At its core, Christology focuses on the relationship between human nature and the divine nature of Jesus. During the patristic period, the important reason for focusing on the doctrine of the person of Christ was to establish a harmonized Christological scheme that would unify the various Christological models within the New Testament. During the Patristic period, the two natures of Christ-human and divine were highly controversial i . The opposing viewpoints of the nature of Christ are explainable by two schools; the Alexandrian School and the Antiochene School. The latter emphasized the divine nature of Christ while the former focused on the humanity side. These schools majored on various controversies, such as the Arius controversy, to determine whether they were genuinely divine or mere beings. Through a close dissection of McGrath’s Historical Theology, it is apparent that Jesus was simultaneously human and divine. Christology is significant in theology because the tenets of Jesus as a human and divine are what the Bible, particularly the New Testament, is wrapped about.
The Arian Controversy
Arianism arose in the early years of the fourth century between Arius and Alexander of Alexandria. At its core, Arianism is a heretical Christological teaching that refused to concede about the divinity of Christ entirely. According to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, God was in three persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit ii . Arius, however, opposed the notion and claimed that God was indivisible. His rationale was based on the belief that if the Father begat the son, then the son must have had a beginning in time. Before that time, the son was non-existent. Therefore, the son is not equal to God but was is God’s creation.
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Furthermore, John's Gospel reads, “the Father is greater than me” (14:28). Arius claimed that the scriptures that pointed to the divinity of Christ were merely honoring him as a being that is above others and elevating him above all other creations. After Arius presented his heretical teachings, Athanasius opposed Arius's theological and practical ideals in his arguments.
According to Athanasius, the divinity of Christ is the center of the Christian understanding of salvation, commonly referred to as soteriology in theology. According to Athanasius, the Son being human was against Arianism in two significant ways. First, God is the only one capable of saving. Therefore, being human requires redemption from God. Only God is capable of redeeming as opposed to another creature redeeming itself. Athanasius' point is more logical and a gain for Christology based on the rationale that only God can save iii . For Athanasius, salvation is divine intervention. He draws this argument from John 1:14 that states “the word became flesh.” The implication is that God entered our human situation to save it. Secondly, Christianity primarily involves worshiping and praying to our Lord Jesus Christ iv . Therefore, if Jesus were a creature, then Christians would be guilty of lapsing into idolatry. Yet Christianity forbids the worship of any creature except God. Athanasius argued that Arius was guilty of making claims on the way Christians worship. Furthermore, Jesus Christ was God incarnate hence the right of Christians to worship Him.
The Apollinarian Controversy
Apollinaris strongly opposed Arianism with the claim that Jesus Christ is not entirely human. Instead, the Divine Logos replaced the human spirit. Thus, Jesus did not have human nature because the divine logos provided the life. Apollinaris implied that the logos nature was contaminated by human nature. The proposition is that if Jesus had the human mind, his sinless nature would be compromised. Furthermore, the human mind is a source of sin and rebellion against God. Apollinaris’ heresy appalled many because of its Soteriological implications. There was the question or rather misunderstanding of the redemption of human nature because it was unclear how Christ possessed a part of it and the totality of Logos incarnation.
The Nestorian Heresy
Nestorius emphasized the human nature of Christ and seemed to oppose his divinity. According to this heresy, since Jesus was born of Virgin Mary, he was a mere being, and therefore Mary should be referred to as “Christokos,” meaning Mother of Christ instead of the mother of God v . The rationale was based on the claim that it is impossible for Mary to birth God since, logically, the creation cannot give birth to itself. Therefore, Jesus Christ is considered God’s carrier, a title similar to Ignatius of Antioch. The Nestorian Heresy distinguishes the human and divine nature of Christ. Thus, the two natures began after the birth of the Virgin Mary.
Conclusively, the understanding of Christ Jesus is crucial to Christian salvation. In his book, McGrath attempts to explain the human and divine nature of Jesus Christ. The different viewpoints of the fourth century and the Patristic era are presented. They attempt to explain the opposing viewpoints of different theologians on the nature of Christ. Of the different explanations, Athanasius is the most significant gain for Christology because it acknowledges both the human and divine nature of Jesus. However, the other viewpoints are stagnated on one opinion hence the controversies. Christians have much to consider based on the Christological settlement made by the early church. Furthermore, the doctrine of Christ seems to be vigorously defended to the extent that salvation and the gospel were at stake. The Christology result, however, is worship and praise for God.
Bibliography
i McGrath, Alister E. Historical theology: An introduction to the history of Christian thought . John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
ii Kharlamov, V., 2020. Athanasius and Arius in Deificational Tandem. Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies , 3 (1), pp.31-49.
iii Craig, William Lane. "Is God the Son Begotten in His Divine Nature?." TheoLogica: An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology 3, no. 1 (2019): 22-32.
