Christ Jesus Intercedes for Us (ስለ እኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው) (Romans 8:34): Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's Understanding - Part II

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church teaches that in the Bible, the word “intercedes” (የሚማልደው) has different meanings depending on the context. One of these meanings is “to judge” or “to rule.” Interpreting all instances of “intercedes” in the Bible as “intercessor,” (አማላጅ) leads to a significant error.

Let's examine the following verses to explain this:

Romans 8:26-27: “…ነገር ግን መንፈስ ራሱ በማይነገር መቃተት ይማልድልናል:: ልብንም የሚመረምረው የመንፈስ አሳብ ምን እንደ ሆነ ያውቃል፥ እንደ እግዚአብሔር ፈቃድ ስለ ቅዱሳን ይማልዳልና።” If we interpret “intercedes” (ይማልድልናል) in this verse as “intercessor” (አማላጅ), we are saying that the Holy Spirit is an intercessor (አማላጅ).

Romans 8:34: “እግዚአብሔር የመረጣቸውን ማን ይከሳቸዋል? የሚያጸድቅ እግዚአብሔር ነው፥ የሚኰንንስ ማን ነው?የሞተው፥ ይልቁንም ከሙታን የተነሣው፥ በእግዚአብሔር ቀኝ ያለው፥ ደግሞ ስለ እኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው።” If we interpret “intercedes” in this verse as “intercessor” (አማላጅ), we are saying that God the Son is an intercessor (አማላጅ).

Jeremiah 7:23-25: “ነገር ግን ቃሌን ስሙ እኔም አምላክ እሆናችኋለሁ…ነገር ግን በክፉ ልባቸው አሳብና እልከኝነት ሄዱ ወደ ፊትም ሳይሆን ወደ ኋላቸው ሄዱ እንጂ አልሰሙም ጆሮአቸውንም አላዘነበሉም።አባቶቻችሁ ከግብጽ ምድር ከወጡበት ቀን ጀምሮ እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ፥ በየዕለቱ እየማለድሁ ባሪያዎቼን ነቢያትን ሁሉ ልኬባችሁ ነበር” If we interpret “intercedes” in this verse as “intercessor” (አማላጅ), we are saying that God the Father is an intercessor (አማላጅ).

Following the raw reading, if we interpret the word “intercedes” in these verses as “intercessor (አማላጅ),” it means the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are intercessors (አማላጆች). This leads to a significant error. Who will judge if the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are intercessors? What about the Godhead of the Trinity? In the verses mentioned above, the verbs "ይማልድልናል,"  “ይማልዳል”፣ "የሚማልደው," "እየማለድሁ" are interpreted as “ይፈርድልናል”, “ይፈርዳል”, “የሚፈርደዉ”, “አየፈረድሁ." This aligns with the interpretation of ማለደ (ፈረደ) as explained in Part I. Thus, drawing conclusions based on a single word leads to significant errors.

Romans 8:34 indicates that "Christ Jesus intercedes for us (ስለ እኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው)” signifies His role as a judge, not as an intercessor. The resurrected Christ sitting at the right hand of God acts as a judge now. Verses like Acts 10:42 and John 5:22 further emphasize Christ's role as a judge.

Following His ascension (ዕርገቱ), Christ does not continue His earthly intercessory service. John 16:26: "በዚያን ቀን በስሜ ትለምናላችሁ፤ እኔም ስለ እናንተ አብን እንድለምን የምላችሁ አይደለሁም፡፡" affirms that after His ascension, Christ will not intercede for us.

In conclusion, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church teaches that interpreting “intercedes” (የሚማልደው) as “intercessor” (አማላጅ) is a significant error. Romans 8:34 and other scriptures show that Christ’s role post-ascension is that of a judge, not an intercessor. This interpretation preserves the nature of the Trinity and the completeness of Christ’s reconciliatory act, affirming His position at the right hand of God as the eternal judge.

Christ Jesus Intercedes for Us (ስለ እኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው) (Romans 8:34): Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's Understanding - Part I

In Romans 8:33-34, it is written: "እግዚአብሔር የመረጣቸውን ማን ይከሳቸዋል? የሚያጸድቅ እግዚአብሔር ነው፥ የሚኰንንስ ማን ነው? የሞተው፥ ይልቁንም ከሙታን የተነሣው፥ በእግዚአብሔር ቀኝ ያለው፥ ደግሞ ስለ እኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው።”

This essay seeks to provide an accurate interpretation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church on Romans 8: 33-34.

The central question of this verse begins with. “Who is he who condemns (የሚኰንንስ ማን ነው)?” “መኰነን” is a word directly taken from Ge'ez, meaning ‘መፍረድ’። Similarly, ኰነነ means “ፈረደ ፣ ገዛ,” which translates to condemned, judged, or ruled in English. Therefore, when it says, “Who is he who condemns (የሚኰንንስ ማን ነው)?” it means “የሚፈርድስ ማነዉ?” or who will judge or rule. The answer, as stated in the verse, is Christ Jesus.

There are several biblical verses that confirm that Christ is a ruler and judge. Among them are: 2 Timothy 4:8: "ወደ ፊት የጽድቅ አክሊል ተዘጋጅቶልኛል፥ ይህንም ጻድቅ ፈራጅ የሆነው ጌታ ያን ቀን ለእኔ ያስረክባል፥ ደግሞም መገለጡን ለሚወዱት ሁሉ እንጂ ለእኔ ብቻ አይደለም።" Similarly, Romans 14:9: "ስለዚህም ነገር ሙታንንም ሕያዋንንም ይገዛ ዘንድ ክርስቶስ ሞቶአልና ሕያውም ሆኖአልና."

Our Lord Jesus Christ reconciled us with Himself, His Father, and the Holy Spirit through His death. As it is stated in Romans 5:10, “ጠላቶች ሳለን ከእግዚአብሔር ጋር በልጁ ሞት ከታረቅን፥ ይልቁንም ከታረቅን በኋላ በሕይወቱ እንድናለን,” He reconciled us through His death in the flesh He took from us, once for all who believe in Him, saying “it is finished” (ተፈጸመ). His reconciliation service or mission was accomplished once through His death. Now, He who rose from the dead is a judge.

St. Paul said, “It is Christ who intercedes for us” (ስለእኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው). After asking, "Who is he who condemns (የሚኰንን ወይም የሚፈርደው ማን ነው)?", he answered, stating that the one who intercedes, meaning the one who condemns, or judges is Christ Jesus.

Now the question revolves around the phrase, “It is Christ who intercedes for us” (ስለእኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው). Very importantly, it should be noted that the role of the intercessor (አማላጅ) is not to declare righteousness or judge; rather, the role of declaring righteousness or judging belongs to the one who condemns or judges. The scripture asks, የሚያጸድቅ እግዚአብሔር ነው፥ የሚኰንንስ ማን ነው?.

In a biblical context, the term "the one who intercedes" (የሚማልደው) stated in Romans 8: 34 signifies the one who judges (የሚፈርደው). Part II of this essay will explore deeper into this distinction.

In conclusion, based on the above explanation, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church interprets Romans 8: 34 “It is Christ who intercedes for us” (ስለእኛ የሚማልደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው) as "It is Christ who judges for us" (ስለእኛ የሚፈርደው ክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ነው). This interpretation underscores the understanding that Christ, as our judge and ruler, is no longer an intercessor (አማላጅ) after His resurrection (ትንሳኤው) and ascension (ዕርገቱ), as He has already completed His reconciling task on the cross through His death.