Christian theology
Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...
sometimes refers to
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
using the title Redeemer. This refererences the
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
he accomplished, and is based on the metaphor of
redemption, or "buying back". In the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, ''redemption'' can refer both to deliverance from sin and to freedom from captivity.
Although the
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
s do not use the title "Redeemer", the idea of redemption occurs in several of
Paul's letters.
Leon Morris
Leon Lamb Morris (15 March 1914 – 24 July 2006) was an Australian New Testament scholar.
Born in Lithgow, New South Wales, Morris was ordained to the Anglican ministry in 1938. He earned Bachelor of Divinity (with first class honors) in 1943 ...
says that "Paul uses the concept of redemption primarily to speak of the saving significance of the death of Christ."
Universality
The
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
speaks of Christ as the one Saviour for all people.
[On Christ's role as universal Saviour, cf. ]Gerald O'Collins
Gerald Glynn O'Collins (born 1931) is an Australian Jesuit priest and academic. He was a research professor and writer-in-residence at the Jesuit Theological College (JTC) in Parkville, Victoria, and a research professor in theology at St Mary's ...
, ''Salvation for All: God's Other Peoples'', OUP (2008). The
First Epistle of John
The First Epistle of John is the first of the Johannine epistles of the New Testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the Johannine works. The author of the First Epistle is te ...
says that Jesus is "the
propitiation
Propitiation is the act of appeasing or making well-disposed a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. While some use the term interchangeably with expiation, others draw a sharp distinction between the two. The discuss ...
for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the world" (
1 John 2:2). Adherents of
unlimited atonement
Unlimited atonement (sometimes called general atonement or universal atonement) is a doctrine in Protestant Christianity that is normally associated with Amyraldism (four-point Calvinism), as well as Arminianism and other non-Calvinist tradition ...
interpret this to mean that Jesus' redemptive role is for all people without exception, while adherents of
limited atonement interpret it as being for all people without ''distinction''—for Gentiles as well as Jews.
The first Christians also recognized Jesus' redemptive role to be unique (without parallel), complete (as one who conveys the fullness of salvation), and definitive (beyond any possibility of being equaled, let alone surpassed, in his salvific function). In particular, his universal role means that through him the deadly forces of evil are overcome, sin is forgiven, their contamination purified, and the new existence as God's beloved, adopted children has been made available.
[For this section, and its respective themes and positions, compare ]Gerald O'Collins
Gerald Glynn O'Collins (born 1931) is an Australian Jesuit priest and academic. He was a research professor and writer-in-residence at the Jesuit Theological College (JTC) in Parkville, Victoria, and a research professor in theology at St Mary's ...
, '' Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus'', OUP
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
(2009), pp. 297–333. Cf. also O'Collins, ''Salvation for All: God's Other Peoples, cit.''; ''id., Jesus: A Portrait'', Darton, Longman & Todd (2008), Chs 11–12; ''id''., ''Incarnation'', Continuum (2002), pp. 36–42; J.A. Fitzmyer, ''The Gospel According to Luke I–IX'', Doubleday (1981), pp. 79–82; Karl Rahner
Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of t ...
, ''Foundations of Christian Faith'', trans. W.V. Dych, Darton, Longman & Todd (1978), pp. 193–195, 204–206, 279–280, 316–321. This New Testament sense of Christ's indispensable and necessary role for human salvation could be summarized by a new
axiom
An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...
: ''extra Christum nulla salus'' ("outside Christ no salvation"). This sense of his all-determining role in the whole redemptive drama is suggested by a fact: unlike the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
, where various human beings could be called "saviour" (e.g.,
Judges 3: 9,
15, and
31), the New Testament gives the title "Saviour" only to God (eight times) and to Christ (sixteen times).
See also
*
Christology
In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...
*
Jesus as the Logos
In Christianity, the Logos ( el, Λόγος, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a name or title of Jesus Christ, seen as the pre-existent second person of the Trinity. In the Douay–Rheims, King James, New International, and other version ...
*
Jesus in Christianity
Jesus is called the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God in the Bible's New Testament, and in mainstream Christianity, mainstream Christian denominations he is God the Son, the second Person in the Trinity. He is believed to be the messiah in Ju ...
*
Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament
Two names and a variety of titles are used to refer to Jesus in the New Testament. In Christianity, the two names Jesus and Emmanuel that refer to Jesus in the New Testament have salvific attributes.''Bible explorer's guide'' by John Phillips 200 ...
*
Messiah § Christianity
*
Second Adam
The Last Adam, also given as the Final Adam or the Ultimate Adam, is a title given to Jesus in the New Testament. Similar titles that also refer to Jesus include Second Adam and New Adam.
Twice in the New Testament an explicit comparison is m ...
*
Goel (Judaism)
''Goel'' (Hebrew: גואל, lit. "redeemer"), in the Hebrew Bible and the rabbinical tradition, is a person who, as the nearest relative of someone, is charged with the duty of restoring that person's rights and avenging wrongs done to him or he ...
References
Bibliography
* Borgen, Peder. ''Early Christianity and Hellenistic Judaism''.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
: T & T Clark Publishing. 1996.
* Brown, Raymond. ''An Introduction to the New Testament''.
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
: Doubleday. 1997.
*
Dunn, J. D. G. ''Christology in the Making''. London: SCM Press. 1989.
* Ferguson, Everett. ''Backgrounds in Early Christianity''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing. 1993.
* Greene, Colin J. D. ''Christology in Cultural Perspective: Marking Out the Horizons''. Grand Rapids: InterVarsity Press. Eerdmans Publishing. 2003.
* Holt, Bradley P. ''Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality''. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 2005.
* Letham, Robert. ''The Work of Christ''. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1993.
*
Macleod, Donald. ''The Person of Christ''. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1998.
*
McGrath, Alister. ''Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 1998.
*
Macquarrie, J. ''Jesus Christ in Modern Thought''.
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
: SCM Press. 1990.
*
Neusner, Jacob. ''From Politics to Piety: The Emergence of Pharisaic Judaism''. Providence, R.I.: Brown University. 1973.
* Norris, Richard A. Jr. ''The Christological Controversy''.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
: Fortress Press. 1980.
*
O'Collins, Gerald. ''
Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus''. Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. 2009.
*
O'Collins, Gerald. ''
Jesus: A Portrait''. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 2008.
*
O'Collins, Gerald. ''Salvation for All: God's Other Peoples''.
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. 2008.
* Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''Development of Christian Doctrine: Some Historical Prolegomena''. London: Yale University Press. 1969.
* Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100–600)''.
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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: University of Chicago Press. 1971.
*
Rahner, Karl. ''Foundations of Christian Faith'', trans. W.V. Dych. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 1978.
* Tyson, John R.'' Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology''. New York: Oxford University Press. 1999.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redeemer (Christianity)
Biblical phrases
Christian terminology
Christology
Christian soteriology