Work of Christ

Cosmos to Christmas Cradle: From Pre-existent to Incarnate Christ

I. The eternal backdrop and significance of Christmas

A. Theological Treasures in Christmas Carols
To many, Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Yet its deeper significance lies in the mystery that the eternal Son who was pre-existent with the Father from eternity entered human history as a newborn child.¹ This theological truth elevates Christmas beyond a sentimental birthday celebration, transforming it into a cosmic event of unparalleled depth and consequence.

Without the doctrine of Christ’s pre-existence, Christmas risks being reduced to a seasonal myth, akin to pagan narratives of cyclical dying-and-rising gods tied to nature’s rhythms. In contrast, the incarnation is a singular, unrepeatable act: the eternal Word becoming flesh. This truth is richly embedded in the lyrics of traditional Christmas carols, which often carry profound theological insights beneath their melodious tunes.

1) Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
This carol is particularly rich in theology concerning Christ’s divine nature and pre-existence.
a) Christ, by highest heav’n adored; Christ the everlasting Lord! Come, Desire of Nations, come, Fix in us thy humble home.
The phrase “everlasting Lord” anchors the incarnation in eternity. The invocation to “come” presupposes a divine being who already exists and is now entering creation
b) Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel.
This stanza offers one of the clearest affirmations of the incarnation. The “Godhead” voluntarily veils His eternal glory by assuming finite human nature (“flesh”) to dwell among us.

2) O Come, All Ye Faithful
“God of God, Light of Light, Lo! he abhors not the Virgin’s womb; Very God, Begotten, not created.”
These lines echo the Nicene Creed: “God of God, Light of Light” and “Very God, Begotten, not created” are definitive statements of Christ’s eternal, divine nature. The carol resists any notion of Christ as a created being. Instead, it proclaims that Christ who is eternally “begotten” of the Father entered the world through the “Virgin’s womb.”

3) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Though primarily about messianic longing, it includes a line revealing a pre-temporal identity:
“O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who orderest all things mightily.”
“Emmanuel” means “God with us.” The one who “orders all things” is the divine Logos – pre-existent, sovereign, and active in creation. The carol thus links messianic hope with cosmic authority.

Christmas carols, often sung with simplicity or sentimentality, are in fact theological treasures that encapsulate the profound doctrines of the Christian faith. Continue reading “Cosmos to Christmas Cradle: From Pre-existent to Incarnate Christ”

1
“The term pre-existence refers to the idea of an entity having a heavenly existence before its earthly, historical or eschatological manifestation, sometimes even before the creation of the world.” [DPL, p. 743.] Pre-existence is the logical implication of the more scriptural term σὰρξ ἐγένετο (sarx egeneto), became flesh “incarnated”.

Penal-Substitution as Heart of Christ’s Atonement and its Accomplishments

Why do Christians call the day of the crucifixion of Jesus “Good Friday”? How can an execution that results from a miscarriage of justice be good? The Christian proclamation throughout history is that it is Good Friday because on the cross of calvary, Christ took the sinner’s place (Greek: ἀντί anti, ὑπέρ huper) /1/ in bearing the guilt of man’s sin and suffering the divine punishment as our substitute in order to satisfy divine justice and bring reconciliation between God and man. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all…Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand” (Isa. 53: 6, 10). Penal-substitution is the heart of the atonement, Christ’s work of salvation.

In recent times, some theologians have highlighted alternative theories to the penal substitutionary death of Christ. I shall only focus on two of the more influential alternative theories today – the moral influence theory and the Christus Victor theory. The problem with these theories of atonement is not that they are entirely wrong. They rightly explain some aspects of Christ’s death. However, they are in reality attempts to avoid the stumbling block of penal-substitution which causes offence to modern sensibilities. These theories are deficient since they emphasize on secondary features or by-products of the atoning death of Christ in order to evade penal-substitution which is the heart of atonement. Continue reading “Penal-Substitution as Heart of Christ’s Atonement and its Accomplishments”

Series 3: The Prophecies of the Messiah and His Kingdom in the Book of Isaiah. Part 3. Why is Isaiah Called the Fifth Gospel?

Questions:
1.Why is Isaiah called the fifth Gospel? How is it a Gospel like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?
2. One of the most prominent themes of Jesus’ preaching is “the kingdom of God”, which emphasizes not so much the territory of God but the rule or reign of God. How would you compare the kingdom of God in Isaiah with the kingdom of God in the gospels?
3. If in the NT, the Messiah brings in the Kingdom of God. What does Isaiah tell us about the coming Messiah and his work of salvation?

Discussants: Dr. Leong Tien Fock and Dr. Ng Kam Weng.

You are welcome to join the discussion at:
Part 3. Why is Isaiah Called the Fifth Gospel?

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Series 3: The Prophecies of the Messiah and His Kingdom in the Book of Isaiah. Part 2. Is Isaiah 53 about Christ and his atoning death?

Question: The prophecies about the Suffering Servant in Isa. 53 are very confusing as the Servant appears different in the various (four) Servant songs. Is Isaiah 53 really about Christ, let alone his atoning death? And furthermore, the standard Hebrew term for “atonement” is not found in the text, how can it be about an atoning death?

Discussants: Dr. Leong Tien Fock and Dr. Ng Kam Weng.

You are welcome to join the discussion at:

Part 2. Is Isaiah 53 about Christ and his atoning death?

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Related Posts
The Atonement in Isaiah 53

Christ’s Death as Expiation-Propitiation (Hilasterion): Appeasing the Wrath of God

Bart Ehrman’s Historical Revisionism. Part 3/3. Ehrman Misplaces Jesus among the gods

I. Skepticism Toward the Gospels’ Witness of the Deity of Christ
Bart Ehrman rejects the deity of Christ for two reasons. First, he insists that Jesus did not claim to be God during his lifetime and neither did his disciples. Second, Christian beliefs about Jesus Christ changed over time. The disciples initially regarded Jesus as a man, but after reportedly having experiences of visions of the resurrected Jesus, they concluded that since the exalted Jesus was no longer physically present on earth, God must have taken him to heaven. The Son of Man became the Son of God. At the beginning, there was no belief in the pre-existence of Jesus, but over time the pre-existent Christ was adopted in order to explain the incarnation. Ehrman postulates that the deification of Jesus was due to the influence of pagan mythologies and Jewish angelology.

Ehrman finds no evidence from the gospels that Jesus went about Palestine publicly declaring “I am God.” However, Ehrman fails to consider the historical context which led Jesus to refrain from making such a public declaration. Instead of weighing calmly Jesus’ declaration of deity, the Jews would have reacted violently to Jesus as one guilty of blasphemy. They did try to stone him, after all. It would have been futile for Jesus to try to convince the intransigent Jews who had already made up their minds to reject Jesus’ teaching, no matter what evidence he could offer to back up his claim. Continue reading “Bart Ehrman’s Historical Revisionism. Part 3/3. Ehrman Misplaces Jesus among the gods”

Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity, Part 3: How Did the Apostles and Early Christians Come to Believe in the Deity of Christ?

Question: How did the apostles and early Christians come to believe in the deity of Christ?

Discussants: Dr. Ng Kam Weng and Mr. Micheal Lim

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEkm-BqnCFo

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Calvin and Calvinists on the Extent of Christ’s Atonement

Calvin, not being a universalist, could be said to be committed to definite atonement, even though he does not commit himself to definite atonement. And, it could be added, there is a sound reason for this.
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R. T. Kendall argues in his provocative book, Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649 (Oxford UP, 1979), that the doctrine of salvation taught by the Puritans is cold, legalistic and introspective, in contrast to John Calvin’s warm and spiritually vibrant doctrine of salvation. In this regard, the Puritans who promoted a distorted form of Calvinism were influenced by Theodore Beza who succeeded Calvin in Geneva.

Kendall highlights two problems with Beza and his Puritan followers: First, Beza and his followers taught a novel doctrine of limited atonement, that is, the idea that Christ did not die for everyone in the world, but only for the elect. Kendall claims that this is a radical departure from Calvin who taught that Christ died for all but that he intercedes only for the elect. Second, Beza and the Puritans reduced the act of faith to an act of the will which contradicts Calvin’s view of faith as a persuasion of the mind. Kendall argues that the doctrine of limited atonement inevitably results in legalism and loss of assurance of salvation. Kendall presses his claim by arguing that assurance of salvation is possible only if it is grounded in Christ’s universal atonement. Continue reading “Calvin and Calvinists on the Extent of Christ’s Atonement”

Christ’s Penal Substitutionary Atonement as God’s Act of Righteousness and Grace

The nature of the atonement
[Atonement as “satisfaction” (compensation, reparation) was first used by Anselm (1033-1109) to stress that the death of Christ was a satisfaction rendered to God’s justice and honor. Subsequently, 17th century Reformed theologians taught that Christ (1) satisfies the demands of the law by his active obedience or perfect obedience to the full requirements of the law (2) satisfies the curse and condemnation of the law by his passive obedience or submission to the penalty of death on the cross].

A.A. Hodge draws out the deeper dimensions of Christ’s work of atonement by setting it in the context of the covenant God made with Adam in which God promised them blessedness contingent upon their obedience to His command: [The word “satisfaction”] accurately and adequately expresses what Christ did. As the Second Adam he satisfied all the conditions of the broken covenant of works, as left by the first Adam. (a.) He suffered the penalty of transgression. (b.) He rendered that obedience which was the condition of “life.”

5. State the true doctrine of Christ’s Satisfaction
1st. Negatively. (1.) The sufferings of Christ were not a substitute for the infliction of the penalty of the law upon sinners in person, but they are the penalty itself executed on their Substitute. (2.) It was not of the nature of a pecuniary payment, an exact quid pro quo. But it was a strict penal satisfaction, the person suffering being a substitute. (3.) It was not a mere example of a punishment. (4.) It was not a mere exhibition of love, or of heroic consecration. Continue reading “Christ’s Penal Substitutionary Atonement as God’s Act of Righteousness and Grace”

The Atonement in Isaiah 53

Classical Evangelicalism has always affirmed that the power of the gospel lies in the proclamation that Christ died for the ungodly and made atonement for their sins. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins…But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 9:22; 10:12-14) The truth that underlies this proclamation is encapsulated in the phrase, “the penal substitutionary death of Christ.”

However, this glorious truth has been challenged by some modern theologians who deny that Christ’s death is a penal substitutionary sacrifice for sin. Similarly, the teaching of Christ’s atonement becomes distorted when some Charismatics claim that partaking the Lord’s Supper brings physical healing because of the blood of Christ shed on the cross.

You are invited to read the careful reading of Isaiah 53 (the locus classical of the doctrine of penal substitutionary death of Christ in the Old Testament) written by Dr. Leong Tien Fock. It will help you gain a better understanding and a grateful appreciation of the glory of Christ’s atonement. Continue reading “The Atonement in Isaiah 53”

Definite Atonement (Part 3/3). The Logic of 1 John 2:1-2

“We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2) I. Biblical data that supports the premises of the two following arguments Christ is the propitiation for our sins. … Continue reading “Definite Atonement (Part 3/3). The Logic of 1 John 2:1-2”

“We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

I. Biblical data that supports the premises of the two following arguments
Christ is the propitiation for our sins. He intercedes with the Father on the basis of his accomplished his work of atonement. He is the perfect advocate whose intercession with the Father is always successful (I John 2:1; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24-26; John 11:41-42,).

II. Argument 1 from Christ’s intercession
Premise: Christ’s intercession with the Father is always successful.

Outline of argument:
(1) If Jesus intercedes for all, all would actually be saved.
(2) But not all are saved.
(3) Therefore Jesus does not intercede for all.*

III. Argument 2 from “Propitiation”
Premise: Christ as “propitiation” has turned away God’s wrath (1John 2:2).

Outline of argument:
1) If Christ has really bore God’s wrath for everybody, nobody will go to hell, since their punishment has already been born by Christ.
2) But Scripture does testify that the wicked will experience punishment in hell.
3) Therefore Christ is not the propitiation for the sins of everybody

IV. The Logic of the arguments
The two arguments have the same logical form: Continue reading “Definite Atonement (Part 3/3). The Logic of 1 John 2:1-2”