The Early Church: Jesus, True God and True Man

CHAPTER NINE

Letter to the Hebrews- Although the letter shows an association

with Paul with a reference to Timothy, St. Paul did not write the letter to the Hebrews

- Author is anonymous

-Written homily developing a theme of Christ as a high priest and the model of our faith

• A priest’s role is to offer sacrifices

• Jesus willingly sacrificed His life for us

• Jesus offered the sacrifice on our behalf and offered Himself as the sacrifice

- Written for a local church whose faith was starting to become lifeless

- Tries to encourage these Christians to persevere in their faith by pointing to Jesus

• Jesus had been tempted and suffered, yet remained faithful

- Christian vocation is a pilgrimage

• Jesus is the guide

• To achieve heaven we must imitate His obedience and His suffering

Letter to the Hebrews

Catholic Epistles

- Made up of seven NT Documents:

Catholic Epistles

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

Catholic Epistles- Catholic means “universal”

The letters are called Catholic because:

1.) They contain general advice that is helpful to all churches

2.) They were accepted by all

Eastern and Western churches 3.) They help us understand better how the catholic or worldwide

Church was developed

Catholic EpistlesJames

- Actual author is unknown

- Addressed to Jewish-Christians outside Holy Land

-Gives much practical, Christ-inspired advice and encouragement on themes of Christian living• How to handle temptation

• Power of prayer

Key themes:• God’s preferential love for the poor

• Need for rich people to care for the poor

Catholic Epistles1 Peter

- Pseudonymous writer; written by a disciple of Peter to communities in Asia Minor

- Purpose was to boost the spirit of Gentile-Christian converts to bear witness to Christ in a largely pagan world

- Resembles more of a sermon

- Points to Jesus as the Suffering Servant

- Gives the clearest NT teaching on suffering

• Tells Christians not to return evil with evil

“But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly” (1 Peter 4:13).

Catholic EpistlesJude and 2 Peter

- 2 Peter borrows heavily from Jude

- Letter of Jude denounces certain outsiders who have come into the Church

• Warns these outsiders that they will be punished severely for engaging in acts of immorality that were most likely sexual in nature

- 2 Peter is last NT work written

- Major theological contribution concerns Christ’s Second Coming

1 John

- Style and teachings reveal intimate connection to John’s Gospel

-1st letter is most important

• Written to bolster the Johannine church threatened by a schism caused by false teachers

2 John - Reminds Christians to love one another

- Warns against anyone who denies the doctrine of the Incarnation, calling them Antichrists

Catholic Epistles

Catholic Epistles3 John

- Condemns Diotrephes who challenged the teachings of John the Elder and refused to receive his emissaries

- Second and third letters show the early Church had its problems to work out, just as our current Church does

Revelation to John

- Last book of the Bible

- Also known as the Apocalypse

- Because of its symbolic and imaginative language, it is the last read and understood book in the New Testament

- Author is a prophet named John Patmos

- Revelation is “unveiling” of the risen Jesus Christ

Revelation to John

St. Jerome commented that Revelation contains as many

secrets as it does words.

John Patmos wrote the book to:

1.) Encourage Christians to remain faithful during times of persecution, false teachings, and complacency

2.) For Christians to remain hopeful

Revelation to John

• Jesus already rescued us from sin and death by His death and resurrection

• In the coming battle he will conquer the unholy trinity of Satan (the dragon), the beast of the sea (the emperor), and the beast of the land (the local authority)

Revelation to JohnApocalyptic Literature

- Contained visions given to a human usually by a heavenly being who takes him to a heavenly vantage point

• Symbolic words, images, and numbers, pessimism about a world in the grip of a devil, but optimism about God’s final triumph

-The message is disguised using symbolism so John could write about his enemies without them knowing it

Revelation to John

- Basic message of apocalyptic writing:

• God controls history and the outcome of events, not the present evil rulers or the forces of evil

- Theme: Faithfully endure present difficulties until the Lord comes in his glory

Revelation to John

6 is associated with imperfection

666 is ultimate imperfection

7 means “wholeness or perfection”

Symbols

12 signifies Israel, 12 apostles or or the Church

Revelation to John

1000 symbolizes an incalculable amount or eternity

144,000 symbolizes a new Israel

Symbols

Black represents suffering

Red means war, violence, killing

White symbolizes victory

Pallor stands for death

Purple stands for royalty

Revelation to JohnSymbols

Revelation to JohnSymbols

- Babylon: An ancient city that persecuted the Jews, stands for the modern persecutor of the Christians, Rome

- Dragon: Personification of evil, Satan

- Horn: Power

- Eyes: Knowledge

Revelation to John

- Four horses

• White: Conquering power

• Red: Bloody war

• Black: Famine

• Green: Death

Symbols

Revelation to John-In Revelation, Jesus is:

• The Pantokrator - majestic, powerful ruler

• God

• The Alpha and the Omega (beginning and the end)

• The root of David

• The Lion and the Lamb

• The judge of the living and the dead

• The word of God

Christology of Early Church

Christology of Early Church

Christ, the Messiah

Unique son of God

LordSavior of Humanity

Bread of Life

Lamb of God

Good Shepherd Light of the World

- Christology deals with who the person of Jesus Christ is. The New Testament demonstrates through various titles who Jesus is:

Christology of Early Church

- Mistakes were sometimes made while wrestling with the scriptural assertions of Jesus

- Heresy: false teaching about some major point of Church doctrine

- The Church refined its understanding of Jesus through writings of the Church fathers and teachings of the ecumenical councils

Christology of Early Church- Main Teachings of ecumenical or worldwide councils:

1.) Jesus is the only Son of God

2.) Jesus Christ is true God

3.) Jesus Christ is true God, God from God, Light from Light

4.) Jesus is “begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father”

Christology of Early Church

5.) All things were made through the Son

6.) There is only one person in Christ, the divine person

7.) Mary, by conceiving God’s Son, is truly the Mother of God

8.) There are two distinct natures in the one person of Christ

Christology of Early Church

9.) Jesus embodies the divine ways of God in a human way

10.) Jesus has a human intellect and a human will

11.) Jesus, God-made-man, is our Savior

12.) The Mission of Jesus and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable

• Apologist-a defender of Christianity & the church who tries to show reasonableness of christian faith

• Ecumenical Council- a world wide official assembly of bishops under the direction of the pope.

• Fathers of the Church- an honorary title given to outstanding early church theologians whose teaching has had lasting significance for the church

Vocabulary

Paousia- the Second Coming of Christ which will usher in the full establishment of Gods kingdom

• Theotokos- an important title bestowed on Mary at the council of Ephesus meaning “God bearer”

• Vulgate- st jerome 5th century ad Latin transition of the bible into the common language of the people of his day