Christophany in the New Testament and Early Church
Christophany in the New Testament and Early Church
The concept of Christophany, or the appearance of Christ, is rooted in biblical accounts where the pre-incarnate Christ is believed to have manifested Himself to individuals before His birth. One of the earliest and most significant Christophanies is found in the Old Testament, but its relevance to the New Testament and Early Church is profound. The New Testament writers often saw Christ's appearances in the Old Testament as prefigurations of His incarnation [1].
In the New Testament, Christophanies are associated with theophanies, where Christ is seen as the divine presence. For instance, the Gospel of John emphasizes Jesus' divine nature, suggesting that He is the manifestation of God (John 1:1-18). The early Church Fathers also interpreted certain Old Testament appearances of God as Christophanies, understanding them as appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ [6].
The Early Church saw Christ's presence in the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, as a continuation of Christophanies. According to John Calvin, the Eucharist is a means by which believers partake in Christ's body and blood, fostering a deep communion with Him [4]. This understanding is rooted in the New Testament, where Paul writes that believers are "members of Christ's body" (1 Cor 12:27) and that Christ is "the head, from whom the whole body... makes increase" (Eph 4:15-16) [4].
The concept of Christophany is also linked to the idea of Christ's omnipresence. Charles Hodge notes that Christ's body is not limited to a specific location, allowing Him to be present with believers in a spiritual sense [2]. Thomas Aquinas further develops this idea, explaining that Christ's presence in the Eucharist is not limited by space or time [3].
The early Church Fathers, such as Ignatius of Antioch, understood martyrdom as a form of imitatio Christi, where the martyr's suffering is seen as a participation in Christ's suffering. Ignatius writes, "If ye let me alone, I shall be the word of God; but if ye love my flesh, again am I [only] to myself a voice" [6]. This understanding reflects the early Church's emphasis on the unity of believers with Christ.
The New Testament and Early Church understanding of Christophany highlights the deep connection between Christ and His people. As Calvin notes, believers "dwell in Christ, and Christ dwells in them" through faith (John 6:56) [5]. This mystical union is a hallmark of the Christian faith, emphasizing the believer's participation in Christ's life and death.
The significance of Christophany in the New Testament and Early Church lies in its demonstration of God's desire to be present with His people. Through Christ's appearances, the sacraments, and the unity of believers with Him, the concept of Christophany underscores the intimate relationship between God and humanity. As the early Church Fathers and Reformers attest, this understanding has been a cornerstone of Christian theology and practice throughout history [4, 6].
Sources
- Ephesians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ephesians 5:30: For--Greek, "Because" (Co1 6:15). Christ nourisheth and cherisheth the Church as being of one flesh with Him. Translate, "Because we are members of His body (His literal body), being OF His flesh and of His bones" [ALFORD] (Gen 2:23-24). The Greek expresses, "Being formed out of" or "of the substance of His flesh." Adam's deep sleep, wherein Eve was formed from out of his opened side, is an emblem of Christ's death, which was the birth of the Spouse, the Church. Joh 12:24; Joh 19:34-35, to which Eph 5:25-27 allude, as implying atonement by His blood”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 71: taken and broken; and therefore it was the bread which He affirmed was, either literally or figuratively, his body. Lutherans themselves cannot avoid saying and admitting that the bread in the Lord’s Supper is the body of Christ. Thus Luther ( Larger Catechism , v. 12, 13; Hase, Libri Symbolici , p. 554) tells his catechumen to say, “Though infinite myriads of devils and all fanatics should impudently demand, How bread and wine can be the body and blood of Christ? I know that all spirits and all learned men put together have not as much i”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part (Tertia Pars), Of the Way in Which Christ Is in This Sacrament, Art. 8: Article: Whether Christ's body is truly there when flesh or a child appears miraculously in this sacrament? I answer that, Such apparition comes about in two ways, when occasionally in this sacrament flesh, or blood, or a child, is seen. Sometimes it happens on the part of the beholders, whose eyes are so affected as if they outwardly saw flesh, or blood, or a child, while no change takes place in the sacrament. And this seems to happen when to one person it is seen under the species o”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 99: rich and inexhaustible fountain, which transfuses into us the life flowing forth from the Godhead into itself. Now, who sees not that the communion of the flesh and blood of Christ is necessary to all who aspire to the heavenly life? Hence those passages of the apostle: The Church is the “body” of Christ; his “fulness.” He is “the head,” “from whence the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,” “maketh increase of the body” ( Eph. 1:23 ; 4:15,16). Our bodies are the “members of Christ” (”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 99: For, not to mention other reasons, they cannot be at the same time the members of Christ and the members of a harlot. In fine, when Christ himself says, ‘He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him’ ( John 6:56 ), he shows what it is to eat the body of Christ, not sacramentally, but in reality. It is to abide in Christ, that Christ may abide in him. For it is just as if he had said, Let not him who abides not in me, and in whom I abide not, say or think that he eats my body or drinks my blood.” Let ”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 1: Clement, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus — CHAP. II.: For there is no other time such as this, that I should be accounted worthy of God; neither will ye, if ye be silent, [ever] be found in a better work than this. If ye let me alone, I shall be the word of God; but if ye love my flesh, again am I [only] to myself a voice. Ye cannot give me anything more precious than this, that I should be sacrificed to God, while the altar is ready; that ye may be in one concord in love, and may praise God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord, because He has deeme”