To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Sun, 23 Jul 2000 17:30:13 -0500
Subject: HF014 - Logos Christology: Our Common Heritage
Hebraics,
This Bible study is entitled 'Logos Christology: Our Common
Heritage.' The Scripture setting for the study is Psalm 33:6-12,
which reads;
"By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath
of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea
together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all
the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in
awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood
fast. The Lord nullifies the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the
Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people which He has
chosen for His own inheritance." (NASB)
In the study of early Church theology it is easy to get bogged down
in the Nicean period. What many don't realize is that the Nicean period
was a period of competing theologies. These theologies varied somewhat
from what the earliest Christians taught. The three man branches of
competing theologies were Arianism, Sabellinaism, and Trinitarianism.
The competing forms began emerging in the latter part of the second
century after Christ.
At the council of Nicea in 325 a.d., Trinitarianism was made the
orthodox theology of the Roman Empire. The problem was that the Council
of Nicea put in place a theology that used Latin terminology as it's
base, and, for this reason, the trinity doctrine was out of favor with
most churchmen for nearly fifty years after Nicea. It became forced
theology. The Bible itself was written in Hebrew and Greek. (Primarily.)
To cut through a lot of technical verbiage, let me simply point out
that there was an earlier theology in the Christian world that was
the forerunner of the three strands of Nicean period theology. This
theology is referred to as Logos-Christology. And it is this
particular theology that is the common heritage of all Christians.
Logos-Christology was the natural theology of the early Church.
What do we mean by Logos-Christology being the natural theology of the
early Church? It seems that God had already prepared the Jews and the
Greeks for the coming of the Messiah by revealing to both groups certain
aspects of the working of Deity. For example, some of the Greek
philosophers ridiculed the idea of there being many gods, and believed
in a one true God. Paul alludes to this at the Areopagus, when he says,
"For in Him we live and move and exit, as even some of your own poets
have said, 'For we are His children.'" (Acts17:28)
These early philosophers taught that the working of the true God in
creation was through what they termed the 'Logos.' In Hebraic theology
the same concept was taught. The ancient Jews used the Hebrew term
'Memra.' The teaching was that the Logos/Memra was both the Word of God
and also God Himself. Later theologians began to speak of the Word of
God as being 'God's other self.'
The point is that Logos theology was already present in the
Roman/Grecian world when Christ came. This was all in preparation for the
gospel. So when John begins his gospel, we hear an appeal to both the
Greek and Hebrew peoples. He says, "In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
John didn't have to do explain the term 'Logos.' When he said,
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us," people would
have understood that John was calling Jesus the Logos/Memra.
When John said, "And we saw His glory," the Hebrews would have especially
picked up on this. To them the 'Glory' had a special regard to both the
Memra and the Messiah. The ancients saw the Messiah in everything.
To shore this is let me reference one writer you are likely familiar with.
In the writings of Philo, you hear some of the same language that was used
by John and Paul. And if you have any of the early Judaic writings, you
hear the same language, but in Jewish expressions. Why is this? Again we
are dealing with thought forms that were present in the Grecian and Hebraic
world during the times of the apostles.
Philo was a Grecian Jew who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. (20 bc to
ad 50) He was a contemporary of Jesus and the apostles. Being a
Hellenistic Jew, his writings reflected Hellenistic Judaism. So in
reading Philo, you hear thought forms very similar to the apostolic
writings. The New Testament writings belonged to a period of time
where the social fabric of the Roman world was was still
Hellenistic.
What does all this have to do with us? It can do much in helping us
get back to Biblical Christianity. The faith of the early Church
rested entirely upon the writings of the apostles and prophets. Both these
groups of God's servants often spoke of God's Word as more than the
written Word.
For example, in Hebrews 4:12, we hear, "For the word [Logos] of
God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and
piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Then it goes on to say that the Logos is our great high priest,
"Who has passed through the heavens." (Verse 14)
Peter said, "For you have been born again not of seed which is
perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word
[Logos] of God." (1Pet1:23)
Our problem is in trying to take the mystery out of everything. And yet
when it comes to the things of God, we should rejoice over certain
mysteries that cannot be comprehended with the mind. Our joy comes from
an understanding of the heart.
There is much more to be said, and I hope we don't bog down in
the Nicean period. But I'll leave off for now.
Is Logos-Christology the most natural form of theology? Can you
think of Scriptures that make better sense with this early Church
theology in the background, than they do by other explanations.
Shalom in Christ,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org