What are Christologies and why do they matter or does it matter?

Does one have to embrace one ? These are questions this article will try to answer.Christology is the theory of the nature of Christ and so first what does Christ mean? It is from the Greek word christos meaning anointed which evolved from early Jewish followers of Jesus who saw Jesus as the Jewish mashiach(that is messiah) meaning also anointed.The term anointed came to significance because in ancient Israel any number of important people were anointed with holy oil.So hence they were called Mashiach (anointed) these included Kings and Priests and other important people of Israel and ancient Judah.It came to be in Jewish theology that the ultimate King of the Jews and redeemer who would restore Israel to it’s former glory was called Mashiach or Messiah.Hence Greek speaking believers in Messiah called Jesus of Nazareth christos or that is messiah or anointed.So Christ means Messiah or Mashiach.Let us go into different speculation on the nature of Jesus or Yeshua.

Monophysitism

This means Jesus has one nature that is divine and that even though in scripture Jesus is clearly human these advocates sort of said that the humanity of Jesus was absorbed or an illusion during the incarnation period.This theology was deemed heresy at Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE and there are no major churches today that teach this.Most of those who denied the humanity of Jesus went to gnosticism which is a occult mixture of Christianity, Greek mythology and paganism.

Dyophysitism

This is most standard and common and is the official stance of the Roman Catholic Church,Eastern Orthodox Church and a lot of common protestant denominations like Lutherans and Episcopals (Anglicans)

This belief is that Jesus is both divine and human in either or two natures or two persons depending on how you define nature or person.So that Jesus is both fully human and divine and fully human but in two different aspects.Here is Wikipedia on the issue.

Dyophysitism (/daɪˈɒfɪsaɪtɪzəm/;^[2] from Greek δύο dyo, “two” and φύσις physis, “nature”) is the Christological position that Jesus Christ is one person of one substance and one hypostasis, with two distinct, inseparable natures, divine and human.

This is soundly Biblical here is Romans 10.9

Romans 10:9-10 New International Version

⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Here is Colossians 2.9

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.

Also read the Book of John from chapter 1.1-14 which explains how Jesus is both God and man also.To save space in the article I won’t post the whole 14 verses.So it is clearly Biblical that Jesus is both fully human and divine but does Jesus have to be divine and human in two natures ?

This belief had beginnings at Nicaea but was formalized  Council of Chalcedon when The Catholic Church and the Armenian Church (now the Oriental Orthodox Church) parted ways in 451.

Miaphysitism

This perspective echoes the Biblical point of view of Jesus being both human and divine like the Dyophysitism.The difference is that in Miaphysitism it is believed that the divinity and humanity are in one person or nature.Or that they are mixed in a single personality as opposed to the clear separation in Dyophysitism.Miaphysitism is embraced by the Oriental Orthodox Church which includes The Armenian,Assyrian,Coptic and Ethiopian Churches and other central Asian,Middle Eastern and North African Churches.

I don’t know of any Biblical passage that states whether the divinity and hunamity of Jesus must exist in a single nature or in two different natures.I am not sure I know or understand the difference or that it matters at all.As long as we know Jesus suffered as a human and is also Lord I do not see a problem in my own judgement.

Modalism

This is a belief that God exists in modes and plays different roles.The idea is that the only God is the Father YHVH and that in modes he acts as the Father or the Son-Jesus or the Holy Spirit at appropriate times.Although this does not seem to have the historically occult and gnostic deviations that other non trinitarian groups have,I don’t see scriptural support for this theology.No known modern Churches teach this anymore.

The Arian heresy

This has nothing to do with Aryan or anything Nazi or Germanic.Arius was a later 3rd early 4th century Libyan Bishop in the early Catholic Church.He purposed that Jesus was a created and lesser being than the Father,sort of the opposite of the gnostic heresy.He was popular with a lot of the Gothic tribes of late Rome mainly as a means to spite Romans.After the fall of Rome to the Germanic tribes in 476 CE most Goth’s converted to Catholicism.The belief in Jesus having a single human nature and not a divine nature is still found today in sects like the Christadelphians or Jehovah’s Witnesses and maybe Mormans although I do not know a lot about the Mormons to be honest.There are serious doubts as to whether these groups teach true salvation or that their beliefs are Biblical in any way.Although not as dangerous as gnostics but I do not think they preach the true Gospel.

There are some other Christologies we could go into but they are not significant or rehash ones already talked about.So what should we believe? Clearly we have to believe based on holy scripture that Jesus is both divine and human but whether that is in a single mixed nature or two different natures I do not know if that is important.Stay away from anything that says that either the Son is a illusion of the Father for a short period or only accept the Son and deny the Father(that gnosticism).Stay away from groups like The Jehovah’s Witnesses who trivialized or outright deny the Son and only worship and honor the Father(the Arian heresy).

You can never go wrong if you stick with scripture and make Church doctrine fit scripture not color scripture to fit a church you may like.I do not think it is super important to formally embrace a Christology if you are rooted in scripture but Dyophysitism and Miaphysitism are the most accurate which is why they are still taught where has others have faded away.

Thank you ,best wishes and God Bless