Usage of 'the' in this statement

Question

If  a person said:

I believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Would the above statement, without any additional context than that provided, mean:
(1a) The Person believes in the complete set of JC's teachings;
OR
(2a) The Person believes in an unspecified subset of the set of JC's teachings?
OR
(3a) Either interpretation is justifiable, however further context is necessary to justify one over the other.
[EDIT The original purpose of the question was to identify how 'the' functions in the sentence, so I'll provide a hopefully less non-contested example that will prevent anyone getting bogged down in the ambiguities brought about by the bible:
Instead, consider the statements:

I have read the works of Joseph Conrad.

AND

I have read Joseph Conrad's works

Does the former statement mean:
(1b) The Person has read all of Joseph Conrad's works
OR
(2b) The Person has read an unspecified subset of Joseph Conrad's works
OR
(3b) Further context is necessary to justify one over the other.
Finally, are both statements meaningfully identical? If not, what meaning would the second statement have?

jsw29 · Accepted Answer

The OP has presented the question as a multiple-choice one, but this answer will combine the elements of all three of the options that the question offers.
If somebody claims to have read 'the works of Joseph Conrad', and it then turns out that there is, in fact, one not-well-known story that he hasn't read, we won't accuse him of lying. So, clearly, we do not take his claim to amount to (1b). On the other hand, if it turns out that he has read only a couple of Conrad's novels, we would feel that it was misleading of him to say that he has read 'the works of Joseph Conrad' (assuming, as the OP does, that the context was not specifically about these novels). So we do not interpret the claim as (2b) either, but as something between (1b) and (2b). The claim that one has read 'the works of Joseph Conrad' is the claim that one has read enough of them to be well acquainted with the style and themes that run through his works. What counts as 'enough' here may partially depend on the context, so this answer has elements of (3b) as well.

Anton · Answer

I understand why there appears to be ambiguity but if there is no context the answer is clear. There are many things that are taught; there are therefore many possible subsets of taught things. Use of the definite article implies that we are reading about one thing. That being the case, it cannot refer to an undefined subset chosen from many.
Therefore, without any context, the statement applies to the complete set of all that JC taught.

Pete · Answer

"the teachings" is plural, and since no specific subset is mentioned it must be assumed to refer to the entire body of teachings.
There is some room for ambiguity only because the object refers to a controversial individual. The existence of apocryphal and contested documents makes "the teachings" an unclear concept. This is a philosophical issue, not a linguistic one. Linguistically, the sentence is unambiguous and correct.

Usage of 'the' in this statement

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