the
fathers from the early second century (Papias) to the late fourth (Jerome) claim that it
comprised a truncated form of Matthew (outwardly the most Jewish of the
four) written in Hebrew, one that lacked it’s opening chapters, that is, the
narrative of Jesus’ miraculous birth.
Why was this early Hebrew text different
from the Greek? The natural assumption is that the Ebionites
simply deleted the text that they disagreed with. However, there is no
historic evidence that this group was in the practice of altering or
deleting text to conform to their particular beliefs.
The evidence, however,
is overwhelming that those who espoused the doctrine concerning the deity of
Jesus not only altered and added to the text, they did so frequently and as
a matter of course.
This was not generally done to mislead or deceive, but
in a sincere effort to “clarify” the text. The result, however, is thousands
of verifiably corrupted documents that were used in the compiling of various
texts we now call the New Testament.
The Development of
“Christology”
Additional “clarification” efforts brought
about the formation of various “Christologies” which were a natural
progression of attempts to justify the Hebraic scriptures through a Greek
philosophy perspective.
In time
four Christologies developed.
Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia
(vol.6/ Christology)
In the New Testament
The earliest Christians expressed their
explicit Christology with titles and mythological patterns borrowed from the
religious environment of 1st