Christian theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

sometimes refers to

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

using the title Redeemer or Saviour. This refererences the

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

he accomplished, and is based on the metaphor of redemption, or "buying back". In the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, ''redemption'' can refer both to deliverance from sin and to freedom from captivity. Although the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

s do not use the title "Redeemer", the idea of redemption occurs in several of Paul's epistles.

Leon Morris Leon Lamb Morris (15 March 1914 – 24 July 2006) was an Australian New Testament scholar and theologian. Born in Lithgow, New South Wales, Morris was ordained to the Anglican ministry in 1938. He earned Bachelor of Divinity (with first class ...

says that " Paul uses the concept of redemption primarily to speak of the saving significance of the death of Christ."

Universality

The

speaks of Christ as the one saviour for all people.On Christ's role as universal Saviour, cf. Gerald O'Collins, ''Salvation for All: God's Other Peoples'', OUP (2008). The First Epistle of John says that Jesus is "the

propitiation Propitiation is the act of appeasing or making well-disposed a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. It is related to the idea of atonement and sometime mistakenly conflated with expiation. The discussion here encompa ...

for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the world" ( 1 John 2:2). Adherents of

unlimited atonement Unlimited atonement (sometimes called general atonement or universal atonement) is a doctrine in Protestant Christianity that states Jesus died as a propitiation for the benefit of all humans without exception. It is normally associated with Am ...

interpret this to mean that Jesus' redemptive role is for all people without exception, while adherents of limited atonement interpret it as being available to all yet would work itself out in only the elect. The first Christians also recognized Jesus' redemptive role to be unique (without parallel), complete (as one who conveys the fullness of salvation), and definitive (beyond any possibility of being equaled, let alone surpassed, in his salvific function). In particular, his universal role means that through him the deadly forces of evil are overcome, sin is forgiven, their contamination purified, and the new existence as God's beloved, adopted children has been made available.For this section, and its respective themes and positions, compare Gerald O'Collins, '' Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus'',

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(2009), pp. 297–333. Cf. also O'Collins, ''Salvation for All: God's Other Peoples, cit.''; ''id., Jesus: A Portrait'', Darton, Longman & Todd (2008), Chs 11–12; ''id''., ''Incarnation'', Continuum (2002), pp. 36–42; J.A. Fitzmyer, ''The Gospel According to Luke I–IX'', Doubleday (1981), pp. 79–82;

Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuits, Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Catholic theology, Cat ...

, ''Foundations of Christian Faith'', trans. W.V. Dych, Darton, Longman & Todd (1978), pp. 193–195, 204–206, 279–280, 316–321. This New Testament sense of Christ's indispensable and necessary role for human salvation could be summarized by a new

axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...

: ''extra Christum nulla salus'' ("outside Christ no salvation"). This sense of his all-determining role in the whole redemptive drama is suggested by a fact: unlike the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, where various human beings could be called "saviour" (e.g., Judges 3: 9, 15, and 31), the New Testament gives the title "Saviour" only to God (eight times) and to Christ (sixteen times).

References

Bibliography

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Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

: T & T Clark Publishing. 1996. * Brown, Raymond. ''An Introduction to the New Testament''. New York: Doubleday. 1997. * Dunn, J. D. G. ''Christology in the Making''. London: SCM Press. 1989. * Ferguson, Everett. ''Backgrounds in Early Christianity''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing. 1993. * Greene, Colin J. D. ''Christology in Cultural Perspective: Marking Out the Horizons''. Grand Rapids: InterVarsity Press. Eerdmans Publishing. 2003. * Holt, Bradley P. ''Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality''. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 2005. * Letham, Robert. ''The Work of Christ''. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1993. * Macleod, Donald. ''The Person of Christ''. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1998. * McGrath, Alister. ''Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 1998. * Macquarrie, J. ''Jesus Christ in Modern Thought''.

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: SCM Press. 1990. * Neusner, Jacob. ''From Politics to Piety: The Emergence of Pharisaic Judaism''. Providence, R.I.: Brown University. 1973. * Norris, Richard A. Jr. ''The Christological Controversy''.

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

: Fortress Press. 1980. * O'Collins, Gerald. '' Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus''. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. 2009. * O'Collins, Gerald. '' Jesus: A Portrait''. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 2008. * O'Collins, Gerald. ''Salvation for All: God's Other Peoples''.

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. 2008. * Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''Development of Christian Doctrine: Some Historical Prolegomena''. London: Yale University Press. 1969. * Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100–600)''.

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

: University of Chicago Press. 1971. * Rahner, Karl. ''Foundations of Christian Faith'', trans. W.V. Dych. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 1978. * Tyson, John R.'' Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology''. New York: Oxford University Press. 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Redeemer (Christianity) Biblical phrases Christian terminology Christology Christian soteriology

Universality

See also

References

Bibliography