Work of Christ1

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ Jesus’ Person and Work are distinguished only for heuristic purposes. We must combine the person and work: 1. Wrong to emphasize one over the other. a. Jesus is what he does. b. His message brings who he is and what he does together. c. From this person arises a new ethic. 2. Jesus is representative humanity for us.

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ The Death of Jesus in Scripture and the Church’s Reflection 1. Jesus’ death is the fulfillment of his divine being. In the cross, God is active. a. The goal or telos of Jesus life is his death. Gospel narratives centered on Jesus’ passion. It is the inner logic or necessity of his true being. [Matthew 16:21 andamp; Luke 9:22, 17:25 both use dei]

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ The Death of Jesus 1. Jesus’ death fulfills his divine being. b. Jesus’ death is intertwined with the message he declared. Whereas Jesus is humble and faultless, he was judged guilty by others. We want an arrogant God who overcomes those we consider our enemies.

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ The Death of Jesus 2. Jesus’ Death is a Willed Reality a. Cry of Dereliction: God’s act also, the judgment of the Father on Sin. Mt. 27:45-46 b. As the Son, Jesus chose to die. Matthew 26:53-54; John 10:17-18, 19:8-11 c. Jesus paradoxically passive: he doesn’t commit suicide but undergoes punishment.

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ The Death of Jesus 2. Jesus’ Death is a Willed Reality d. Jesus indicates his death is God’s will. Matthew 26:39 ff. e. This is God willing to be God in this one way, the eternal resolve of God. Otherwise, Jesus is merely a model of suffering for what you believe. Acts 2:22-24

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ The Death of Jesus 2. Jesus’ Death is a Willed Reality ' One must dare to say that the goodness of Christ appears greater, more divine, and truly in the image of the Father, when he humbles himself in obedience unto death – the death of the Cross – than had he clung onto his equality with the Father as an inalienable gift, and had refused to become a slave for the world’s salvation.' (Origen)

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ The Death of Jesus 3. Jesus’ death is a sacrifice for sin. a. Jesus dies for our sin. Galatians 3:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 1:18-20, 3:18; Hebrews 9:22, 10:4-10 b. Jesus’ sacrifice is a finished, once-for-all act. Our response does not make it more effective, but only acknowledges God’s act.

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ The Death of Jesus 4. Jesus’ death is God’s victory over sin. Jesus’ death means new life for us. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 Revelation 5:5-14. In opening the seals, the Lamb brings to pass the events of God’s defeat of sin and all forces opposed to Him. 'The one who unravels the secret of history is…the immolated Lamb.'

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension 1. Jesus’ Resurrection in the Enlightenment 2 Primary missteps: a. Apologetic Use of the Resurrection If we can prove God raised Jesus from the dead then Christianity’s veracity is proved. Problem: how do you prove historically the resurrection of Jesus?

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension 1. Jesus’ Resurrection in the Enlightenment 2 Primary missteps: b. Bultmann: the resurrection only refers to the disciples belief, so it is not ostensively referential. The resurrection is thus primarily used to describe a faith response rather than an actual occurrence. Makes the resurrection about me.

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension 2. The Theology of the Resurrection What does it tell us about God? a. The Resurrection concerns Jesus of Naza-reth who is confessed as the Christ. i. The one raised is he who died for our sins. Acts 2:23-26 ii. The resurrection fulfills Jesus’ Being.

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension 2. The Theology of the Resurrection iii. Jesus suffered the death of one cursed of God. The resurrection reveals. (1) the cross is God’s effective act (2) Jesus’ whole life is God’s revelation (3) Jesus is Lord as the crucified, resurrected, and exalted One.

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension 2. The Theology of the Resurrection b. The Resurrection is God’s Act i. It is the revelation of God’s nature. ii. It is God’s 'Yes!' fully actualized and finalized. cf. Romans 4:25 iii. Reveals God is pro nobis. God does not vacillate, but is for us. 1 Corinthians 1:20

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension 2. The Theology of the Resurrection c. The Resurrection bears meaning for us. i. Jesus’ resurrection involves God’s positive act of re-establishing us before God ii. Human nature is reconstituted and actually remade. 2 Cor. 5:15, 17; Eph. 1:3-21 iii. Jesus’ resurrection is the basis for the newness of life now (raised with Christ). Romans 6:4; John 14:18-21, 25-27, 15:5-15

The Work of Christ: 

The Work of Christ 'The cross ceases to be an ideological weapon when it is recognized not only as mine but as a stranger’s; and it is the stranger whom we meet on Easter morning. To stop with Good Friday is to see the crucified simply as reflecting back to me my own condition, and even to remember the cricified, in the superficial sense, can merely leave us with a martyr for our cause…Jesus is alive, he is there to be encountered again…' (Rowan Williams)