|
Resources & Links Quick Links Other Resources |
Resources & Links > Bible Studies > Lutheran Theology and Beliefs Lutheran Theology and Beliefs Christ Our Lifeoutline by Seminarian Chris Halbert The Formal Principle of This Study
b. Scripture is the Source for which we find Christ in the Old and New Testaments; it is the Rule of which we look to for the purpose of learning about Christ and the promise of salvation. c. See John 5:39 -- "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me..." d. It is important to reiterate this basic principle because it is so easy to get off track and diverge to other "authorities" for knowing God and Christ.
ii. looking for God "under every rock" iii. our own ideas/thoughts f. What can these verses tell us about the relationship between God's Word and our lives in faith? g. Note in John 15:3 that Christ says to His Disciples that they are "clean" (katharoi) because of "the word" (ton logon) which He spoke to them.
ii. There is a sense in which this verse applies to our Subjective Justification in which Christ has made us "innocent" before God by having the benefits of His Death applied to us through the Spirit granting us faith. iii. Christ's Word cleanses by Justifying us and Sanctifying us iv. Note also how Christ uses "the word" in the singular; there is God's Word and not God's Words v. That is, Scripture itself is God's Word and it contains singular and particular Words which emanate ultimately from God Himself (cf. 2 Peter 1:20-21) vi. Christ has spoken God's Word to His Disciples vii. This tells us of an underlying unity within the Words of Christ and that it is both particular and unified at the same time
ii. That there exists in Scripture the basic message of the Gospel (Singular) and many individual teachings, poetry, narratives, etc. that exist to reveal to us God's character but do not detract from Scripture's Goal: Salvation. iii. There is a resistance to plurality when it comes to truth and we do not have to fear plurality to some extent iv. many favor that there is only one set answer and "that is that" v. Jesus Christ is the One Truth, but yet we see and perceive Him in diverse accounts of Scripture (e.g. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John vi. Lee Strobel mentions "Ironically... if the gospels had been identical to each other, word for word, this would have raised charges that the authors had consipred among themselves to coordinate their stories in advance, and that would have cast doubt on them" (Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ [Grand Rapids, MI: Harper Collins, 1998], 450. vii. Moreover, Bible Scholar Craig Blomberg responds, "If the gospels were too consistent, that in itself would invalidate them as independent witnesses. People would then say that we really only have one testimony that everyone else is just parroting" (Ibid.). viii. Strobel continues to mention, "From the perspective of a classical historian, German scholar Hans Stier has concurred that agreement over basic data and divergence of details suggest credibility, because fabricated accounts tend to be fully consistent and harmonized" (Ibid., 46). xi. Diversity shows us the Dynamicity to our faith; that is, Christ is not a Static Truth that can be easily summed up in one simple proposition, but a Divine Figure who gives us new insights.
b. The Church's Confessional Standards provide a normative guide for understanding Christ with its given emphases and distinctions. c. Understanding who we are and where our community of faith comes from helps us with our own Christian identity both privately and publicly (see Matthew 16:15-16, Hebrews 4:14, 2 Corinthians 3:13). d. "Why are there so many pages on Justification and so little on the Last Times?" e. We can look at the Confessions but understand them in their historical context while still applying their meaning to the present. f. They hold meaning for the present because they have their foundation in Scripture which transcends time and culture.
b. Not only can we dig from the well from great thinkers from our Lutheran tradition, but since we are Christians, we can learn from Christians representative of different particular traditions. The Material Principle
2. It refers to the matter, itself. 3. In this case, Christ is the Material Principle
b. Work c. Suffering 5. Work -- can refer to the Acts and Teachings of Jesus 6. Suffering -- refers to Jesus' Death on the Cross for us. 7. This three-fold distinction is owed to Luther; he mentions: "This the gospel is and should be nothing else than a chronicle, a story, a narrative about Christ, telling who he is, what he did, said, and suffered..." [emphases mine] (Martin Luther, Timothy Lull, ed., What to Look for and Expect in the Gospels. [MN; Fortress Press, 1995] 105) 8. Most Systematic Theologians distinguish between the Person and Work of Christ, but this third distinction for suffering is useful because suffering is, in fact, distinct from Work. 9. Work refers to active qualities where one is actively performing a duty or task to achieve a goal. 10. Suffering is passive in nature and involves something enacting on another; thus, when one suffers some active force from without is inflicting violence* of some kind upon its object. (*Editor's note: In this context, "violence" is inflicting force on another -not necessarily harmful.) 11. Christ did not actively seek Death and Suffering, but allowed it to happen to Him from without and submitted to the passive act of being Crucified for the Father's will (cf. Luke 22:39-46) The Goal
2. Christ is our Life as Christians (cf. Colossians 3:3) and we should integrate every aspect of our being - heart, mind, soul, body -to growing closer to Him on our relationship. 3. We also need to remember that since Christ is our Life, He is also the Center of our Faith and Practice. 4. This means He is at the Center of everything we believe and confess as well as being the Focal Point for Worship - the Living God who descends to us Tangibly and Incarnationally in the Preached Word and Holy Sacrament. 5. To understand who Jesus Christ is in light of the diverse positions out there in the present time and age; many differet assertions exist as to Who Jesus is as well as to How we should understand Him. 6. When we are confronted with differing views and challenges to our faith we need to be able to judge rightly about what is truthful and biblical as well as not being "tossed to and fro" by every teaching (see Ephesians 3:13-14, 1 Corinthians 14:20) Personal Study
PrayerO Lord, You are My Life Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright (C) 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). ©2009 Immanuel First Lutheran Church |
Connect With Us
Share This Page 
|
