In the early centuries of church history, Christians became embroiled in many controversies about Jesus’ identity. Each time it happened, they fervently searched the Scriptures to defend their positions.16 These debates were often between two or three groups of professing Christians that were in opposition to each other. In fact, the major christological controversies of the early centuries of church history were of this latter type, in which all disputants appealed mostly to the New Testament, as well as patristic interpretations of it, in order to support their respective theses. Most of their arguments centered on the proper interpretation of the four gospels, especially the sayings of Jesus. An examination of these early, protracted, christological controversies confirms that the gospels of the NT require substantial analysis in order to determine how these documents identify Jesus.
How have Christians generally viewed these four NT gospels? Church fathers believed that the gospel writers (Evangelists) recorded historically authentic accounts of the works and words of Jesus. And they believed that subsequent scribal transmissions (hand copies) of those original documents were generally reliable. However, patristic textual critics who were familiar with the manuscript (MS) evidence, e.g., Jerome, the translator of the (Latin) Vulgate in the 5th century, did complain occasionally about MS variants. Nevertheless, church fathers believed that the original autographs of these four gospels were historically reliable and their transmissions trustworthy. And they viewed them on the same level as the Jewish Bible, which they received as divinely inspired, too. Most Christians throughout church history have embraced this conservative view of the inspiration of the Bible. (And it is the viewpoint adopted by this author as well.)
So, the primary question that Bible-believing Christians have asked down through the centuries is this: “What do these four NT gospels say about the identity of Jesus?”
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Keywords: Trinity, Triunity, Trinitarianism, Trinitarian, Arianism, Arian, Three in one, Three gods, Three gods one person, Johannine comma, Johanine comma, Johanine coma, Johannine coma, Comma, False doctrine, False teaching, Arius, Arias, Nicene Creed, Nicaea, Nicea, Athanasian Creed, Athanasius, Father son holy spirit, Father son holy ghost, Triune, Three persons in one God, Socinian, Socinianism, Socinian heresy, Jesus God, God the Son, Nicene, Nicean Creed, Council of Nicaea, Council of Nicea, homoiousios, Homoousios, Homoiousian
Bible reference(s): Deuteronomy 6:4, Psa 110:1, Mat 16:13-16, Matthew 28:19, Mar 8:27-29, Mark 12:32, Luk 9:18-20, Luk 20:42, John 1:1-3, Joh 10:30, Joh 8:58, John 10:33-36, Joh 11:27, Joh 20:28, Acts 2:34, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Eph 4:5, 1 Timothy 2:5, Heb 1:2, Heb 1:8-9, 1 John 5:7-8
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