1 The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God

It is wonderful and edifying to look at the panorama of his life, from his eternal past to his brief life on earth, to his eternal future. This post also has a long list of questions and Answers.

Here’s the panoramic image:

1.0 Overview of the Image

1.1 Scripture

This passage of Scripture is foundational for the image.

⁵In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:5-11)

Many scholars agree that these verses are part of an early hymn. This is a remarkable fact. Philippians was written between AD 53 and 61. The hymn likely circulated around the Christian community before this timeframe. This means that not too long after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, the believers understood and celebrated the deity of Christ as established doctrine. It is often believed that much later Christians, in the fourth and fifth centuries, for example, fabricated the idea of the deity of Christ. But this early hymn or passage in Philippians contradicts this belief. The incarnation was a very early belief.

1.2 Stages

The states in Jesus’s life are as follows, starting on the left:

Preincarnate Son of God in heaven → Kenosis (Self-emptying) → SERVANTHOOD → Birth → Life → Death → Burial → EXALTATION → Resurrection → Ascension → Session in heaven → Return to earth

Many theologians prefer to see the states as integrated rather than successive, and this is true. But for convenience, let’s take each state one at a time.

1.3 Heavenly Existence

In heaven he is the preincarnate, eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity.

“Preexistence” in this case means before he existed as a human. He has no beginning and has no end. Christ is eternal. That means he existed before he was born as a human. He had no beginning and will have no end. God did not create him out of nothing. He is eternally uncreated, but generated—a Father-Son term that speaks of intimacy.

1.4 Kenosis

Literally it means “the process or act of (being, coming) in flesh” (-carn– means “flesh”). It refers to the eternal Son of God taking on, assuming, or becoming the flesh of humanity. God becomes man, deity and humanity in one person, Jesus Christ. He took on human nature at his conception and birth.

His kenosis means self-emptying of his glory and privileges and environment of heaven, but not his divine attributes. He humbled himself in the form of a human servant—hence Servanthood. Many theologians call it the State of Humiliation or Humbling.

Surely he gave up something, or did he? Here is how Millard Erickson answers the question: Jesus did not give up the divine attributes, but he freely surrendered the ability to act on them on his own accord. He exercised them only in dependence on his Father. “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19). Whenever he exercised his divine power to perform miracles or reading thoughts, for example, he called on his Father and the power of the Father-directed Spirit. Both his Father’s will and his will were necessary, but his will was submitted to his Father.

1.5 Servanthood

Here are the states or events in the Servanthood stage: Some call this his humiliation.

1.5.1 Birth

He was born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit. This is his incarnation.

Literally it means “the process or act of (being, coming) in flesh” (-carn– means “flesh”). It refers to the eternal Son of God taking on, assuming, or becoming the flesh of humanity.

God becomes man, deity and humanity in one person, Jesus Christ. He took on human nature at his conception and birth.

He is the theanthropos. The– means God, and anthrop– means human (it is pronounced they-AHN-throw-poss, and the -os ending is masculine nominative), but let’s go traditional and call him the “God-man.”

1.5.2 Life

He lived a sinless life and fulfilled the requirements of the law and most importantly God’s will. He was baptized with the Spirit and then ministered in the great power. The Scripture calls him Rabbi, teacher, prophet, the Son of David, the Messiah or Christ, the Son of Man (or Humanity), Lord (the epistles quote from the OT and apply YHWH to the Lord Jesus Christ), the Son of God (his Sonship is eternal), king, and I am.

1.5.3 Death

His death, particularly on the cross, is the ultimate form of humiliation and servanthood.

God loves us so much that he sent his Son to humble himself to the point of death. The purpose of his death shapes the entire Christ event—his birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Some Scriptures indicate he went down into hades to proclaim to the spirits there. Some Bible interpreters say no. Please see this article:

10. Do I Really Know Jesus? Did He Descend into Hades to Preach?

1.6 Exaltation

1.6.1 Resurrection

His resurrection means he bodily rose from the grave. His body was transformed into an immortal, glorified, nail-scarred one, but he could still eat or drink with it. His identity remained the same—the same Jesus whom the disciples knew before his resurrection.

1.6.2 Ascension

In his ascension, he went up into heaven. He is the God-man who has a glorified, transformed, and nail-scarred body. His ascension is also called his exaltation. The two terms are interchangeable. Recall Philippians 2:9a: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place. […].

1.6.3 Session

The word session comes from Latin sessio, which means sitting. Jesus accomplished the story of redemption: birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension back to heaven. Therefore, Christ’s session on God’s throne and at his right hand means he has received all authority and power dominion. Sitting on the throne of God, the God-man exercise governance over the entire universe and over his church, his body.

1.7 Return

As King and Lord and Judge, he will return to earth in power and glory, his divine attributes in full display. We explore this topic in the section on eschatology. Are you ready to meet him? You can be ready, if you surrender your entire being and life to his Lordship, with a simple, heart-felt prayer. “Jesus, I surrender my entire life to your Lordship.”

1.8 Summary

Christ’s humbling and exaltation go together. We must not see Christ’s incarnation and exaltation as distinct or placed in neat and tidy categories. It is exaltation in humiliation. It is the progression through humiliation. He is exalted through his redemptive suffering. The apex is his death on the cross. Then the Father exalted him to sit at his right hand (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, p. 842).

2.0 Question and Answers

2.1 Brief Introduction

These questions will take up the bulk of the post on Christ’s two natures.

2.1.1 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.”

2.1.2 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.

2.1.3 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. Christ’s two nature are combined or come together, but without making them two persons. But his two natures are not mixed together.

No, he has two natures within one person.

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

2.1.4 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.

2.1.5 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.

2.1.6 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.

2.1.7 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.

2.1.8 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.

2.1.9 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.

2.1.10 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.

2.1.11 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.

2.1.12 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).

2.1.13 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.

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

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

2.1.15 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.

2.1.16 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?

2.1.17 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!

2.1.18 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.

2.1.19 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.

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

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.

2.1.21 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 Dieu!

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.

2.1.22 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.”

2.1.23 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.

2.1.24 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.

2.1.25 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.

2.1.26 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.

2.1.27 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.

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 two natures.

2.1.28 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.

2.2 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.

3.0 Reflections

3.1 Bigger Perspective

We now understand more clearly his entire existence. The upsweeping arrow puts things in perspective. It reveals God’s entire plan of salvation. It reveals Christ’s humanity and deity.

3.2 Incarnation

The fullness of deity lives in bodily form in Jesus (Col. 2:9). There is nothing inherent in God’s nature that blocks him from stepping down into time and showing us a better way and redeeming us and offering us the gift of eternal life with him.

God sent his Son because he loves the world: ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

3.3 His Resurrection Changes Everything.

Jesus was raised from the dead, bodily, as the earliest Christians said it was (Mark 16:1-8). Jesus came with the express purpose to preach the good news of the kingdom, to live a godly life, and to die as a sacrifice for our sins. And this purpose shapes his birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Jesus was destined by God to die for the sins of the world. Before his death, however, he healed many with illnesses and even demon possession, in an atmosphere of faith. His mission was to set them free of ailments.

Jesus forgave his crucifiers. He prayed for a criminal and promised him that he would be in paradise. Jesus knew where he was going—back to heaven where he originally came from.

3.4 His Appearances Are Proofs of the Resurrection.

They potentially change the whole world. Reports are now circulating and growing in number that Jesus is appearing to Muslims, either in dreams or personally in his body. They are converting to Christ.

Without the resurrection, his mission would like any other world religion—just preach some sort of message, and in Islam’s case, if they don’t convert, force them. But the Spirit of Jesus woos and draws people—not ravishes them.

Jesus’s resurrection ushered in the Church Age, when he sent his Spirit to the upper room (Acts 2), probably the same one in the above list. When he was alive he said it would be advantageous for him to go away into heaven, because he would send the Spirit (John 16:7). Now he can direct the Spirit to guide his Church. Personally, his Spirit guides you. He presents Jesus to you—all due to Jesus’s resurrection.

3.5 His Ascension Means Victory Is Won.

Christ publicly, bodily, and visibly was raised up from the earth and went into the clouds, possibly clouds of glory or just ordinary clouds. When he was out of their sight, he disappeared and went into the heavenly dimension, where dwell God, his throne, angels, cherubim, Old Testament saints and other beings and things. He is now the heavenly God-man, after acquiring a new state: humanity.

I like to imagine big cheers thundering across heaven as the nail-scarred God-man processed towards the throne, where he was about to be seated at the right hand of the Father and receive all praise and glory (Rev. 5:12).

3.6 Through Jesus, the Church Now Has Authority.

By God’s will we the church participate in his rulership over dominions and authorities and powers under him.

This remarkable and stunning and brand-new idea and reality is confirmed in this verse:

And God raised up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).

What does it mean to submit to Christ’s authority who in turn gives us his authority over all those things in vv. 19-21?

Let’s apply his session to our world.

Does it mean authority over Satan? Yes.
Does it mean authority over disease because disease is part of the natural world and has a kind of power in its natural realm? Yes.
Does it mean authority over political injustice? Yes.
Over oppression and slavery and anti-liberty policies? Yes.
Over any mental strongholds and arguments and pretensions? Yes.

The list could go on because dominion and authority and power are all encompassing.

Through Christ and submitted to him we have rulership over all of it. And the best way to exercise rulership over it is to preach the gospel.

What is the purpose of Christ’s session when it grants us so much authority under him? Ephesians 2:7 says, “In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

So, the purpose is to display grace and kindness. Believers who rest in Christ have authority, but they also glorify Jesus for the awesome grace and kindness of God, which he applied to us, unworthy though we were. God gets the glory, not us.

3.7 The Second Person of the Trinity

Throughout these states, even during his State of Humiliation or Servanthood, he was and will always be the Second Person of the Triunity, from eternity past and into eternity future. The second person is now both God and man. His human nature was added to his divine nature.

3.8 Our Worship Life Is Changed Forever.

The more you get to know a good man, the more you appreciate him. We serve more than just a good man. We serve the risen Lord. He is the God-man. Our life of worship can now be clearer because we can see his entire existence laid out before us. We can respond in our soul and spirit with much greater appreciation of who he is and what he had to go through for us.

2 The Deity and the Humanity of the Son of God: Scriptures

3 Three Offices of Christ

LONGER POSTS

These posts have lots of Scriptures.

Sec. 6, 1 Christology, Doctrine of Christ: His Entire Existence in One Image

2 The States of Christ

3 The States of Christ

ARTICLES IN CONCISE THEOLOGY

Introduction to Concise Theology

The Bible: Basics

General and Special Revelations and Moral Law

1 The Trinity: The Basics