Thursday, March 6, 2014

Kilcrease, 2013. Chapter 4, “Christology and Atonement in the New Testament, Part 2”

Chapter 4, “Christology and Atonement in the New Testament, Part 2”

Kilcrease now walks through the Epistles and Revelation, tracing the theme of Christology. He first discusses in brief his commitment to an historical, Reformation understanding of Paul as opposed to the proponents of the New Perspective. Then, based mostly on Romans, he portrays Paul as offering Jesus as the one who overcame the Law through the promise of the Gospel. This demonstrates God’s commitment to his covenant with Abraham, which is not based on man’s obedience. Jesus then serves as the mediator of the covenant, passing the promises to all mankind.

The Catholic Epistles portray Jesus only briefly as the glorious Lord. He is shown as the one who bears sins. In Revelation the picture is a bit more detailed, with Jesus serving as God’s Lamb, both the originator of and the object of worship. Jesus, then, is the embodiment of all creation, including the tabernacle, the temple, and all that happens there. He is the mediator and the one who returns mankind from exile.

In the book of Hebrews the christology and view of Jesus as mediator is highly developed. Kilcrease makes a lengthy description of the book’s portrayal of Jesus as prophet, priest, king, sacrifice, mediator, and fulfiller of prophecy.

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