📖 Biblical Definition
Christology is the branch of theology concerned with who Jesus Christ is and what He accomplished. Scripture presents Christ as fully God (John 1:1; Colossians 2:9: "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily") and fully man (John 1:14; Hebrews 2:17) — two natures united in one Person without mixture, confusion, division, or separation (Chalcedon, 451 AD). The orthodox formulation has been worked out across the great councils — Nicaea (325, against Arius), Constantinople (381, against the Pneumatomachians), Ephesus (431, against Nestorius), and Chalcedon (451) — and remains the church’s settled confession. Every Christological heresy denies one half of the formula: Arianism denied full deity; Docetism denied real humanity; Apollinarianism denied a human soul; Nestorianism split the Person; Eutychianism mixed the natures. The Reformed confessions hold the Chalcedonian center.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Not listed in Webster 1828 as a standalone entry; the term developed in formal theological usage through the 19th cen...
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Not listed in Webster 1828 as a standalone entry; the term developed in formal theological usage through the 19th century. Broadly: the doctrine relating to Christ — His divine and human nature, His offices (Prophet, Priest, King), His states of humiliation and exaltation, and His redemptive work.
📖 Key Scripture
John 1:1 — "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:14 — "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory."
Colossians 2:9 — "For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."
Hebrews 1:3 — "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature."
Philippians 2:6–8 — Christ, "being in very nature God... made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern liberal theology reduces Christ to a moral teacher, social revolutionary, or archetypal myth, stripping Him of...
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Modern liberal theology reduces Christ to a moral teacher, social revolutionary, or archetypal myth, stripping Him of deity, bodily resurrection, and atoning significance. "Christology from below" movements build their doctrine from human experience upward, rather than from Scripture downward, producing a Jesus shaped by cultural preferences rather than revealed truth. A Christ who is not God incarnate cannot save; a Christ who is not truly man cannot represent humanity.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
G5547 — Christos: Anointed One, the Greek equivalent of Hebrew Mashiach (Messiah) G3056 — Logos: Word, re...
Usage
• A robust Christology recognizes that Christ's two natures are not confused but remain distinct and fully intact in His one Person.
• Every heresy in church history can be traced to a defective Christology — either robbing Christ of His deity or denying His full humanity.
• To know Christ rightly is not merely theology for the classroom; it is life for the soul (John 17:3).