Christology theologically precedes Soteriology

Last updated on: June 24, 2012 at 3:25 am by Joel Willitts

Christology theologically precedes Soteriology 2012-06-24T03:25:00-04:00 Joel Willitts

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When studying the person of Jesus Christ, his nature and his identity, should we begin with his works or with his person? This was one of the questions Bonhoeffer grappled with in his lectures on christology. Bonhoeffer points to the ambiguous nature of Jesus works as irrefutable evidence that beginning with Jesus’ works in studying him is to begin on the wrong foot. He writes,

Even the works of Christ are not unambiguous. They are open to the most varied interpretations. Christ’s works permit the interpretation that he is a hero, that his cross represents the consummate act of a courageous man who is true to his convictions. There is no point in the works of Jesus to which one can unambiguously refer and say that here Jesus can truly be recognized, unambiguously and without doubt, as the Son of God on the basis of his works. This is the issue, that the son entered into the flesh, that he wants to do his work within the ambiguity of history, incognito. This incognito is the basis for the two reasons why it is impossible to recognize the person of Jesus through his work; first, because it is never possible, in human terms to draw conclusions about a person from his works, and second, because Jesus is God, and direct conclusions about God on the basis of history are never possible either (DWB, 12, 309-10).

So if knowledge of Jesus is inaccessible through a historical study of Jesus’ works how does one come to know Jesus? Bonhoeffer continued:

This can happen only in relation to that place where his person reveals himself to me as he really is. Only through Christ’s own revelation do I have opened to me his person and his works. In this way, the christological question is shown to have theological priority over the soteriological question. I must first know who it is who does something before I can know what it is that the person does (DWB, 12, 310).

The bottom line: I can know a great deal about Jesus as described in the four gospels. So in fact I can observe quite a lot about what Jesus did, how he related to people, what his so called aims were. The whole modern quest for Jesus is based on just such an approach. But, in Bonhoeffer’s view, this doesn’t lead one to any more knowledge about Jesus person. After studying the Jesus of the gospels we’re in no better position to know Jesus ironically. What this means is that with apologies to C.S. Lewis, there are more categories of understanding Jesus than Liar, Lunatic or Lord. The gospel evidence is not unambiguous. The authors of the four gospels affirmed and in fact assumed the person of Jesus as God’s Son incarnate. But I cannot know the historical Jesus unless the present resurrected Jesus reveals himself to me.

This truth is regularly confirmed to me in teaching. Just this last semester I sat in my office with an undergraduate who had grown skeptical of the truth of the Christian claims. We went round and round for a hour and in the end nothing I said could have changed her suspicious attitude toward the historical works of Jesus. She was simply not in a position at the time to recognize the incognito person of Jesus. She was not willing to believe that the one right interpretation of Jesus’ works was that he was God saving the world.

The historical Jesus Christ is known only after a person encounters the present resurrected Jesus Christ today; it is never the other way round.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 24, 2012

Australians Losing Their Faith

Next Post

June 25, 2012 Interview with John Dickson on ABC

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Lands Blogosphere Book Review Calvinism Colleges & Universities Ecclesiology Emerging Adulthood Evangelicalism Foreign Affairs Gospel of John Greco-Roman World Humor Just War N. T. Wright Old Testament Resurrection Terrorism Theological Education Travel Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Simon Peter John Judas Iscariot James

Books by This Author Books by Mike Bird

See All Titles »