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Robert K. Atkin

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Jesus

Does the language of ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ imply that there is a hierarchy within the Trinity?

10 January 2018 By Robert Atkin Leave a Comment

The doctrine of the Trinity attempts to describe how the one God is revealed as three distinct persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and yet is one substance. The language of Father and Son could be viewed as implying a hierarchy within the Trinity. In this paper I will outline the problems with this interpretation and the use of figurative language when describing the orthodox understanding of the Godhead. After briefly presenting the historical and theological background to the doctrine of the Trinity and describing three common heresies I will explain how the language used to describe God can be regarded are hierarchical, and briefly touch on the problems of using everyday human language to describe the transcendent Trinity.

Filed Under: Essays, New Testament, Theology Tagged With: Council of Nicaea, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Modalism, Nicene Creed, Subordination, Trinity, Tritheism

Christ, Creation and the Church in the Colossian Hymn (Colossians 1:15-20)

20 June 2014 By Robert Atkin Leave a Comment

The Letter of Paul to the Colossians contains six verses which form a hymn or poem in praise of Christ. This Christ Hymn is a densely packed statement of Paul’s Christological monotheism. Christ is exalted as sovereign over creation, the church and new creation. The letter was written in response to the false philosophy that the church in Colossae was in danger of following.

Filed Under: Essays, Jesus, New Testament Tagged With: Christ, Christology, Colossians, Jesus, Monotheism, Paul

Words made flesh: What important insights are there for the practical theologian in the conviction that Jesus Christ is ‘God Incarnate’?

23 May 2014 By Robert Atkin 1 Comment

The study of the nature and person of Jesus Christ, known as Christology, has provoked much debate and controversy from the early Christian period up to the present day. To answer the question whether Jesus was only human or whether he was divine or both is the task for the practitioner of the Gospel when faced with those who challenge the historical understanding of Jesus. To illustrate this task, the position of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and contemporary writers on the identity of Jesus will be compared to the Arian heresy.

Filed Under: Essays, Jesus Tagged With: Arian, Arianism, Arius, Christology, Council of Nicaea, Incarnation, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus, Nicene Creed

Summarise the contribution of Jesus of Nazareth to an understanding of leadership today

16 May 2014 By Robert Atkin Leave a Comment

Jesus of Nazareth was a leader. Blanchard and Hodges call him the “one perfect leadership role model you can trust.” The public ministry of Jesus lasted for three years; his training has been estimated at thirty years. However, his influence has lasted two-thousand years.

Filed Under: Essays, Jesus Tagged With: Jesus, Leadership

The ‘glory’ of Christ on the Cross (cf. ‘lifted up’ / ‘glorified’ – esp. John 17)

9 May 2014 By Robert Atkin Leave a Comment

In his final prayer with his disciples, Jesus Christ prays for the mutual glorification of the Father and the Son. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is glorified when he is lifted up on the cross at his crucifixion. John employs a double meaning of lifted up throughout the Gospel, demonstrating that the crucifixion is also the exaltation of Jesus.

Filed Under: Essays, Jesus, New Testament Tagged With: Cross, Crucifixion, Gospel of John, Jesus

Jesus’ message/John’s purpose in the Samaritan Woman story (John 4:1-42)

2 May 2014 By Robert Atkin Leave a Comment

In this pericope from John’s Gospel Jesus meets a Samaritan woman, the traditional enemy of the Jews and a social outcast, at the OT setting for a matrimonial encounter. This dialogue reveals the truth of Jesus’ identity as Messiah and leads to the Samaritans’ confession that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. After discussing the historical, canonical and theological background I will present an exegesis of the story, describing Jesus’ actions and finish by providing some of the ways John intended the passage to be used and how it may be applied by the reader today.

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Filed Under: Essays, Jesus, New Testament Tagged With: Gospel of John, Jesus, Samaritan Woman

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Robert Atkin is a writer, website designer, theology student, father and husband. At present he runs a website design business and is researching for a couple of books. This website is a collection of essays and other writing projects. Read More…

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