God the Son, Mentor's Guide, MG10

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G O D T H E S O N

ontologically superior to any and all angelic agents; Jesus is equal with God; Jesus is God. The performative force of singing this hymn (or reciting, if a confession) was to strengthen community identity. No less powerful than the Lord’s Supper or baptism, the ritual of confessing “Jesus as the glory of Yahweh” created and reinforced the boundary lines between Christianity and Judaism. ~ R. P. Martin and P. H. Davids. Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments . (electronic ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

This lesson focuses upon the person of Jesus, the Messiah and Lord of all, in terms of the validity and necessity of studying the person and work of Christ as Savior, and, specifically in this lesson, his preexistence as the Word of God. That Jesus, the second member of the Trinity, God the Son, came to earth for the sake of revealing God’s glory and redeeming humankind is one of the most profound revelations of Scripture. The study of Christ is not merely for our intellectual curiosity or our mild religious study; it is the heart and soul of what it means to be a follower of Christ, to affirm in our lives that we cannot knowGod except through the mediator of his own choosing, the Lord Jesus Christ. “He Came” is the foundational affirmation of the Christian community. The same Lord who dwelt in eternal splendor and glory with the Father was revealed to us in the flesh through the Incarnation. As we meditate upon this lofty truth, we are led not only to wonder at its depth, but to worship and revere the One who with such great humility came to earth in order to redeem us from the tyranny of sin. Below are some of the central theological truths covered in this lesson. The Nicene Creed has great significance for us as we investigate what the Scriptures teach regarding Christ, formerly called “Christology.” The doctrine of Christology has great importance in our training as leaders in the Church, especially in the way it serves to ground our entire understanding of the Christian story and faith. The Nicene Creed frames our thinking about the person and work of Jesus, especially in its shaping of our view of Christ’s work as two interrelated movements : his humiliation (i.e., his becoming human and dying on the cross for our sakes) and his exaltation (his resurrection, ascension, and the hope of his return in power).

Summary of Key Concepts

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