In Luke 18:18-29 (and the parallel account in Mark 10:17-31), we read the narrative of the rich young ruler coming to Jesus and asking, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responds by saying "Why do you call me good? No one is good -- except God alone." Jesus continues, "You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, … [Read more...]
Our God, Jesus Christ: The witness of the early church fathers
Contributed by Dan Barkman Much has been written showing that Jesus understood Himself to be a divine person and that the authors of the New Testament held that same conviction. But is it possible that we have misunderstood what the apostles actually believed about Jesus? Could it be that the modern church is confused as to what it was that the apostles actually taught? To … [Read more...]
Did Jesus Claim to be Divine? (Answering Skepticism)
When Christians hear objections with regard to who Jesus claimed to be, they (without fail) whip out CS Lewis' famous trilemma of "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord". Based on Jesus' claims of being the "I AM" of the Old Testament and the "Son of Man" who was the divine figure referenced throughout Jewish apocryphal literature, in addition to the fact that Jesus accepted worship and … [Read more...]
The Origin Of Hypostatic Union in Early Church History
God-inspired Scriptures (i.e., John 1:1,14; John 20:28, Philippians 2:6-7, Hebrew 1:3; 2:17; 4:15 et cetera) explicitly portrays Christ Jesus as being perfect in his Divinity and perfect in his Humanity (see Christ: Perfect Divine, Perfect Human). How Christ’s natures should be correctly understood saw numerous disputes. Looking at the origin of hypostatic union in the early … [Read more...]
Christ: Perfect Divine, Perfect Human
In Tertullian's (c. 160 – c. 225 AD) De carne Christi, we read “Was not God really crucified? And, been really crucified, did He not really die? And, having indeed really died, did He not really rise again?” How is this possible? We seldom ponder in depth the splendid and scandalous oxymoron of a born, died and risen God when we proclaim that Jesus died for us. Early Christians … [Read more...]
Did Jesus Claim to be Divine? (Answering Pluralism)
Religious Pluralism is a post-modern way of thinking that rejects the idea that any one religion is true, rather, all religions are equally true and equally valid ways to God. While pluralistic efforts at trying to support equality, tolerance, and dialogue may be noteworthy in some instances, there are serious philosophical, historical, and logical flaws in this type of … [Read more...]
Three Things The Gospel Authors Would Have Never Invented About Jesus
Over the years, one of the common complaints by skeptics of the Gospels is that the Gospel writers supposedly took great liberty to make up or embellish certain parts of their work to make their point. In other words, many parts of the Gospel authors " invented" or "fabricated" certain aspects of the life of Jesus. Therefore, how can we trust these documents? In response, the … [Read more...]
Arius' Contra Scriptura Christology
Arianism is a doctrine that was taught by Arius of Alexandrian (ca. 280-336), which viewed preexisted Son of God as a first created creature before and above all other creatures. He is not out of the essence but the will of God the Father. Arianism perceived pre-existed Son of God as the perfect image of the Father and the executor of God the Father’s thoughts. Thus preexisted … [Read more...]
From Jesus to Us: A Look at P.O.W.E.R.
The New Testament does not reveal Jesus as any ordinary prophet or religious teacher. Rather, it reveals Him as God incarnate (John 1:1; 8:58-59;10:29-31;14:8-9;20-28; Phil. 2:5-7; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 2 Pet. 1:1). Anyone who reads through the Gospels will see that Jesus made some very challenging statements that force us as humans to face our own autonomy before our … [Read more...]
The New Testament Witness to Christ’s Divinity
Dan Barkman Even a cursory reading of the New Testament Gospels will be enough to convince most people that the Jesus portrayed there is one who claimed to be divine-both in His statements and His behavior. In this article I will explore how the rest of the New Testament authors portrayed Jesus and how this bears on the overall case for Jesus’ divinity. We will pay particular … [Read more...]