What is Solus Christus?
Solus Christus is the assertion that the works and lordship of Jesus Christ is the basis of our salvation. An important ramification of Jesus’ lordship is that His influence also forms the boundaries of salvation. Nothing outside of Jesus can bring salvation and nothing can remove the salvation that has been imparted by Jesus:
John 10:28: I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
The first assertion is Christianity 101. Many aberrant forms of Christianity, including Roman Catholicism, can agree with this. The second sentence, which is every bit as important as the first, is what separates true Christian doctrine from false Tradition.
In a truly biblical Christianity, Jesus plays no less than four roles. Each role further defines His Sovereignty, and as a direct consequence, limits the amount of power and influence any other entity, church, or person can have on spiritual matters. In order of this statement, Jesus is the Messiah, our Chief Shepherd, our High Priest, and our Lord.
Jesus is the Messiah
The first role of Jesus is our Messiah. Jesus accomplishes several things as our Messiah:
First, Jesus brings salvific knowledge, which we know as the Gospel:
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.Romans 1:6: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
John 6:45: It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
What this means is that there is no room for extra-biblical knowledge, laws, precepts, or traditions that are necessary for salvation. Commitment to the Gospel itself is salvific for God’s Elect.
Second, Jesus sacrifices Himself as a sin offering to permanently cover the sins of the Elect:
Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Galatians 1:3: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 10:11: And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
What this means is that people do not require any sacrifices or rites to be forgiven of their sins. Jesus already paid for them. This is why reconciliation with each other and the church is so important, because it exemplifies the forgiveness God has already given us (the parable of the Unforgiving Servant)
Third, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit in His place, to teach Christians how to live by God’s precepts:
John 14:15: “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Isaiah 11:2: The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him. The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.
John 16:13: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
1 Peter 1:3: He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.
What this means is that people do not need hidden knowledge, divine revelations from clergy, or special denomination specific practices to learn about God and how to live according to the Gospel. Nor do Christians need rites and sacraments to be sanctified. If they are of God’s flock, the Holy Spirit will be doing that Himself.
Jesus is the Chief Shepherd
To start, it is important to understand that people are not spontaneously generated. People are purposefully and intelligently made by God.
Psalm 139:16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Jeremiah 1:4-5 The LORD gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.
Isaiah 45:9: “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’? 10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’ or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”11 Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: “Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?
Some people are inclined toward righteousness, and some are not.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Romans 9:6: But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
Prior to the creation of the world, God had already chosen a subset of people for Himself. He kept record of those people in the Book of Life.
Ephesians 1:4: For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will.
Exodus 32:31: Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!” The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
Daniel 12:1: “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
God would guide, strengthen, and bless His chosen people. In essence, God was their shepherd:
Proverbs 16:9: The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Matthew 10:29: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
When Jesus took His role as the Messiah, God gave Him ownership of those people.
John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
John 17:6, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”
Jesus is now our Chief Shepherd, which is the logical progression of being our messiah.
John 10:14: I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Note that at the end of Revelation, the Elect are still referred to as belonging to Jesus. He never “gave” them to anyone else.
Revelation 13:8: And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
The importance of Jesus being your Chief Shepherd, as opposed to it being some spiritual leader, Pope, or guru, is that Jesus’ oversight on our spiritual regeneration continues the trend of God’s sovereignty. Why would God have a human replace Jesus as Chief Shepherd? That would just be worse re-enactment of Judges, Samuel, and Kings.
Jesus is the High Priest (and the Sole Mediator Between Us and God)
When Jesus ascends to Heaven after His resurrection, He takes the role of High Priest. For those not familiar with the fundamentals of the Levitical priesthood, priests are liaisons between men and God. Priests ministered, taught God’s law, consecrated objects, conferred with God on behalf of the people, and made sin and guilt offerings (sacrifices) to cover their sins. Not all priests were created equal, rather, only the high priest was able to enter the innermost sanctum of the tabernacle (the Holy Place) and speak with God.
Hebrews 9:6: When everything had been prepared in this way, the priests entered regularly into the first room to perform their sacred duties. 7But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
Furthermore, it was only the high priest who could make a sacrifice that could cover the sins of their entire nation. The most prolific of high priests would probably be Aaron, who was the only person aside from Moses who could enter the inner sanctum and speak with God. For those interested in learning more, Leviticus 16 and Hebrews 9 are good places to start. Preserving this system, Jesus eternally takes on the role of High Priest:
Hebrews 6:20: Where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus is the only one who can make concession for us to God and Jesus is the only one who can make a sin/guilt offering for His flock:
Hebrews 7:25: Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:27: He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
Jesus’ role is the ultimate fulfillment of the Levitical priesthood and He makes any other form of theocratic priestly offices or intercessory mediators obsolete. This was of course, by design:
Hebrews 7:11: Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?
This why when we pray to God, we specifically (and only) pray in Jesus’ name:
James 5:14: Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
John 14:13: Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Colossians 3:17: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Once again, this is by design:
John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Jesus is Lord
Let’s talk a little more about the Order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was the priest who blessed Abraham back in Genesis 14. Interestingly enough, they dined on bread and wine beforehand (it’s hard not to marvel at God’s consistency). What made Melchizedek unique to the other priests and set him apart from the Levitical priesthood that was to follow, was that he was also a king:
Genesis 14:18: And Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High).
Jesus is the only other one to simultaneously hold the offices of priest and king. Or at least, that is the case from the point the Levitical Priesthood was established an onward. This makes him the second, and last, in the “Order of Melchizedek”. [Note that that there are other significances to the Order of Melchizedek, covering them all here would be a little much]
John 17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
This gives Jesus complete, unshared, and uncontested authority over every aspect of His people:
Matthew 28:18: And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
1 Peter 3:22: Who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
Daniel 7:13: “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
In that regard, there is no one who can be elevated above Jesus. There is no one to exalted but Jesus (the obvious exception being the remainder of the Triune Godhead). Lastly, there is no authority or name other than Jesus to be submitted to:
Philippians 2: 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
Acts 4:12: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Jesus can only Fulfill All These Roles Because He is God
Only Jesus can do these things because God gave Him authority over the world, allowing Jesus to rule both as High Priest and as King. But, Jesus takes this a step further by being God. This means He is omniscient, omnipotent, and eternal.
Hebrews 1:3-4: He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
Daniel 7:13-14: I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
No one but Jesus was given this power and dominion. No one but Jesus died for the consecration of God’s people. No one but Jesus did God render an eternal high priest. In that regard, these verses actively reject the idea that anyone or anything else on top of Jesus and His gospel be necessary for salvation.
Not Mary, not the Pope, not the clergy, not an eternal congregation of saints, nor a specific denominational doctrine. Just as God’s mercy transcended Law and Tradition in the time of the Old Testament, Jesus’s mercy transcends it in the New Testament. Both God and Jesus are bigger than religion. To suggest otherwise is to deny the sovereignty and autonomy of the Triune God. Jesus’ sovereignty leaves no room for a Pope or other religious liaison:
Hebrews 7:28: “For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”
Jesus as a Member of the Triune God Head, is Holy, Exalting Him Above All Falsely Asserted Replacement Mediators or Co-Mediators
Another reason Jesus wields this specific and ultimate office of Divine Priesthood and Lordship is because He is holy. In fact, Revelation makes sure that every scripturally competent Christian knows that the Triune God alone is Holy.
Revelation 15:4: Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.
Let me just emphasize here. Only God is holy. Not the Pope, not Mary, not the clergy, and not the saints. Many are called to be holy, many find themselves some form of righteousness that is pleasing to God, but only God alone is holy. No impure human has any ability to exceed or supplant the divine authority of Jesus.
While we can certainly benefit from the guidance of priest and elders, they are not necessary in the process of salvation. They are not needed to consecrate trinkets, to dispense righteousness, or to forgive sins. Through Jesus, Christians already have a holy priest (immeasurably higher than any man or church office) already interceding for them in Heaven.