Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exeg ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

is sometimes referred to by the title Redeemer. This refers to 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 ...

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

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

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

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

s do not use the title "Redeemer", redemption is used in several of Paul's letters.

Leon Morris Leon Lamb Morris (15 March 1914 – 24 July 2006) was an Australian New Testament scholar. Born in Lithgow, New South Wales, Morris was ordained to the Anglican ministry in 1938. He earned Bachelor of Divinity (with first class honors) in 1943 ...

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 The First Epistle of John is the first of the Johannine epistles of the New Testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the Johannine works. The author of the First Epistle is ter ...

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. While some use the term interchangeably with expiation, others draw a sharp distinction between the two. The discus ...

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 is normally associated with Amyraldism (four-point Calvinism), as well as Arminianism and other non-Calvinist tradition ...

interpret this to mean that Jesus' redemptive role is for all people without exception, while adherents of limited atonement interpret it as being for all people without ''distinction''—for Gentiles as well as Jews. 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 university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been 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 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 Roman Catholic theologians of ...

, ''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 (often abbreviated 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 writings by the Israelites. The ...

, 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

* Borgen, Peder. ''Early Christianity and Hellenistic Judaism''.

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

: T & T Clark Publishing. 1996. * Brown, Raymond. ''An Introduction to the New Testament''.

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

: 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 Alister Edgar McGrath (; born 1953) is a Northern Irish theologian, Anglican priest, intellectual historian, scientist, Christian apologist, and public intellectual. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in ...

. ''Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 1998. * Macquarrie, J. ''Jesus Christ in Modern Thought''.

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

: 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, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

: 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 university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

. 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 in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

: 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