The Present Work of Christ Part VIII: The Present Work of Christ on Earth -- By: John F. Walvoord

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 122:488 (Oct 1965)
Article: The Present Work of Christ Part VIII: The Present Work of Christ on Earth
Author: John F. Walvoord


The Present Work of Christ
Part VIII:
The Present Work of Christ on Earth

John F. Walvoord

In the theological discussion of the work of Christ the tendeney has been to emphasize His present work in heaven rather than His present work on earth. This is a natural outgrowth of the fact that the work of God on earth is largely through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Some have gone so far as to identify the present work of Christ on earth with that of the Spirit; as if they were one and the same. There is, however, a valid area which may be described as Christ’s present work on earth which is in contrast to His heavenly work stemming from His position at the right hand of the Father. The present earthly work of Christ originates from His presence in the church on earth and involves three aspects: (1) the presence of Christ in the church; (2) the work of Christ in the church; (3) the relation of the present work of Christ to the present work of the Holy Spirit.

The Presence of Christ in the Church

Four major problems are related to the concept of the presence of Christ in the church: (1) the relation of the presence of Christ to the doctrine of omnipresence; (2) the relation of the presence of Christ to the presence of the Holy Spirit; (3) the relation of the presence of Christ to the elements of the Lord’s Supper; (4) the relation of the presence of Christ to His indwelling the church.

The presence of Christ in relation to His omnipresence. In orthodox theology, the doctrine of omnipresence is considered a fundamental relative attribute of deity which belongs equally

to each person of the Trinity. In the sense of being omnipresent, it is evident that Christ must be present in the earth even though He is at the same time present in heaven. The question is pertinent, however, as to whether Christ is present in any sense in the earth which is beyond the concept of omnipresence.

In the case of the Second Person of the Trinity, there is the complication arising from His possessing a human body. Most Reformed theologians hold that the body of Christ is in heaven at the right hand of the Father. In contrast to this view, the Lutheran position considers the human body of Christ as omnipresent as they extend the divine attribute of omnipresence to the human nature. To explain a body as onmipresent, however, ends in a concept of a body which has lost all of its distinguishing qualities, and it becomes the same as a spirit. For this reason, it is preferable to regard the qualities of the human nature of Christ as finite. The body, soul, and spirit have locality, but do not have the infinite qualities that belong to the divine nature.

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