This post mostly uses the question-and answer format, for easier understanding. He was both God and man, during his life here. This dual nature of Christ is called the hypostatic union.

His life on earth during his ministry is called the State of Humiliation or Days of Humiliation. People around him mostly saw his humanity. But Scripture also reveals his deity.

Do not feel frustrated if you don’t get this at first and you have to read it several times. Sooner or later, things will “click.” It is a profound mystery, after all!

I.. Introduction

A.. Clarifying the two natures of Christ.

Professional theologians use biblical logic to sort out this proposition:

Jesus = True God and True Man

How exactly was he the God-man at his incarnation and during his ministry? Orthodoxy says Jesus was true man and true God, united in one person. Where do they get the notion of a God-man? From thin air? No, from Scripture.

B.. Table of Scriptures

Theologians have to come to terms with the Scriptures that reveal both Christ’s humanity and deity.

HIS HUMANITY
	Trait or Action	Scriptures
1	He is called man even after his ascension.	1 Tim. 2:5
2	He had a human mother.	Rom. 1:3; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 7:14
3	He has a human (Jewish) genealogy	Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 2:7; 3:23-38.; Acts 13:23; Rom. 1:3; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 7:14
4	He had human flesh.	John 1:14; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 4:2; after his resurrection: Luke 24:39; John 20:27
5	He got tired.	John 4:6
6	He slept.	Matt. 8:24
7	He got hungry.	Matt. 21:18
8	He thirsted.	John 19:28
9	He suffered pain and sweat and drops of blood.	Luke 22:44
10	He had human mind and limited knowledge.	Mark 11:13; 13:32; Luke 2:52
11	He had a human soul and spirit and emotions.	Matt. 9:36; 26:38; Mark 10:14; Luke 19:4; John 2:15-16). Jesus wept John 11:35; 12:27; 13:21
12	He was tempted in every way, but without sin.	Heb. 2:18; 4:15 Note: To be tempted is not sinful, but to give in is. Jesus overcame temptation and was sinless—his divine nature and the Spirit enabled him to resist successfully.
13	He was made like his brothers—the Jews of his time—in all things.	Heb. 2:17
14	He had to pray to sustain himself and hear from his Father.	Matt. 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 22:41-42; Heb. 5:7
15	He ministered in the power and anointing of the Spirit.	Luke 3:21-22; 4:18-19; Acts 10:38
16	He died.	Matt. 27:50;  Mark 15:39; 1 Cor. 15:3
HIS DEITY
17	He was conceived of the Spirit.	Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35
18	He was omnipotent (all-powerful) and had power and sovereignty over nature.	Matt. 8:26-27; 14:25; 17:27; After his ascension: Eph. 1:20-23; Phil. 3:21; Heb. 1:3
19	He was omniscient (all-knowing).	Mark 2:8; John 2:24; John 6:61, 64; 16:30 After his ascension: Col. 2:3
20	He was omnipresent (all-present).	Matt. 18:20; Matt. 28:20; John 1:51; 3:13; After his ascension: John 14:20; Eph. 1:23
21	He is eternal, without beginning or end.	Is. 9:6; Luke 13:34-35; John 1:1-2; 8:58; 17:5; Rev. 2:8; 22:13
22	He was equal with God.	John 1:1; 5:18; Phil. 2:6
23	All the fullness of deity dwelt in bodily form.	John 1:1-3, 10, 14; Col. 2:9
24	He is the Creator.	John 1:1-3, 10; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:10
25	He preserves the universe.	Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3
26	He is unchanging (immutable).	Heb. 1:12 (cf. Ps. 102:25-27); Heb. 13:8 Note: He changes in his human nature, when he feels emotions, for example, but his divine nature never changed in its essential attributes (eternality, omniscience, omnipotence, and so on).
27	He can forgive sins, reserved only for God, in this context.	Mark 2:5-7; Luke 7:48-49; Note: You can forgive someone who sins against you, but you have no right to forgive someone who sins against a third person (not you) or against God. And you and I cannot take away the sins of the whole world (John 1:29).
28	He can raise the dead, also on the last day of humanity (as we know it).	John 6:39-40
29	He judges all of humanity, the living and the dead.	John 5:22;  Acts 10:42; 2 Cor 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:1; 4:8
30	He is the Savior of the world: Jesus-Yeshua-Joshua means “the Lord saves.”	Matt. 1:21; Acts 5:31; 2 Pet. 1:11
31	He bestows eternal life.	John 10:28; John 17:2
32	He is one with the Father.	John 10:30; John 17:22
33	He accepted and received worship.	Matt. 4:9-10; Note: Jesus said to worship only God, yet he is about to receive worship, as follows: Matt. 14:33; 28:9; Luke 24:52; Heb. 1:6 (cf. Deut. 32:43); Phil. 2:10-11
34	He is called God and proclaimed as such.	Is. 9:6; John 1:1; 1:18; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Heb. 1:8 (cf. Ps. 45:6-7); 2 Pet. 1:1; 1 John 5:20

 

C.. More information

Please see the Scriptures quoted in this article:

Two Natures in One Person: He Was Human and God.

D.. Questions and answers in the next section

Clearly he was both man and God. How do we put those data points together?

Armed with those biblical data, what does Christ’s dual nature mean? How do we see it without comingling and confusing them? We can learn more about the hypostatic union by asking and answering a long list of question in this post.

II.. Question and Answers

A.. Brief intro

These questions will take up the bulk of the post on Christ’s dual nature.

1.. What does Christology mean?

You can see the word Christ. -o- is the mediating vowel, log– means “study or science of,” and -y is a noun ending. So it means “the study of Christ.”

2.. What does hypostatic union mean?

The basic definition is the union of Christ’s two natures, human and divine. It means the union of Christ’s two natures (divine and human) in one person. In the section at this website on the Triunity (or Trinity), we learned that hypostasis can be translated as person, but the more formal definition encompasses subsistence or the way something exists.

Meaning: Hypostasis (person or being) union (of two natures).

So in this case it refers to two natures in one person or subsistence.

A more formal definition:

The hypostatic union says two natures (deity and humanity) are united in one person—the person of Jesus Christ: Two natures united in one person, or one-person union.

Here is a definition from the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology:

[…] The union of two natures (duo physeis) of deity and humanity in the one hypostasis or person of Jesus Christ. In the incarnation of the Son of God, a human nature was inseparably united forever with the divine nature, yet with the two natures remaining distinct, whole, and unchanged, without mixture or confusion, so that the one person, Jesus Christ, is truly God and truly human (p. 410).

And so all three branches of Christianity agree.

That definition is based on the Creed of Chalcedon in 451 AD. The three major branches of the church, with almost all of their subdivisions or denominations, believe it: Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox.

3.. What does person mean in Christology?

It is the “I” or the “who” of you and me. We have will, emotions and intentions, and minds. Now let’s get a little complicated. Creeds will do this!

The Chalcedonian Creed or Creed of Chalcedon (AD 451).

It says:

[…] The distinction of the [divine and human] natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person [prosōpon] and subsistence [hypostasis], not parted or separate into two persons …. (from Frame, Systematic, pp. 887-88, emphasis added)

Translation: Christ’s dual nature is combined or comes together, but without separating the two natures and making two persons. No, he has two natures within one person.

The Greek word translated person was prosōpon, which literally means “face.”  (In 1 Thess. 3:10 it can mean “the whole person.”) The Latin version of the Creed translates it as persona. The Greek word hypostasis was translated as subsistence.

In this case, the two terms prosōpon and hypostasis seem to be synonyms, or at least that seems to be the intention of the Creed’s authors. In truth, the language of the Creed was confused, as it goes from one language to the next, particularly into English.

Theologians usually stick with person: Christ is two natures in one person. Or this is equivalent and acceptable: Christ is two natures in one being.

Here’s what can tell your congregation or Bible study. Jesus of Nazareth (one person) is both God and man (two natures).

To keep things simpler, I like the short table that Southern Baptist theologian Adam Harwood produced:

Essence and Persons
Western Church (Latin)	Eastern Church (Greek)
Substantia (substance)	Ousia (essence)
Personae (persons)	Hypostaseis (persons)
Harwood, p. 150, slightly adapted

So substance is the same as essence.

But now let’s move on. If that is too technical, then take your time and study it.

4.. What does the word nature mean?

Nature in the Chalcedonian Creed was the Greek word physis. In this context it is synonymous with essence, and essence means a collection of attributes. Christ’s human nature contained all human attributes except sin (emotion, will, consciousness, intelligence and so on). And Christ’s divine nature contained all the attributes of deity (omniscience, omnipotence, Lordship, eternality, sovereignty, immortality, consciousness, will, and so on). But he surrendered his use of them to his Father. So they did not always shine out of him for all to see.

You can use either nature or its synonym: essence.

5.. What does ‘filioque’ mean?

It is a Latin phrase meaning “and the Son.” Fili– means “son,” and the que attached means “and,” (and -o- is the mediating vowel).

In the Western church, Latin was the language of theology and the church. In the Eastern church, Greek was spoken and official. The Nicene Creed, drawn up in 325 AD in the East, said that the Spirit proceeds “from the Father.” It said nothing about his proceeding from the Son.

A local church council in Toledo, Spain (the Western church) in 589 AD added the phrase “and the Son.” So the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Normally this should not pose a problem, but this was about the nature of the Trinity, and since the Father takes the leading role, it made more sense that the Spirit would proceed from the Father.

Then politics got involved. The additional phrase (“and the Son”) received official endorsement from the Latin church in 1017, at a time when the Greek east felt the pressure of Islam aggressively and without provocation invading its territories. Sometimes the Western church helped the Eastern church in the Crusades; other times the West did not. In fact, sometimes the West attacked the East instead of the Islamic armies.

Please see my post here:

The Truth about Islamic Jihad and Imperialism: A Timeline

So this insignificant doctrinal point was blown out of proportion that has not been resolved to this day.

Which side has the better Scriptural support? In my view, it is the Western church, in these two verses from John:

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. (John 15:26)

Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7b)

Both the verses say the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Also, if the Spirit proceeds only from the Father, it seems to create a distance between the Spirit and the Son.

It’s a pity the Eastern and Western churches divided over it.

In any case, we don’t need to divide over an obscure point of doctrine. Hurt feelings need to be released and purged out, and reconciliation is needed.

6.. If Jesus is truly human, did he have a sin nature?

No, because man with a sin nature is not truly human; humankind is less than that. Humankind is degraded in his or her essence, because it is tainted by sin. The virgin birth prevented Jesus from having a sin nature. He is the True Man, but also the Unique Man.

7.. Was Jesus able to sin while he was in his body?

Theologians mostly say non posse peccare: “unable to sin.” His divine nature, which he took with him from heaven, made it not possible for him to sin.

However, the dominant message of the four Gospels is that on a daily basis he achieved victory over temptation to sin by his connection to his Father and by the power of the Spirit.

Therefore he is an example to us.

8.. Why did the Father tell him to live like a man (but without sin)?

Hebrews 4:15 answers it: “For we do not have a high priest unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin.”

In other words, the Father sent his Son to redeem the world and show us that the Father empathizes with human suffering. That’s how much he loves us.

Please see this post:

8. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was Sinless.

9.. Is there an illustration to clarify of the hypostatic union?

Yes, two imperfect ones. The first illustrates how one person can have the physical and nonphysical and yet remain one person. We humans are soul and matter.

My body moves and types these words—my fingers and hands (material) type them, but the mind (immaterial) is also involved. I don’t say that my fingers had nothing to do with it, or my mind typed it. Instead we simply affirm that I did that. Matter and soul did this together, but they are distinct. Yet one person—body and soul—did it.

The other illustration is offered by Williams, who insightfully says, “One possible help in understanding this paradox [of two natures in one person] is to reflect on the operation of God’s grace in a Christian’s life” (p. 344). 2 Peter 1:4 says that we “partake of the divine nature.” So now the born-again believer has two natures—human and (partly) divine. But we don’t confuse or merge them. They are part of us now, but they are distinct. Yet I can still speak of myself as one person.

Of course the illustration is imperfect (Millard Erickson notes its limitations, p. 669), because our human nature is tainted with sin, and we received a divine nature at one point in time. Jesus, on the other hand, never received his fully divine nature, for he always had it in eternity past. And his human nature was not tainted with sin. But it illustrates two natures (human and partly divine) living in one person—you.

10.. Are the two natures united in one person forever?

Yes, right now Christ has those two natures, and even in a body, but at his resurrection, the body had been transformed into an immortal, incorruptible body that lives forever. One can see the nail wounds or scars in his hands and feet, but his body will never decompose, but will go on forever—ours too, after we die and after our bodies are resurrected from the dead and transformed.

11.. Can you show how the two natures worked in the one person of Jesus of Nazareth?

In his human nature he ascended into heaven (John 16:28 and Acts 1:9-11), but in his divine nature he was everywhere present (Matt. 18:20 and 28:20; John 14:23). Both things are true about the person of Christ. So it is correct to say “Jesus returned to heaven, and Jesus is here with us right now.” The first is true of his human nature, and the second is true of his divine nature—two natures contained in his one person named Jesus.

His human nature began, but his divine nature is eternal. Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry (Luke 3:23) in his human nature, but he eternally existed in his divine nature (John 1:1-2; 8:58). Both are true about the person of Jesus. So it is correct to say, “Jesus began his ministry at about thirty, and Jesus existed from eternity past.” The first is true of his human nature, the second is true of his divine nature—two natures contained in his one person called Jesus.

When Jesus was a baby in the cradle, did he hold the universe together (Col. 1:17) and sustain it by the word of his power (Heb. 1:3)? His human nature could not do that, but his divine nature could and did. Each nature did what was unique to itself. So it is correct to say, “In his (baby) human nature he did not do that, but in his divine nature he did.” Either way, it is correct to say that Jesus always held up the universe.

So, for example, if the Father had willed, the divine attribute of omnipotence could have manifested in the baby Jesus and flattened the soldiers whom Herod sent to kill him. Since the baby did not have a fully developed will accompanied by knowledge, the Father alone could have done this through his Son. But the Father wanted Jesus to experience his full humanity and Joseph and Mary to learn how to be good parents and take care of his Son, who was on loan to them. Instead, the Father sent an angel in a dream, who told him to flee to Egypt (Matt. 2:13).

The reader already understands where this is going in respect to God “dying” at Jesus’s crucifixion. In his human nature he died, but in his divine nature he did not die. So, no, God did not die. But it is correct to say that Jesus died in his human nature and natural body, but Jesus was always alive in his divine nature.

Once again, we can see the same truth in our life as believers. When we die, our brain and body go down to “zero,” but our spirit and our new nature live on.

12.. Was his divine nature hidden during his earthly ministry?

Mostly yes, because Jesus had two wills, divine and human. He surrendered both to his Father in heaven, who told him to live like a man in every way possible, yet without sin. However, some theologians believe that by his Father’s permission, sometimes his divine nature burst forth in miracles like calming the storm, walking on water, at his baptism when the Father, Son and Holy Spirit appeared or made their presence known (Matt. 3:16-17), or at the Mount of Transfiguration, when he shone in glory (Matt. 17:1-5).

13.. When Jesus calmed the storm, did his divine nature do that?

The person of Jesus performed miracles. Some theologians say that one nature does one thing that the other nature does not. So the miracles were performed by the divine nature, not his human nature.

However, the term Messiah means “the Anointed One.” He was anointed by the Spirit at his baptism. He worked miracles through the Spirit. So now we see the Trinity working through Jesus. The Father took the lead. Jesus surrendered and submitted his divine attributes to him, and they were hidden behind his humanity.

This idea of cooperation between the Father and the Son is expressed in verses like these. He does only what he sees his Father doing (John 5:19). He lives because of the Father (John 6:57). He stands with the Father (John 8:16). The Father knows him, and he knows the Father who sent him (John 8:16). He speaks only what the Father taught him (John 8:28). The Father knows him, and he knows the Father (John 10:15). The Father loves him because he lays down his life (John 10:17). He and his Father are one. He does what he sees the Father does (John 10:37). “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). What Jesus says is just what the Father told him to say (John 12:49-50, John 12:57). Perhaps the most important verse about miracles and surrender: “I have shown you many miracles from the Father” (John 10:32).

To sum up this brief section, Jesus never lost his divine attributes, nor did he set or lay them aside. Rather, he kept them, but surrendered and submitted them to the Father. So the Spirit anointed him to do miracles. Jesus surrendered to and obeyed the Father, who hid his Son’s divine attributes behind Jesus’s humanity. So through the Son Jesus, the Triunity (the Trinity) worked the miracle: Father, Son, and Spirit. The God-man worked the miracles, both through his divine nature and anointed human nature, but by the will of the Father.

14.. When Jesus hungered or thirsted, did his human nature do that?

It was his human nature who hungered and thirsted, not his divine nature.

15.. Does that mean when he died, only his human nature died, and not his divine nature?

Yes, only his human nature died, but not his divine nature. But it is better to say that it was the person of Christ who experienced death. Nevertheless, by virtue of the union of Christ’s two natures, his divine nature tasted something of death (it’s impossible to say how much in detail), but his divine nature did not change or die. But you may not agree with the partial tasting of death. You may be right.

Thus, God did not die. But it is correct to say that Jesus died in his human nature and natural body, but he was always alive in his divine nature, and at his resurrection he was alive in his new, transformed, incorruptible body, in his human nature. His divine nature was never corrupted, so it did not need to be raised incorruptible. .

Here is an imperfect illustration. You are born again. The Spirit lives in you. You also have a spirit and soul. When you die, does the Spirit within you die? No. Does your soul and spirit die? No. They live on. But your body completely dies.

And so it is with Jesus. His divine nature, and Holy Spirit, and soul and spirit lived on after he died, but his body really did die.

16.. Does this mean that when he said he did not know the time of his return, his human nature did not know, but his divine nature did?

Yes. The two centers of consciousness explain how that can happen. He had limited knowledge and had to learn and grow in knowledge in his human nature, but he also had limitless knowledge in his divine nature.

See this post for more information:

Why Didn’t Jesus Know the Day or the Hour of His Return?

17.. Does this mean that when Jesus was lying in the cradle, he was still true God and was the Creator too?

Yes, and he was true God and true human. Two natures in one person! Awesome and wonderful!

18.. Did Christ turn on his human nature and divine nature like two light switches?

No, but he lived through the time of humiliation as a man and for our benefit and in obedience to the Father’s will he self-limited, so he can experience what we do, even death. People who saw him mostly saw his human nature and his physical body and missed his full divinity.

His human nature covered over his divine nature, but only from the limited points of view from the humans who observed him and could not see his divinity, except when he made a mighty display of a miracle.

Once again, if we understand that Jesus surrendered and submitted his divine attributes to the Father, and the Father hid them behind his humanity, until he willed to shine forth a glimpse of Jesus’s divine attributes, as Peter, James and John did on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13), then we can have clarity.

18.. But his divine nature shone through, right?

Right, and this explains why the apostles and disciples all affirmed his deity throughout their writings, the New Testament. And they were also inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what they did.

20.. But don’t two centers of consciousness and will require two persons?

Wayne Grudem answers:

At this point someone may object that if we say that Jesus had two centers of consciousness and two wills, that requires that he was two distinct persons, and we have really fallen into the error of “Nestorianism.” But in response, it must simply be affirmed that two wills and two centers of consciousness do not require that Jesus be two distinct persons. It is mere assertion without proof to say that they do. If someone responds that he or she does not understand how Jesus could have two centers of consciousness and still be one person, then that fact may certainly be admitted by all. But failing to understand something does not mean that it is impossible, only that our understanding is limited. The great majority of the church throughout its history has said that Jesus had two wills and centers of consciousness, yet remained one person. Such a formulation is not impossible, merely a mystery that we do not now fully understand. To adopt any other solution would create a far greater problem: it would require that we give up either the full deity or full humanity of Christ, and that we cannot do (p. 561, emphasis original)

Charles C. Ryrie says Jesus has two wills, one responding to his divine nature, the other to his human nature.

Look at it this way: You are born again. Now God’s Spirit lives in you, and you have your own spirit. Now you have the mind of Christ and your own mind. So you have two minds and two spirits, but you are still one person.

Now let’s turn to some Scriptural problems.

21.. How does John 20:28 pose any problems?

Thomas sees the risen Christ and cries out, “My Lord and my God!” Some say it is an oath, moderate cussing, when he was caught by surprise: My God! Dios mio! O mon Deux! Those words simply mean that Thomas acknowledged Christ’s deity.

Reply:

In context, John intends us to see the proper reaction of the witnesses who have seen the resurrection (v. 21). Thomas believes Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. In the larger Gospel of John the deity is affirmed everywhere, especially in John 1 and the I Am statements (John 8:58, and 6:35; 8:12 [9:5]; 10:7, 9; 10:11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5). So we should see Thomas’s surprise as of a piece with the flow of John’s Gospel.

22.. How does Colossians 1:15 pose any problems?

This verse says that Jesus is the “firstborn over all creation.” What does firstborn mean? Does it mean God created the Son, and then the Son created all the rest? Could it be the Son had a beginning? After all, first must be chronological in birth order.

Reply:

In the immediate context, the verse goes on to say along with vv. 16-17 that in him all things were created, so his creator role is affirmed, and already this places him high above any notion that he was a mere prophet or Islamic messiah.

Moreover, Colossians 1:18 says that he is the “firstborn from the dead.” During his earthly ministry he himself raised people from the dead, including Lazarus (Matt. 9:18-19, 23-5; Luke 7:11-15; John 11:1-44), so the term cannot be chronologically first, but preeminently and substantially first. His resurrection is qualitatively different than those other ones. He alone now has the right to rule and triumph over death.

Further, a closer look at the entire Bible reveals that the word firstborn has multiple meanings. In Old Testament culture, the emphasis was on the firstborn son. He had a double portion of inheritance (Deut. 21:17), privileges over other family members (Gen. 27:1-4, 35-37), preferential treatment (Gen. 43:33), and respect from others (Gen. 37:22) (Moody, p. 209).

Figuratively, moreover, it denotes supremacy (Ex. 4:22; Jer. 31:9).

Romans 8:29 says, “Those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sister.” Here firstborn has nothing to do with birth order or chronology, but preeminence or supremacy or first in leadership.

Therefore, when Christ is said to be the firstborn, he has rights and privileges to be the ruler and authority over all creation. He is the head of the church and preeminent in everything. Nowhere does Colossians 1:15 say that Jesus had a beginning, nor does the entire Bible say this.

Thus in Colossians 1:15 the NIV translates firstborn right: “firstborn over all creation.”

23.. How does Ephesians 1:3 pose any problems?

It says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. 2 Cor. 1:3 and 1 Pet. 1:3). It seems that Jesus has a God, so how can he be a true God on the same plane as the Father?

Reply:

It is vital to understand the persons and the essence in the Trinity and to keep them distinct. Three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are within the one God and all share his one essence. The three persons have different roles, and in these roles, particularly during and after the Incarnation. the Son is submissive to the Father. Some call this the economical Triunity—how the three persons relate to his creation, redemption and to us in their roles. All three are equal in one essence, but the Son is submissive to the Father in the Son’s roles. Paul’s verses confirm these distinctions (and so does Peter’s).

Also, the Son has God as his Father in the Son’s human nature. Father God is the Father and God of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Son’s human nature.

24.. When Jesus got hungry and tired, did God experience those things?

In his human nature and physical body, he got tired and hungry, but in his divine nature he did not. So, no, God did not get hungry or tired. But it is correct to say that Jesus did get hungry or tired in his human nature and natural body, but after the resurrection Jesus has never gotten tired or hungry in his divine nature and his new, transformed, incorruptible body. He did eat with his disciples, but this was a fellowship meal. Evidently after his resurrection his new body was able to process food and liquid in ways I don’t understand.

Here is a similar illustration as Letter C. You are born again and have the Spirit living in you. When your body and brain get hungry and tired, does the Spirit? No. The same is true of Jesus. His divine nature did not get hungry or tired.

25.. Isn’t this all nonsense and contradictory?

No, it is not nonsense, neither contradictory. Recall the table of Scriptures that affirm his two natures. Christians can only affirm what the Bible teaches.

As for a contradiction, how can two distinct and different natures be contradictory? They are two different terms. So they cannot be contradictory.

26.. Two natures in one person? Isn’t it simply ridiculous?

6o, it is not ridiculous. I repeat the same illustration about a born-again believer. When a person is born again and receives the Spirit. At that moment, he partakes of a divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Now the believer enjoys the Spirit of God living in him, but he still has his (sinful) human nature—all in one person named Joe (insert your name). When Joe gets hungry, the Spirit in him does not get hungry. When Joe dies, he dies, but not the Spirit in him. The big difference is that Joe is not truly and fully God, but received a share of the divine nature. His human nature is still sinful. On the other side, Jesus is truly God, and he never received his divine nature, for he always had it from eternity past. His human nature was added to his divine nature. And his human nature was not sinful.

27.. Did Jesus lose or give up his divine attributes when he was incarnated?

No. Instead, there is divine cooperation between the Father and the Son—and I add the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Messiah or Anointed One. He was anointed by the Spirit (Acts 10:38). His miracles were done by his divine nature through the power of the Spirit, by the Father’s and the Son’s will. So the Triunity (Trinity) was working together during the Son’s humiliation.

Problems if we say he gave up his divine attributes: To say that Jesus was true God while a true human yet he lost or set aside or lay aside or gave up these powerful omni-attributes or other ones does not work. God cannot lose attributes and still remain God. It is best to say that Jesus took them with him at his incarnation, but they were hidden behind his humanity—yes, even when he was a baby lying in a manger.

So, for example, if the Father had willed, the divine attribute of omnipotence could have manifested in the baby Jesus and flattened the soldiers whom Herod sent to kill him. Since the baby did not have a fully developed will accompanied by knowledge, the Father alone could have done this through his Son. But the Father wanted Jesus to experience his full humanity and Joseph and Mary to learn how to be good parents and take care of his Son, who was on loan to them. Instead, the Father sent an angel in a dream, who told him to flee to Egypt (Matt. 2:13).

It is a bad idea for a teacher in a church or on TV or radio to tinker with Christi’s deity and proclaim and broadcast confusion. It would be better for the pastor-teacher to admit he does not know and then study to find the solution.

Let’s summarize this long reply. Jesus did not lose or get his divine attributes “lopped off” when he was incarnated. Instead, there was divine cooperation between the Father and the Son—and I add the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Messiah or Anointed One. He was anointed by the Spirit (Acts 10:38). His miracles were done by his divine nature through the power of the Spirit, by the Father’s and the Son’s will. So the Triunity (Trinity) was working together during the Son’s humiliation. It is best to say that Jesus took his divine attributes with him at his Incarnation, but they were hidden behind his humanity from the people’s point of view.

The Scriptural truth is that Jesus had two natures contained in one person—Jesus the Christ of Nazareth. His two natures: truly human and truly divine, the God-man, God in the flesh.

This may be hard to believe, but the Father was in charge of his Son’s dual nature.

28.. Isn’t all this just made up by the later church and unintelligible?

As noted in the opening verses in the table in the previous chapter, theologians read the verses and had to work out how they fit together. Scripture everywhere affirms his full humanity and his full divinity. We ignore those verses to our doctrinal peril. At the Chalcedonian Council, the creed which the councilors produced summarized all those verses into one succinct document. There is nothing wrong with writing up a creed.

Jesus Christ is the one and only, unique person whoever walked the globe, for he was the theanthropos—the God-man. It is a profound mystery, and a mystery is not irrational.

It is not unintelligible; maybe we’re just unintelligent—not intelligent enough. The born-again believer has the divine nature living in him, by the Spirit of God, so the whole thing may not be clear in its details, but it is not beyond our experience.

B.. Summary

Let’s summarize the previous points with two theologians.

I like how Wayne Grudem summarizes this wonderful doctrine of the deity and humanity of Jesus united together in one person, Jesus (the hypostatic union):

At the end of this long discussion, it may be easy for us to lose sight of what is actually taught in Scripture. It is by far the most astounding miracle of the entire Bible—far more amazing than the resurrection and more amazing than the creation of the universe. The fact that the infinite, omnipotent, eternal Son of God could become man and join himself to a human nature forever, so that infinite God became one person with finite man, will remain for eternity the most profound miracle and the most mystery in all the universe. (p. 700)

Translation: It is the profoundest miracle and mystery of all. His human nature was added to his divine nature. In Christ God became personal for us.

J.. Rodman Williams concludes his section on the God-man, saying it is a paradox:

The essential matter is to maintain the full paradox of the Incarnation. Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man in one person. Any abridgement of either His humanity, or any dilution of either His divinity or His humanity, or any dilution of His personhood, only brings distortion. The paradox must be maintained not only for a proper appreciation of the reality of Jesus Christ, but for a true understanding of His work in redemption.

We should always remember that, no matter how much it is described, discussed and analyzed, it is ultimately beyond all human comprehension. For in the Incarnation a new reality has entered the world—the God-man, Jesus Christ. As human being this is too high for us: it is finally a paradox of mystery. (vol. 1, p. 344, emphasis original)

Translation: Don’t diminish his deity or his humanity. We have to come to terms with both natures: human and divine.

III.. Application

A.. Table of Scriptures and names and titles.

This table reveals more about his roles and activities, which also sheds a brighter light on his dual nature.

Names and Titles of Jesus Christ
1	God	John 1:1; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20
2	God the One and Only	John 1:18
3	God over all	Rom. 9:5
4	Immanuel (“God with Us”)	Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23
5	Our God and Savior	Ti. 2:13; 2 Pe. 1:1
6	The Lord	Acts 2:36; Rom. 10:9; Phil. 2:11; Col. 2:6
7	Lord of all	Acts 2:36
8	Lord and God	John 20:28
9	Lord and Savior	2 Pe. 1:11, 2:20, 3:18
10	Lord of glory	1 Cor. 2:8
11	Lord of lords	Rev. 17:14, 19:16
12	King of kings	Rev. 17:14
13	Alpha and Omega	Rev. 21:5-6
14	The Living One	Rev. 1:18
15	The Holy One of God	Mark 1:24
16	The Holy and Righteous One	Acts 3:14
17	The “I am”	John 8:58
18	The Cornerstone	Mark 12:10
19	The Messiah	Matt. 16:16
20	The Son of God	Luke 1:35; John 20:31
21	The Word of God	John 1:1; Rev. 19:13
22	The Lamb of God	John 1:36
23	The Bridegroom of the Church	John 3:39
24	Husband of the Church	2 Cor. 11:2
25	The Prophet	John 6:14
26	The Bread of life	John 6:48
27	The Light of the world	John 8:12
28	The Good Shepherd	John 10:11; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pe. 5:5
29	The Resurrection and Life	John 11:25
30	King of Israel	John 12:13
31	King of Jews	John 19:19-21
32	The Way, the Truth, the Life	John 14:6
33	Prince and Savior	Acts 5:31
34	The Author of life	Acts 3:15
35	Son of Man	Acts 7:56
36	Judge of living and dead	Acts 10:42
37	Our Passover Lamb	1 Cor. 5:8
38	The second Adam	1 Cor. 15:45-47
39	Head of the Church	Col. 1:18
40	The Mediator	1 Tim. 2:5
41	The Righteous Judge	2 Tim. 4:8
42	The Great High Priest	Heb. 4:14
43	The Lion of the Tribe of Judah	Rev. 5:5
44	The Root and Offspring of David	Rev. 22:16
45	The Son of David	Matt. 21:9; 22:42
46	Bright and Morning Star	Rev. 22:16
Source: NIV Study Bible 2011, though adapted.

B.. What the table can teach us about his divine and human natures.

We have clarity in our relationship with God. In Jesus Christ’s full humanity, God the Father can relate to us. The Scriptures reveal that God exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are invited to have a relationship with all three of them. We should never walk away from this doctrine because we now relate intimately with the Father, through his Son, and by the power of the Spirit.

C.. Jesus’s two natures

This post focused on Jesus and his two natures. If you don’t understand it, then you can still have a relationship with him, which is the point of the whole Bible, if you think about it.

Our salvation has a firm foundation. This doctrine of Christ’s dual nature goes right to our salvation and our eternal life and our relation with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Jesus Christ’s full deity, the Father can redeem us from our sins. Therefore, we can never give up on the hypostatic union–two natures in one person.

His dual nature does not support New Age. New Agers and eastern gurus focus on his divinity. This too is shortsighted. To keep the balanced image of Jesus in the Scriptures, we must observe both his true divinity and his true humanity.

His dual nature does not support modern conceptions of the historical Jesus. He was not merely a human living two thousand years ago, without his divine nature. His was an historical figure, but he must not be limited to humanity only.

D.. The table in review

What the table teaches us and him and you. He is well able to take care of you. He can meet your needs. Call on him and his name. Worship him for who he is as revealed in these names and titles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited