Christology (Systematic)

Basic Facts about the Virgin Birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke

[I believe] in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; Born of the Virgin Mary. The Apostles’ Creed.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:23

Mary was a virgin when she was pregnant with Jesus (Matt. 1:18, 25; Lk. 1:27, 34) and he was conceived through the special work of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20; Lk. 1:35).

How could Mary have a child if she did not yet have a husband and the sexual intimacy that comes with marriage? The biblical response is that God caused the pregnancy and that nothing is impossible with God (Lk. 1:37). This simple phrase nicely summarizes the crux of the debate about the credibility of the virginal conception. A person’s belief or unbelief in the virginal conception rests chiefly on whether they believe in God and his ability to create life in whatever manner he chooses. Accordingly, people often reject the virginal conception because of presuppositions that doubt or limit God’s activity in the world… Continue reading “Basic Facts about the Virgin Birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke”

The Empty Tomb: Inadequate Alternative Explanations. BADR Part 8

The Empty Tomb: Inadequate Alternative Explanations. BADR Part 8

Question – Critics have offered other theories to explain the empty tomb of Jesus. Why are these alternative theories not plausible?

1) Swoon or Apparent Death Theory: Jesus did not die.
But the Roman executioners were “professionals” who were thorough in verifying Jesus’ death.

2) Conspiracy & Theft Theory: The disciples stole the body and claimed that He rose from the dead.
But conspiracy is always executed for selfish advantage and the disciples were persecuted and imprisoned for their claims. Conspiracy theory about the resurrection violates all known psychological laws of lying.

3) Hallucination Theory: All of Christ’s post-resurrection appearances were really hallucinations.
But hallucination only visits the prepared mind. The disciples were not psychologically predisposed and did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead. Critics only needed to point to the body of Jesus in his tomb to refute the disciples.

You can view the video at:
The Empty Tomb: Inadequate Alternative Explanations. BADR Part 8

Next video – Harmonizing Alleged Discrepancies Between the Resurrection Accounts of the Four Gospels. BADR 9

Converging Historical Evidence for the Empty Tomb of Jesus. BADR 7

Converging Historical Evidence for the Empty Tomb of Jesus. BADR 7

Question: What are the facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus?
The converging historical evidence and argument for the empty tomb is compelling.

1) Jesus was dead – crucified.
2) The disciples did not expect Jesus to die and were not prepared when it happened.
3) The transformation of the disciples from despair to confidence & certainty.
4) The tomb was empty
5) The disciples proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem where critics could easily verify or refute the disciples’ testimony.

You can view the video at:
Converging Historical Evidence for the Empty Tomb of Jesus. BADR 7

The Creedal Imperative and Trinitarian Confession of Christian Faith and Theology

Kairos Podcast 6: Early Trinitarianism from NT to Nicaea. Part 6/6

LINK: The Creedal Imperative and Trinitarian Confession of Christian Faith and Theology

Recapitulation – how the doctrine of Trinity unfolded as the early church countered heresies.

Tertullian defined the Trinity as three persons in one essence, thus highlighting the foundational biblical teaching on the oneness of God and the three distinct yet equal persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Council of Nicaea, with Athanasius, applied the term “essence” (ousia) to the person of Christ. Christ is of the same essence (homoousios) with the Father. Yet Christ also exists as a separate person, distinct in his own identity as Christ the Son. In short, biblical-Nicene trinitarianism succinctly insists that Christ is truly God and anyone who teaches otherwise is teaching heresy.

The Creedal Imperative – Biblicism insists that one only needs the bible to formulate Christian belief by relying on rigid proof-texting of selective bible verses at the expense of context and other biblical teachings. In contrast, the historic church affirms that creeds (like the Nicene Creed) are essential as they assist the church in understanding Scripture, provide succinct and normative summary of the foundations of the Christian faith (rule of faith) and protect believers from false doctrines.

You may view the video at
The Creedal Imperative and Trinitarian Confession of Christian Faith and Theology

Nicene Trinitarian Theology: True God from True God; Of One Substance (Homoousios) with the Father

Nicene Trinitarian Theology: True God from True God; Of One Substance (Homoousios) with the Father

Kairos Podcast 6: Biblical-Nicene Trinitarianism vs Early Heresies. Part 5/6

Theology of the Nicene Creed (325 AD)
Note how the four clauses of the Nicene Creed specifically rebut Arianism.

1. TRUE GOD FROM TRUE GOD – He is also ‘true God’, i.e. not God in a secondary degree.

2. THAT IS, FROM THE SUBSTANCE OF THE FATHER added to give a more precise interpretation to BEGOTTEN FROM THE FATHER – “What we have here is a deliberately formulated counterblast to the principal tenet of Arianism, that the Son had been created out of nothing and had a beginning.”

3. BEGOTTEN NOT MADE – “The Arians were “eager enough to employ such language as BEGOTTEN, but the meaning they put upon it was indistinguishable from MADE… [The Nicene Creed affirms that] The Godhead had never been without His Word or His Wisdom: so the Father had never been other than the Father, and had never been without His Son. The Son and the Father must therefore have coexisted from all eternity, the Father eternally begetting the Son.” (ECD 237-238).

4. OF ONE SUBSTANCE WITH THE FATHER – “This asserts the full deity of the Son. “The Son, it implied, shared the very being or essence of the Father. He was therefore fully divine. Whatever belonged to or characterized the Godhead belonged to and characterized Him.” (ECD 238)

To ensure total condemnation of Arian theology, the anathemas were added to condemn phrases typically used in Arian catchwords or slogans. Continue reading “Nicene Trinitarian Theology: True God from True God; Of One Substance (Homoousios) with the Father”

Early Heresies – Ebionism, Gnosticism and Adoptionism (Dynamic Monarchianism)

Kairos Podcast 6: Early Heresies Part 2/6

Video Link – Ebionism, Gnosticism and Adoptionism (Dynamic Monarchianism)

One paramount issue facing the early church was how to harmonize belief in the deity of the Son of God with monotheism. The early church had to clarify the relationship between Jesus and the one God of the Old Testament.

Prominent heretical sects which offered one-sided solutions include 1) Gnosticism and Docetism which deny the humanity of Christ and 2) Ebionism and Adoptionism (Dynamic Monarchism) which denied the deity of Christ.

The early church countered these heresies with the Rule of Faith which affirmed that belief in 1) the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and 2) the life, death, resurrection and deity of Jesus Christ to be non-negotiable. The affirmation was called the Rule of Faith. Because the Rule of Faith was so universal and consistent, the early “Church Fathers” could use it against heresies. The Rule of Faith eventually took the form of the Apostles’ Creed.

Video Link – Ebionism, Gnosticism and Adoptionism (Dynamic Monarchianism)

Doctrine of Trinity: A Primer

Trinitarian Pattern in Greetings, Prayers & Worship in the New Testament

Kairos Podcast 6: Biblical-Nicene Trinitarianism vs Early Heresies. Part 1/6
Video Link – Trinitarian Pattern in Greetings, Prayers & Worship in the New Testament

Critics of Christianity claim that the doctrine of Trinity was created by the church in the 4th century during the Council of Nicaea convened by Emperor Constantine to serve his political agenda.

While the word “Trinity” is not found in the New Testament, nevertheless, the Trinitarian pattern found throughout the New Testament, that is, the invocation of God in the name of Father, Son, and Spirit, and their divine functions and mutual relationships in the prayers and worship throughout the New Testament confirms that the Triune God was foundational in the life and practice right at the beginning of the New Testament church.

The problem of the Trinity was being raised and answered in the New Testament. It arose because of the development of Christian experience, worship, and thought. It was rooted in experience, for men were conscious of the power of the Spirit and the presence and Lordship of the risen Christ. It was rooted in worship, because men worshipped in the Spirit, offered their prayers to God the Father through Christ, and sometimes worshipped Christ himself. It was rooted in thought, because the writers tackled first the Christological problem, and then, at any rate in the Fourth Gospel, the threefold problem. The whole matter was based on the life and resurrection of Jesus himself, who received the Spirit during his earthly life and imparted the Spirit to others after his resurrection (Oscar Cullmann).

In short, the New Testament account of the work of God through Christ in the Spirit, which was based on the believers’ concrete experience of salvation rather than speculative, abstract metaphysics, provides the basis for Christian thought about the Triune God.

Video Link – Trinitarian Pattern in Greetings, Prayers & Worship in the New Testament

Related Post:
Doctrine of the Trinity: A Primer

The Miracle of Christmas Pt. 2/2: The Incarnate Christ is truly God and truly Man

Speaker: Dr. Ng Kam Weng

You are welcome to view the talk at:
The Incarnate Christ is truly God and truly Man

A brief explanation of the two natures of Christ according to the Chalcedonian Creed (AD 451)

Chalcedonian Creed (451)
Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

The Miracle of Christmas Pt. 1/2: The Son of God Assumed Human Existence

The Miracle of Christmas Pt.1/2: The Son of God Assumed Human Existence

Speaker: Dr. Ng Kam Weng

You are welcome to view the talk at:
The Miracle of Christmas Pt.1/2: The Son of God Assumed Human Existence

At Christmas, Christ, the Son of God who shared the glory of the Father from eternity, assumed humanity but retained his deity throughout his life on earth. Christ in his human existence cloaked or veiled the form of God in the form of a servant. In becoming incarnate, the Son of God demonstrates to us what it means to be a perfect human being, one who is not only sinless, but is also able to sympathise and help his sinners. (Phil. 2:6-11: Heb. 4: 15)