They also believed that at the Last Supper, the bread and wine were actually really the body and blood of Christ.
29
In Matthew 16 - Jesus stated that "I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
- I will - implies future something new will be built.
- Hades (death)
- Jesus is saying after he died he would rise again and ascend to the Father where he would assume the position of head over that which would be built.
- Even death would not be able to stop his prediction from coming to pass. The event about which Jesus spoke began to experience its fulfillment in the book of Acts.
30
**The importance of the book of Acts
1. Acts is the only inspired sequel to the four Gospels found in the Bible.
2. Acts is the earliest extant historical account of the first century church from a Christian perspective.
3. Acts forms the background for many of Paul's epistles.
4. Acts is the second longest book in the NT.
5. Acts will mark a major transition in the way God works in the world.
6. Acts will teach us about the role of the Church.
31
Luke is the longest book in the NT ...
So, the fact that the Holy Spirit would urge Luke to write this much data would be a signal that this material should be given attention.
32
Up until the book of Acts, God was primarily in the world working through the nation of Israel, but in Acts...
there is going to be a transition in which God will be working through the Church.
33
**The Author of the Book of Acts
That Luke is the author of Acts:
1. There are fairly early references in church history to Lucan authorship including Irenaeus, Clement, Origen, and Jerome.
2. Acts 1:1 refers to a first account written by the same author, both Luke & Acts are dedicated to the same person (Theophilus), so it would be normal to expect that Acts was written by Luke.
3. In Acts, the writer indicates that he accompanied Paul on several journeys, and we know of Luke's association with Paul from Colossians and Philemon. Strong evidence that Luke wrote Acts.
34
**Date & Origin of Acts
Date written: Sometime between AD 60-62
1. There is no mention of the destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70).
2. There is no mention of Paul's death (AD 60-68).
3. There is no mention of the persecution of the Church under Nero which began after the great fire of Rome (AD 64).
Origin: I think it is fair to assume that Luke would have written from Rome since chapter 28 indicates that the author was with Paul in Rome.
35
**The Purpose of Acts
1. Luke wrote in order [in an orderly fashion]...Luke wants to give Theophilus a narrative that is logical and a connected whole so that the whole package would be seen as reliable and worthy of belief.
2. Luke wrote primarily for Gentiles, and this is seen from the fact that he explains Jewish locales, and Luke traces the genealogy of Christ back to Adam rather that to Abraham.
3. Luke stresses the universality of the Good News/gospel...Luke makes many references to sinners, the poor, and the outcast, Samaritans, women, and children (so that all would know they are included in God's kingdom).
4. Luke writes Acts as a continuation of his gospel...Luke continues where he left off in Luke.
5. Luke stresses the concept of the Kingdom...The book ends with the theme of the Kingdom, and the term "kingdom of God" occurs 32 times in Luke and 6 times.
36
Overview of Acts
-Luke records the events surrounding the sovereign progression of the Gospel message from Jews in Jerusalem to Gentiles in Rome in order to show the church is also heir to the Kingdom.
37
**The spread of the Gospel in Jerusalem
- Begins with Luke reminding Theophilus of the "former treatise" which we would know as the Gospel of Luke.
- Jesus tells disciples to wait for the sign (Holy Spirit).
- Apostles preach & do miracles.
- Opposition from Jews & folks within the "church"
- Many are added daily.
38
The spread of the Gospel in Judea/Samaria
Luke details this expansion for us by calling our attention to the martyrdom of Stephen, Ministry of Philip, and the salvation of St. Paul.
39
Martyrdom of Stephen...
- After arrested, Stephen gives the most important discourse in Acts. It demonstrates that God is making a change in the way he is working in the world. This message painfully offends the Sandrehedren and they oversee the murder of Stephen.
- This even is used in God's providence to cause believers to leave Jerusalem taking the Gospel message with them.
40
Ministry of Philip...
The gospel is now taken outside of Jerusalem to Samaria and is presented to people (racially speaking) who are not full Jews. They embrace the message and the Holy Spirit falls on them like he did on the Jews on the day of Pentecost.
41
The Salvation of St. Paul...
In the last half of the book, he will be the primary instrument God uses to take the gospel to full Gentiles.
42
**The spread of the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth
- Luke concludes his treatise to Theophilus with a massive amount of material chronicling how the Gospel moves beyond Palestine to embrace the uttermost parts of the earth.
- The early church will launch a major missionary offensive into the depths of Roman Empire (island of Cyprus, Paul's 2nd missionary journey, 3rd journey).
- Luke 19:20 "The Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed"
- Paul ends up in Rome to appeal to Caesar and ends up in house arrest and is preaching without being hindered.
43
**Event #1 - The Question of the Apostles - "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"
Is it time to get back what we had prior to the times of the Gentiles?
- They would have to be talking about Israel's earthly kingdom in the OT because they are speaking about something that would be given back or reestablished.
- Implies that this kingdom existed at one point, but now, no longer does.
- The only kingdom that could be given back was the theocracy of the OT.
- The "times of the gentiles" (Deut. Moses gives 5 sermons to those who are about to enter the Promised Land)
- Refers to the period of time in which Jerusalem is either under the control of a gentile nation or was greatly threatened by one.
- The prophet Daniel prophesies the course that the time of the gentiles will take. It begins with Babylon; continues with the domination of the Medo-Persian Empire; followed by the Grecian Empire; which would then give way to a final Gentile power which began with the Roman Empire. This empire would be crushed by Messiah's Kingdom.
- Jesus responds "it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power."
- He does not correct a false notion of what the Kingdom is, rather He simply indicated to them that it is not for them to be concerned about the time of the Kingdom's institution.
- He is still working through Israel in the future, but now in between, He will work in a new entity known as the church.
- The second part of his answer is "but you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."
- Jesus wants them to be concerned that they will be his witnesses, not when this kingdom will be established.
44
Acts serves as the corridor between the Gospels and the epistles in which God is changing his focus in the world from Israel to the...
church.
45
The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2)
known as the Feast of Weeks and is an annual religious festival.
- There is a sound like a mighty rushing wind AND there are tongue-shaped flames of fire resting over the heads of the apostles.
- The apostles make their way to the temple complex where the apostles begin to speak in tongues.
- Followed by a sermon preached Peter in which thousands come to faith.
46
Parallel passage to the Day of Pentecost
- God's plan in the OT era was to rule and bless the world through the nation of Israel.
- God gave Moses specific instructions on how to build the tabernacle (to the detail).
- Exodus 40:34-35 - "Then a cloud covered..."
47
**5 Propositions Concerning the Day of Pentecost...
1. Pentecost signifies the coming of the Holy Spirit to take up residence in the newly formed church.
2. Pentecost signifies a once-for-all unrepeatable event.
3. Pentecost presents the giving of the Spirit in all of his ministries.
4. Pentecost marks the first occurrence of the baptism of the Spirit and the formation of the Church.
5. Pentecost represents the beginning of God's new economy and way of working in the world.
48
The analogy of the Day of Pentecost...
like a new president being inaugurated. There is a new agenda, new cabinet, new personality at work and a new way of working. There is a great deal of fanfare (to kick off the event).
49
**Event #2 - Spirit Baptism
- Jesus tells the disciples they will be baptized by the Spirit "not many days from now"
- This event would occur at the Day of Pentecost
- Spirit Baptism is the non-emotive, unrepeated work of the Holy Spirit at regeneration for all believers which identifies them with Christ and with each other.
1. Non-emotive (not accompanied by emotion or feeling)
2. Unrepeated (happens once at the moment of regeneration)
3. Every believer (performed on every believer)
4. Identifies the individual with the body of Christ (gives the term baptism with its identification...in Christ)
5. One of the works performed at salvation (not to be confused with filling, sealing, indwelling, or the witness of the Spirit).
6. Never commanded in Scripture (neither something we seek nor to something we contribute is it to be conceived of a 2nd work of grace).
50
Event #3 - Tongues (question one)
"What were the tongues in Acts 2?" - they were known languages which the speaker had not previously learned.
51
**Four reasons tongues were known languages...
1. The term tongues (this is the 1st occurrence, and Luke uses a plural form of the Greek noun glossa. In classic Greek literature this term referred to the physical organ of the tongue, a language including obsolete terms of that language which might need to be explained or something that was tongued-shaped. Glossa is used 50 times in the NT, most often as an actual language.
2. The synonym for glossa - dialektos (Other words are used in the similar ways in the rest of the chapter...Acts 2:4, 2:6, 2:8).
3. Tongues in 1 Corinthians and the verb "interpret" (there is nothing in 1 Corinthians which would indicate that the definition of tongues has changed from what was in the book of Acts
4. The word "another tongue" in 1 Corinthians 14:21 (this verse makes this clear that the words for other tongues is a foreign language, and if you go back to the Isaiah passage you'll learn that this language is actually the ancient Assyrians).
52
**Event #3 - Tongues (question two)
"What the purpose of tongues?"
The Bible specifically tells us the purpose of tongues in 1 Cor. 14:22 which quotes Isaiah 28:11 - when you hear this foreign language, namely the Assyrian language, that will be a sign authenticating my message of judgement.
53
Event #3 - Tongues (question three)
"Has this gift of tongues ceased?" YES
54
**Reasons tongues have ceased
1. Has to do with their purpose
2. If tongues hadn't ceased, then there would be an unbroken pattern throughout church history.
3. The tongues spoken today do not resemble the tongues of the New Testament.
55
**Event #4 - Stephen's Discourse (Acts 7)
Stephen presents Israel's past history in order to vindicate the transition to Christianity.
1. There is progress and change in God's program.
2. God's blessings are not limited to the land or temple.
3. Israel has shown a pattern of opposition to God's program.
This was the longest and most important discourse in Acts, and Stephen was accused of blasphemy.
56
**Event #5 - The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)
- As more and more Gentiles are coming to faith, the question arises as to what the relationship is of the forming church to Israel, and the book of Acts presents the transition in God's program from Israel to the church as it narrates the birth and development of this new body.
- Stephen was a Grecian Jew and becomes the linking figure between the Jews and the Gentiles.
57
**The characteristics of an apostle
1. Had to receive a direct call and commission from Jesus.
2. Had to be a direct witness of the ministry of Jesus so that they would could testify to what they had "seen and heard."
3. Had to be a recipient of divine revelation.
4. Infallibility
5. Perform miracles
New Testament Studies
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