The christological battles of the third and fourth centuries of the common era focused on explicating the divine and human nature of Christ as the Second Persons on the Trinity (e.g. Nestorianism, Apollinarianism, etc). The christological disputes of the second century seemed to have focused on whether Jesus was human at all (e.g. Caprocrates) or whether he was only human and adopted into God's favour (e.g. Ebionites). In contrast, the christological issues of the first century as found in the NT appear to have revolved around two important matters:
1. The identification of Jesus Christ with the God of Israel.
2. The identification of the risen and exalted Christ with the person Jesus of Nazareth.
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What about the attempt to identify Christ or proclaim Christ in terms relevant to non-Jews? I am thinking of the Corinthian correspondence, where Paul's audience seems to be more Greek than Jew, and perhaps also 1 Thessalonians and maybe even Philippians. This is not to say that Paul ceased to identify Christ with the God of Israel, or that these non-Jews were not introduced to fundamental elements of Judaism. I just wonder how the language Paul used to make Christ's meaning and significance clear and understandable to these readers might have been affected by the ways in which they as non-Jews were more inclined to think about God and the world. It seems to me that this is an overlooked issue that pertains to NT Christology.
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