Essays In Exegetical Christology

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Authors: Frederick Mawusi Amevenku & Isaac Boaheng
ISBN 978-9988-53-915-3
DOI: 10.38159/npub.eb20604
Published: 30th June, 2020

Christology is central to the study of Christian Theology. Knowing who Christ is, and what he does, is thus, a crucial part of Christian reflection on God and the works of God in the world. Who is Jesus Christ? Why is Christ so important for the Christian faith? The Christian doctrine of the person of Christ (Christology) sets out to answer these and other questions related to the person and works of Christ. Answers to these questions are very important because one’s view of Christ determines how he/she understands and practices Christianity. As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ is the historical point of departure for Christianity.
Discussions of Christology could be traced to the time of Jesus. According to the gospel account, Jesus once asked his disciples: “Who do people say I am?” (Matt. 16:13; Mark 8:27). It is clear from this question that in his life time people had already begun to speculate about who the Christ was. After the disciples reported people’s opinion about Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Peter’s response that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (v. 16) became the rock upon which Christ promised to build his church (v. 18ff).
Reading this and other gospel passages, one realises that even though the identity of Christ was vague to the disciples at the initial stages of their fellowship with him, they (the disciples) gradually became aware of the theological significance of who the Saviour was. We may as well conclude that Christianity began at this point in the life of Christ. Paul Tillich, therefore opines that, “Christianity was born, not with the birth of the man called ‘Jesus,’ but in the moment in which one of his followers was driven to say, ‘You are the Christ.’”

Why this book?
The Christological question has attracted much scholarly attention throughout the history of the Christian Church. Theologians seem to have so much interest in the subject that, they tirelessly write on it. Publications on the subject of Christology are therefore numerous. However, most of these works tend to focus mainly on the historical perspective of the subject, and fail to pay adequate attention to the biblical data available. Others focus so much on so many biblical passages that they are unable to study these texts into details. What makes the present work unique is its ability to offer detailed analyses of selected biblical passages, without neglecting the historical aspect of the subject matter.

Frederick Mawusi Amevenku is an ordained Minister of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,Ghana. He is a Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Biblical Hermeneutics at the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon in Accra, Ghana. He holds a PhD from Stellenbosch University (Western Cape), South Africa. Mawusi also holds BD and MTh degrees from Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon; LLB and MPhil degrees from the University of Ghana, Legon and Dip. Ed and B.Ed degrees from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He has served as District Pastor twice in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana. He edited A Handbook for Presbyters (2016), Co-authored Tithing in the Christian Church (2018) and edited Topics in Discipleship Series (2019). Mawusi has published many articles in refereed journals and contributed chapters to a few books in the areas of New Testament Studies, Mother Tongue Theologising and Biblical Interpretation. Mawusi is married to Dzifa and they live together with their son Elorm.

Isaac Boaheng holds a Master of Divinity Degree from the Trinity Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister of the Methodist Church Ghana and a Translator with the Bible Society of Ghana. Some of his recent publications include: A Study of Amos and Hosea: Implications for African Public Theology (2020); Is the Bible Really the Word of God (2019) and Basic Biblical Hebrew (2019). Isaac has research interest in Public Theology, Biblical Studies, and African Christianity. He is married to Gloria and they are blessed with Christian, Benedict and Julia.

CHAPTER ONE
EARLY CHRISTOLOGICAL CONTROVERSIES – 11

CHAPTER TWO
THE OLD TESTAMENT AND CHRISTOLOGY – 20

CHAPTER THREE
LOGOS CHRISTOLOGY (JOHN 1:1) – 43

CHAPTER FOUR
INCARNATION CHRISTOLOGY (JOHN 1:14a)  – 64

CHAPTER FIVE
HUMILIATION-EXALTATION CHRISTOLOGY (PHILLIPIANS. 2:5-11)  – 78

CHAPTER SIX
FIRSTBORN CHRISTOLOGY (COLOSSIANS. 1:15-20) –  102

CHAPTER SEVEN
PRIESTLY CHRISTOLOGY IN HEBREWS  – 121