Why do we need to recover the centrality of Christ? This might seem like a strange question to ask, especially in the context of the evangelical church. Certainly, for those outside the church it’s not a surprising question to ask, but isn’t the answer obvious for those within the church? One would think so, but unfortunately if the recent polls regarding the state of theology within the church are true, it’s not a strange question to ask. Let me explain why.

In the most recent “State of Theology” poll conducted by Ligonier Ministries, numerous significant Christological questions were asked of the American public, including self-identified evangelicals. The answers given, especially those by evangelicals, revealed a serious departure from—even a denial of—a basic biblical understanding of who Jesus is as the exclusive and all-sufficient Lord and Savior. For example, when evangelicals were asked whether they believed that “there is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,” 97% responded positively. This may seem like a high number until we remember that one cannot be a Christian without believing that God is triune. Even a 3% departure from this truth is already a denial of the God of Scripture!

However, if this is not serious enough, it gets even worse when questions are asked regarding who Jesus is. For example, when these same evangelicals were asked about who Jesus is, a whopping 58% affirmed that he was “the first and greatest being created by God,” and 27% affirmed that Jesus was only “a great teacher, but he was not God.” The first belief is the heresy of Arianism that was rejected by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325—a heresy that today is taught by Jehovah’s Witnesses. The second belief explicitly denies the deity of Christ, a truth that 97% of these same people supposedly affirmed in their avowal of the Trinity! Given such theological confusion, it’s not surprising that when these same people were asked whether “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam,” 39% agreed. [1]

How should we interpret these conflicting and disturbing responses? Minimally, this poll reveals a serious lack of biblical-theological knowledge and fidelity, and worse, it exposes the sad fact that many who identify as evangelicals know little about historic Christianity. We can’t assume that those in our churches know basic Christian theology. Also, central to these responses is a confused understanding of the exclusivity, uniqueness, and sufficiency of Christ.

But it’s not simply this poll that reveals these facts. Further evidence of the loss of Christ’s centrality in our lives and churches is observing what grabs our attention on social media. Unfortunately, what captures our time is not sound theological reasoning regarding Christ but various “causes” that are at best secondary implications of the gospel. Instead of many being consumed with knowing our Lord Jesus Christ in truth and seeking to live under his sovereign Lordship, we are more concerned with our own personal peace, fame, and fortune. These facts alone should be incentive for us to recover the centrality of Christ for God’s glory, our good, and the life and health of the church. But let me offer three additional reasons.

1. Recovering Christ’s Centrality Because of His Glorious Person and Work

Who is Jesus? Scripture is clear: Jesus is no mere human, teacher, or religious leader whom we can take or leave; instead, he is God the Son incarnate, the eternal “Word made flesh” (John 1:1, 14 ESV paraphrase). First, Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the triune Godhead, who has eternally shared the one divine nature with the Father and Spirit (John 1:1–2) and who is thus truly God. In Scripture, the evidence for the Son’s deity is abundant. Jesus is identified as LORD by inaugurating God’s kingdom—thus doing the work of God (Isa 9:6–7; Jer 31:31–34; Ezek 34:1–31). With the Father and Spirit, the Son fully and equally shares the one divine name and thus one divine nature (Matt 28:18–20; John 8:58; Phil 2:9–11; Col 2:9). Jesus is identified as God (theos; John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Rom 9:5; Titus 2:13; Heb 1:8; 2 Pet 1:1) because he is the exact image and correspondence of the Father (Col 1:15; Heb 1:3). The Son shares with the Father and Spirit the divine rule and works, and he receives divine worship (Ps 110:1; Eph 1:22; Phil 2:9–11; Col 1:15–20; Heb 1:1–3; Rev 5:11–12). This is why Jesus has the authority to forgive sin (Mark 2:3–12), to claim that all Scripture is fulfilled in him (Matt 5:17–19), and to acknowledge that he is from the Father as the Son but also that he is equal to the Father (Matt 11:25–27; John 5:16–30; 10:14–30; 14:9–13).

Second, Jesus is the eternal Son incarnate. By an act of assumption, and by the means of the virgin conception, the Son—from the Father and by the supernatural and sanctifying agency of the Spirit—took to himself an unfallen and sinless human nature consisting of a body and soul (Matt 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38; Phil 2:6–8). As a result, the Son added a human dimension to his personal divine life, yet without setting aside or compromising his deity, and he now and forever acts in both natures as our Lord and Savior. It’s as the incarnate Son that he is able to render human obedience (Luke 2:52; 22:29–44; Heb 5:8–10) for us as the last Adam (Rom 5:12–21; Heb 2:5–18) as well as to do a divine work by securing our eternal redemption (Eph 1:7–10) and justifying us before God as covenant representative and substitute (Rom 3:21–26; 4:25; 1 Pet 3:18).

Third, what did Jesus do for us? Our Lord’s work is so rich that it’s difficult to capture in a few words. Yet, we must never forget that what Jesus did is because of who he is. Ultimately, our Lord accomplishes a divine-human work, which is precisely what we need for our salvation. Jesus fulfills God’s eternal plan of salvation by becoming our mediator and new covenant head. In this office, he is the great prophet, priest, and king, thus fulfilling and transcending Old Testament figures. More specifically, Jesus redeems, reconciles, and justifies us by his obedient life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection by reversing the effects of sin and death as well as inaugurating a new creation, which he will consummate at his return (1 Cor 15:12– 49; 2 Cor 5:17; Rev 21–22).

Fourth, central to Christ’s priestly work is his death for our sins (Matt 1:21; 1 Cor 15:1–3). Although the achievement of Christ’s cross is manifold, central to it—and why Jesus had to die—is the purpose to satisfy God’s righteous and holy demand against us due to our sin. Penal substitution best captures this central truth. Penal refers to the sorry state that we are in due to Adam and our standing under God’s judgment and the penalty of death (Eph 2:1–3). Substitution refers to who Jesus is and what he does for us—namely, as God the Son incarnate, he is our substitute by taking his own righteous demand on himself, thus satisfying divine justice (Rom 3:21–26). Because of our faith union with Christ, God declares us justified and thus reconciled, redeemed, and freed from the bondage of sin, death, and Satan. All of our hope now and forever is in Christ alone.
In light of these biblical truths, no wonder Scripture teaches that Christ is Lord over all, thus demanding that he must be central in our lives and churches. For in Christ alone is life eternal (John 17:3); in him all of God’s purposes and promises find their fulfillment (Heb 1:1–3) as “all things in heaven and on earth” are brought under his sovereign Lordship (Eph 1:9–10). Given Christ’s person and work, there is no other option than to recover the centrality of Christ, for he alone is worthy of all our worship, adoration, and joyful, willing, and glad obedience.

2. Recovering Christ’s Centrality Because All False Teaching Is a Distortion of Christ

Given the present “state of theology” in our churches, it’s safe to say that our biblical-theological grasp of basic theology is weak. This situation is not something to be proud of; instead, it should lead us to repentance and a determination to know again the truth of Scripture in all of its depth and breadth. False teaching is not an innocent matter; ultimately, life and death depend on our believing all that Scripture teaches and rejecting all ideas contrary to God’s Word.

In this light, it’s crucial to remember, as Jeremy Jackson reminds us, that what is at the heart of all heresy is some distortion or denial of Christ. [2] This is why a person’s Christology—namely, what one confesses regarding the person and work of Christ—is a test case for one’s entire theology. Thus, the more we get Jesus and his work wrong, especially in terms of his exclusive identity and all-sufficient work, the easier it will be for us to embrace false teaching in other areas. “Ideas have consequences,” and the most central “idea” to get right is who Jesus is in all of his glory. There are many beliefs that distinguish Christianity from other worldviews but none as central and significant as who Jesus is and what he does for us. Error at this point is deadly for our relationship to God and destructive of our entire theology. The only solution to such a situation is to recover the centrality of Christ in our theological understanding, in our individual lives, and in the life of the church.

3. Recovering Christ’s Centrality Because There Is No Higher Calling for the Church

As Paul reminds us in Colossians, there is no higher privilege and calling for the church, both individually and corporately, than to know Christ. All things were created not only “by him” but also “for him” (Col 1:16). Our Lord Jesus is the Lord of creation and redemption, and our calling is to know and proclaim him so that we may be found “perfect in Christ” (Col 1:28). Given that “in Christ all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form” (Col 2:9), we are “to bring all of our thoughts captive to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5) by grounding all of our thinking and all of our lives in him (Col 2:8). Every idea we are confronted with must be tested by the standard of God’s Word, which centers on the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Unless we do, inevitably we will be drawn toward serious errors and away from salvation and life. But as we grow in our knowledge of Christ, along with our trust, obedience, and love for him, we will be kept from error and will experience salvation and life.

How do we recover the centrality of Christ today? First, we need to recover the faithful exposition of Scripture. We only know the glory of who our Lord and Savior is and what he has done for us from the entire canon of Scripture. Faithful biblical exposition will lead us to Christ, and this is what the church desperately needs today. The central calling of the church is to know and proclaim the triune God in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ—“We proclaim him!” (Col 1:28). The church wanders dangerously from her calling if she veers from this central task. We must not let tangential issues replace the centrality of knowing Christ and living “by faith in the Son of God, who loved me [us] and gave himself for me [us]” (Gal 2:20).

Second, we need to return to reading sound theology from the past and learning from our forefathers in the faith concerning how to think rightly about Christ and his work. A social media age yields many positive things, but what it undermines is the hard work of careful reading and deep theological reflection on Christ from historical theology. But thinking through all that Scripture says about Jesus and wrestling with the church as she has sought to faithfully confess Christ is not an easy task. Yet it’s absolutely necessary to do, especially if we are going to think rightly about God, the gospel, and the entire Christian faith. Given the present “state of theology” in the church, there is no more glorious calling—but also challenging task— than to think rightly about Christ from Scripture and church tradition. But we must never forget that the study of Christ is not reserved for academic theologians—it’s the privilege and responsibility of every Christian! The Christian life and the Christian ministry are about knowing God in truth and being vigilant for the truth of the gospel by knowing and proclaiming Christ.

Third, we need to obey all that our Lord Jesus commands, which includes all of Scripture, and live in joyful submission to Christ. In our day, this is a growing challenge. It’s one thing to confess Christ rightly; it’s another thing to obey all that he has commanded, especially where such commands stand against the mindset and pressures of our age. But the question before us is this: Will we obey all that Jesus has taught, even in the areas that stand against our culture, or will we not? Will we love him more than we love our own perceived reputations and be willing to stand as “radicals” for Christ? Or, will we attempt to “construct” a Jesus in our image who is merely
“winsome” and “gentle,” instead of submitting ourselves to the Jesus of the Bible in all of his holiness, glory, and sovereignty?

Concluding Reflection

Although the centrality of Christ is taught everywhere in Scripture, it’s gloriously presented in one of Scripture’s culminating visions. In Revelation 4–5, John records his breathtaking vision of God in all of his glory, holiness, authority, sovereignty, and self- sufficiency. What is also significant about this vision is that it reminds us about who is truly central, not only in our individual lives but also in the church and indeed in the entire universe—namely, the Lord and the Lamb.

In every generation, Christians need this culminating vision of Scripture to renew them. We need to be constantly reminded about who is central, who is worthy, who is to be obeyed, and who is our only hope and salvation. Indeed, we need to learn afresh to confess with the angelic hosts, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Rev 5:13). It’s only as we are reminded about the centrality of Christ that the life and health of the church will be renewed, not merely for our own good but also for the glory of our triune God in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. May it be so in our lives.

 

 

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[1] See the 2022 results of “The State of Theology Poll” at https://thestateoftheology.com. Note: percentages pulled at the time of writing and do adjust as the survey is updated.

[2] Jeremy C. Jackson, No Other Foundation: The Church through Twenty Centuries (Westchester, IL: Crossway, 1980), 31–42.