The context of Acts 3:12:26 is the healing of the man at the Beautiful Gate. On the occasion of this miracle, a crowd gathered and Peter preached to them. He began with the fact that God glorified "his servant Jesus" (Acts 3:13) after the Jerusalem Jews killed Him
They killed Jesus even though He is "the author of life" (Acts 3:15). What a paradox! How do you kill the Author of life? That ought not to have happened and yet it did.
"Servant" (Acts 3:13) is another important title of Jesus. Some versions of the Bible translate "servant" (Gk. pais) in this passage as "child." Pais can mean "child," but it should not be rendered that way in Acts 3 and 4. The child Jesus did not die on the cross; the man Jesus died, bearing the sins of the world. The context here demands the meaning "servant," for in Acts 3 a servant Christology begins to emerge. Starting with Acts 3:18, notice how the Old Testament prophecies vindicate Jesus as the Messiah in ways that for the Jews were very unexpected. The Jews expected the Christ to rule, not suffer.
Furthermore, Peter states that Jesus will return (Acts 3:20-21) - which is not mentioned in Acts 2. Then, after the Second Coming, God will restore everything that was prophesied in the Old Testament. Please notice that we are not now in the time of the restoration of all things. The text here clearly puts that in the future. When it is time for God to restore everything, Jesus will come back in His second coming. The Millennium will begin and the whole reality of the age to come that is shown to us in several books of the Bible will be initiated.
Next, Peter presents Jesus as the Prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22-23). Moses declared, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him" (Deut. 18:15). Naturally, one would say that Joshua fulfilled this. Joshua, the follower of Moses, did come after him and was a great deliverer in his own time. But another Joshua, the came (in the Hebrew language the names Joshua and Jesus are the same). The early Christians recognized Jesus as the final fulfillment of Moses' prophesy.
Then, at the end of this passage (Acts 3:25-26), Peter reminds his audience of the covenant with Abraham, which is very important in understanding Christ. "'You are heirs of the prophets and the covenant God made with your fathers. He said Abraham, "Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed." When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.'" Clearly, Jesus now brings the promised blessing and is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, not just the fulfillment of the Law given through Moses.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
A New Testament Understanding of Jesus by David R. Nichols
The titles given in the New Testament help us understand Him in terms that were meaningful in the ancient world He lived in. They also help us understand His uniqueness.
Lord And Christ
What kind of Christology do we have in Acts 2:22-36? Peter starts out by reminding the Jews of the miracle-working power of Jesus that they all knew about. This was important. Paul's characterization, "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom" (1 Cor. 1:22), is accurate for both peoples. But as in any reasonable proclamation of Jesus, Peter quickly begins talking about the death of Jesus - He was crucified, but God raised Him from the dead! Peter and many others were witnesses to to the fact. Then Peter gives a lengthy explanation of the Resurrection and some Old Testament passages that prophesied it. Using responsible hermeneutics, he proves Psalm 16 cannot be applied only to David, but also surely applies to Jesus (Acts 2:29, 31).
Jesus, now exalted to the right hand of God, has, together with the Father, poured out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). This explains the speaking in tongues and the proclaiming of the good things of God heard by the Jews from fifteen different nations who were gathered from the Dispersion for the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem. It was indeed a miraculous sign.
Next, Peter attests to the truth of the Ascension by using Psalm 1101 (see Acts 2:34-35): "The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" This adequately explains the Lord Jesus Christ who was here in the flesh on the earth and then ascended into heaven where He received His present status.
Acts 2:36 clearly declares what we must believe in order to receive the salvation of God's Messiah. '"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.'" Notice the continuity expressed here. This exalted Jesus is the same Jesus who was crucified. The exalted Jesus is the same Jesus who was crucified. The two titles "Lord" and "Christ" are the prime terms in Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. The tie to Jesus' earthly ministry is significant here, for God the Father's making Jesus Lord and Christ is the ultimate stamp of approval on His life and ministry - His miracles, His signs and wonders, His teaching, His death, His resurrection.
Lord And Christ
What kind of Christology do we have in Acts 2:22-36? Peter starts out by reminding the Jews of the miracle-working power of Jesus that they all knew about. This was important. Paul's characterization, "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom" (1 Cor. 1:22), is accurate for both peoples. But as in any reasonable proclamation of Jesus, Peter quickly begins talking about the death of Jesus - He was crucified, but God raised Him from the dead! Peter and many others were witnesses to to the fact. Then Peter gives a lengthy explanation of the Resurrection and some Old Testament passages that prophesied it. Using responsible hermeneutics, he proves Psalm 16 cannot be applied only to David, but also surely applies to Jesus (Acts 2:29, 31).
Jesus, now exalted to the right hand of God, has, together with the Father, poured out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). This explains the speaking in tongues and the proclaiming of the good things of God heard by the Jews from fifteen different nations who were gathered from the Dispersion for the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem. It was indeed a miraculous sign.
Next, Peter attests to the truth of the Ascension by using Psalm 1101 (see Acts 2:34-35): "The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" This adequately explains the Lord Jesus Christ who was here in the flesh on the earth and then ascended into heaven where He received His present status.
Acts 2:36 clearly declares what we must believe in order to receive the salvation of God's Messiah. '"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.'" Notice the continuity expressed here. This exalted Jesus is the same Jesus who was crucified. The exalted Jesus is the same Jesus who was crucified. The two titles "Lord" and "Christ" are the prime terms in Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. The tie to Jesus' earthly ministry is significant here, for God the Father's making Jesus Lord and Christ is the ultimate stamp of approval on His life and ministry - His miracles, His signs and wonders, His teaching, His death, His resurrection.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
The Issues of Methodology by David R. Nichols
In any responsible study, the methodologies used to analyze the data and produce the conclusions must come under scrutiny. Methods that have been subjected to scrutiny will produce stronger studies than those that have not. The study of Christology suggests at least the following areas as frontier zones for methodology.
The couplet "doing verses being" raises the issues of functional versus ontological Christology. A Christology that primarily defines Jesus what He did is a functional Christology. A Christology that primarily defines Jesus by who He is is an ontological Christology. Traditionally, these two approaches have been aligned with two different kinds of theology. Functional Christology has largely been advanced by biblical theologians and exegetes, and ontological Christology has largely been advanced by systematic theologians. Since functional Christologies stress Jesus' action on the earth as a man, they tend to emphasize Jesus' humanity at the expense of His deity. Ontological Christologies stress the eternal existence of God the Son and tend to emphasize Jesus' deity at the expense of His humanity. Notice that these are tendencies, not absolute positions. Through careful balance of the statements of the Word of God, either approach could present an orthodox position.
One of the most profound mysteries of the Christian faith is the union of the divine and the human in Jesus Christ. No subject excited more controversy than this one in the time of the church fathers.
Our study of Christology would not be complete unless we considered the relationship that exists in the New Testament among Christology, salvation, and the prophesied kingdom of God. For the New Testament writers, Christology does not stand alone as an abstract category of knowledge. Their primary concern is God's salvation of humankind through the one Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:38; Rom. 1:16). Therefore, from the exegetical point of view, the existence of God's salvation on earth creates a need for understanding the One who brought it. Once this fact is acknowledged, it is possible to take the theological point of view, wherein Christology is a discrete subject, worthy of investigation in its own right. Then, because salvation is the starting point in the New Testament's message, the cross of Christ should be taken as the central defining element, since, according to the New Testament writers, that is where our salvation was accomplished. The Cross therefore defines the organic relationship that exists between the doctrine of salvation and Christology, at least at the exegetical level.
There is also the issue of the prophesied kingdom of God in its relationship to Christology and salvation. When Jesus is called Christ (Messiah, "Announced One") we immediately are in the realm of prophesy. This title carried an enormous load of prophetic meaning for the Jews, both from the Old Testament canonincal books and from interestamental apocalyptic writings. The fulfillments of many Old Testament prophecies in the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus show the inbreaking of the kingdom of God.
The importance of acknowledging prophecy's role here is that it helps us understand how Christianity differs from Judaism. While Judaism expected the Messiah to play a key role in the political deliverance of the nation, Christianity teaches that Jesus is truly God's Messiah, even though He declined political rulership in His first coming. In Christian theology this leads to the necessity of the Second Coming as future reality. Both of these truths are based, of course, on the teachings of Jesus reported in the New Testament. The two comings of Christ are two poles of God's plan, each necessary to the total picture of God's Messiah, Jesus. This split in prophecy is not possible in the theology of Judaism and remains one of the great barriers between these two religious systems.
The couplet "doing verses being" raises the issues of functional versus ontological Christology. A Christology that primarily defines Jesus what He did is a functional Christology. A Christology that primarily defines Jesus by who He is is an ontological Christology. Traditionally, these two approaches have been aligned with two different kinds of theology. Functional Christology has largely been advanced by biblical theologians and exegetes, and ontological Christology has largely been advanced by systematic theologians. Since functional Christologies stress Jesus' action on the earth as a man, they tend to emphasize Jesus' humanity at the expense of His deity. Ontological Christologies stress the eternal existence of God the Son and tend to emphasize Jesus' deity at the expense of His humanity. Notice that these are tendencies, not absolute positions. Through careful balance of the statements of the Word of God, either approach could present an orthodox position.
One of the most profound mysteries of the Christian faith is the union of the divine and the human in Jesus Christ. No subject excited more controversy than this one in the time of the church fathers.
Our study of Christology would not be complete unless we considered the relationship that exists in the New Testament among Christology, salvation, and the prophesied kingdom of God. For the New Testament writers, Christology does not stand alone as an abstract category of knowledge. Their primary concern is God's salvation of humankind through the one Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:38; Rom. 1:16). Therefore, from the exegetical point of view, the existence of God's salvation on earth creates a need for understanding the One who brought it. Once this fact is acknowledged, it is possible to take the theological point of view, wherein Christology is a discrete subject, worthy of investigation in its own right. Then, because salvation is the starting point in the New Testament's message, the cross of Christ should be taken as the central defining element, since, according to the New Testament writers, that is where our salvation was accomplished. The Cross therefore defines the organic relationship that exists between the doctrine of salvation and Christology, at least at the exegetical level.
There is also the issue of the prophesied kingdom of God in its relationship to Christology and salvation. When Jesus is called Christ (Messiah, "Announced One") we immediately are in the realm of prophesy. This title carried an enormous load of prophetic meaning for the Jews, both from the Old Testament canonincal books and from interestamental apocalyptic writings. The fulfillments of many Old Testament prophecies in the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus show the inbreaking of the kingdom of God.
The importance of acknowledging prophecy's role here is that it helps us understand how Christianity differs from Judaism. While Judaism expected the Messiah to play a key role in the political deliverance of the nation, Christianity teaches that Jesus is truly God's Messiah, even though He declined political rulership in His first coming. In Christian theology this leads to the necessity of the Second Coming as future reality. Both of these truths are based, of course, on the teachings of Jesus reported in the New Testament. The two comings of Christ are two poles of God's plan, each necessary to the total picture of God's Messiah, Jesus. This split in prophecy is not possible in the theology of Judaism and remains one of the great barriers between these two religious systems.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Learning from our failures
When we fail, we shouldn't adopt the sour grapes attitude of the fox in Aesop's fable. Instead, we should analyze our failure to see what lesson we can learn from it #WilliamLaneCraig
Friday, March 28, 2014
The Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure of all Christian reality; therefore, the truths about Him are central to Christianity. Any theology that deemphasizes Christ by placing humankind in the center cannot ultimately disclose to us the fullness of what the Bible teaches. Jesus is the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies, and He is the author of the teaching of the New Testament. He is understood by Christians to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, as well as the coming King (Rev. 13:8; 19:11-16).
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Saturday, March 8, 2014
8 March 1965
The 9th Marines Expeditionary Brigade landed at DaNang, Republic of Vietnam as the first U.S. ground combat troops to be committed to conflict. The 3,500 men arrived both across the beach with Battalion Landing Team 3/9, and DaNang Airfield with Battalion Landing Team 1/3 #USMC #usmcquotes #MarineHistory
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