Category Archives: Stephen J. Nichols

“In the area of Christology we need not shrink back from complexity. Jesus comes to us primarily in complexity. He is the God-man, fully human and fully divine in one person. That’s a statement packed with tension. And the temptation is to release the tension.

This tension is not restricted to theological statements but extends to the actions of Jesus. He is both friend of sinners and righteous Judge, extending both mercy and wrath. Jesus is surprising and unpredictable; He is faithful, demanding, chastising and rebuking, yet loving.

In His person and His actions, Jesus is complex; reducing Him does not help but harms… A reduced Christ is less than the Christ of Scripture.”

–Stephen J. Nichols, Jesus Made in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 226.