Stephen Jones — Christologie
b1 — Creation’s Jubilee
Incarnatie als juridische noodzaak (Hebr. 2)
Jones betoogt dat de menswording van Christus niet primair theologisch-speculatief, maar juridisch noodzakelijk was: Christus moest vlees en bloed aannemen om het wettelijke recht van de naastbestaande-losser te verkrijgen.
“Jesus came to earth to redeem His people (Luke 1:68). He did not come in the form of an angel, but was born a man, specifically of the seed of Abraham. He did this in order to have the lawful right of redemption. If He had come as an angel, the divine law would have ruled that He was only a FRIEND of sinners… In order to have the RIGHT of redemption for all mankind, He had to be born of flesh and blood.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 7
Jones citeert Heb. 2:11-17 als de directe bijbelse grond:
“{Hebrews 2:14} Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; … {Hebrews 2:17} Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” — Heb. 2:14-17, geciteerd in Ch. 7
Conclusie van Jones:
“We conclude, then, that Jesus Christ was born of flesh and blood in order to have the lawful right of redemption of the whole world. He was likewise born specifically of the seed of Abraham in order to have the lawful right of redemption for the House of Israel.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 7
Interpretatie: Jones plaatst de incarnatie binnen het jubeljaarrecht (Lev. 25): een naaste verwant (go’el) heeft juridisch recht van loskoping; een vriend niet. Christus moest dus als verwant/broeder geboren worden — dit is de juridische ratio van de menswording.
Christus als Kinsman-Redeemer (go’el / jubileumslosser)
Jones legt uitgebreid uit hoe de jubeljaarwet van Lev. 25 Christus’ verlossingswerk definieert:
“We know that the law is not only a moral document, but is also prophetic, because this is the law that Jesus performed perfectly. It was therefore prophesying that Jesus Christ, our Kinsman-Redeemer, would come to buy back everything that was sold when Adam sinned. The Scriptures cannot be broken. If the redeemer has the power to redeem, the law says he is commanded by the will of the Father in heaven to redeem what his brother has lost. We are His brethren. Therefore, the law demands that Jesus Christ redeem all that was lost in Adam.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 7
Over de verhouding tot de jubeljaarwet:
“No man could permanently lose his land inheritance through debt. At the Jubilee, the land would revert back to him, and any remaining debts were to be cancelled. Likewise, no man has the authority to sell himself permanently as a slave to sin… For this reason, at the Creation Jubilee, all men whom God has created will return to the original Owner of all things. This is the law, and no man can set it aside or violate the rights of God Almighty.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 7
Over de verlosser en zijn recht tegenover een ‘vreemde meester’:
“A friend does not have the right of redemption; only a near kinsman does… But if a near kinsman decides to redeem the debtor, the master has no choice in the matter, for the kinsman has the right of redemption.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 7
Interpretatie: Christus’ verlossing is voor Jones geen vrijwillige gift maar een wettelijke eis: als naaste verwant ís Hij verplicht te lossen. Dit geeft de universele verlossing haar juridische kracht — de dood heeft geen keuze.
Verzoening via jubeljaarprincipe (Christus Victor-dimensie)
Jones formuleert Christus’ overwinning op de dood in jubeljaarterminologie:
“The law of redemption was closely tied to the law of Jubilee… death does not hold the right of redemption and has no choice but to turn every captive loose at Jesus Christ’s demand.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 7
Over Christus’ volledige vervulling van de loswet:
“The only relevant question is whether or not Jesus Christ really did this or not. I believe He did, for the blood has never lost its power, nor did Jesus fail in any point of law to do all that the Father asked of Him. The law was fully satisfied.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 7
Tweede Adam — imputatieleer (Rom. 5)
Jones werkt het Tweede Adam-motief uit via een nauwkeurige exegese van Rom. 5:12:
“Paul says here that sin first entered the world through Adam’s sin. But what did ‘all men’ inherit from Adam? Was it Adam’s SIN that was passed down into all men? NO. It was death, the liability for Adam’s sin… In other words, man did not inherit a sin nature from Adam. He merely inherited the liability for Adam’s sin.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 9
Over de parallel-imputatie van Christus:
“God in His sovereignty imputed his sin to our accounts, calling what is not as though it were (Rom. 4:17). This would be a gross injustice; in fact, it would be a false accusation on God’s part, except for the fact that Jesus came to impute His righteousness to our accounts as well. In so doing, He reversed entirely the effects of this ‘temporary injustice’.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 9
Jones citeert Rom. 5:18:
“{Romans 5:18} So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” — geciteerd in Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 9
Conclusie Jones:
“And this is why it is so important that ‘all men’ who died in Adam be saved in Christ.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 9
Interpretatie: Jones’ Tweede Adam-leer berust op imputatie, niet op ontologische natuur-overdracht. Christus imputeert gerechtigheid aan ‘alle mensen’ parallel aan Adams imputatie van dood — dit draagt de universele verlossingsvisie.
Sterfelijkheid, niet zonde-aard, als erfenis van Adam
Jones formuleert een scherpe stelling die afwijkt van de Augustiniaanse erfzonde-leer:
“It is extremely important for us also to recognize that no man is born with a ‘sinful soul’ or a ‘sin nature.’ … He merely inherited the liability for Adam’s sin. The reason we are mortal is because we are liable for a sin that Adam committed.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 9
“We are not mortal because we sin. We sin because we are mortal.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 9
Interpretatie: Dit onderscheid heeft directe christologische consequenties: Christus’ verlossing hoeft geen erfzonde-aard uit te roeien, maar de imputatie van Adams overtreding weg te nemen en sterfelijkheid te overwinnen — wat in de opstanding plaatsvindt.
Gefaseerde parousia: drie oogstfeesten
Jones omschrijft de terugkomst van Christus als een gefaseerd proces in drie fasen, corresponderend met de drie Israëlitische oogstfeesten:
“From Moses to Christ was a Passover Age, reflecting the first level of anointing and empowerment… The day of Pentecost in Acts 2 began a Pentecostal Age with an enhanced level of the Holy Spirit’s power… But even Paul acknowledged three times that this was only an EARNEST of the Spirit, a downpayment of something better that was yet to come. He looked for a Tabernacles Age, in which the FULLNESS of the Spirit would be poured out, and the Kingdom of God would be established in the earth in its highest form and with its greatest power.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 1
“The key to understanding the Kingdom of God is to view it in its three stages of development, rather than pitting one view against another.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 1
Over Christus als het ware Paaslam, onherkend bij zijn eerste komst:
“They did not recognize the true Lamb of God when John pointed Him out to the people (John 1:29), nor did they see that He would have to die at Passover for the sin of the world.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 1
Interpretatie: Jones’ parousia-theologie is gefaseerd: Christus heeft de Pascha-fase vervuld (kruis/opstanding), de Pinkster-fase is lopend, en de Loofhuttenfase (definitieve Koninkrijksopenbaring) is nog toekomstig. Dit is een voor Jones karakteristieke ‘gefaseerde parousia’.
God als uiteindelijk aansprakelijke; Christus als betaler
In hoofdstuk 13 stelt Jones dat God zichzelf aansprakelijk heeft gesteld voor de zonde van de mens, en Christus de prijs heeft betaald:
“Is God liable in any way for man’s sin? We immediately answer, YES. This is one reason why He made Himself liable for our sin through Jesus Christ, and then paid the penalty for sin.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 13
“God created His own goal: to create the universe, to allow man to fall into death and sin, and then to reconcile creation with justice and grace.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 13