Lesson 6 Flashcards
Christian responses to Jesus’ teachings
-The way that Christians respond to these teachings depends on their understanding of Jesus’ authority and on the degree to which Scripture gives us a reliable record.
-If Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, then what he teaches is binding on all those who follow God as God is understood in Christianity.
-If Jesus is merely human, an inspired teacher and prophet, but without divine authority from God, then humans are free to evaluate his teachings and to choose whether to follow them or not.
The passage from Matthew’s Gospel named on your specification provides a useful example for this (Matthew 5:38-48).
(Matthew 5:38-48).
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you
Son of god
Son of God’ is a title used for Jesus in the New Testament and in the early Church. The name does not only mean that Jesus was related to God – the idea also links to the doctrine of the Christian Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and the doctrine of incarnation.
Quotes for son of god
-It is God the only Son,who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” John 1:1;18.
-But about the Son he says, Hebrews 1:8-9.
What does the New Testament say?
The New Testament says Jesus is God’s ‘only’ Son or ‘own’ Son, implying something unique. Jesus seems uniquely close to God as shown in the Baptism of Jesus and in the Transfiguration.
Jesus as a miracle maker
-Throughout the Bible, Jesus is shown as a miracle worker.
-By being able to work miracles, Jesus reinforces the message that he is indeed God’s Son.
-Many Christians believe that miracles still happen today, and are therefore signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit (the third part of the Trinity).
Impact of Jesus’ authority as the son of god
-The Resurrection vindicates Jesus’ certainty in the future Kingdom of God.
-The Resurrection also gives Christians hope about their own future after death – it gives them hope that they too will have an afterlife in the Kingdom of God.
-Jesus shows God’s true love for us in his sacrifice – the idea that mankind needs a fresh start in order to achieve salvation:
“For God so loved the world he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).
-The miracles were signposts telling the people to respond and chance their lives and believe:
“The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me…even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (John 10: 25, 38).
Jesus’ authority as only human
-The humanity of Jesus is as equally important as thedeity of Jesus. Jesus had to be born as a human being for several reasons.
-One is outlined inGalatians 4:4–5:
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
-Only a man could be “born under the law.”
-No animal or angelic being is “under the law.”
-Only a human being could redeem other human beings born under the same law.
-Only a perfect human—Jesus Christ—could perfectly keep the law and perfectly fulfill the law, thereby redeeming us from that guilt. Jesus accomplished our redemption on the cross, exchanging our sin for His perfect righteousness (See 2 Corinthians 5:21).
What could Jesus only do if he was human?
Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificed His human life and shed His human blood to cover the sins of all who would ever believe in Him. If He were not human, this would have been impossible.
What does the humanity of Jesus enable him to do
-The humanity of Jesus enables Him to relate to us in a specific way.
-Only a human could sympathise with our weaknesses and temptations.
-In His humanity, Jesus was subjected to all the same kinds of trials that we are, and He is, therefore, able to sympathise with us and to aid us.
Two kinds of Christian’s that hold that Jesus’ authority was only human
- Those who, historically, have followed teachings of a particular sect in which it was believed that Jesus was not divine.
- Those who take a liberal’ approach to scripture.
The approach of different Christian movements
Since mainstream Churches today believe in the idea of the Trinity, the idea that Jesus’ authority is only human authority is not a normal Christian understanding.
However, historically, there have been movements which viewed Jesus as human rather than divine.
Liberal approach
Those who take a liberal approach to the Bible would approach the question of Jesus’ authority (a) their view of the inspiration and authority of the Bible, and (b) whether or not any particular claim about Jesus goes against what science sees as reasonable.
Concerning their view of the inspiration and authority of the Bible - liberal approach
-To understand the meaning of the title ‘Son of God’, liberal Christians might look at how the title ‘Son of God’ is used in earlier parts of the Bible.
-in the Old Testament it is used in connection with who in some way represent God’s authority, such as angels and the king so the general sense of ‘Son of God’ means ‘someone close to God’.
-If we use this kind of thinking with Jesus, then, ‘Son of God’ might have been used to express the idea that Jesus was close to God as a great teacher, healer and spiritual leader, but was not literally God.
-Mark’s Gospel, composed 40 years after Jesus’ death, and during those 40 years’ the early Christians, reflecting on who they thought Jesus was, came to the conclusion that he was not just a Son of God but was literally the Son of God
‘The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.’ (Mark 1:1)
-Older manuscripts omit the title ‘the Son of God’.
-John’s Gospel, Jesus is portrayed as the pre-existent ‘Word’ of God (John 1:1-18). Jesus might be seen as an exceptional human being who, in that sense, could be called ‘Son of God’, without the need to believe that this was literally the case.
Concerning their acceptance of the scientific approach - liberal Christian’s
-Christians who accept that science gives us an accurate picture of the nature of the world will often apply this acceptance to issues of belief.
-While many Christians will accept that a creator God is the best explanation for the existence of the universe in the first place, they might still reject anything supernatural, such as miracles, including the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection.
-Jesus’ resurrection might mean something like, Accepting Jesus brings new life’, or ‘What Jesus stood for can never die’.
-Wherever Jesus makes a pronouncement on how Christians ought to behave, those who take a conservative view of Scripture will be concerned to follow what Jesus says as closely as possible. Those who have a liberal understanding of Scripture will first try to interpret the context and meaning of the text.
