Meet Jesus Again Part 6
We Believe……’
Scriptures, Creed and Christologies
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EARLY CHURCH COMMUNITIES
The journey towards greater understanding of Jesus Christ has continued over centuries, as
new generations of Christians reflected upon, and prayed with, the Gospels and the tradition
of the Church. The Gospel of John, for example, offered much to think and pray about:
Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you have known him
and have seen him” (Jn 14:7).
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father...Believe me that I am in the Father and the
Father is in me…” (Jn 14:9-10)
“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I
have said to you” (Jn 25-26).
The Gospel of Luke recalls Mary’s ‘Yes’ to God’s call. God took on human existence through
the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. This is the Incarnation. It needed a human ‘Yes’.
Luke’s story of the announcement (‘the Annunciation’) to Mary is shaped by the presence of
the Trinity: God, Holy Spirit and Son of God; “The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born
will be holy; he will be called Son of God” (Lk 1:35).
Trinity - God, Creator, Jesus and Spirit
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus calls God, Father and it is the Spirit of God who fills Jesus:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to
let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour…. Today this scripture has
been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4:16-19).
Yet, while other nations worshipped many gods, Jesus’ ancestors lived and died for one God,
the one God whom Jesus and his followers called, “Father.” If God is ‘One’, how can Jesus
reveal God? Who is the Spirit who empowers and transforms lives?
It took time for the early Christians to find words to express their experiences and deepening
insights concerning Jesus. Misunderstandings occurred easily. New questions arose when people
from different backgrounds joined Christian
communities. Changes in languages, new
philosophies and the events in history brought
more challenges.
Jesus’ Humanity and Divinity
A big question considered by early Christians, as they continued to read the
Scriptures, was, ‘What does it mean to say that Jesus is truly human and truly
divine?’ How do we explain it? What does it mean for our lives?
Was Jesus really a human being like us?
Was Jesus’ humanity like ours? Did Jesus have a body just like ours?
The questions are important for many reasons. If Jesus was not really human,
how could we human beings really follow him? If Jesus did not really experience death as every
human being does, is Resurrection just a vain hope?
There were many influential philosophies and religions when the Good News about Jesus was
taken to new lands. In the centuries since Alexander the Great and his armies had conquered
these same lands (333 BCE), Greek language and ideas shaped the thinking of many. Greek
dualism, a way of seeing the world in terms of opposites, was prominent. A dualist world view
considered matter and spirit to be completely separate and opposed to one another. The created
world, including the human body, were considered unworthy of the spirit. How could one sent by
God really be human? Some said Jesus was God who only appeared as a man; he wasn’t really
human. This idea was called ‘Docetism’. Similar ideas were held by groups called Gnostics, who
had a low opinion of matter and the human body. A man named Marcion taught that Jesus was
divine but not really human. Matter (of which the body is made) is evil, he said, so how could God
become a human being? A natural follow-on from this approach was to say that there is no
resurrection of the body. Only the soul that could be saved, according to Marcion.
A 2nd Century Disciple: Irenaeus of Lyons
was born in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) around the year 130. As a child he heard Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
speak of the apostle John and his knowledge of Jesus. Irenaeus became Bishop of Lyons (today’s France). He is
said to have died for his faith (that is, as a martyr) in the early 2nd Century. Irenaeus, taught that Christ is the
complete revelation of the Father’s love. “Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, of his boundless love, became
what we are that he might make us what he himself is.” Of human beings living life in its fullness, as Jesus taught
(Jn 10:10), he said; “For the glory of God is a living man (human being); and the life of man is the vision of God.”
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons wrote ’Against the Heresies’ to correct the teaching errors of Marcion and
others. As a child, Irenaeus had known Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who had heard the apostle
John speak about Jesus. Irenaeus advised that only those teachings which could be traced
through the lives and work of Jesus’ apostles and their successors should be accepted as
authentic; “Though languages may differ throughout the world, the content of the tradition is one
and the same…. This creature of God is one and the same throughout the world…” (Irenaeus of
Lyons, Against the Heresies, III, 3).
The so called ‘Gnostic gospels” are among those that the early Church communities did not
accept as conveying the same teachings as the Gospels and Letters which could be linked directly
to the apostles. One of these, the ‘Gospel of Thomas’ has come into prominence in our day. A
reading of this ancient document provides interesting insights regarding its time in history. It has
value as an ancient text. Nevertheless, a careful comparison with the Gospels of Mark, Matthew,
Luke and John reveals key differences in theology and teaching.
Was Jesus really divine, or just a good man?
This question is very important because if Jesus was just a good man and not really God, he could
not have been or have done more for us than any other good person: He could not reveal in a
human person, what God was like; the Cross does not bring salvation; resurrection cannot be real
or certain and the Spirit is not really given to us. In many ways, we would remain ‘on our own’
before a distant God!
Arius, a priest of Alexandria, wanted to protect belief in one unique God. So, he said that Jesus is
not God. Arius said that Jesus had a beginning in time and was subordinate to the Father: “The
Word is not truly God. But if he is called God, nevertheless he is not truly ...” (Arius). An emperor
was the first to gather all Church leaders together to try to find a resolution to the crisis that
developed.
In 313, the emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, a decree of religious tolerance which
ended official Roman persecution of Christians. Constantine eventually became a Christian, the
first of several emperors to take a keen interest in theological questions and the unity of the
Church. They were moving towards a time when Christianity would became the state religion of
the Roman Empire (under the emperor Theodosius in 380). Unity meant peace. Constantine
invited bishops to meet together for the first ecumenical (world wide) council at Nicea in the year
325. About 300 bishops met to seek agreement regarding key aspects of Christian teaching. The
First Council of Nicea proclaimed, ‘Christ is divine’; He is the Son of God co-eternal (living for
eternity) and one with God the Father. This went hand in hand with deepening insight into what it
meant for God to be Creator, Jesus and Spirit (the Trinity).
Most of the Nicene Creed came from this Council:
We believe in one God
The Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true
God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the
Virgin Mary, and became man.
Can we say, ‘the Father and the Son are equal’? Is the Holy Spirit God?
If we believe in one God, how do we respond to these questions? Didn’t Jesus speak of the Father
and the Spirit as if he and they were closely united and equal? Disagreements flared up again
after the Council of Nicea.
The Nicene Creed was confirmed by another Council of
Constantinople in 381 and the following statement was added:
“ We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Life-giver, who proceeds from the Father, who with the
Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified.”
A 4th Century Disciple: Macrina (c. early to mid 300s)
was born into a leading Christian family in Cappadocia (today’s Turkey). She was the sister of Saints Basil (Bishop
of Caesaria, Palestine) and Gregory (Bishop of Nyssa) who played major parts in the Council of Constantinople.
Gregory wrote the Life of Saint Macrina. Macrina was a great Christian thinker, teacher and leader in her own
right, who influenced many, including her brothers. Gregory called her, ‘ father, teacher, attendant, mother, the
counselor in every good.’ From her, Gregory said, he learned philosophy and much more. After her father’s death,
Macrina led her mother and female servants (who were treated as equals) in the formation of a community at
Annesi. They dedicated their lives to following Jesus Christ more closely in a life of simplicity and prayer.
Each year they gave all their extra produce to help the poor.
Is Jesus human and divine at the same time? Is Mary the Mother of God?
The questions were linked in the mind of Bishop Nestorius of Constantinople. Jesus Christ has
two distinct and separate natures, he said, and Mary can only be mother of the human Jesus. Cyril
of Alexandria led discussions at the Council of Ephesus in 431: In Jesus Christ human and divine
natures are united. The Council of Ephesus affirmed the commonly held belief of the Christian
community: Mary is the Mother of one Person who is both human and divine; she
is the Mother of God.
Jesus’ humanity was questioned again by suggestions that his human nature
must be absorbed into one divine nature. The ecumenical Council of Chalcedon
in 451, the first presided over by a Bishop of Rome, re - affirmed the Creed of
Nicea and Constantinople: Christ, one divine person has divine and human
natures.
Mary is called Theotokos (God—bearer) and not just Christotokos (Christ bearer) because the
answer to the question, “Who is her son?” is that;
he is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the eternal Word of the Father, born in our flesh
to Mary, who is therefore rightly called the Mother of God, because that is who her son is!
What of Chalcedon today?
It can be helpful to realise that errors (called ‘heresies’) of early Christian centuries often arose
from a genuine search for greater understanding of who Jesus was and is. The early councils
sought a common way of expressing something of the faith in Jesus Christ which we share. Their
language was shaped by Greek philosophy which offered a tool for thinking and for finding words
for this task. They knew, as we do, that no words can contain or fully express the mystery that is
Jesus Christ. In this light, we reflect and build upon the achievements of early Christians, as we
try to understand and talk about Jesus Christ and all that he means for our own lives and future.
CHRISTOLOGIES - CONTINUED JOURNEYS TOWARDS GREATER UNDERSTANDING
Christology is a branch of theology. It reflects upon Jesus Christ and all that he was, said and did:
‘”In seeking to clarify the essential truths about him, it [Christology] investigates his person and
being (who and what he was /is) and work (what he did / does)” (Christology by Gerald O’Collins SJ).
Christologies, as we have seen, may approach Jesus from the perspective of his humanity,
sometimes putting less emphasis on or rejecting his divinity. Others may approach Jesus from the
perspective of his divinity, and tend to forget that he was really human or reject the Incarnation
and its significance. Studies in Christology are grounded in study of Scripture and the Tradition of
authentic teachings about Jesus handed down through the centuries, from the apostles and other
disciples who knew Jesus ‘in the flesh’. Deep reflection, prayer and discussion have been
essential to this process. Christologies are important because our understanding of Jesus Christ
influences the way we live our lives as Jesus’ disciples.
Jesus - Goal and Fulfilment of all History and all Creation
The Nicene Creed states that at the end of time, Christ will come again. At every moment Christ
comes again to anyone who is open to his presence and friendship. Scriptures also speak of a
future fulfilment when God’s Reign is fully realised. All will be fulfilled in Jesus. Before the journey
to Rome that would end his life, Saint Paul wrote;
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God...we know that
the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation but we
ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit….” (Romans 8:19-23).
Theologians, Karl Rahner SJ (1904 -1984) and Australian, Denis Edwards,
follow Saint Paul in speaking of the significance of Jesus Christ for all creation:
“Christ ...is present in the history of the earth, whose blind course he steers...to the day when his glory will
break out of its own depths to transform all things. He is present in all tears and every death as a hidden joy
and the life which conquers by seeming to die….He is there as the essence of all things..the heart of this
earthly movement and the secret soul of its eternal validity. He is risen” (Karl Rahner).
When we live in a Christ - like way:
“that which endures is the work of love as expressed in the concrete in human history” (Karl Rahner)
“We human beings are involved in the transformation of the entire creation through Christ”...
“Acts of selfless love, acts of obedience to conscience, acts of fidelity to truth are of infinite value.
Eternity is part of their inner nature.
Wherever life is truly lived in faith, hope and love, eternity already truly occurs” (Denis Edwards)*
(*Quotations from Rahner & Edwards from: Denis Edwards, Jesus and the Cosmos, Homebush: St Paul Publications, 1991, ).
Adult Faith Education Sandhurst, P.O. Box 201, Bendigo, 3552. Email: [email protected]
Nihil obstat: Mgr John Duffus, Censor Deputatis
Imprimatur: Most Rev Joseph A Grech Bishop of the Diocese of Sandhurst