Creative Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>My theology class at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University is going through definitions of Christology. The process of crafting and refining and finalizing statements on Jesus\u2019 identity in view of Christian Scripture and the language available to church leaders was often arduous and exhausting if not exhaustive. While there is much to be gained from these definitions, such as with the Chalcedonian formula, we must never think that if we have a handle on them, we have a handle on him.<\/p>\n
I wonder if the point ascribed to Jonathan Edwards is applicable here. To paraphrase the point, \u201cOne cannot ultimately define love; one can only describe it.\u201d So, too, with Jesus? I think so: One cannot ultimately define him. One can only describe him.<\/p>\n
There is something inviting about describing someone you admire and love. While I could give a form of a definition of my wife, describing her story, including her many qualities, is something far more striking to me. Even more so with Jesus.<\/p>\n
How might you describe Jesus? Please don\u2019t fixate on questions about how can Jesus be both divine and human. Consider who is this person as divine and human. As Jesus asked Peter, \u201cWho do you say I am?\u201d<\/p>\n
Who is he, and how have you encountered him? And how has he encountered you? Who is this divine Word who did not become flannel graph or a meme, but rather, flesh and blood?<\/p>\n
In our Moralistic Therapeutic Deistic Age, it is tempting to put Jesus as a definition in a book on a shelf until we want his help, like a deity on demand. When we operate like this, we shortchange ourselves, for we limit how we might engage him.<\/p>\n
We only truly worship that which we cannot commodify, that which we find mysterious. Jesus is the revealed mystery of God in the flesh. If you and I are going to ask a \u201chow\u201d question, consider asking and answering \u201cHow is Jesus mysterious to you?\u201d Or \u201cWhat is it about God becoming this human that inspires and invites you to worship him today?\u201d Open questions like these might just lead to answers that never end.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My theology class at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University is going through definitions of Christology. The process of crafting and refining and finalizing statements on Jesus\u2019 identity in view of Christian Scripture and the language available to church leaders was often arduous and exhausting if not exhaustive. While there is much to be gained from these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1284,"featured_media":4650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
Jesus Is Not a Christological Definition We Can Put in a Book on a Shelf. He Keeps Jumping Out.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My theology class at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University is going through definitions of Christology. The process of crafting and refining\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jesus Is Not a Christological Definition We Can Put in a Book on a Shelf. He Keeps Jumping Out.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My theology class at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University is going through definitions of Christology. The process of crafting and refining\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uncommon God, Common Good\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/paul.l.metzger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-02T16:42:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-04T18:49:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/307\/2016\/11\/Christ_Pantocrator_mosaic_from_Hagia_Sophia_2744_x_2900_pixels_3.1_MB.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"567\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"599\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul Louis Metzger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@paulouismetzger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul Louis Metzger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Is Not a Christological Definition We Can Put in a Book on a Shelf. He Keeps Jumping Out.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-02T16:42:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-04T18:49:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#\/schema\/person\/76d231c55ec9f60adb8597cca81f7242\"},\"description\":\"My theology class at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University is going through definitions of Christology. The process of crafting and refining\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jesus Is Not a Christological Definition We Can Put in a Book on a Shelf. He Keeps Jumping Out.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/\",\"name\":\"Uncommon God, Common Good\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#\/schema\/person\/76d231c55ec9f60adb8597cca81f7242\",\"name\":\"Paul Louis Metzger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93c3df6455c0eff6aa9d7dac387d59d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93c3df6455c0eff6aa9d7dac387d59d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Paul Louis Metzger\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Paul Louis Metzger is the Founder and Director of The Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins and Professor at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University. He is the author of numerous works, including \\\"Connecting Christ: How to Discuss Jesus in a World of Diverse Paths\\\" and \\\"Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church.\\\" These volumes and his others can be found wherever fine books are sold. Find me on: Facebook | Twitter | Google+\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/paul.l.metzger\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paulouismetzger\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/NewWineNewWineskins\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/author\/uncommongodcommongood\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jesus Is Not a Christological Definition We Can Put in a Book on a Shelf. He Keeps Jumping Out.","description":"My theology class at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University is going through definitions of Christology. The process of crafting and refining","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jesus Is Not a Christological Definition We Can Put in a Book on a Shelf. He Keeps Jumping Out.","og_description":"My theology class at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University is going through definitions of Christology. The process of crafting and refining","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/","og_site_name":"Uncommon God, Common Good","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/paul.l.metzger","article_published_time":"2016-11-02T16:42:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-04T18:49:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":567,"height":599,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/307\/2016\/11\/Christ_Pantocrator_mosaic_from_Hagia_Sophia_2744_x_2900_pixels_3.1_MB.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Paul Louis Metzger","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@paulouismetzger","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paul Louis Metzger","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/","name":"Jesus Is Not a Christological Definition We Can Put in a Book on a Shelf. He Keeps Jumping Out.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-11-02T16:42:53+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-04T18:49:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#\/schema\/person\/76d231c55ec9f60adb8597cca81f7242"},"description":"My theology class at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University is going through definitions of Christology. The process of crafting and refining","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2016\/11\/jesus-is-not-a-christological-definition-we-can-put-in-a-book-on-a-shelf-he-keeps-jumping-out\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jesus Is Not a Christological Definition We Can Put in a Book on a Shelf. He Keeps Jumping Out."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/","name":"Uncommon God, Common Good","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#\/schema\/person\/76d231c55ec9f60adb8597cca81f7242","name":"Paul Louis Metzger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93c3df6455c0eff6aa9d7dac387d59d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93c3df6455c0eff6aa9d7dac387d59d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Paul Louis Metzger"},"description":"Dr. Paul Louis Metzger is the Founder and Director of The Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins and Professor at Multnomah Biblical Seminary\/Multnomah University. He is the author of numerous works, including \"Connecting Christ: How to Discuss Jesus in a World of Diverse Paths\" and \"Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church.\" These volumes and his others can be found wherever fine books are sold. Find me on: Facebook | Twitter | Google+","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/paul.l.metzger","https:\/\/twitter.com\/paulouismetzger","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/NewWineNewWineskins"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/author\/uncommongodcommongood\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Christ_Pantocrator_mosaic_from_Hagia_Sophia_2744_x_2900_pixels_3.1_MB\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/307\/2016\/11\/Christ_Pantocrator_mosaic_from_Hagia_Sophia_2744_x_2900_pixels_3.1_MB.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>