Theology test 4

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:10

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3

Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Rom 4:25

Paul compares Jesus’ resurrection to our future resurrection bodies

1 Cor 15

extra-biblical historical evidence for Jesus’ existence

1. His followers worshipped him as God (Pliny) 

2. He was called “the Christ” (Josephus)

3. His followers were called “Christians” (Tacitus, Pliny) 

4. His brother was James (Josephus) 

Explain basic facts about the incarnation and Jesus’ dual nature .

Jesus’ two natures are “indivisibly, inseparably” linked to one another, both existing in one person; Christ’s human nature is separate from the divine natures of the other members of the Trinity; light is a wave and a particle

Significance of Jesus’ virgin birth (evidence)

• only way born without SIN NATURE (Rom 5:12-14)

  • only way that the incarnation and the hypostatic union is possible (John 1:1)

Argue for the full deity of Jesus from the Bible, listing specific passages of Scripture that call Jesus “God” (at least two) and how they support Jesus’ full divinity

• John 1:1

• John 20:28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

explain the events leading to the Chalcedonian definition and what the Council of Chalcedon discussed in AD 451

1. there were some false ideas a going around about how Jesus was fully God and fully man

2. AD 451, the Council of Chalcedon was called and produced the Chalcedonian Definition

   1. main point is that Jesus is truly God and truly Man

importance of Jesus’ ascension to heaven

Jesus’ place at the right hand of the Father after the completion of his earthly ministry has been called his session; this indicates that “his work of redemption was complete and that he had received authority over the universe” 

ESSAY

• Define the atonement

• Why the atonement was necessary

• The problematic views of the atonement, including what they teach and the issues with each one

• The preferred view of the atonement and how it best represents the Bible’s teaching on this doctrine

• Implications of the atonement

Atonement: “the work Christ did in his life and death to earn our salvation”

Why was it necessary:

because of God’s attributes of perfection, justice, and love

• Because God is both perfect and just, he cannot have sin in His presence or let sin go unpunished 

• Because God is loving, he desired to make a payment for our sin to make salvation possible

Problematic views of the atonement: 

• Ransom to Satan theory: all humans were under Satan’s control (in the world of sin), and Christ’s death was a payment to Satan for our souls 

• Moral influence theory: Christ’s death was not actually necessary for our sin, but was a superfluous expression of God’s love for us and his identification with us (another similar view to this is the example theory) 

• Governmental theory: Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God demonstrated that a penalty must exist for the breaking of His moral laws 

• Christus Victor: Jesus died to defeat the evil powers of the world, displaying his victory over sin, the law, death, demonic forces, etc. The cross is the ultimate symbol of victory 

Preferred view of the atonement: 

• Penal substitution: “The view that Christ in his death bore the just penalty of God for our sins and did so as a substitute for us.”

Implications of the atonement: 

• God is both a just and a loving God 

• God takes sin seriously 

• The Christ earned our salvation for us (imputed righteousness) 

• Jesus suffered with us and for us 

ESSAY Be able to explain important information about the resurrection of Jesus, including: 

• How the resurrection of Jesus makes Christianity unique among world religions

• What historical/logical evidence from outside the Bible supports the resurrection

• The overall significance of the resurrection

How the resurrection of Jesus makes Christianity unique among world religions:

• can be studied as a historical event because of the element of falsifiability present in the history 

• falsifiability of the resurrection is what sets Christianity apart from other world religions

What historical/logical evidence from outside the Bible supports the resurrection

1. The empty tomb/disappearance of Jesus’ body 

2. The resurrection story is not a story that would be made up by either Jews or Greeks 

3. The writing style of the Gospels does not match that of ancient fiction (first historical fiction; element of embarrassment)

4. The conversion of the Apostle Paul

5. The deaths of the Disciples (willing to die for)

The overall significance of the resurrection

1. ensures our regeneration (Peter 1:3 says, we have been “born again to a living hope”); new quality and quantity

2. ensures our justification (Romans 4:25 says, Jesus was “raised for our justification.”)

3. ensures that we will receive perfect resurrection bodies as well (Jesus rose as the “firstfruits” (1 Cor 15:20))

The erroneous doctrine that denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Arianism

The statement produced by the Council of Chalcedon ni AD 451, which has been regarded by most branches of Christianity as the orthodox definition of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ.

Chalcedonian Definition

The heretical teaching that Jesus was not really a man, but only seemed to be one

Docetism

Jesus’ human and divine natures existing in one person

Hypostatic Union

The doctrine that Christ was not able to sin.

Impeccability

The act of God the Son whereby he took to himself a human nature.

incarnation

The erroneous theory that Christ gave up some of his divine atri-butes while he was on earth as a man

kenosis theory

A title often used of Jesus to designate Him as the heavenly, eternal Son who is equal in nature to God Himself.

Son of God

The term by which Jesus refered ot himself most often, which had an Old Testament background, especially in the heavenly figure who was

given eternal rule over the world in the vision of Daniel 7:13.

Son of Man

The biblical teaching that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and without a human father.

Virgin Birth

The work Christ did in his life and death to earn our salvation.

Atonement

The view that in the atonement Christ did not bear the just penalty of God for our sins but that he simply provided us with an example of how we should trust and obey God perfectly, even fi this leads to death.

Example Theory

The theory that Christ's death was not a payment for our sins, but God's demonstration of the fact that, since He is the moral governor of the universe, some kind of penalty must be paid whenever His laws are broken.

Governmental Theory

The theory that Christ's death was not a payment for sins but simply a demonstration of how much God loved human beings, because it showed how God identified with their sufferings, even to the point of death. The atonement becomes, then, an example designed to draw from us a grateful response.

Moral influence theory

The view of the atonement that holds that Christ in his death bore the just penalty of God for our sins and did os as a substitute for us.

Penal substitution

The erroneous view that in the atonement Christ paid a ransom to Satan to redeem us out of his kingdom.

Ransom to Satan Theory

The removal of enmity and the restoration of fellowship between two parties; in the atonement, we were ________ to God.

reconciliation

The act of buying back sinners out of their bondage to sin and to Satan through the payment of a ransom.

redemption

Christ's death on the cross viewed from the standpoint that he paid the penalty we deserved.

Sacrifice

the rising of Jesus from earth into heaven 40 days after his resurrection

ascension

“able to be proven false” (and be historically investigated) 

falsifyability

A rising from the dead into a new kind of life not subject to sickness, aging, deterioration, or death.

Resurrection

The "sitting down" of Christ at God's right hand after his ascension, indicating that his work of redemption was complete and that he had received authority over the universe.

Session