The central focus of the analysis is to understand how early Jewish Christians, who strictly adhered to monotheism, justified their devotional veneration of the exalted Jesus, a practice that preceded the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. This phenomenon is termed the "binitarian shape" of early Christian devotion. The research suggests that Jewish Christians employed the widely accepted concept of divine agency—the idea that God has a chief agent or vizier second only to Him in authority—to accommodate Jesus' heavenly status. Ancient Judaism demonstrated this concept through three types of figures: personified divine attributes (like Wisdom or Logos), exalted patriarchs (like Moses or Enoch), and principal angels (like Michael or Melchizedek). Critically, while these Jewish chief agents were described in exalted terms, evidence indicates they were not incorporated into the cultic devotion or worship of Jewish groups, upholding an exclusivist monotheism. The key innovation, or "mutation," of early Christianity was including the risen Jesus, God’s chief agent, as an object of cultic veneration alongside God the Father. This mutation manifested quickly in devotional practices, including singing hymns to Christ, addressing prayers to him (such as the Aramaic Maranatha), and confessing him as Lord in corporate settings. This rapid and profound change originated among Jewish Christians and was primarily motivated by intense religious experiences, specifically visions of the resurrected Jesus sharing divine glory, which compelled a devotional response and reshaped the boundaries of monotheistic piety.
Origins_of_Jesus_Veneration.mp4
0. The Binitarian Shape of Early Christian Worship
1. Divine Agency in Ancient Jewish Monotheism
2. Personified Divine Attributes as Divine Agents
3. Exalted Patriarchs as Divine Agents