Dr. Pothana's Teaching

3. Christology

4. “Not only do we not know God except through
Jesus Christ; we do not even know ourselves
except through Jesus Christ.”
Blaise Pascal.

5. THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF
CHRIST
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
(John 8:58)
He is before all things, and in Him all
things hold together. (Col. 1:17)

6. THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF
CHRIST
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as
follows: when His mother Mary had been
betrothed to Joseph, before they came
together she was found to be with child
by the Holy Spirit.…“BEHOLD, THE
VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND
SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL
CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which
translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
(Mt. 1:18, 23)

7. WHY THE VIRGIN BIRTH
IS IMPORTANT
• To deny the virgin birth is to deny the Word of God
• To deny the virgin birth is to deny the deity of Christ
• To deny the virgin birth is virtually to declare that Jesus
inherited a sinful nature
• To deny the virgin birth is to disqualify Jesus from being
Savior
 To be your Savior He must be a man because only a
man could die for a man.
 To be your Savior the One who is to die in your place
must himself be innocent, or else he will bear the
punishment of his own sin.
 The virgin birth of Christ relates to the resurrection of
Christ.

8. THE HUMANITY OF
CHRIST
• He had a true body of flesh and blood
• He had a normal human development
• He had a human soul and spirit
• He had the characteristics of a human
being
• He became hungry (Mt. 4:2), thirsty (Jn.
4:7) and tired (Jn. 4:6).
• He experienced human emotions
• He had human names

9. SCRIPTURE’S AFFIRMATION
OF THE DEITY OF CHRIST
• His names
• His attributes
• His works
• He receives worship

10. CHRIST’S HYPOSTATIC
UNION
As the God-man, Jesus Christ is neither
diminished as God or as man.
He is fully God and fully man at all times.
To minimize the importance of either part of
this union is to destroy the significance of
God.

11. CHRIST’S HYPOSTATIC
UNION
• Christ had two distinct natures:
humanity and deity.
• There was no mixture or
intermingling of the two natures
• Although He had two natures, Christ
was one Person

12. CONSEQUENCES OF THE
HYPOSTATIC UNION
• Some actions or attributes are true of the
entire person.
• Some statements are true only of His
human nature, but the whole person is
the subject.
• Some statements are true only of His
deity, but the whole person is in view.
• Some statements are true of the God-
Man, the union of the two natures.

13. “One of the most complex aspects of the relationship of Christ’s
two natures is that, while the attributes of one nature are never
attributed to the other, the attributes of both natures are properly
attributed to His one person. Thus Christ at the same moment
in time had what seem to be contradictory qualities. He was
finite and yet infinite, weak and yet omnipotent, increasing in
knowledge and yet omniscient, limited to being in one place at
one time and yet omnipresent. In the Incarnation, the person of
Christ is the partaker of the attributes of both natures, so that
whatever may be affirmed of either nature — human or divine —
may be affirmed of the one person.”
Ron Rhodes, “Reasoning from the Scriptures.”

14. THE KENOSIS AND
HYPOSTATIC UNION
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also
in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking
the form of a bond-servant, and being made in
the likeness of men. Being found in appearance
as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)

15. THE KENOSIS AND
HYPOSTATIC UNION
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also
in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking
the form of a bond-servant, and being made in
the likeness of men. Being found in appearance
as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)

16. THE KENOSIS AND
HYPOSTATIC UNION
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also
in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking
the form of a bond-servant, and being made in
the likeness of men. Being found in appearance
as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)

17. IMPECCABILITY AND THE
TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who
has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son
of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we
do not have a high priest who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who
has been tempted in all things as we are, yet
without sin. Therefore let us draw near with
confidence to the throne of grace, so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help in time
of need. (Heb. 4:14-16)

18. IMPECCABILITY AND THE
TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
• Christ’s peccability could relate only to His human
nature; His divine nature was impeccable.
• Christ was impeccable because —
 The immutability of Christ.
 The omnipotence of Christ.
 The omniscience of Christ.
 The deity of Christ.
 The nature of temptation.
 The will of Christ.
 The authority of Christ.

19. THE WORDS AND WORKS
OF CHRIST
• The words of Jesus reveal his uniqueness.
• The words of Jesus demonstrate His
omniscience.
• The words of Jesus demonstrate His
authority.

20. THE DEATH OF CHRIST
• Substitution

21. THE DEATH OF CHRIST
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our
behalf, so that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:21)
and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the
cross, so that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness; for by His wounds you were
healed. (1 Pt. 2:24)

22. THE DEATH OF CHRIST
• Substitution
• Redemption
• Propitiation
• Forgiveness
• Justification

23. “He came to die as a priest for his enemies.…What
mercy may we not expect from so gracious a
Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) who took our nature upon him
that he might be gracious? He is a physician good at
all diseases, especially at the binding up of a broken
heart. He died that he might heal our souls with a
plaster of his own blood, and by that death save us,
which we were the procurers of ourselves, by our own
sins. And has he not the same heart in heaven?”
Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed.

24. PROOFS OF THE
RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
• The empty tomb.
• The resurrection appearances.
• The transformed disciples.
• Observance of the first day of the week.
• The existence of the church.

25. THE CHARACTER OF THE
RESURRECTION BODY
• It was the same material body that had
lain in the tomb.
• It was a glorified body.
• It was not restricted to space.
• It did not require rest.
• It did not have blood.

26. THE OFFICES OF CHRIST
• He is the prophet.
• He is the priest.
• He is the king.

27. THE PRESENT MINISTRY
OF CHRIST
• Formation of the Body
• Direction of the Body
• Cleansing of the Body
• Nurture of the Body
• Giving gifts to the Body
• Praying for the Body
• Christ is preparing heaven for the Body
• Christ Is producing fruit in the Body

28. “If you take Christ out of Christianity, Christianity is
dead.…
If you leave out Christ, you have left the sun out of
the day, and the moon out of the night, you have left
the waters out of the sea, and the floods out of the
river; you have left the harvest out of the year, the
soul out of the body; you have left joy out of heaven,
you robbed all of its all. There is no Gospel worth
thinking of, much less worth proclaiming, if Jesus is
forgotten. We must have Jesus as Alpha and
omega…”
Charles Spurgeon.

29. Systematic Theology
COACH Institute of Contextual Theology and Missiology