LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Journal Article Critique:
The Man Jesus Christ
Submitted to Dr. Michael Chiavone, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
THEO 510-D01
Survey of Theology
by
Todd Bush
November 21, 2016
Contents
Introduction 2
Summary 2
Critical Interaction 3
Conclusion 4
Bibliography 5
Introduction
The following paper yields a couple of various speculations and theories in regards to the teaching of Christ 's humanity and how it could influence how we comprehend His flawlessness. In the article "The Man Christ Jesus" by Bruce A. Ware, we take a gander at the idea that is often hard to comprehend of Jesus Christ being both God and man and His failure to sin. The larger question postured by this article is with Jesus being completely God, as we know He could not sin, however, being completely man, would it have been feasible for the human side of Jesus to allow Him to sin. Ware yields various perspectives from various theological scholars and shares his own theories.
Summary
Ware expresses, "the emphasis must be placed on the humanity of Christ as the primary reality He expressed in his day-by-day life, ministry, mission and work." By taking a gander at Jesus as the God-man rather than just simply God or simply man and concentrating on the humankind, Ware would like to answer if the man Jesus could have trespassed. From the earliest starting point, Ware takes a gander on the fact of how Jesus
In their book Lead Like Jesus Ken Blanchard & Phil Hodges encourage readers to ask themselves three key questions:
In the book Simply Jesus, N.T. Wright makes three different claims throughout. N.T. Wright's first claim is about the “perfect storm”. The “perfect storm” takes up a large section of the first few chapters, and in those chapters N.T. Wright writes about that to enter the “perfect storm” you must step out of your own storm that is happening in your life, you must jump back into the “perfect storm” just as Jesus did in his own life. N.T. Wright fails to fully support the idea of the “perfect storm” throughout the book. Wright writes about the two myths that create the “storms”, the first is “… the high-pressure system of conservative Christianity” and the second is “... the new classic modernist myth…”. N.T. Wright loses his credibility to his claims by never giving evidence that disproves they myths. N.T. Wright states that the stories in the bible “...’really did happen’. And there the matter ends…. Facts or no facts”. N.T. Wrights claims are never fully
Over the course of history, the historical information regarding Jesus Christ has been interpreted by many different individuals and has led to different beliefs and views regarding the existence of Jesus Christ as a real man. Today I will be interpreting this evidence and i will be attempting to answer the question “Was Jesus Christ a real man?”. The evidence I will be looking at to answer this question will be information regarding the context of Jesus Christ, the historical accounts of non-Christian authors as well as the evidence for the Bible which is the main source regarding the life of Jesus Christ.
This paper will address God, Humanity, Jesus, Restoration, Analysis and Reflection. The debate, research, questions, and conclusions of the existence of God has been happening for thousands of years. Great minds have pondered Him and His Word, the Bible. There have been different opinions and worldviews about God, His Son Jesus Christ and Heaven. Not everyone agrees on any particular view. Humanity has never been the same since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. Some love, some hate. Others are kind, others kill. Jesus was sent to restore mankind’s relationship with God. To be the perfect sacrificial lamb in order for humankind to be saved and spend eternity in Heaven with God. The only way to achieve peace in the
• Writes about James, brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ. Stoned to death in A.D. 62. Pg.78
“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) is one of the most fundamental questions that Jesus asked his disciples. It is a question, from my personal viewpoint, that has a simple answer. Jesus is Lord! Needless to say, there is more to the identity of Jesus, but it is my belief that Jesus is the Messiah, the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the promised Savior foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. There is an endless list that gives Jesus titles such as Ruler and King, Master and Teacher, Savior and Christ, but in Acts 2:36 Luke writes, “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus is the one who went to the Cross to bring humankind forgiveness, redemption, and salvation.
Of all the incredible divine qualities Jesus Christ exemplifies, the one I love most is His constancy. He is the same “yesterday, today, and forever,” and as Moroni teaches us, from Him cometh “every good gift.” Because Jesus Christ is constant, all of God’s children who have ever lived or ever will live on the Earth can look to the scriptures and prophets to identify patterns of obedience by which they may obtain every one of these good gifts, This is in accordance with that law decreed in heaven, that “when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it was predicated.”
ideas of God the Father, Jesus the Son of God and the Holy Spirit in
Over 2,000 years there has been endless debates pertaining to Jesus the Christ. The main issue is how a man can be truly divine and fully human? It seems paradoxical because of the combination of two separate natures, but it is a unique act of forgiveness by God. There are in fact clues to show how and, why Jesus is in fact fully divine along with fully human. There are links that trace Jesus historically. Due to these historic biblical resources, it makes understanding the divine subdivision of Jesus hard to understand. How does one come to terms with the fully divine side of Jesus? Is it only mythicized biblical texts or devout faith in the biblical tradition?
When studying the Son of Man view in the Gospel of Mark, the separate ideas presented related to this terminology is interesting. Whereas readers find this term in several of the Gospel’s the writer of Mark favored this term when quoting Jesus (Wilcox, 2014). Subsequently, this term relates to three different views of Jesus during and after his earthly ministry and also relates to like examples in Christian literature (Harris, 2014). The first classification of the Son of Man terminology relates to a natural man who teaches with authority and understanding. Additionally, the second classification as the Son of Man refers to a servant of the people who accepts their rightful suffering. Finally, the term Son of Man relates to a Judge of humanity
When exploring the concept of ‘God the Son’, the incarnation and attributes of God as seen in Christ enter the picture. In order for human sin to be covered, a human sacrifice is all that could meet the requirement ordained by God, yet, they had to be sinless. Only the incarnate God could fulfill this role, exhibiting qualities of God Himself, such as selflessness, unconditional love, and purity. Another core trait was humbleness, although Jesus held the highest status in all the world, which shone brightly in His ministry, as He also served the children of God. Paul captured the essence of Jesus as God and the reality of the incarnation in these verses, “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God…made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7, NKJV).
When discussing and proving the person of Christ, there are two basic laws that must be addressed and proven. First you must prove that Christ is one hundred percent human (humanity), then you must prove that at the same time Christ is one hundred percent God (deity).
With the knowledge that the human form was fit for Jesus, now the focus can shift to the evidence that he was human and his human form was humanizing. Jesus lived a life on earth and suffered like every other person does. As mentioned previously, Jesus experienced temptation by the Devil as seen in Matthew 4. He experienced hunger as seen in Mark 11:12. He experienced weariness as seen in John 4:6, “So Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well” (). He experienced sorrow many times as seen when Lazarus died in John 11 and several other places. He also experience pain and suffering on the cross and he died just as everyone on earth does as well. By every standard Jesus was a human being. He lived and died as everyone else on this planet does. His humanity was humanizing. He was a human being and demonstrated all the characteristics of being one. The only difference is that he was able to live a life without sin. So Jesus’ human nature was in no way dehumanizing; he exhibited every characteristic that humans face and conquered every struggle.
The Biblical basis for Jesus' humanity is well-established, and, therefore, anyone who claims that Jesus was not a man is surely unfamiliar with Scripture. Likewise, the Biblical basis Jesus' deity is also well-established and one must conclude, after a study of Scripture, that Jesus was both God and man, one Person having two natures in what has been called the Hypostatic Union.
I believe most sections of Christianity will agree with the idea that Christ is in us. He is in the world, living actively through His earthly body; the Church. So why wouldn’t we do the same things He did? Christ expressed this way of thinking to us over and over in scripture. Jesus, the light, said to us that we would do greater works (see definition below) than He did. The works that Jesus did were works of power. Works that were supernatural in nature. For us to be the Light of the World, like He was, we must awaken to this supernatural reality of the Christian life. We are the light of the world, just like Jesus!