What is Christology?
Question 3000
Christology is one of those theological words that can sound intimidating, but it simply means the study of Jesus. The word comes from the Greek Χριστός (Christos), meaning “Anointed One” or “Messiah,” combined with λόγος (logos), meaning “word” or “study.” So Christology is the branch of theology that examines everything Scripture teaches us about who Jesus is and what He has done.
Why Christology Matters
You might ask why we need a special word for studying Jesus. Can’t we just read the Gospels and leave it at that? The answer is that from the very beginning of the Church, people have asked deep questions about Jesus that demand careful, biblical answers. Is Jesus truly God? Is He truly man? How can He be both? What did His death accomplish? What is He doing now? What will He do when He returns?
These are not merely university-type questions. What you believe about Jesus determines whether you have saving faith or not. The Apostle John makes this abundantly clear:
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” 1 John 2:22
Getting Jesus wrong is not a minor doctrinal slip. It is the difference between life and death, between knowing God and being cut off from Him forever.
The Person of Jesus
Christology is traditionally divided into two main areas: the Person of Jesus and the Work of Jesus. The Person of Jesus concerns His identity and nature. Scripture teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully man, two natures united in one Person without confusion, mixture, division, or separation.
The deity of Jesus is affirmed throughout the New Testament. John’s Gospel opens with the stunning declaration: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Paul tells us that in Jesus “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). The writer to the Hebrews describes the Son as “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). Thomas, upon seeing the risen Lord, declared “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
Yet Jesus is also truly human. He was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4). He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52). He experienced hunger, thirst, weariness, and sorrow. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). He bled and died on a Roman cross. The humanity of Jesus is not a costume or a disguise; it is genuine and permanent. Even now, seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus remains the God-man, our merciful and faithful High Priest who sympathises with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15).
The Work of Jesus
The Work of Jesus encompasses everything He has done, is doing, and will do for our salvation. This includes His life of perfect obedience to the Father’s will, His teaching and miracles, His atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to heaven, His present ministry of intercession, and His future return in glory.
At the heart of Jesus’ work is the cross. There, He bore the sins of His people and suffered the wrath of God in their place. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). This is substitutionary atonement: Jesus dying the death we deserved so that we might receive the life He earned.
But the cross without the resurrection would leave us without hope. Paul insists that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The resurrection vindicated Jesus, proving that the Father accepted His sacrifice. It also guarantees our own future resurrection and the restoration of all things.
Jesus has not finished working. Right now, He intercedes for His people at the Father’s right hand (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). And one day, He will return visibly and bodily to judge the living and the dead, to raise His people to everlasting life, and to establish His kingdom forever (Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11-16).
Christology in Church History
The early Church faced numerous challenges to the biblical teaching about Jesus. Some denied His deity (Arianism), others His true humanity (Docetism), and still others tried to divide Him into two persons (Nestorianism) or confuse His two natures into one (Eutychianism). The Council of Chalcedon in AD 451 provided a summary statement (establishing what was already believed by Christians) that has guided orthodox Christians ever since, affirming that Jesus is “truly God and truly man… to be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”
The same errors resurface in every generation, sometimes in new forms. Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the deity of Jesus. Liberal theologians reduce Him to a moral teacher. New Age spirituality reimagines Him as an enlightened master among many. It seems every religion has an opinion on Jesus. But faithful Christians must know what Scripture teaches about Jesus so they can recognise and resist these distortions.
Conclusion
Christology is the study of the most important Person who ever lived. Everything in Christianity stands or falls with Jesus. If He is not who Scripture says He is, then the whole of our faith collapses. But if He is truly the eternal Son of God who became man, lived a perfect life, died for sinners, rose from the dead, and reigns forever, then He is worthy of all our worship, trust, and obedience. To know Jesus rightly is to know God. To trust Jesus fully is to have eternal life.
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3
