Who is Jesus Christ, and what is accomplished through His life, death, and resurrection? “Jesus Christ was the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the one mediator between God and humanity, who as truly God was truly human, and liberated humanity from the power of sin by His death on the cross” (Umble Lecture). Through His work on the cross and resurrection, He made atonement for us all.
As the manual of the Church of the Nazarene states, “We believe that Jesus Christ, by His sufferings, by the shedding of His own blood, and by His death on the Cross, made a full atonement for all human sin, and that this Atonement is the only ground of salvation, and that it is sufficient for every individual of Adam’s race. The Atonement is graciously efficacious for the salvation of those incapable of moral responsibility and for the children in innocency but is efficacious for the salvation of those who reach the age of responsibility only when they repent and believe.”
So, who is He? Jesus is His personal name. The Hebrew name is Yeshua which is a derivative of Jehoshua which means savior. Christ means anointed. Thus, Jesus Christ is the anointed Savior.
One way to help us understand Jesus’ work is to note His role as Prophet, Priest, and King. “Among the Hebrews, prophets, priests, and kings were all inducted into office by a ceremony of anointing with oil” (Dunning p. 355).
As Prophet, Jesus proclaimed and taught of God and His coming kingdom. As Priest, He suffered and died for all, bridging the gap between us and the Father. As King, Umble says, “Jesus was exalted to govern God’s coming reign.”
Our Prophet, Priest, and King was fully divine and fully human. In his lecture, Umble quotes the Russian Catechism, “The Son of God took to Himself human flesh without sin and was made man, without ceasing to be God; nor did He lose what He was, but He began to be what he was not.” We may not understand how Jesus was both, but that is where faith comes into play. We cannot dismiss one for the other.
If we thought of Jesus as being only fully human, Thorsen says, “The portrait we are left with is of a very human, vulnerable person who may have struggled more than we realize with temptations and failures” (p. 192).
Philippians 2:6-8 sums it up well. “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (KJV) And, it was through the work of the cross that made atonement (at one ment) for you and me.
Dunning quotes Wesley as saying, “Indeed, nothing in the Christian system is of greater consequence than the doctrine of the atonement. It is properly the distinguishing point between Deism and Christianity” (p. 321).
The different motifs for understanding the atonement give us a good grasp on not only the theologians who studied and wrote about them, but the lifestyles and conflicts that the listeners may have been going through. Thus, all have their purpose even today, especially in evangelism.
One motif was ransom. “The idea of a ransom paid to Satan, or a bargain entered into between God and the devil with the soul of Jesus the redeeming consideration, was easily grasped by the humblest and most illiterate listener to the Christian message” (Dunning p. 324). The problem I have with this motif is, Satan does not deserve any payment; God does. The ransom is the soul of Jesus, and the payment Jesus pays is to God the Father.
Another motif promotes Jesus as the victor. “The soundest biblical scholarship, however, holds to a dualistic view that teaches that the reign of God is both present and future. It has entered history in the triumph of Christ over the evil forces of the spiritual realm but will be fully established at second Advent” (Dunning p. 378).
Yet another motif gives us the picture of a boxing match, if you will. Dunning says, “On the stage of history, where the human problem of sin must be met, Jesus Christ came into mortal conbat with Satan in his own sphere (this present age) and overcame him, thus making available to men the same victory over sin in the here and now and not just eschatologically” (p. 376). I think this would be easily understood by young people today and could be a good tool for evangelizing.
The fourth motif I will add here is the one I believe helps when understanding entire sanctification. Thorsen says, “Atonement establishes the object basis for people’s spiritual healing, and healing continues throughout their lives as God’s Spirit works therapeutically to transform them holistically” (p. 204).
The best part is that however one understands it, Jesus came to establish a relationship, not a religion with hard rules and consequences. “Jesus did not come to deliver a gospel but to embody the good news. Christianity is not primarily an idea, intellectual system, or an institution but a relationship to a person” (Umble Lecture).
God’s Word backs up this relationship. John 14:23 says, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (KJV). Jesus is not speaking of simply obeying Him; He is talking about coming to us and abiding with us. What a comfort it is that He wants to make His home in me.Works Cited
Dunning, H. Ray, Grace, Faith, & Holiness: A Wesleyan Systematic Theology, Beacon Hill Press, 1988
Manual of the Church of the Nazarene 2017-2021 https://nazarene.org/who-we-are/articles-faith
Thorsen, Don, An Exploration of Christian Theology, Baker Academic, 2008-2020
Umble, W. Thomas, Christology (cont), Lecture
Shannon Wells 