SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY 1 DTH 120

2017 CURRICULUM JAN-MAY SYLLABUUS

COURSE OUTLINE:

Introduction: Definition of Systematic Theology (i.e. what is theology, systematic theology,

the role of or task of theology, the division of theology (Biblica Hisprica practical etc)
sources of theology i.e. Bible, traditions of our churches, experience, culture.

Revelation:- General and specific. Problem of religious language (related to divine being
generated from doctrine of God because God is incorporeal infinite, timeless – our language
does not apply to **

Doctrine of the trinity: Noting first of all that the three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit are
all divine. Divinity of Jesus, Divinity of the Holy Spirit. The conten* of Trinitarian Doctrine
i.e. One God is the* God is a diversity God as a unity, the importance of the doctrine of
trinity to othe Christian faith and life, the doctrine of trinity in history i.e. pre-reformed period
(Tertulia AD 160-220 AD) Iranaeus 175-195 (Economic Trinity), Origen Council of Nicae
325 AD, Cappadician fathers. Augustine, Medieval Time (Thomas Aquinas, Reformed Era,
Enlightment Age of Reason, Modern Trinitarian (Karl Barth 1886-1968.

The Doctrine of Creation and the fall: Biblical presentation of creation (Biblical
account of Creation: Creation ex-nihilo, creation of humanity: Adam and Eve). Creation and
Science (Darwin’s Evolutionary Theology, Theistic Evolutionary Theory (pre-existent of
matter). Antimatter i.e. what is antimatter and how does it relate to the Biblical creation? The
Big Bang mystery, how scientists did it? Other creation: creation of time, the Age of the
Earth (old earth and young earth theories), synthesis of Biblical (Creation ex-nihilo) and
scientific creation (process), the significance of the doctrine of creation. Relaionship between
God and creation. The providence and preservation*

The Nature of Fall and Sin. The Genesis account of the fall of mankind Gen 3:1-7 (The
literal view, The mythical view, the historical view). What is the tree of knowledge? Why did
God make a tree of knowledge of Good and Evil at all? Biblical foundations for sin: Old
Testament and New Testament Extent of sin, transmission of sin (Different view, Realism,
federatism, pelagius view), the effects of sin/ the problem of evil.

The Doctrine of Providence.Scriptural proof of providence, general and special providence,

God’s providence and evil. So, where did evil come from? Attempted explanation by some
scholars on the origin of evil i.e. Iranean Theodily. Conclusion: How does God respond to
evils in the world.

The Doctrine of Christology and Soteriology.

1. The person and work of Christ.

a) Christ’s divinity and humanity and how they are related.

The controversies that led to the two nature doctrine and an account of that doctrine.

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b) Kenotic Christology.
c) Significance of Christ’s birth, teaching and miracles.
d) The atonement itself, centering particularly on His death, classical historical theories:
Christus Victor, Recapitulation, Anselm and Calvin, Abelard, Modern Moral Influence
theories.
e) The nature and significance of the resurrection and ascension.
f) Modern views of the person and work of Christ. Christ as a liberator.

The Doctrine of Soteriology. Introduction statements:

a) The Atonement.
b) The Biblical word for atonement (propitiation, Redemption, Justification, Reconciliation.
c) The Christus Victor Theory of the Atonement.
d) Recapitulation.
e) Anselm and the satisfaction theory.
f) Calvin’s Restatement of Anselm’s theory of atonement.
g) Peter Abelard and the Moral Influence theory. Contemporary understanding of salvation
and comparison with other religions.
h) Modern moral theories. Salvation in other religions, Inclusivist, Pluralist, Exclusivist.

Bibliography

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 SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY 1 DTH 120

What is systematic Theology?

Theology is a Greek word coined from two words ‘Theos’ meaning God and ‘Logos’
meaning ‘word’ or ‘speak’ hence meaning of theology is talking about God or simply ‘God
talk’.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle introduced the word when he referred to the speech of poets
about divine things. Later on it came to mean the stories about gods. Christians picked the
word from Greek philosophers and gave it a Christian meaning and content.

During the centuries, two kinds of understanding of the word Theology developed with the
result that today we use this word in a broader and narrower sense.

In broader sense, theology means all the intellectual activities which are taking place in the
Christian Church e.g. Theology of prayer, Church order, theology of preaching, etc.

Systematic Theology deals with beliefs and teachings.

In patristic age, i.e. 2nd -8th Century, theology was understood as ‘queen of the Science’. The
task was to present the Doctrine of God.

Systematic Theology is any study that answers the question what does the whole Bible teach
us today about any given topic.

Systematic Theology deals with collecting and understanding, all the relevant assages in the
Bible on various topics and then summarizing their teachings clearly so that we know what to
believe about each topic.

Systematic Theology answers the question what the Bible teach us today.

Why should a Christian study Theology?

1. Systematic Theology organizes Bible teachings or explanations more clearly than th

Bible itself, for example; What does the Bible teach about the fall, man, God, Holy
Spirit, prayer, etc. Teach others effectively. Teach ourselves. Fulfill the Great
Commission.
2. Studying Theology helps us to overcome our wrong ideas.
3. It helps us make better decisions on questions that may arise.

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 4. Helps us grow spiritually as Christians.

Task and Necessity of Theology.

1. Theology is most vital function of the Church.

 Through it, the Church expresses a fresh ** the content of her.
 It is the intellectual, spiritual function of the Church.
 The generating factor is the Holy Spirit.
2. Theology is the task of the Church. This means that valid genuine theology can be
done only within the community of the Church.
3. Through theology, the Church understands the word of God a new. The emphasis here
is the word a new, new revelation of God to modern man.
4. Theology finds us a way as the defenders ** Christians from non Christianity,
philosophers and other religions.

The Church is like a ship on the main seas and it is the task of theologians to steer it towards
a safe place which is the Kingdom of God. The engine is theology and the fuel is the Holy
Spirit. Through theology, the Holy Spirit becomes the driving force of the ship of the Church.

Divisions of Theology

Mainly divided into four areas: Biblical, Historical, Theological and Practical.

i) Biblical: Involves introductions which consists of historical and critical exegesis,

Biblical Theology i.e. (O.T. and N.T.)
ii) Historical: Consists of Church history (sub-apostolic patristic, medieval, reformation,
ecumenical, history of doctrine, symbolic creeds.
iii) Theology: Includes philosophical theology, Systematic Theology (God’s creation and,
Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Eschatology etc).
iv) Practical: This includes ethics, sin and forgiveness, morals, prayers, sacraments.

Theology is the Science (a body of organized knowledge with its own subject matter,
categories and appropriate methods of study of God and His relation to all things. Christian
Theology treats all things as they are related to God and divine purposes. The fact in being
the explanation of the divine relations in the substance.

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Sources of Theology.

J. Macquarie in his book Principles of Theology calls their formative factors. He outlines six
sources of Theology:

i) Religious experience.
ii) Tradition.
iii) Scriptures.
iv) Culture.
v) Revelation.
vi) Reason.

i) Religious (Religion) Experience.

 Theology implies participation in a religious** faith.
 Our experience of faith comes from participation in a community of faith.
 Trying to “make sense” through participation, reflectionand expression.
ii) Tradition.
 The Old Testament and New Testament were written in a particular cultural
context i.e. Old Testament Jewish and New Testament Gentiles and Romans.
iii) Scripture.
 Written record of the past (memories). Holy and sacred writings of the
community of faith. Scripture provides for the community a kind of memory
by which it can reach back to and recall his past.
iv) Culture.
 Passed through Greek (Gk) and Hebrew culture.
v) Revelation.
 Two types; general revelation and special revelation.
vi) Reason.
 Theology is not blind. We believe and think. Our emphasis of reason
eliminates the experience of divine providence of miracles and other faith
experience. Faith and reason: - they must go hand-in-hand.
 The knowledge of God in Christ Jesus in the gift of His revelation.
 A believer must think what is involved.

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  It is the duty of Christian thinkers to guide the work of the community in
Theology.

Religious Language.

 The problem of religious language arise from the awareness of inadequacy of

language to express religious concepts. The language of religion and Theology uses
modes of discourse in which language is stressed beyond its normal usages.
 Religious language is spoken of in such terms as mythological, symbolic, analytical,
paradoxical etc.
 Nature of language: Language is ultimately symbolic. It is a system of assigning
meaning to sounds of gestures, the written form of a secondary; in which the sign
represents the meaning.
 Religious use: Religion uses language but it’s not limited in language for faith is
expressed in ritual acts, deeds, music, dance, silence, etc.
 Problems caused by religious language, about descriptive terms which are applied to
God. e.g. **treat in the word, does it mean that God occupies a large volume of
space? When it says God spoke to Joshua, it is not meant that God has a physical
body. Terms like good, loving, forgive, hears, speaks, god is said to be without body,
passions etc.

There are three uses of language:

i) Expressive language e.g. prayer, preaching, and blessing.

ii) Impressive language e.g. teaching, preaching and exhortation.
iii) Reflective language; analysis, definition.

Language is necessary and expresses the knowledge gained by religious institution,

experience and revelation.

Biblical Language

Literary forms used in Scripture include parable whose purpose is to teach a spiritual truth
e.g. the lost sheep, the lost coin, mustard seed.

Allegory: An interpretation of a Biblical narration in which every detail has mystical or

spiritual significance e.g. parable of the sower (Mk 4:10-20)

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Myth: A dynamic narrative in which supernatural agents acts nd give a revelation of religious
truth especially cosmology, soteriological and eschatological e.g. (Creation 1 and 2).
Typology: a special use of Theology in New Testament is typology. The Old Testament
figure is a type e.g. Jonah of resurrection, Melchizedek is a type of Christ.

Legend: This is a narrative based upon a hero and after exaggerated e.g. Samson, Jonah.

Epic: a kind of poem centred on a divine hero.

Paradoxical: Religion is sometimes paradoxical e.g. light and darkness, life and death etc.

What are the roles and tasks of Systematic Theology.

Roles.
 To relate the individual to universe and vice versa.
 To relate the individual to God and vice versa.
 To explain the relationship between God and the world e.g. how He acts in the world
or how He is immanent** and transcendent.
 Must show how God relate to world e.g. how He’s Father of all. For this doctrine of
revelation and inspiration is relied on.
 Has a role of making a systematic sense of how God is in Himself.
 Must make sense of history by seeing its consummation in salvation of the world/
eschatology.

Tasks.
Theology must give sense and meaning to the Christian or religious faith as a whole. It does
this through performing the following tasks;
i) Understanding or explaining Christian faith; 1Cor 14:20.
ii) Communicate the Christian faith, through preaching, Bible Study, teaching etc.
iii) Missionary outreach and evangelism. For effective work, theology must equip not
only how to evangelize, but also how to reach people from different cultural
backgrounds and religions.
iv) Cognitive: Truth is always complex and dynamic but people can be happy to base
their beliefs on truth. Theology must bring out this truth.
v) Apologetic: Defend the faith from heresies, misinterpreting the Bible, confronting
heresies.
vi) Hermeneutical purpose. The art of interpreting the Bible.

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 vii) Provide content and guidance to pastoral work.
viii) Separating the Word from words.

Theology as Science.
 Analyzes, compares and reflects.
 Concerned with accuracy, coherent and consistency.
 Theology does not uncritically accept everything into the Christian faith.
 Theology not self-conscious about its method but gives an account of these methods
e.g. in formulation of any doctrine a thorough research is always done.

Theology not Science.

 Theology does not necessarily use the universal Science methods, that which
scientists would accept.
 Theology cannot be experimented in a lab like science.
 The certitude of theology is authoritative not just mere reason like the case of science.
 The Bible is the main source of reason that concerns conviction of the Holy Spirit
which** one cannot proof.
 Unlike science which is art of experiment, observation and then reasoning, theology is
conviction and revelation of the Holy Spirit. They are very significant.

Hence theology is science of its own kind. – Thomas Acquinas.**

Who was Thomas Aquinas?

THE DOCTRINE OF GOD AND ESPECIALLY OF THE TRINITY.

WHO IS GOD?
It is difficult to give a definition of God because it’s central to own experience and
knowledge.
God is the Supreme Being whose existence is implied in and accounts for the universe and all
its phenomena including man and his intellectual, moral and spiritual nature.

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Article of religion (39 – Common Prayer book of 1662) unites God’s attributes them**
“There is but one living and true God, everlasting, of infinite power, wisdom and goodness,
maker, provider.

The revised catechism (1962) Church of England, from the creeds believe in one God, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, who is the creator and ruler of the universe and He made all things for
all His glory.

The Catechism of instruction (1928 – the American prayer book defines God in terms of the
activity of the person of the God-head. Believe in God the Father, who made all the world, in
God the Son who redeemed me and all mankind, in God the Holy Ghost who sanctifies me
and all the people and praise and magnify saying glory to the Father, to the Son and to the
Holy Ghost as it was from the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.”

Basic ideas of God.

1. God is the object of Religion that which men turn to worship a higher self which can
be known and loved to which we turn in times of need. Holy and superior to all else.
2. Source of all that is good. (sum of all values).
3. Source of ground of all reality – that which everything else in the universe depends,
that which explain all that is or can be, the reality behind the real thing ultimate
reality, self-existent.
The God whom Christians worship is real and good and personal.

Divine attrbutes of God.

Essential attributes:
a) Self – existence: I am Ex 3:14.
b) Infiniliness: Not limited by anything other than Himself.
c) Inscrutability: our limited human mind cannot completely understand.
d) Unity: one in three different senses of oneness.
e) Simplicity: God’s substance is all in one kind. He cannot be divided into parts. The
doctrine of Trinity maintains the simplicity of asserting that the person possesses fully
one individual divine substance.
f) Spirituality: God is a living incorporeal Spirit. Because His substance is spiritual, is
not limited by time and space.
g) Eternity: infinite from point of view of time.
h) Perfection.

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Relative Attributes:

a) Omnipresence: God of all present.

b) Omniscience: All knowing.
c) Omnipotence: God in all powerful.

The Proof for The Existence of GOD.

a) The ontological proof (branch of philosophy dealing with nature of existence).
 Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) was the first theologian to raise the
question of proof for existence of God.
 He put forward ontological proof for the existence of God. The argument was
that nothing greater could be thought of than God, consequently, He cannot
exist only in man’s understanding but He must exist in reality which is greater
than which can be conceived of exist both in man’s understanding and in
reality.
 This theory was praised by some groups and rejected by others. Kant rejected
while Begel** praised it.
 Gaunito, a French monk argued that he could imagine a perfect island, but this
did not mean that this perfect island really exists.
 Kant also sharply criticized the ontological argument saying that just because
one thinks he has a hundred dollars in the bank, does not mean that he actually
has this money.
Consequently, the idea of God does not prove the existence of God.
b) Cosmological proof:
Thomas Aquinas, the greatest Medieval theologian put forward five proofs. Aristotle
also joined in.
i) Derived from motion:
Moving thing is moved by another. Men can’t **tress thus line end; must be
“unmoved” mover the first mover who is God.
ii) Series of causes:
It is unimaginable that one cause caused **be the cause for itself. A cause has
an effect on other things.
If we trace ** of effects and causes we can’t do this indefinitely at least we
arrive at the first cause which can’t be other than God.

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 iii) Human beings live and then perish, should be a being who gives temporary
life.
iv) Degree of perfection:
There are grades of perfection, one is more beautiful than the other. There
should be one most perfect, most true from which many draw perfection.
v) Unintelligent beings, i.e. animals without knowledge, man can’t explain this
rules we agree that there is a Being (God)** who cares for them and directs
them towards end.
c) Teleological Proof.
Golf Friend W. Leibnis herman** philosopher developed an argument for existence
of God. In his work “Theodicea” known as Teleological argument from Greek word
Telos: purpose. This conside** from the memory, beauty and purposiveness of the
world that there must be a supreme intelligence, a necessary being God who once
created a perfect world and now govern it.
d) The Moral Proof.
Immanuel Kant, the famous herman idealist philosopher dealt in depth with the
question of traditional proof for the existence of God.
According to Kant, the existence of God can’t be proved by speculative reason
because God is not a part of the world which cognitive ability can deal with.
His** proof is based on moral law. All human beings can discern between right and
wrong and also possess an inner sense of obligation to do the right and avoid the
wrong.
e) Historical Proof.
According to this the history of mankind demonstrates that mankind in all ages has
worshipped a God or gods, deities or higher beings.

Grounds for disbelief in God.

1. Sociological Theory of Religion.
Developed by French sociologists
It refers to this power and suggests that the gods we worship are imaginary beings,
fabricated by society.
2. Freudian Theology of Religion.
Regarded religious beliefs as illusions fulfillments of the older, strongest and most
insistent wishes of mankind.
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 Freud saw religion as a major defense against earthquake, flood, storm, disease and
death.
i) Atheism.
 Denial of God’s existence.
 Derived from Greek word “Atheos” which means without God.
ii) Agnosticism.
 Doctrine that material phenomena can be subject of teal knowledge and
that all knowledge of such things as divine being, immortality and
supernatural world is impossible.
iii) Theism.
 Opposite of Atheism, Pantheism, Agnosticism and Deism.
 It is a belief that God exists who is personal, transcendent and creator of
all there is, who preserves and governs the universe.
iv) Pantheism.
 Derived from the Greed words Pan and Theos. Pan means everything,
Theos means God. The term means that God is the whole universe and
the whole universe is God.
v) Deism.
 Comes from Latin word Deus meaning God.
 God is only the creator with no further interests in the world.
 He created the world and later abandoned it to its own destiny.
vi) Monism.
This is a philosophical word describing form of philosophy which seeks to
explain, all there is in terms of a single reality.

Transcendence and immanence.

 The term means detachment as self-existent from His creatures. The opposite is His
immanence, His nearness and perrasion** of everything organic and inorganic.
 Both are true, God is far removed from man in his essential being. He is external is the
world** and His creatures as the sovereign creator and judge of the world. But at the
same time, He is in all things and in Him all things exist.
 God is in above and outside all that He has made.
 There is an ultimate distinction taught in scripture between the creator and the creatures.

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 God is independent of creation, creation** is dependent upon God.

Relationship of God in Creation.

 The basic distinction is that belief in transcendence without belief in immanence is
deism.
 Belief in both transcendence and immanence is theism.
 Belief in immanence without belief in transcendence is Pantheism.
 Christian believers must have a balanced view of God. God is greater than our
understanding of Him.

The doctrine of trinity.

 The doctrine of the Trinity was developed in the first four centuries as an explanation of
the Christian experience summarized in the grace; 2Cor 13:14.
 The purpose of the Trinity is to guard the experience of God as creator, redeemer and
sanctifier from mis-interpretation and reproduce the experience in every generation.
Christians are baptized in the Trinity. The life given by the Trinity can grow in each
Christian.
Biblical Bases of the Doctrine
 Trinity is based upon the experience of God in Christianity.
 The Christian is known by the action of the Holy Spirit in the heart.
 Christian is revealed by God.
 Christian is witnessed to by Scripture.

Scriptural Basis
1. One God Dt 6:14; Mk 12:29.
2. Father is God, Jn 6:27.
3. Son is God Jn 1:1.
4. Holy Spirit is God Mk 3:29.
5. The Three are separate (Mk 1:10-11)
6. Father is personal (Jn 15:9)
7. Son is personal (Mk 14: 62)

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 8. The Holy Spirit is personal
9. The Three are One Mt 28:19.
Economic of the Trinity (How the Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate to divine purpose)
1. Father is creator.
2. Son is the redemption.
3. Holy Spirit is the sanctification.
Christianity versus Trinity.
1. Father stands above us.
2. The Son stands with us.
3. The Holy Spirit stands in us.
Divine Mona
1. Father is first because the Son and Holy Spirit proceed from Him.
2. The Son is second (begotten of the Father alone).
3. The Holy Spirit is third because He proceeds from the Father and through the Son.
Types of Analogies.
1. Triangle – Unity made of the essential complementary parts.
2. Water – ice, liquid and steam.
3. Human – intellect, emotion and will.
They are all useful to show how a thing can express a diversity and unity in its nature.
Old testament bases.
1. Use of Elohim (plural).
2. Let us make man in our own image (Gen 1:26)
3. Symbolism of three angels Gen 16:7-13; **18; 19:1-28.
4. Let us go down Gen 11:7
5. The three fold “Holy” as the Seraphim (Isa 6)
6. Isaiah’s vision of God.
7. The three fold Aaron’s priestly blessing.
New testament revelation.
1. New Testament teaching insists the Lord our God is one Lord, Deut 6:4
2. The Shennah repeated by our own Lord (Mk 12:29)
Dogmatic statement.
 God is one in essence, substance (ousia) and nature.

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  In all His attributes and in unity there are three persons: The Father, the Son, the Holy
Spirit.
The truths involved here are:
a) Unity of essence.
b) The three fold personal/ subsistence.
c) The three persons have a right to ve acknowledged as possessing the divine substance
and being co-equal, co-eternal.
d) They are distinct though not separate.
 The Father is not the Son, though not the Holy Spirit, neither the Holy Spirit the
Father nor the Son.
 The persons are not separate individuals for they exist in and possess one and the
same eternal unique and indivisible nature.

THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY.

In understanding the doctrine of the Trinity, we need to first of all note the following:-

The Three; Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all divine as we see from the following texts;

Jesus’ Divinity.
a) He’s referred as Lord – a title which was specifically reserved for God; Rom 10:9;
Phil 2:9**-11; Heb 1:10; Rev 19:16.
b) Jesus is described with Old Testament passages formerly applied to Yahweh e.g. Isa
45:23; Ph**2:10; Ps 10:2-25; Heb 2:10; Joel 2:28.
c) Involved in Divine words as forgiving sin Mk 2:10. Creation Heb 1:10. Judging Rev
22:12.
d) Christ equalized with God Phil**2:6; Jn 1:18; Heb 1:3; **Cor 1:19.
e) Christ transcends time or his pre-existence. Jn 1:1; 17:1; Heb 7:25; Rev 1:17; 2:8;
22:13.
f) Christ becomes a centre of sacrament Mt 8:19-20; Baptism; doxology 2Pet 3:18; Rev
1:5; Prayer; Acts 7:59; 1Cor 16:22;
g) Subject of worship Heb 1:6; Jn 14:1; Rev 5:13; 7:10.

Divinity of the Holy Spirit.

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What is promised as a gift is not the third person in the trinity, but Holy Spirit from this third
person.
a) The Holy Spirit is called God. Acts 5:3.
b) Performs divine functions like;
 Judging – John 16:**8-11.
 Pours out the love of God – Rom 5:5.
 Gives joy - **14:17.
 Gives hope – Acts 8:17-25.
 Gives peace - **Acts 8:6.
 Regeneration – Jn 3:5.
 Gives faith – 2Cor 12:9
Can be blasphemed (Mk 3:29), Lk 12:10 injuring someone divine.
The Holy Spirit is intimately joined with Christ and with God. Mt 28:19; Rom
14:17ff; Gal 3:11-14; 2Cor 1:21ff; 1Pt 1:2 – cannot combine a force with persons.

the content of Trinitarian doctrine.

1. God is One. There is but one God. Christians are not polytheists for they know that
the God they worship is strong enough and does not require the help of other gods.
We only have one divine essence. The God we know and He on** confessed by
Biblical faith community is still the Old Testament Yahweh.
2. God is Three. The one God is in three; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each of the three
is divine, sharing together in and together constituting the one divine essence.
The one God is not an undifferentiated solitary oneness but consists in a multiplicity
the three members of the Trinity. In fact, there is no God but the triune God. God is
non-other than Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The divine threeness is not merely a matter of our perception of theos (Ɵ), nor are we
speaking of God as he chooses to appear to us.
The threeness of the one God is eternal. Threeness is the way Ɵ actually is in his
essential being.
Threeness belongs to the essence of God.
Trinitarian distinctions are eternal, and not merely external to the eternal divine
reality.

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 Consequently, the distinctions within the one God are ontological – there are three –
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who together comprise the one God, the Son and the
Holy Spirit would ultimately declared,** we could not participate in salvation.
Because the threeness of the One God is ontological, it is also functional and
economic – it belongs to the workings of the One God in the world.
Just as there are three who together comprise the One God through all eternity, so also
there are three Father, Son and Holy Spirit who are at work in the world bringing
about the one divine programme for creation.
Circumcession** – in the Trinity is that the person by their reason of their common
and individual essence (Their divinity) exist in each other not as part of a large whole
but as equally possessing the God-head each person by Himself is God, and Lord and
in each person the divine exist in inseparable unity but without confusion.
God is a diversity.
The doctrine of Trinity means that the one God is differentiated and hence is a diversity
within unity.
These differentiations are eternal and are internal to His nature i.e. Father, Son and Holy
Spirit actually belong to the divine essence throughout eternity but they constitute actual
diversity in the one God.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are different from each other and in the one God they
differentiate themselves from each other.
These differentiations constitute a diversity which is both ontological and economical.
Theologians have viewed the ontological differentiations in terms of a double movement
within the one God.
They have described this movement by appeal to two terms i.e.
a) Generation.
b) Procession.

These terms are, of course metaphorical attempts to put in human worlds the ineffable
essence of God. However, they seek to assist us in reflecting on the nature of the God we
have come to know.

Generation offers a means to differentiate the Father and the Son. The Son is generated by the
Father.

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The procession facilities our differentiation of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son.
Hence the first member generates, the second is generated, the third proceeds.

Each of the three members fulfills a role in the One divine program i.e.

 Father – creator,
 Son – redemption,
 Holy Spirit – personal divine power, active in the kingdom. The completer of the
divine will and program.

God as a unity.
In the doctrine of Trinity, we affirm that although differentiated from each other, both
ontologically and functionally, the three Trinitarian persons comprise a unity that entails
diversity.
The divine unity is both ontological and economic.

The economic unity of the three Trinitarian members means that despite their varying
functions in the one divine program, all are involved in every area of God’s working in the
world.

The divine activity is characterized by co-operation among the three.

The importance of the doctrine of trinity to the Christian faith and life.
a) Avoiding Dualistic Traps.
Assumes that God is remote from the world and that the devil at least as active in and
responsible for the state of the world. The Trinitarian God is a God who is not remote but
active in the world.
b) God’s Love.
The threeness of God is also the basis of the fundamental assertion that God is love. God
is not a lonely God who needs thee creation as an object for His love. As Trinity, God is
fulfilled in Himself and does not need to create or redeem creation and redemption are
acts of sheer grace, expressions of God as free eternal love.
c) A Full God.
The Trinitarian God is not a small God confined to one man’s mind. He’s not a small God
who is unable to control evil in the world in the end who is not sovereign over events, on

16
 the contrary He’s a full God abounding in mercy and all creatures including the angels are
under Him. He is sovereign over every event in the world.
d) The Economic Trinity.
It is in the doctrine of trinity that we learn how God relates to us and the universe as a
whole. God is concerned and works in redeeming, preserving and even uniting the
creatures to Himself.

Conclusion
The fact that in this doctrine there are difficulties which burst through the simple formulae
constructed out of the raw materials of our human experience is in one sense entirely
predictable since God is the transcendent Lord of all being. Indeed if we did not encounter
deep mysteries in God’s nature there would be every reason for suspicion concerning the
Bible claims. For all its difficulty, the Trinity is simply the price to be paid for having a God
who is great enough to command our worship and service.

How are these three one God.

 Their will is united.
 Their nature is exactly the same.
 Their work is perfectly co-ordinated.
 Their existence is from one cause (Father).

Analogy – Father, Son and Holy Spirit are to Godhead or Godness what Peter, James and
John are to manhood. However, this analogy is not perfect for cannot compare human beings
with the Being itself.

How are the three divine not three Gods?

The three divine persons are despite appearances and considerations of language only one
God i.e. they are instances of exhibitions of exactly one ineffable divine nature.

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are also One in will, source and work.

Gregory showed that he conceived of Father, Son and Holy Spirit as personally distinct
agents whose superlative mystery of oneness or inness.

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The doctrine of trinity in history;
Pre-reformation period.
The Jews of Jesus’ day strongly emphasized the unity of god and this emphasis was carried
over into the Christian Church.
The result was that some ruled out the personal distinctions in the God-head altogether while
others failed to recognize the essential Deity of the second and third person of the trinity.

a) Tertulian 160-220AD.
First person to use the Trinity and to formulate the doctrine.
God is not really alone for He had with Him the world, which He possessed within
Himself.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three manifestations of a single indivisible power.
The three are not seperated but distinct.
b) Iranaeus 175-195**AD Economic Trinity
By economy – how does God organize Himself in relation to the world.
To Iranaeus, the Holy Spirit and the Son are the two hands of God, they are the vehicles
of His self revelation.
They work together in order to reveal God to us.
c) Origen.
Taught that the Son is subordinate to the Father in respect to essence and that the Holy
Spirit is subordinate to the Son.
He detracted from the essential deity of these two persons in the God-head and furnished
a stepping stone to Arians who denied the deity of the Son and Holy Spirit, by
representing the Son as the first creature of the Father and Holy Spirit as the first creature
of the Son.
The three persons in the God-head was made to differ in rank so as to preserve the unity
of God.
d) Council of Nicea 325AD
The Church provoked by the teaching of Arius began to formulate its doctrine of the
Trinity in the fourth Century.
Arthanasius argued persuasively that the deity of the Son is necessitated by Soteriology.
If Jesus is not fully God, we do not truly receive salvation, for in salvation we participate
in the divine nature. The Word was made man in order that we might be made divine.
At the first council of Nicea, then the Church affirmed the full divinity of Christ.

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 The Son was homousier** with the Father i.e. of one substance with the Father.
To them, the Son had no beginning in time because He had always existed with the
Father.
They placed the Son, next to the Father, as being fully divine.
After the council of Nicea, another debate ensued on whether the Holy Spirit is fully
divine or not.
Some thinkers and the Church leaders had followed Arius teaching that the Holy Spirit is
less divine, and had a beginning in time.
Once again, Arthanasius teaching provided the foundation to meet the challenge.
He noted that the Holy Spirit is placed on equal footing with the Father and the Son in the
baptismal formulas, apostolic benedictions and Trinitarian doxologies found in the New
Testament.
He continued to show that the deity of the Holy Spirit is necessitated by Soteriology. If
the Spirit who enters our hearts as believers is not actual Spirit of God, then we have no
true community with god. If we are made sharers of the divine nature through our
partaking of the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is divine.
The second Council of Constantinople in 381AD agreed with Arthanasius and affirmed
the full deity of the Holy Spirit.
From this point, the orthodox understanding of God would need to view all the three
persons i.e. Father, Son and Holy Spirit as fully divine.
However, while the council of Nicea and Constantinople declared the full divinity of the
Son and the Spirit along with that of the Father, the creeds did not answer the question as
to how the three comprise the one God.
e) Cappadocian Fathers
The challenge of devising an understanding of the relationship among the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit was accepted by three theologians known as the Cappadocian Fathers i.e.
Basil of Caesaria, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazanzus.
Their efforts gave birth to what became the classic formulation of the doctrine of Trinity.
Tried to find a middle ground between two dangerous heresies i.e.
i) Tritheism – belief in three gods.
ii) Sabellianism or Modalism – belief that the three persons are merely models of
revelation of the only one God (Father).
In their formulation, found two Greek synonyms helpful i.e.
 Ousia – essence.
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  Hypostasis – centre of consciousness or independent reality.

Declared that God is one ousia, but within the one God, there are three hypostasis.

The three independent realities share the same will, nature and essence, yet each has
special properties or activities.

Maintained the subordination of order or dignity within the one divine reality ranking; the
Father first, then the Son and then the Holy Spirit, connected in this order with special
functions of each of the three i.e.

 The Father – generates,

 The Son - is generated,
 The Holy Spirit – proceeds.

Subordination in order does not lead to a subordination of essence among the three
persons. On the contrary, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are equally divine.

f) Augustine
According to Augustine, the doctrine of Trinity is implied right from Genesis 1:26ff when
God says let us create man in our own image.
He argues that as the scriptures indicate there are three persons in the God-head but only
one God.
The three persons are Father, Son and Holy Spirit who share a unity of will.
None of the three persons is less God and none is superior to the other.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not to be imagined as merely three faculties of one divine
person for each is living. More lacks perception or understanding.** All possess every
divine capacity.
To Augustine, the three persons are not separate although for our own understanding we
can talk about them as they are separate.
The three are distinguished according to generation and procession so that the Father is
not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit.
Augustine sees Trinity as the inner relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He
expresses the Father as the lover, the Son as the loved and the Holy Spirit as love.
What he is saying in essence is that there is unity in Trinity and there is trinity in unity.
g) Medieval Time.

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 Scholars were not very much interested in the doctrine. Nothing much added to the
classical formulation.
h) Thomas Aquinas.
There are three subsistenes or persons in God.
They are relationally distinguished according to the two movements of generation and
procession which Aquinas understood as the divine acts of understanding and willing or
word and love.
Each person is his own relation and each person is identical with the whole divine essence
for everything which is not the divine essence is a creature.
Although the persons are somehow identical, there is still relational or logical destination.
Illustration – William thinks of himself through the thinker and the one thought of are
identical, they are relational or logically distinct since the thinker is an active subject and
the one thought of is a passive – object. Such destinations are real.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit could be said to be really distinct if relationally distinct.
i) Reformation Era.
The reformers such as Martin Luther Calvin etc. were too busy reforming the Church that
they had no time for the doctrine of the Trinity.
Luther disliked philosophical terms like Trinity, which had formed the basis for
controversy in the Church. He concentrated on practical issues affecting the Church.
j) Enlightenment – Age of Reason.
They valued doctrines which could be proved through reason.
Because the doctrine of Trinity was founded on special revelation and not in the general
revelation accessible to all through reason, it was cast aside as a relic of a superstitious
past.
According to Schermacher, the Trinity is not an immediate utterance concerning the
Christian self-consciousness. In other words, the doctrine of Trinity is not very important
for our Christian lives. He placed it as an appendix of his work.
Was supported by other liberal theologians like Ritschl, Harnulk **Strauss Bushnell,
Clerke, Brown etc.
k) Modern Trinitarianism; Karl Barth (1886-1908)
The liberal theologians lost their dominance with the rise of Karl Barth who did his best
to revive the doctrine.
He places it very much in the foreground, discussing it in connection with the doctrine of
revelation and denotes 220 pages of his dogmatics to it.
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 Materially, he derives the doctrine from scripture, but formally and logically he finds that
it is involved in the simple sentences “God speaks”. He is the revealer (Father),
Revelation (Son) and revealedness (Holy Spirit). He reveals Himself, He is the Revelation
and He is also the content of Revelation.
God and His revelation are identified.
He remains God, also in His revelation, absolutely free and sovereign.
However, he recognizes three persons in the God-head and does not allow for any
subordination for he says “thus to the same God who is unimpaired unity is Revealer,
Revelation and Revealedness, and is also ascribed in unimpaired variety in Himself
precisely this threefold mode of being.
Other 20th Century scholars who have

THE DOCTRINE OF CREATION AND THE FALL

Creation in General
 The Christians explain creation in terms of Exnihilo and a free act of God.
 The doctrine was accepted from the start e.g. Justin Martyr, Iranaeus, Tertullian,
Clement of Alexandria, Origen and others.
 Clement and Origen thought of creation as having been accomplished in a single
indivisible moment.
 The Church fathers always had a view that God wa always a creator, though the
created universe began in time.
 During the Trinitarian controversy some of them emphasized the fact that the
generation of the Son, which was necessary act of the Father, the creation of the world
was a free act of the triune God.
 Augustine dealt with the work of creation more than the others. He argues that
creation was eternally the work of God, there was no time before creation since the
world was brought into being with time rather than in time. The question what God
did before creation is based on a misconception of eternity.
 While the Church has always believed that the world was created in six days,
Augustine suggested a some-what different view. He strongly defended the doctrine
of creation, ex-nihilo, distinguished two moments of creation. The production of
matter and spirits out of nothing. God created all things in a moment of time and the
idea of days was introduced to aid the finite intelligence.

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Scriptural proof for the doctrine of creation.
1. Passages which stress the omnipotence of God in creation (Isa 40:26-28; Amos 4:13)
2. Passages which point to His exaltation above nature; Ps 90:2; 102:26,27; Acts 17:24;
3. Passages which refer to the wisdom of God; Isa 40:12-14; Jer 10:12-16, Jn1:3
4. Passages that speak of purpose of creation; Isa 43:7; Rom 1:25; Col 1:16
5. Passages which speak of creation as fundamental work of God; 1Cor 11:9; Isa 42:5;
Rev 4:11, 10:6

The idea of creation.

 Faith of the church is expressed in apostolic confession of faith e.g. “I believe in God
the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth”.
 Maker of heaven and earth were not in the original form but added later.
 Create was understood in the early Church to bring “something out of nothing”.
 Wollebius defines creation is that act by which God produces the world and all that is
in it. Partly out of nothing and partly out of material that is by its very nature unfit, for
the manifestation of the glory of His power, wisdom and goodness; Amos 4:13; Ps
104:30; Isa 45:7,8; Jer 31:22
 Creation is an act of triune God. God is the author of creation. Gen 1:1; Isa 40:12;
44:24; 45:12; Son’s participation is indicated Jn 1:3; 1Cor 8:6; Col 1:15-17, Spirit
Gen 1:2, Job 26:13; Ps 104:30; 150; 40:12,13.
 Creation is a free act of God. (Necessary act of God). Eph 1:11; Rev 4:11; Job 22:2,3;
Acts 17:25. God created all things to the counsel of His will.
 Creation is temporal act of God. The Bible begins with the words “In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth, Gen 1:1. This raises the question in the
beginning of what? (work of creation). Augustine thought that the world could be
created “cum tempore” (with time) in tempore (in time) Matt 19:4,8, Mk 10:6; Jn
1:1,2 Heb 1:1.
 Difficulties: how do we fill the bland spaces before creation Gen 1:1 “Deus otio sus”
(God not active) conceived as actus purus (pure action) always working Jn 5:17, can
we say he passed from a state of inactivity to active? How is the transition from non-
creative to creative state? Why did He select that moment for His creative work.
 Suggested solution to the problem.
a) Theory of eternal creation.

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  Origen, Scotus, Ertinging say God has been creating from all eternity. Hegel,
Green claim that distinction of time and eternity is purely subjective and due
to our finite position.
 The solution must lie in getting a proper idea of the relation of eternity to time.
God is timeless existence on eternal presence. Wolleblus remarks that creation
is not the creator’s but the creatures passage from potentially to actuality.
 Creation as an act by which something is brought forth out of nothing.
b) The doctrine of creation is absolutely unique.
 There has been a lot of speculation about the origin of the world.
 Others see it as eternal, while others as spirit (Gnostics), some have
maintained that it was created out of pre-existing matter which God worked up
into form (plato) while others saw it as phenomenal appearance of the
absolute. The hidden ground of all things (pantheism). Above all the scripture
stands out clear “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.
c) Scriptural terms for “to create”
 This is pointed out in three verses namely bara, asah and yatsar used in Gen
1:26,27, 2:7. Original meaning is to split, to act, to divide, but in addition, it
also means to fashion, to create and in a more derivative sense to produce, to
generate and to regenerate.
 The idea doesn’t convey the idea of bringing forth something out of nothing as
used in Isa 45:7, Jer 31:22, Amos 4:13-**
 It is therefire in general sense doing, making, manufacturing or fashioning out
of pre-existence.
d) Meaning of the term creation out of nothing.
The expression to create or bring forth out of nothing is not fered** in scripture. It
is derived from Apocrypha namely “Mace 7:28 the idea ex-nihilo has been
misinterpreted and criticized. Some even considered nihilum (nothing) as the
designation of a certain matter out of which the world was created, a matter
without qualities, without form.
 Others took the expression to create out of nothing to mean that the world
came into being without a course and proceeded to criticize it as conflicting
with what is generally regarded as axiomatic truth ex-nilo, nihil fit (out of
nothing come nothing).

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  Martensen expressed himself in these words. The nothing out of which God
creates the world are the eternal possibilities of His will which are the sources
of all the actualities of the world.
 The scripture doesn’t represent God as bringing the world out of pre-existing
material. God is represented as calling things using His power. Other passages
Ps 33:6,9; 148:5; Heb 1:3;
 Creation gives the world a distinct, yet always dependent existence.
e) The world has a distinct existence. This means that the world is not God not any
part of God, but something absolutely distinct from God.
 God is not life or soul or inner law of the world but enjoys His own eternally
complete, life above the world, He is transcendent God, glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises, doing wonders Isa 42:5; Acts 17:21; Ps 102:27.
 The world is always dependent on God.
 God a fleo** creating the world, He didn’t withdraw from it but has remained
connected with it.
 The concept of creation reveals that God isn’t only transcendent but immanent
who is present in every part of creation and whose spirit operates in all the
world. Ps 139:7-10; Jer 23:24; Act 17:28; Ps 104:30.
 The final end of God in creation. This has been often debated upon. The
answer is in twofold:
a) The happiness of man or humility. Philosophers like Plato, Philo asserted that
the goodness of God prompted Him to create the world. He desired to
communicate Himself to His creatures.
b) The declarative glory of God. End of creation isn’t elsewhere but in God
Himself Isa 43:7; 60:21; Ez 36:21,22; Lk 2:14; Rom 9:17; 1Cor 15:28
c) Objections to the doctrine that the glory of God is the end of creation.
 It makes the scheme of universe a selfish scheme.
 It is contrary to God’s self sufficiency and independence, by seeking his
honour in this way God shows that he needs the creatures.

Theory of evolution.
The idea that matter with force as its universal and inseparable property** is acute sufficient
for the explanation of the world.

25
It is felt that material universe composed of finite (atoms, electrons) can’t be account for life
and personality for intelligence and free will.
Some evolutionists for instance Haeckel believed in existence of matter and a scribe of origin
of life to spontaneous generation. The theory lacks support today.
Divergent theories respecting the origin of the world.
i) The biblical doctrine is not the only view respecting the origin og the world, other
theories are:
a) The Dualistic Theory.
 Not always presented in the same form but in most usual self-existent God and
matter. Original matter regarded as evil (Plato, Aristotle, Gnostics)
 According to them, God is not a creator but only the framer and artificial of the
world.
 This view hold that there must have been something which the world was created
from ex-nihilo nihil fit.
 The idea that no event takes place without a cause.
 It’s representation of matter as eternal is fundamentally unsound.
b) The Emanation Theory in Various Forms.
 This theory is to the effect that the world is necessary emanation of the divine
being.
 A theory denies the transcendence of God, applying to Him as a principal of
evolution of growth and progress.
 It robs God His sovereignty by denying Him His power of self-determination.
 It compromises the holiness of God, makes God responsible for all that is taking
place in the world.

Holy spirit.
1. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit invading mysterious force or energy.
This force is seen sweeping across the water in Gen 1:2
 Gideon was an ordinary man until the Spirit of God.
 Samson in Judges 14:6 had a lot of strength even to tear a lion after the Holy
Spirit came upon Him.
2. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is associated with prophecy.
Num 24:2; 1Chr 12:18; 2Chr 24:20; 1Sam 10:10; 1Sam 10:13;

26
  The Spirit of God came upon Balaam in Num 24:2;
 When the Spirit of God came upon men of God they started prophesying; 1Sam
10:10; 1Chr 12:18; 2Chr 24:20 Zachariah; 1Sam 10:1-13 call of Saul to kingship.
 Moses and seventy elders.
In all these cases the Spirit of God communicated message to them, the message
took various forms e.g. dreams, Gen 41:38ff; Joseph, in the form of visions e.g.
Abraham Gen 15:1; Jacob in Gen 46:2
These mysterious**
3. The Holy Spirit is seen as an agent of creation Gen 1:2; Psa 104:30 when the Lord sends
out His Spirit, we are created.
4. The Spirit of God is associated with wisdom (Psa 77:6), that means life and inspires our
thinking.
5. In the Old Testament, the Spirit is associated with life of the community and individuals.
6. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is associated with miracles; 14:6; Elijah challenging
450 prophets.
7. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is associated with miracles.

The spirit in the church (N.T) today’s church.

1. The spirit of the Holy Spirit in the Church today creates unity. Eph 4: **3:4; Paul goes on
to give the examples of gifts some were made apostles, evangelist, teacher, preacher etc.
from the same Spirit. No classes of people (equality) **Sam 2:1; 1Cor 4:7; Col 3:11
2. Reconciliation: This is closely related to the concept of unity Eph 2:14. It’s the duty of
the Holy Spirit to bring down the barrier.
3. The Spirit of God makes fellowship. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit manifested
himself in fellowships e.g. 2Cor 13:13; Phil 2:1; Act 2:42 converts having accepted the
offer of forgiveness by Peter devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, breading of
bread, prayer and fellowship. The kind of fellowship provided sacrificial care and warm
feelings over one another. Act 4:32
4. The worship enables worship Act 4:24; Act 16:25; 13:14
5. Scripture: The Spirit inspires the scripture; Ps 110; Act 1:16; 4:25; 2Tim 3:16. The Holy
Spirit did not use instruments but men to speak to other men.
6. Preaching: Act 4:8; The Spirit speaks through preaching. In our preaching, there is
singing room etc, but the climax is preaching.

27
7. Sacrament: Jn 3:3; 6:53 one has to be born of water and the Holy Spirit.
8. The Spirit and Mission. Another work of the Spirit in the Church is Mission. He drives
the Church to the needy world. Act 2: 47;
9. The Spirit builds up the Body of Christ. The Corinthian Church was highly gifted
1Jn2:22. The gifts are for the use of the Church. The Spirit gives the gifts. The individual
roles can be compared with the eye, ear, leg etc. within that particular body.
10. Spirit’s Baptism: this is a theological question which has a concern. Questions to ask
ourselves.
a) Is the Spirit Baptism water Baptism? If the person has been baptized in the name
of the Trinity, then he is considered a child of God, inheritor of the kingdom and
is equipped with the Spirit of God (this is some people’s argument). They
continue to say the nature of incarnation of Christ and atonement come to us in
Baptism.
b) Is Spirit Baptism conversion? Holy Spirit is identical with conversion.

The Practical Part of The Holy Spirit under Conversion.

It is seen in human side of salvation. The work of the Holy Spirit is to justify. Justification
makes salvation possible. In the process of justification, the dominant factor here is the mercy
of God. It’s also through God’s mercy that makes justification possible. Through God’s
mercy also the Holy Spirit brings about justification.
Man’s salvation depends on how he can be true, just. i.e. without sin and rebellion before
God, the work of the Holy Spirit in man is to generate faith and hope. To bring redemptive
work.
In justification, identification takes place between God and man.
Conversion and justification are known Biblically as new birth Jn 3:3; Titus 3:5;
Justification of sinful man before God happens by faith and not by works. The process of
justification and conversion is when one says he is born again (regeneration). Regeneration is
a continuous process. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. The life of a person is made new every
day. We are made righteous by God’s own grace.
Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit. Man cannot sanctify himself. Sanctification is a
long process.

Eschatology

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This is the last and final part of Christian Theology. The word comes from the Greek word
Escatos which means last, ultimate, utmost. Eschatology as a theological discipline deals with
last things. It gives the final condition of man and the world. Eschatology deals with the
individual, Church and the world. The dominant factor in eschatology is the Holy Spirit
because by Him we receive revelation of last things. Do we have Judgement, eternal life? Our
Christian faith is future oriented. We are looking for things like resurrection, new life etc.

Eschatology in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, Eschatology is forward looking. It is centered around the day of the
Lord. There are two aspects in the day of the Lord:
i) The day of wrath and judgement Isa 7:18
ii) The day of mercy and salvation Isa 49:8
 Amos had the concept of the day of the Lord.
 Hosea suggested hope of salvation through suffering.
 Isaiah took the concept of the remnant.
 Jeremiah speaks of a new covenant Jer 31:31-34.
 Ezekiel speaks of a new heart and spirit.

Eschatology in the New Testament.

With Jesus, the Kingdom is at hand. It was both present and also in the future.
Apostle Paul talks of parousia, transformation into heavenly bodies.

Some views as by the Early Fathers

Origen – gave a spiritual meaning. Christ comes back in the souls of believers.
Augustine – the moment you receive Christ, he comes again. That is what is parousia to him.
Augustine assumed parousia would come or occur at the end of the first millennium.
C. H. Dodd – talks of realized eschatology Mk 1:15, as men and women trust and follow
Christ, they enter into the promised Kingdom Lk 17:20. The kingdom is realized in human
experience through the Holy Spirit. A Christian is a new person united with Christ in His
death, resurrection and reign of God or the new age. On the other hand, a Christian long for
deliverance, final coming of the Kingdom, **completion of his salvation and the new man in
Christ. The warfare of Christian life and suffering is because of the two ages;
i) Participating in the new messianic age.

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 ii) Existing in the old. The kingdom is still here and yet to come still. For the Christians,
the future provides guidelines for the present. The theologians are faced with two
temptations;
 If we way Christ will not come, our faith is at stake.
 If we say Christ is already here, we cannot explain.
Four things before end time comes:
 Judgement – righteous to heaven, evil to hell.
 Death.
 Heal.
 Heaven.

Judgement.
Means to wrangle, punish or to obtain justice of a person. Gen 15:15; Deut 10:18. He who
judges brings salvation, peace and deliverance especially to the oppressed and persecuted. In
the idea of judgement goes together with the last things eschaton. It is centered around the
day of the Lord. Concern**. The day of the Lord is viewed in two ways: day of wrath or
judgement Isa 7:18. It is also a day of mercy and salvation Isa 49:18
New Testament.
The idea of judgement is one of the concept inherited by Jesus. According to Him each man
will give an account of himself. Mt 16:27, 1Thes 4:16-17.
It is Christ who will judge both the dead and alive or the living. In God and Christ both will
judge the dead.

The necessity of Judgement and Punishment.

1. The wholeness of God does not tolerate sin, hence whoever doesn’t** confess his**
sin must bear its consequences.
2. The core of sin is rebellion against God’s will, and the answer is punishment.
3. Sin spoils God’s glory.
4. Moral law. If one escapes earthly judgement, there is the final judgement of justice.
Time of Judgement.
Mk 13:32 not precisely fixed by Jesus. He seems to be ignorant about it. It’s thought to be at
the end of the present world. Who is the judge at the day of Judgement?

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 i) Jesus Mt 18:32; Mt 13:30;
ii) God
iii) Apostles Lk 12:30;**
iv) Angels.
Who will be judged?
i) Foreign angels Mt 8:29
ii) Satan and demons.
iii) Human race. The believers will be spared while non-believers will suffer eternally.

A reward on judgement.
 Mt 25:46 for believers, life in abundance (eternal life).
 For the wicked: Gehena fire Mk 9:47, destruction Mt 10:28-29 (eternal condemnation)

Conclusion.
 The seriousness of judgement is to motivate Christians to become responsible people.
 The judgement will be just and convincing. Rom 3:9,19; Mt 7:1ff.
 Acts 7:31 everything with a beginning must have an end.
The four last things are:
i) Death.
ii) Hell.
iii) Judgement.
iv) Heaven.
Hell – we are told there will be fire. Mk 9:47. The rich man and Lazarus, Lk ** It will be a
matter of sheep and goats Mt 25:41, Rev 20:** Mt 25:** the virgins, Mt** 24:51. Hell is a
place of pain, suffering, torture etc. Lk 12:46,48; Mt 18:34; Paul does not talk of hell but of
eternal destruction 2Thes 1:9

Nature of Judgement.
Those who believe Christ have gone beyond Judgement Jn 5:24; those with Christ have
crossed from death to life Jn 3:18, those who don’t believe Christ are condemned already. Jn
12:48 those who do not believe in Jesus will receive judgement on the last day.
Jn 5:22 judgement has been given to Jesus.
Phil 1:21, 1Thes 4:15, Mt 27:52, 2Cor 5:1-5, 1Cor 15:51, Lk 23:43

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Death
Death is among the last four things for individuals. There is a distinction between physical
and spiritual death as in Mt 10:28 mind about who can kill both body and soul unto hell.
While physical is as a result of Gen 3. Spiritual being is as a result of Rom 8:10. Physical is
linked to Gen 3, while spiritual is linked to Rom 8:10. Mt 10: 39 Paul sees physical death as a
blessing in Phil 1:23 because he had hope in resurrection. We are to die to sin, selfishness,
etc. Christians are already dead with Christ and have already resurrected in baptism Rom 6:2;
Gal 6:14.
Spiritual death Rev 2:11 its eschatological. Spiritual death can be a reality to those who have
not received Christ. 1Cor 6:13. There is proper dying and living which leads to eternal life.
There is wrong dying and living which leads to hell.

Heaven
Is a Jewish term for the Kingdom of God. The present heaven says Rev 20:11; 21:1 will pass
away. Heaven is a common place where Christian hope to go. The word heaven may simply
for** the sky, a metaphor of height used to show the greatness and transcendent of God. It
tends to push us up there, down here relationship. It brings to our knowledge stretching to the
future.
Summary.
 The God of Christians is God Himself.
 Heaven is a metaphor of height stretches the greatness of our salvation.
 Heaven makes God the centre of salvation.
 Heaven is seen as final form of God’s kingdom and a full expression of His power.

THE NATURE OF FALL AND SIN.

The Genesis Account Of The Fall Of Mankind Gen 3:1-7

Gen 3:1-7 recounts the first sin of the human race.

The fall is the silent hypothesis of the whole Biblical doctrine of sin and redemption but how
do we interpret Gen 3:1-7.

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a) The Literal View.
Sees the Genesis record as a direct historical description. This is the most widely
accepted position in the Church over the centuries and continues to have many sincere
defenders.
It is less frequently adopted today even among those who unquestionably
acknowledge the full inspiration of scriptures.
b) The Mythical View.
Rejects any historical element and treats the Genesis story as a religious picture which
conveys important truths about man and his moral condition.
It’s not about the origin of sin but about its essence. Barth and Brunner.
Rejection of any historical elements leaves human sin totally unexplained and also
redemption, etc.
c) The Historical View.
Asserts that while Gen 2 and 3 are not to be interpreted in a literal sense at every
point, space **time events are certainly being recounted.
The Bible comments on the fall as an event (Rom 5:12), locates Eden precisely (Gen
2:10-14) and sets Adam in man’s historical continuity with Abraham and Israel (Gen
4:1; 5:4)
The fall was a real event in man’s moral history.
Once human moral failure is admitted and the empirical evidence for that is
impressive enough in all conscience, then that tendency in man must have had a
starting point in time.
There occurred a first distinct act of rebellion on against known moral norms, in this
case the will of God. The origin of sin was therefore, dateable in relation to the whole
sequence of human events.
Rom 5:12ff Paul uses the fall as the counterpoint for an exposition of Christ’s work of
redemption.
The effects of the one i.e. first sin of Adam are undone by one act of righteousness.
It is impossible to sustain this parallel between the work of Adam and the work of
Christ if the fall as a space-time event is denied.

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 What is the tree of knowledge?
1) Some hold that it was a literal tree, either a fig or date etc. The complication with this
is the difficulties of interpreting some aspects in the story e.g. what is paradise, God
walking on the garden, etc.
2) The question of man’s disobedience.
 In this view, it is believed that Gen 3:1-7 tries to explain how the first act of
disobedience to God and what caused it.
 In this view, the tree of knowledge and evil represent something God had warned
Adam and are not to do because it would have **brought bad consequences;
death, being eternally separated from God, if they did it, they would have showed
that, they do not obey God.
 The command given by God simply served the purpose of testing the obedience
of man.
 Sin lay in man wanting to have moral autonomy (independence) and places
himself in opposition to God.
 He refuses to subject his will to the will of God.
 He does not want God to determine the courses of his life and want to do it
himself.
 Gen 3:3 Neither shall we touch it, Eve is portraying how unreasonable the
command was.
 Starting from the pre-supposition that he had certain rights as over against God,
man allowed the new centre which he found in himself to operate C** his maker.
 This explains his desire to be like God and his doubt of the good intention of God
giving the command.

Why did God make a tree of knowledge of God and evil at all?

 God did not want human beings to be robots.

 He created them to be something other than Himself.
 Wanted them to be capable of loving relationship.**
 Does not want to force them to love Him because a forced love is not love at all.
 Created them with capabilities of choosing on whether they want to obey God or not.
 However, God is careful to explain the consequences of disobeying Him and this was
supposed to guide them in the choices they made.

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  So they decided to disobey God and paradise is lost. Sin has already cleft in the
universe.

SIN.

Introduction.

 Sin refers to the willful disobedience of man to God withholding that worship anc
adoring love which is man’s proper response to God and paying homage to the enemy of
God as well as to his own evil ambitions.
 Sin is universal and affects the whole human being i.e. the will, the mind, understanding,
affections and emotions, outward speech and behavior. This is described as total
depravity.
 Humankind is wholly fallen and hence wholly in need of redemption.
 Through Adam’s disobedience, sin and death became realities for all human beings.

Biblical foundations for Sin; O.T.

 Ex 32:30; Ps 51:9 – missing the mark or erring.

 Lev 4:13 – going astray.
 1Kings 17:18 – to twist, also refers to the guilt which sin produces.

Biblical foundations for Sin; N.T.

 Mk 1:21 – the force of missing the mark covers the thought of failure fault and connects
of many doing.**
 1Cor 6:8 – unrighteousness or injustice.
 Rom 4:15 – refers to the breach of the law.
 Titus 2:12 – reflects the strong sense of godlessness.
 James 2:10 – moral stumble.
 From these Biblical texts, most characteristics feature of sin is that it is directed against
God.
 Its clearest expression is Satan’s suggestion that man could usurp the place of his maker;
Gen 3:5… you will be like God.
 At the fall, man attempted to assert his independence from God.

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 He also withheld that worship and adoring love which is man’s proper response to God
and paid homage to the enemy of God as well as to his own evil ambitions.

Extent of Sin.

 Sin is universal Rom 3:1-10,23.

 Affects the whole of human being; i.e. the will (Jn 8:34; Rom 7:14-24). The mind and
understanding Gen 6:5; 1Cor 1:21; Eph 4:17;
 The affections and emotions Rom 1:24-27; 1Tim 6:10
 One’s outward speech and behavior Mk 7:**ff; Gal 5:19-21; Jam 3:5-9. This is
described as total depravity.
 Human kind is wholly fallen and hence wholly in need of redemption.
 Through Adam’s disobedience sin and death became realities for all human beings.

Transmission of Sin

How does Adam’s sin affect the whole human race? Different views.

Many scholars try to explain how Adam’s sin affected the whole human race. Their views
however can be divided into three main schools of thought.

a) Realism: This view was mainly supported by Augustine of Hippo.

Took Rom 5:12 literary – All have sinned in Adam.
All have sinned in Adam means that all were present and involved when Adam
sinned.
According to Augustine, Adam was the head of the human race. (natural headship)
All human beings were potentially present in Adam from the beginning.
When Adam sins all the human race then shares his sins.
The human race again shared in the punishment Adam was given as they were all
present in Adam.
Simply stated, all were potentially present in Adam. All sinned in Adam and all
inherit the punishment for Adam’s sin and therefore all are condemned.
Later development of this view include those theologians who argue that because in
Adam human nature was corrupted, all those who came after him inherited this
corrupt human nature.

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 Others argue that this original sin is transmitted during conception. John Calvin for
example argued that both guilt and corruption have spread to all Adam’s offspring
being transmitted from parent to child.
The problem with this view comes when we consider the humanity of Christ. If
Christ’s humanity was not part of this universal genetic humanity in Adam, then his
essential one-ness with us is threatened. If he was included, then he must have shared
in the fall. If he shared in the fall, how could he have saved us?
The soul is the original seat of evil; it is passed from father to son?
b) Federalism: According to this view, our universal solidarity with Adam is of the
kind which Christ has with those he redeems i.e. representative or federal headship.
The term derives from the covenant that God made with the human race in Adam
(Lat-foeclus = covenant). This covenant (often called the covenant of works). Adam
breathed by his sin with dire consequences for those he represented.
In Christ, the covenant was renewed and under it is perfect; righteousness becomes
the means of blessing and salvation for those he represents. Gen 2:15-7; Jer 31:31f;
Rom 3; 21-31; 5:12-21; 1Cor 11:25).
By virtue of our union with Adam he being our representative head, we are
constituted sinners but by virtue of our union by faith with Christ we are constituted
righteous.
c) Pelagius view: There is no connection between Adam’s sin and those of later
generations.
To Pelagius, human beings sin because they choose to and because they are
influenced by the sinful environment they grow into.
The first sin was Adam’s, and does not concern the later human race in any way.
The evil example of Adam led to limitation.

The Effects of Sin

Man’s relationship with God was stained. e.g.
a) We are unfit for God’s presence Rom 1:18; Mt 3:7
b) We are unable to do God’s will Jn 8:34; Rom 7:21;
c) We are unrighteous before God’s law Gal 3:10; Deut 27:26;
d) We are insensitive to God’s word.
e) Human pride resisting God’s rule and setting themselves up as their own lords.

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Human relationship also strained.

Gen 3:12 Adam blames Eve for his failures.

Gen 4:1-16 Cain kills Abel.

Sin produces conflicts and divisions among human race. Racial prejudice and antagonisms,
exploitation, oppression etc.

Relationship to oneself.

a) Sin has robbed us of self-confidence and self-acceptance as God’s own creatures. We

are ashamed of ourselves for we cannot do what we want to do (cf. Rom 7:21).
b) These expressions of man’s inward conflict produce within him an incurable
restlessness, Isaiah 57:20ff.

In Relation to Created Order

Destruction of the world without thought for its created beauty or intrinsic worth.

Pollution.

Lose of immortality.

Through sin, we forfeit immortality. (cf. Gen 2:17;3:19). Our days are numbered.

Anxiety – death confront us as nothing else does.

THE DOCTRINE PROVIDENCE.

Providence may be defined as that continued exercise of the divine energy whereby the
creator preserves all his creatures is operative in all that comes to pass in the world and
directs all things to their appointed end.

This destination indicated that there are three elements in providence namely;

1. Preservation – beings.
2. Concurrence or co-operation – activity.
3. Government – guidance of all things.

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These however are never separated in the working of God.

Pantheism does not distinguish between creation and providence but,

Theism stresses a two-fold distinctions i.e. at creation is the calling into existence of that
which did not exist before while providence continues or causes to continue what has already
been called into existence.

Scriptural proof of providence.

The Bible clearly teaches God’s providential control.

a) Over the universe at large Ps 103:19; Dan 5:35; Eph 1:11.

b) Over the physical world Job 37:5,10; Ps 104:14; 135:6; Mt 5:45.
c) Over the brute creation Ps 104:21; 28;**Mt 6:26; 10:29.
d) Over the affairs of nations Job 12:23; Acts 17:26.
e) Over man’s birth and lot in life 1Sam 16:1**; Ps 139:16; 1Sam 45:5; Gal 1:15,6**
f) Over outward successes and failures of men’s lives, Ps 75:6f**; Lk 1:52.
g) Over things seemingly accidental or insignificant Pro 16:33; Mt 10:30.
h) In the protection of the righteous. Ps 4:8; 5:12; 63:8; 121:3; Rom 8:28
i) In supplying the wants of God’s people Gen 22:**14; Deut 8:3.
j) In giving answers to prayers 1Sm 1:19; Isaiah 20:5,6; 2Chr 33:13; Ps 65:2; Mt 7:7; Lk
18:7,8.
k) In the exposure and punishment of the wicked Ps 7:12,13; 11:6.

General and special providence.

Theologians distinguish between two categories of providence i.e.

a) General providence denotes God’s control of the universe as a whole.

b) Special providence – God’s special for his rational creatures.
Others talk of very special providentia specialisma – God’s care for those who stand
in the special relationship of sonship of God.

God’s providence and Evil.

How do we reconcile this providential rule of God to the fact of evil and sin in the world?

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The attempt to respond to this problem is technically known as Theodcy – Tries to explain
the origin and cause of evil in the world.

So where did Evil come from?

 The Bible is not clear on the origin of evil.

 In 2 Thes 2:7. It recognizes an ultimate mystery as far as evil and sin are concerned.
 In Jude 6 and 2Pet 2:4 some angels had already disobeyed God and so evil and sin
already existed even before Adam sinned. These angels seems to be the first creatures to
disobey God.
 In Gen 3:14-9, Adam open eyed disobedience created the way in for evil and suffering in
human life.
 As an act of rebellion against the creator, sin cannot but have the most serious and
extensive implications in a moral universe which reflects the holy character of its
creator.
 This however does not imply any necessarily direct correlation between specific
personal suffering and personal sin.
 The Bible concentrates on how God will conquer the evil.

A few scholars have attempted to explain on the origin of evil.

Iranaean Theodicy

Iraneous believed that God did not create human beings as perfect.

We have two stages of creation.

a) Image of God.
b) Likeness of God.

Those in the first stage are still immature and for them to grow into maturity – they must get
through evils and suffering. These suffering teaches and shapes one to get to the second stage
of maturity and fulfillment.

To develop and grow one** must exercise freedom.

Iraneous seems to be supporting the idea that human beings were created through
evolutionary process.

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Weakness;

Does not tell us where these evil is coming from, seems to suggest that God created evil.

Reduces the seriousness of evil as an enemy of God.

Seems to be appreciating the presence of evil as positive.

Karth Barth Theodicy.

Evil is understood as a necessary by-product of creation.

When God choose that which is to have being that which God did not choose rose to oppose
Him.

This which rose to oppose God (evil) is referred to as the Das Nichtige or nothingness, nullity
or non-being.

Church Dogmatics Vol III 3:3 section 50.

Our concern is losing the Being we have into non-being.

In Christ we have a new identity, must die to go to Christ, i.e. go inot nothing so as to have a
new being; Paul.

Augustinian Theodicy

This is the most popular and famous attempt and is known as the free will defence.

In his confessions Book VII, explains that;

a) God is perfectly good and is creation is perfectly good.

b) God created human beings with freedom to choose between good and evil.
c) These possibilities were to be real if the choice was actually real. So good and evil
must be there.
d) Sadly, human beings chose evil and evil entered into the world.
e) Later supporters of Augustine added that the bias of choosing evil came from the way
the creatures were made i.e. with a possibility of choosing either good or evil.
f) Others say that evil came from nothing because it is a corruption of the good.
g) God’s love is so great that He sets the creatures free to love or not to love Him.
Domination is forced love which is not love at all.

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Conclusion.

God is perfectly good and his creation is perfectly good.

However, He created human beings with the priviledge of freedom of choosing to obey or
disobey Him.

If the creatures have the freedom to obey God, possibility of not obeying God must be there.

Although God is not the author of evil (which is not evil itself), the creatures choose
disobedience and hence evil, sin and suffering comes in the world.

How does god respond to evils in the world?

God responds in;

a) Pain – because of God’s great love to His creatures, when they reject Him, He is
affected. EZK** God does not rejoice in the death of a sinner.
b) Poverty – In Christ’s death, evil is conquered. This takes us to Christology.

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THE DOCTRINE OF CHRISTOLOGY

1. The person and work of Christ

(a) It’s divinity and humanity and how they are related.
 Then controversies that led to the two nature’s doctrine and an account of that
doctrine
(b )Kenotic Christianity.
(c ) Significance of Christ’s birth, teaching and miracles
(d) The atonement itself, centering partially on his death, classical historical theories of
atonement
(i) Christus Victor
(ii) Recapitulation
(iii) Anselm and Calvin
(iv) A belard
(v) Modern moral influence theories

(c ) The nature and significance of the resurrection and ascension

(f) Modern views of the person and work of Christ. Christ as a liberator.

I. The Person And Work Of Christ

(a) Christ’s Humanity and Divinity
(i) Christ’s Humanity
There are ample materials in the scriptures to establish the true humanity of Jesus
The Gospel sets Jesus in the stream of a human genealogy – Mt. 1:1-16, Lk. 3:23-28.
 His birth normal – Mt. 1:25,Lk. 2:7. Gal. 4:4
 He grew normally – Lk 2:40-52, Heb. 5:8
 He subjected to normal physical limitations
e.g. weariness – Jn. 4:6
Hunger – Mt. 21:18
Thirst – Mt. 11:19
Agony – Mk. 14:33-36, Lk 22,63

He experienced full range of Human emotions e.g. Joy. Lk 10:21

Sorrow – Mt. 26:37
Love – John 11:5
Compassion – Mt. 9:36
Astonishment – Lk 7:9
Anger – Mk 3:5
Grief – Lk 19:41

 His religious life – of course Jesus is the object of our worship but the terms of
incarnation dearly involved Jesus in religious activity
 Engaged in public worship – Lk 4:16

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  Expounded in audible prayer – Lk 3:21
 Continued in prayer overnight – Lk 6:21
 Depended on God – Jn 4:34; 6:38
 His limited knowledge

Jesus knowledge was never simply equivalent to our fallen & limited awareness for he knew
an individual undisclosed past (jn 1:47), enemies thoughts (Lk 6:8)
However we find some passages where Jesus appears to ask questions simply to dispel his
ignorance – mk. 5:30, 6:38, 9:21, Lk 2:16.
In particular he confessed that he does not know the day or hour of his return Mk. 13:32.

Temptations
Jesus humanity is further confirmed by his being tempted to sin Mt. 4:1-11, Mk 1:24; 8:33,
Lk 11:15-20
- Heb. 4:15 – Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are but never sinned
(ii) Jesus Divinity
 The new T. Clearly portrays Jesus as divine.
 He is referred as Lord (GK Kurios) which is translated from O.T. Yahweh a title which
was specifically reserved for God alone of rom. 10:9, Phil. 2:9-11, Heb. 1:10, Rev. 19:16
 Jesus is described with O.T. Passages formerly applied to God alone of Isaiah 45:23; Phil.
2:10, Pss 102:25, Heb. 2:10, Joel 2:28.
 He is involved in Divine work which could only be done by God of forgiving sins Mk.
2:10, Creation Heb. 1:10, Judging Rev. 22:2; 12; Saving Mt. 1:21; Jn 3:17.
 Christ is equalized with God Phil. 2:6; Jn 1:18, Heb. 1:3, Col. 1:19.
 Christ transcends time i.e. He pre-existence even before he came into the world. Jn 1:1,
17:1, Heb. 7:25, rev. 1:17; 2-8
 Christ becomes a centre of sacrament Mt. 28:19, baptism; doxology 2 Pet 3:18; Rev. 1:5,
Prayer Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 16:22.
 Christ is the subject of worship Heb. 1:6, Jn 14:1, Rev. 5:13; 7:10
 Direct statement of deity e.g rom. 9:5, Christ who is god over all, forever praised
 Titus 2:13 – The glorious appearing of our great God and savior Jesus Christ
 John 20:28 – Thomas answered my Lord and My God.
 Trinitarian references – the deity of Christ is confirmed by passages which identify him
with the father and the spirit in the God head Mt. 28:19, Jn 14:15:23; 1 Cor. 12:4-6; 2
Cor. 13:14; Eph 1:3-14; 2:18 etc
 His self consciousness and claims – Has a unique relationship with God Mt. 11:27, Mk
16:36 refers to God as Abba – a child’s intimate name for His father – my own dear had
or daddy.
 He’s also conscious of his pre-existence of having lived with the father before his
incarnate life on earth John 3:31; 8:58.
 He saw himself as the fulfillment of the entire redemptive expectation of the O.T (Mk.
1:14f; 12;35, Lk 11:31f)

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 He is given the titles such as Messiah LK 1:32, Son of Man Mt. 25; 31-46; Jn 5:27, son of
God Mt. 3:17; Lord Mt. 7:21 etc.

Christology Controversies Concerning The Person Of Christ

(1) E Bio Nism
 These were made of Jews who were becoming Christians.
 They denied Christ’s deity by insisting that Jesus was just but a mere human being son of
Mary and Joseph.
 During his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on him – making him the Messiah.
 The Alogi also support the ebonite’s. They diet not show how the two natures related.

2. Docetism:
 From the Greek Doceo – seem
 In contrast to Ebronism it solved the problem by excising the humanity of Christ.
 Jesus only seemed to be human but was not
 Because matter is inherently evil, God cannot be the subject of feelings or other
human experiences.
 In Jesus, God was walking in the world.
 They denied that God became incarnate in Jesus and so did not solve the problem.

3. Gnosticism
 Rejected the idea of incarnation i.e. manifestation of God incarnation i.e.
manifestation of God is a visible form side since it involved a direct contact of spirit
with matter.
 They regarded Christ as a spirit consubstantial with the father.
 This Christ descended on the men.
 Jesus during his baptism but left him again before crucifixion.
 In this view Jesus is neither, a true God nor a true man and hence unfit as a mediator.

4. Arianism (256 – 336)

 Completely denied the diety of Christ
 Christ, was a created creative and so not divine
 Christ is an exalted creature perhaps a superman but not God.
 This position robbed Christ his own glory and majesty.
5. Athamasius
 Athanasius emphasized that in Christ we have two natures i.e. He is both the logos word
and human
 Christ is not a hybrid i.e. having some divinity and humanity but is full God and full man.
 The word became flesh John 1:14 is interpreted in holistic sense i.e. Christ assumed at
incarnation not just part of a human being but he took on the whole form of man (Phil.
2:8).

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 The flesh of Christ was not without soul, reasoning feeling and mind for he was a
complete human being.
 His views were officially adopted by the council of Nicea in 821 A.D.

How Are The Two Nature’s Related

(1) Apollinariasm (310 – 390)
According to Apollinarius in Jesus Christ, the external word (Logos) took the place of
the human mind.
 At the incarnation, God the son took up residence in a human body, so that Jesus did
not possess a full human nature
 This view portrays J5 as a mindless pension
 It was rejected for it denies that God truly became man.

2. Nestrorianism:
Nestrorius was appointed Archbishop of Constanstrinopte in AD 28.
 He overreacted to apollinarism but went to the other extreme by teaching that in Jesus
Christ, we have two persons and two natures.
 He separated the two natures i.e. in Christ, they saw a man, side by side with God, in
alliance with God, sharing the purpose of God but not one with Him. In the oneness of
a single personal life a mediator consisting of two persons.
 God only seemed to reveal himself though Christ, but no in Christ.
 In this view there is no authentic person al unity and this rendered the incarnation
invalid and imperiled salvation.
 His views were condemned in the council of Ephesus in AD 431 and he was removed
from office.

3. Eutychanism
Eutychus supported Cyril of Alexandria who denied the two natures of Christ.
 According to him, which there were two natures before the incarnation, but after
incarnation there was only one composite nature after it.
 His human nature was either absorbed by the divine or the two were fused into a single
nature.
 Jesus have become a third sort, of being neither true man nor true God and hence unable
to act as a mediator.
The Chalcedonian Definition
The Church as so divide on these issues i.e. the person of Jess Christ and how his * natures
were related. To resolve the issues * and for all a major council was summoned at chalcedon
in 451 AD.
 The councils statement was as follows.
 It’s central clause affirmed … we should confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is one and the
same son…perfect in God heard…perfect in manhood… of one substance with the father
in God had and of one substance with us in manhood…made known in two natures i.e.

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 100% man and 100% God without confusion, without change, without division, without
separation… the property of each nature being preserved and concerning in one person
and one substance.

The Necessity Of The Two Natures

The necessity of the two natures in Christ follows from what is essential to scripture doctrine
of atonement.
 Necessity of his manhood.
 Since man sinned it was necessary that the penalty involved suffering of body and soul
on the part of man.
 It was necessary that Christ should assume human nature so as to be mediator for a
man, who was himself a sinner and who had forfeited his own life could not atone for
others. Heb. 7:26.
 As a fairly human being he also served as a perfect example for his followers in
obeying God, overcoming temptations etc Mt. 11:29; Mk 10:39.

(b) Necessity Of His God-Head

In the divine plan of salvation it was absolutely essential that the mediator should also be
very God. This was necessary in order that:-
(i) He might bring a sacrifice of infinite value and render perfect obedience to the law of
God.
(ii) He might bear the wrath of God redemption i.e. so as to free others from the curse of the
law
(iii) He might be able to apply the fruits of his accomplished work to those who accepted him
by faith.
 Man by his bankrupt life can neither pay the penalty of sin nor render perfect
obedience to God.
 The chalcedonia definition is not unquestionable for it did not answer all the questions
concerning the nature of Christ.
 However it served in guarding the truth against various heretical views which would
have ruined the work of salvation Christ came to do.
 They recognized the mystery involved in the relationship of the two natures of Christ
but did not wish to explain it for it is beyond the human explanation.
 The Great central miracle of history was permitted to stand forth in all it grandour the
supreme parax, to use Bart’s language God and man in one person. This was the
miracle of all miracles.
 Apart from a few changes of terms and language the church has never gone beyond
the chalcedon definition.

Kenotic Christology
Introduction

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 Kenosis refers to a process in which the Lord Jesus emptied himself of some of his divine
attributes, humbled himself by taking the form of a servant so that he may save the
humanity.
 Advocates of kenosis desired to do full justice to the reality and integrity of the manhood
of Christ and to stress the magnitude of the self-denial and self sacrifice.

Biblical Foundations
 Kenosis finds its scriptural support mainly from. Phili. 2:6-8 Christ emptied some form of
Godliness through humility and took the form of a servant dying in the cross so as to
reconcile us with God.
 2 Cor. 17:5 Christ had laid some of his former glory to come to the world so as to save
humankind.
 Gal. 2:20, Eph. 5:2 – Christ gave his life for us.
 Heb. 2:17, 4:15 – Christ had to become like us so as to save us.
 Divine form rendered latent or exercised only intermittently. Kenosis related to the
consciousness of Christ rather than to his being.

Theologian Meaning
 Christ came down to stand, minister and draw us to God.
 Christ humbled himself by taking the form of a servant.
 He suppressed some of his divine attributes such as omnipresence, omniscience and
omnipotent which were in contrast with true humanity.
 This does not mean that Christ committed suicide in heaven so as to become human.
 He only willingly suppressed some of those attributes so as to become a true man.
 This emptying did not make him less God, for he only distinguished himself from
Himself but still remained himself.
 The two natures of Christ divine and human made him quality to be our savior.
 By humbling himself and dying on the cross, he justifies us by dying on our place.
 Through justification, he also reconciled us to God.
 There are some scholars who interpret Ph 2:5-11 as incarnation by divine suicide i.e. the
logos so depotentiated himself of all his divine attribute that he literary ceased from his
cosmic functions and his eternal consciousness during the years of His earthly life. That
His consciousness became purely that of a human soul in Christ. This was taught by Gess
and H.W. Beecher and has led to a lot of criticism for this would be a less God who could
not save the humankind or reconcile them to God.
 However we cannot dismiss the whole teaching that Christ had to limit himself in a way
so as to become fully man. Some form of consciousness, was involved for the eternal
word in accepting union with the human nature in assumed in Mary’s womb.

Moral Implications
 2 Cor. 12:9 gives us the ethical understanding of Kenosis.

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 Weakness should not be taken negatively always because of Paul asserts, when Christians
are weak. They are strong in Christ.
 Kenosis encourages Christians to be humble just as Christ humbled himself.
 Kenosis teaches us to imitate Christ in self-giving as he gave his life for us. This means
that there’re may come a time when we give up our privileges and comforts for the sake
of the ministry.

Significance Of Christ’s Birth

The Virgin Birth
 The doctrine of the virgin birth is based on the following scriptures texts.
 Isaiah 7:14, Mt. 1:18-20, Lk 1:34f; Gal. 4:4.
 It was confused in the church from the ancient times.

Is The Virgin Birth A Matter Of Doctrine Importance

 Same scholars like Brunner rejects the doctrine of the miraculous birth of Christ and
holds that the birth of Christ was purely natural.
 Other scholars recognizes the miracle of the virgin Barth of Karl Barth – Jesus was
born as none of us – He accept that the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ as the beginning of
the humiliation of the son of God.
 John Macquarrie – argues that the doctrine simply indicates that the origin of Christ is in
God.
 The conception of Jesus Christ was the act of the Holy Spirit who created the world and
its life, including man without material tools. Jesus Christ conception the same
Holy Spirit was creating in spiritual way.

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Importance Of Significance
1. Christ had to be constituted the Messiah and the Messianic son of God. It was necessary
that he should be born of a woman, but also that he should not be the fruit of all will of
man (because what is born of flesh is flesh) but be born of God.
2. If Christ had been generated by man, he would have been a human person includes in
the covenant of works and as such would have shared in the common guilty of making.
But now that his subject, ego, person is out of Adam, he is not in the covenant of works
and is free from the guilt of sin. And being free from the guilt of sin, His human nature
could also be kept free both before and after His birth from the pollution of sin.
3. It proclaimed the unique character of the Babe to be born. In the scripture special
children often have special births. Gen. 21:1, 7; Lk 1:5-23.
4. It is consistent with our Lord’s pre-existence in our case the act of conception is he
coming into existence of a new person in his case the act of conception is the coming
into existence of a new person in his case the external word pre-existed conception.

Teaching
Although Jesus taught widely concerning life issues, in the Gospels the emphasized;
(a) The Kingdom of God.
 The promise of spirit in Isaiah 61:1-4 (cf Lk 4:18-21) was applied to himself and His
commission.
 The long awaited returning of the spirit is a sign of dawn of time of salvation i.e. New
period of grace as God turns the world towards his people.
 As the bearer of the spirit, Jesus is not just another Rabii or even a prophet but
ultimate message of God.
 With the coming of Jesus, the new era of salvation has began and God reign in His
kingdom has also started.
 Jesus was the only Jew who argued that the kingdom of God has already began.

(b) Good news for the poor.

This was the most important sign of time of salvation (Mt. 11:5, Lk 7:22)
 Jesus disciples consisted of disrespectable uneducated, ignorant and generally lowly
placed people. They do not have much hope in life. However, Jesus looks with
infinite mercy on these beggars who labour and are heavy laden (Mt. 11:28) and
promise to give them rest.
 He also heals those with disabilities e.g. the blind, deaf, cripples etc.

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(c ) Repentance
 Jesus emphasized that people should repent of their sins so that their sins could be
forgiven.
 He condemns the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. They thought that they were so pious
that they needed no repentance. (Mt. 12:34; 23:33) To Jesus nothing separates the
person from God and so radically as self-assured pretty (Mt. 23:27)
 Repentance is occasion for God’s joy (Lk 15:7, 10) and also for human joy in God’s
graciousness.

Miracles
The miracle of Jesus can be grouped into 3 types
(a) The “Nature Miracles” e.g. turning water into wine. (John 2:1-11)
Multiplying the bread (Mt. 14:15-21)
o Calming the stormy sea (Mk 14:37-39)
o Multiplying the bread (Mt 14:15-21)
o Withering the fig tree (Mt. 21:18-22)
o The miraculous catch of fish (Lkt 5:1-11)

(b) The miraculous Healing

This includes exorcism and the rising of the dead e.g.
 Healing of the ten lepers (Lk 17:11-19)
 Healing of the paralytic (Mt. 9:2-7)
 Raising the death e.g. Lazarus (Jn 11:43ff)

(c ) Miracles which are connected with Jesus Christ’s person i.e. Sudden disappearance
(Lk. 4:30)
 His walking on the sea (Mk 6:48-51)
 His transfiguration (Mt 17:1-8)
 His appearance afterwards (Lk 24:1-35), John 20:19-22)
 These miracles proved that he was the Messiah and a son of God.
 It meant that he had been sent by God and in him the wisdom and power of God were
at work for the benefit of men that he and God were one and consequently was the
promised messiah.
 It also means that the Kingdom, of God has began and with it the beginning of new
creation.
 It also means that the Messiah has destroyed the work of the evil and sin by teaching
man about his new relationship with God and by this messianic work making this new
relationship possible.

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The Nature And Significance Of
A. Resurrection
B. Ascension

a) What Do We Mean When We Say Jesus Christ Died So That He Later

Resurrected?
The scriptures denote two types of death.

(i) Physical death – The irreversible cessation of body functions or rather the separation
of bodily and soul 2 Sam. 14:14, Heb. 9:25. After the fall, death became a universal
biological necessity and in the Bible this physical death is described as:-
 Resting from one’s labour Rev. 14:13
 God’s reclaiming of the breath of LIFE PSS 104.
 Surrendering the spirit into the divine hands luke 23:46; Acts 7:59
 Paul describe it as sleeping

(ii) Spiritual death – separation from God describes man’s natural alienation from God, his
lack of responsiveness to God or his hostility to God because of sin. Gen 2:17, Mt.
8:22, Jh 5:24f; 8:21-24; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1; James 5:20; Jude 12: Rev. 3:1
 So pervasive and devastating is the influence of death that the N.T. can depict it as a
realm where the devil reigns (Heb. 2:14: Rev. 1:18; 20:13) as a warrior bent on
destruction Acts 2:45; 1 Corr. 15:26; devil being the 1st to oppose God and to be
separated from God reign among those in this death realm.
Rev. 6:8; 20:14 or as a domineering ruler, Rom. 5:14;17)
 When we talk about the savior dying we have in mind physical death but at the same
time spiritual death i.e. being separated from God. Unlike human beings who separate
themselves from God though sin, Jesus did not become subject to death through his
own person sin.
 Jesus death must be interpreted from a judicial point of view. Judicially imposed and
inflicted punishment of sin i.e. God’s withdrawing himself with the blessings of life
and happiness from man and visiting man in wrath.
 God imposed the punishment of death upon the mediator Judicially since the latter
undertook voluntarily to pay the penalty for the sin of the human race.
 He was subject not only to the physical but also to eternal death – e.g. the organized
in the cross “My God my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
 In a short period, he bore the infinite wrath against sin to the very end and came out
victoriously.
 He did this because of his exalted nature.
 As the God-man Jesus Christ carries the sin of the world in the cross. He is briefly
separated from a Holy God.
 The Cost paid is for God to come into contact with evil or power of death (which
should not happen but happened because of God’s great love to his creatures.
 Jesus counted each new day as beginning from the sun set. (Genesis 1:5)

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  As Jesus Christ struggled to defeat the power of death, his holy nature is somehow
defiled but at last he overcomes the power of death and makes it possible for all those
who trust in him to overcome eternal death.

Resurrection
Introduction
 In Lk 24:1, Mt. 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-8; John 20:1-10, we read that Jesus Rose From The
Death. Christ was in the grave during part of two days and the full day. According to
Jewish, resurrection took place upon the 3rd day.

Evidence For Resurrection

1. Empty tomb Mt. 28:1-7.
2. Appeared the risen Lord – Appeared to woman near the tom. Disciples, Thomas, to the
500 disciples and finally to Paul Himself.
3. Existence of the Christian church
- The disciples had been discouraged after Jesus died but when he rose again they
were able to preach the good news of his resurrection. If Jesus did not resurrect
then there would be no church.

Significance Of Resurrection
Resurrection is significance for the work of Christ i.e.
1. Redemption
i) Priest – Atoning for human sin is now over
ii) Prophet – As is Prophet the risen Lord was clearly the source of the apostolic
message.
iii) King – He was has all the authority in heaven and earth
2. By resurrection he overcome mean’s last enemy death and shares his victory with others.
He died on our behalf and hence those who believe in Him will never die John 5:24.
3. The dawn of the Kingdom of God – The mighty works, which Jesus did were signs of
the Kingdom of God but resurrection was the climax of it, all.
o The power of death was defeated and so people are able to live in accordance to the
Kingdom era.
4. Pledge to eternal life.
o Jesus resurrection marked a turning point in his identity as the last Adam.
o His resurrection introduced a new creation (2 Cor. 5:12) because he died t the old age
dominated by sin and entered a new era.
o Christians have been raised with Christ (Rom. 6:4; Col. 3:11) and were made to sit
with him in the heavenly places Eph. 2:26.
Ascension
This is Christ’s transition to the higher life of glory.

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Scriptural Proof
 Lk 24:50-53 – Taken up to heaven
 Acts 1:7-11 – he was taken up to heaven and a cloud hid him from their sight cloud God’s
glory of O.T. EX. 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10f – Significance of cloud is a manifestation of
God’s glory and presence.
 The apostles saw the Lord gathered up into a cloud and disappear from view
 Mk 16:19 – Taken to heaven and sat at the right hand of God – now reigning in the
heavenly realm.
 John 6:62; 14:2; 16:5, I am going back to him who sent me.
 Eph. 1:20; 4:8-10; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3; 4:14;24

Nature Of Ascension
 In ascension Jesus human nature was changed. It passed into the fullness of heavenly
glory and perfectly adopted to the life of heaven.
 The apostles could not be able to explain what happened as Jesus moves to the next realm
but they can only explain what happened in terms of some movement and then the glory
of God fills the place as Jesus is changed from humanity to a spiritual order for above
your present life.
 In ascension Jesus condition changes whereby the human nature of Christ passed into the
full enjoyment and exercise of the divine perfections communicated to it at the
incarnation and this became permanently, omnipresent.
 Sat at the right hand-merely a symbol of power i.e. He is now reigning.

Significance
1. Clearly embodied the declaration that the sacrifice of Christ was a symbol to God,
which as such had to be presented to him in the inner sanctuary and that the fatter
regarded the meditational work of Christ as Sufficient and therefore admitted him to
the heavenly glory.
2. It was exemplary in that it was prophetic of the accession of all believers
3. It was instrumental in preparing a place for those who are in Christ Jn 14:23

The atonement
 The word atonement is coined from three words “AT-ONE-MENT”, this means to
reconcile two parties.
 The word refers to the reconciliation of God and man whereby they are made at one.
 The messianic work of Christ was regarded as one by which His self-sacrifice achieved
atonement between – God and man.

Atonement in the O.T.

 They believed that they could be reconciled to God through sacrifice.
 The sacrifices were of several kinds
(a) Burnt offering – concerned the community as a whole (Ex. 29:38-42, Num. 28)

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(b) Sin and guilt offering – worshippers sought pardon from God. (Lev. 4:7)
(c) Offering of thanksgiving (Deut. 33:10)
- The important one was made on the day of atonement when the priest entered the holy
place and offered sacrifice for the sins incurred by the people of Israel (Lev. 16)
- They believed that the life of every living thing is in the blood. The blood in the death
of a sub- statutionary victim died instead of the human beings.
- Hosea 6:6; Pss 51, it is stated that moral guilt could not be blotted out of sacrifices but
by God’s free grace.
- Despite the many sacrifices, full reconciliation could not be obtained so a better way
of reconciliation as needed.
N.T.
 Jesus Christ in his 3 fold office (priest, prophet, and king) becomes the mediator who
reconciled us with God.

How does Christ reconcile us with God? ‘a’ Christus victor Theory (Iraneus)
 In this theory Christ reconcile us with God because he fights against and triumphs over
evil power i.e. Death, Sin devil etc.
 He fights against tyrants which make humanity to suffer and defeats them making
reconciliation in between God and the world possible.
 In his death Jesus extended this victory to the human beings (gave them points to defeat
devil, death and sin)

“B” Ransom Theory (Origen) 186-255)

The view that Christ died to rescue men from the power of sin, death and Satan.
 View based on mark 10:45 that son of man came to give his life as ransom for many.
 The word Ransom is a military term (ii) prisoners of war, might be freed if sufficient
Ransom money is paid.
 Theological word Ransom can be justified because theology speaks of the life and death.
a) Fight of Satan against God in the Lordship of universe
b) Man fell into the capacity of Satan and became his prisoner.
c) God had to pay a ransom to Satan in exchange for man.
d) Son; the ransom that God has is his son who agreed with this plan God and he paid it
to the cross
e) The value was redemption

“C” Anselm’s Satisfaction Theory (Commercial Theory)

 Anselm of Canterbury in England (1038-1109) was one of the most significant
theologians of eh medieval period.
He worked out the so called satisfaction theory in his famous book CURDENS HOMO
(WHY GOD BECAME MAN)
 V. Taylor suggests that Christ died to satisfy the wounded honour.

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 Anselm’s understanding of the gross is noted in the teachings of Hebrew (God-man: Thus
God became man so that he must be the true, priest, offer the acceptable sacrifice for
human sin and open the way to eternal life.
 Anselm thought that Jesus Christ’s passion and death laws a compensation for the
violated honour of God because man’s sin had spoiled God’s glory.

As a result, God could do three things

i) God could annihilate sinful mankind (God’s plan of creation would suffer)
ii) God could tolerate sin and let sinful mankind live in this case God’s glory would
suffer permanent violations.
iii) God could choose the redemption of mankind by Jesus Christ his son.

Jesus achieved two things

(i) His death resulted in the explanation of the sins of mankind.
(ii) His death restored God’s glory.
- Jesus Christ’s death was basically a satisfaction because this satisfied both
(i) God’s wrath because of man’s sin
(ii) God’s anger because of his violated glory.
“D” Abelard’s Exemplarist Theory (Peter) 1079-1142)
A French – Theologian
 Against Anselm’s objective theory of satisfaction or substitution he developed a
subjective theory which was based on eh love of God.
 He taught that God motivated by love sent His son to redeem the world by sacrifice Jn
3:16
 This divine love was shown by Jesus who was ready to lay down his life for his friends Jn
15:13.
 The cross was the greatest manifestations of the love of God.

“E” Socinus – Examplist Theory

 Known as example theory
 Christ saves hum kind by revealing to them the way of faith and obedience as a way of
eternal life by giving them an example of true obedience with in his life and in his death
and inspires them to lead a similar life.
 He offered us as example of how we can live a life that pleases God.

Modern Moral Influence Theories

 The emphasis on love of God over his Justice.
 Punishment only for reform of soul to for the sake justice.
 The death of Christ is not a satisfaction for true price of sin but simply a seal of his
teaching.

Schheirmacher
 Salvation is moral uplift

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 Christ is a great example of perfect or God’s consciousness.

Modern views of the person and work of Christ

1. Christ as a liberator
- According to the liberation theologians, Jesus is seen as a liberator.
- Black liberation theology of N. America and South Africa.
- Economic liberation theology of Latin America
- All seek to attain liberations from exploitation.
(i) Feminist Theology – Liberate women from oppression and exploitation
(ii) Black Theology – liberate black people from white people’s exploitation
(iii) Latin America liberations theology – liberate the poor who have been
economically oppressed especially in the 3rd world countries e.g. Asia, Latin,
America.
 Liberation theology started in Latin America in the 1960’s but has now
spread everywhere.
 In LK 14:16-20, Jesus as radical in this approach Israel under the Roman
rule.
 His radical liberation brought about death and resurrection
 He redeemed us from sin

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