Jesus Christ Has Two Natures: He is Fully God AND Fully Man At the Same Time

[Mathetes66]

I heard John use the term

Reformation Theology: The Lord Jesus Christ - One Person, Two Natures
What Is the Hypostatic Union?
How Can Jesus Be God and Man?
Jesus' Two Natures: God and Man | CARM.org
Meditations on Sacred Humanity - The Nature of the Redeemer's Humanity (Chapter 2)

I will split this opening post into two. This is the 'mystery of godliness' concerning the Deity & Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not something that one takes lightly nor a subject that one treats as common & trifling; it is who are Lord & the Lamb of God is as revealed in God's Holy Word. Christianity is unique in all the world concerning the splendor of our gospel & who are Lord is. Rejoice in the wonder of the Word made flesh, who 'tabernacled' among us.

The theological term "hypostatic union" has its origins in the Council of Chalcedon in 451AD.
Our English adjective hypostatic comes from the Greek word hupostasis. The word only appears 4X in the NT — most memorably in Heb 1:3, where Jesus is said to be “the radiance of the glory of God & the exact imprint of His NATURE.” Here it uses the word in reference to the oneness of God. Both the Father & the Son are of the same “nature.”

The word hupostasis came to denote not the sameness in the Godhead (God’s one essence) but the distinctness (the three persons). So, it began to be used to refer to something like the English word person. “Hypostatic union” sounds fancy in English, but it’s actually a simple term.

Hypostatic means personal. The hypostatic union is the personal union of Jesus’s two natures.
It emphasizes that Jesus Christ was fully God & fully man at the same time. It is used to affirm the union of Jesus' divine & human natures in one person--that Jesus Christ is perfectly God & perfectly man. Or, as theologians say, He is consubstantial with God as to His deity & consubstantial with mankind as to His humanity.

Soon after the establishment of the church, many doctrinal errors & heresies arose concerning the person of Jesus Christ. So, in October of 451AD, a large church council convened in the city of Chalcedon near Constantinople.

After much discussion, the Council issued a statement to correct the errors & to establish an accurate theological statement concerning the person & nature of Christ. The fruit of their labor is perhaps the most significant Christological statement in the history of the church:

"We, then, FOLLOWING the holy Fathers, all with ONE CONSENT, confess one & the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead & also perfect in manhood; truly God & truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul & body; consubstantial [coessential, of the same substance] with the Father according to the Godhead & consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead.

And in these latter days, for us & for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the God-bearer, according to the Manhood; one & the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeable, indivisibly, inseparably.

The distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved & concurring in one Person & one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one & the same Son & only begotten, God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him & the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us & the Creed of the holy Fathers has been handed down to us."

The early church considered the IncaThis creed was the fruit of a large council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, in the city of rnation to be one of the most important truths of our faith. Because of this, they formulated what has come to be called the Chalcedonean Creed, a statement which sets forth what we are to believe and what we are not to believe about the Incarnation. The Creed “has been taken as the standard, orthodox definition of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ since that day by” all the major branches of Christianity. There are five main truths with which the creed of Chalcedon summarized concerning the biblical teaching on the Incarnation:

1. Jesus has two natures — He is God and man.
2. Each nature is full and complete — He is fully God and fully man.
3. Each nature remains distinct.
4. Christ is only one Person.
5. Things that are true of only one nature are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ.
A proper understanding of these truths clears up much confusion and many difficulties we may have in our mind. How can Jesus be both God and man? Why doesn’t this make him two people? How does his Incarnation relate to the Trinity? How could Jesus have hungered (Matt 4:2) & died (Mark 15:37) when he was on earth & yet still be God? Did Jesus give up any of His divine attributes in the Incarnation? Why is it inaccurate to say that Jesus is a “part” of God? Is Jesus still human now & does He still have His human body, albeit resurrected?

So what errors did the Council of Chalcedon correct?

In order to correct the view of Apollinarius, who believed Christ did not have a human mind or soul, the Council wrote that Jesus was "truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul & body... consubstantial [coessential, of the same substance] with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us."

The Chalcedonian Creed states, His two natures are without confusion, without change, without division & without separation. Jesus is one Person, two natures.

To correct the teachings of Nestorianism, that Christ was two different persons united in one body, the Council wrote that He was "indivisibly, inseparably...concurring in one Person & one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons."

And finally, in rejecting the errors of Monophysitism (Eutychianism), which taught Christ had but one nature & that His union with the Divine nature mixed with His human nature, making a third nature; the council wrote Christ was "to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably...the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved."

The divine nature was not changed when the Word became flesh (John 1:1,14). Instead, the Word was joined with humanity (Col 2:9). Jesus' Divine nature was not altered. Jesus is not merely a man who "had God within Him" nor is He a man who "manifested the God principle," nor is God just one person that switches into roles as the Father, Son & Holy Spirit, but not simultaneously & the Son not existing until He was begotten (Modalism).

He is God in flesh, 2nd person of the Trinity. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory & the exact representation (imprint) of His being (nature), sustaining all things by His powerful word." (Heb 1:3). Jesus' two natures are distinct yet act as a unit in the one person of Jesus.

It also refuted the error of Adoptionism (2nd cent. AD), which Theodotus of Byzantium taught, denying the pre-existence of Christ & therefore denies His Deity. It taught Jesus was simply a man who was tested by God & after passing the test was given supernatural powers & adopted as a son (this occurred at His baptism). Jesus was then rewarded for all He did (& for His perfect character) with His own resurrection & adoption into the Godhead.

Another 2nd century heresy was Docetism. This was coined from the Greek word, “dokesis” which means “to seem”. It taught Jesus only appeared to have a body & was not truly incarnate. Docetists viewed matter as inherently evil & therefore rejected the idea God could actually appear in bodily form. By denying Jesus truly had a body, they also denied He suffered on the cross & rose from the dead. It was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon.

Against both these errors (Nestorianism & Eutychian) the Athanasian Creed, that sound & admirable compendium & bulwark of divine truth, draws its two-edged sword: "Who, although he be God & man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the Manhood into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person; for as the reasonable soul & flesh is one man, so God & man is one Christ." The Nestorian heresy is cut to pieces by the declaration that "he is not two," i.e. persons, but one Christ & the Eutychian by the words, "one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person."

I hope most of you truly come to appreciate the amount of prayer & study of the Scriptures that went on to biblically articulate who our Lord & Savior is in the Creeds. So biblical, so precise in terminology, refuting all the heresies! (Part 1)

 

[Mathetes66]

Part 2
The majority of manuscripts, as well as the Greek text that is used in the NT Greek churches today, read: GOD was revealed IN FLESH, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world & received up in glory. (I Tim 3:16) Early church fathers also are agreed in their studies on the text above.

Someone wrote into Pastor John (above website) & asked, when the 2nd Person of the Trinity (identified as "the Word" in Jn 1:1) became flesh (Jn 1:14) did this signify a change in the Godhead in some way? I have heard more than one preacher say that in becoming man, He laid aside His divine characteristics such as omnipresence (being everywhere present) and omniscience (knowing all things). Is this true? His response:

The answer is a resounding "no" to both of your questions. The Godhead has not changed one iota & never will. God is both eternal & immutable (unchanging). Malachi 3:6 says, "I am the LORD, I change not." I would also say that Christ in no way laid aside His divine attributes at any time (though by becoming a man, those attributes were veiled to us & He had to live with human limitations--got tired, had to sleep & eat, being physically located in one spot, though not in Divine spirit, etc.).

This last point is demonstrated in John 3:13 YLT "And no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven CAME DOWN--the Son of Man who IS in the heaven."

As a man He came down in the flesh, walking on this earth. However, as THE Son of God He existed at the same time in heaven!

Luke 2:52 He GREW in wisdom & in stature...

The Bible teaches that Jesus is not merely someone who is a lot like God, or someone who has a very close walk with God. Rather, Jesus is the Most High God himself. Titus 2:13 says that as Christians we are “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” Upon seeing the resurrected Christ, Thomas cried out, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Likewise, the book of Hebrews gives us God the Father’s direct testimony about Christ: “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever" and the gospel of John calls Jesus “the only begotten God” (John 1:18).

For a proper understanding of Jesus and, therefore, all other doctrines that relate to Him, His two natures must be properly understood and defined. Jesus is one person with two natures. This is why He would grow in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52) and yet know all things (John 21:17). He is the Divine Word that became flesh (John 1:1, 14).

The Bible is about Jesus (John 5:39). The prophets prophesied about Him (Acts 10:43). The Father bore witness of Him (John 5:37; 8:18). The Holy Spirit bore witness of Him (John 15:26). The works Jesus did bore witness of Him (John 5:36; 10:25). The multitudes bore witness of Him (John 12:17). And, Jesus bore witness of Himself (John 14:6; 18:6).

Other verses to consider when examining His deity are John 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:6-8; and 2 Pet. 1:1.

1 Tim. 2:5 says, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Right now, there is a man in heaven on the throne of God. He is our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). He is our Savior (Titus 2:13). He is our Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). He is Jesus.

Matt 28:19 '...all authority in heaven & earth...and lo, I am with you always...' Though giving the Great Commission while stand in His resurrected body of flesh & bone, with the nail scars, yet He could say that He would be with them always--omnipotence & omnipresence.

It should be obvious that if Jesus is God, then he has always been God. There was never a time when he became God, for God is eternal. But Jesus has not always been man. The fantastic miracle is that this eternal God became man through the incarnation approximately 2,000 years ago. That’s what the Incarnation was: God the Son becoming man. And that is the great event we celebrate at Christmas.

But what exactly do we mean when we say that God the Son became man? We certainly do not mean that he turned into a man in the sense that he stopped being God and started being man. Jesus did not give up any of his divinity in the incarnation, as is evident from the verses we saw earlier. Rather, as one early theologian put it, “Remaining what he was, he became what he was not.” Christ “was not now God minus some elements of his deity, but God plus all that he had made his own by taking manhood to himself.”3 Thus, Jesus did not give up any of his divine attributes at the incarnation. He remained in full possession of all of them. For if he were to ever give up any of his divine attributes, he would cease being God.

The truth of Jesus’s humanity is just as important to hold to as the truth of his deity. The apostle John teaches how denying that Jesus is man is of the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 4:2; 2 John 7). Jesus’s humanity is displayed in the fact that he was born as a baby from a human mother (Luke 2:7; Galatians 4:4), that he became weary (John 4:6), thirsty (John 19:28), and hungry (Matthew 4:2), and that he experienced the full range of human emotions such as marvel (Matthew 8:10) and sorrow (John 11:35). He lived on earth just as we do.

Fully God & fully Man.

To show He had a human spirit, a human body & a human soul, when He died on the cross, He yielded up His spirit to the Father, his physical body was wrapped & placed in a grave & at the same time His soul was in the compartment of Paradise/Abraham's Bosom in Hades. Body, soul, spirit--all the major components of a human being.

Luke 23:46 YLT And having cried with a loud voice, Jesus said, 'Father, (in)to Thy hands I commit my spirit' & these things having said, he breathed forth (out) the spirit.

This emphatically asserts that at death, the soul will exist apart from the body in the hands of God. And when seen with Stephen being stoned to death & what he said (Acts 7:55,56,59 'But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven & saw the glory of God & Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

“Look,” he said, “I see heavens open & the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” '), we can see a plain distinction between Stephen filled with the Holy Spirit vs committing his human spirit to Jesus, whom He calls THE SON OF MAN & also seeing the shining glory of the Father. Another great example of the Trinity manifested simultaneously.

Jesus, in His Divinity IS SPIRIT, existing everywhere. Yet He yields up his human spirit in the same way that Stephen, a human being yields up his human spirit also.

John 19:41,42 Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified & in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover & since the tomb was close at hand, THEY LAID JESUS THERE.

Psalm 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

Acts 2:31,32 YLT Having foreseen, he did speak concerning the rising again of the Christ, that HIS SOUL was not left to HADES, nor did HIS FLESH SEE CORRUPTION (DECAY).

Jesus though the omnipotent & omnipresent & omniscient God, had his human soul sent to Hades, in the compartment called Paradise or Abraham's Bosom or the Jewish 'Abode of the Bliss or Gan Eden.'

Why? Because Jesus had to become like us in all things. This is what happened at that time to every human being who died. The spirit went to God, their physical body went into the grave & back to dust & their soul went to hades, to wait until the resurrection of the now turned to dust body, uniting with the soul & spirit once again.

He also had to CONQUER death (I Cor 15:54-57), releasing the saints out of Hades who were in Paradise, taking captivity captive & Paradise into the third heaven (Eph 4:8-10; 2 Cor 12:2) & crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15; Heb 2:13-15) who held the power of death & receive the keys to death & hades. (Rev 1:18) He rose again bodily out from among the dead & as the Son of Man is seated at the right hand of the Father in a spiritual body (Acts 7:55-59), continually interceding for the saints (Heb 7:25) & building His church on earth (Matt 16:18), His presence in & with them (Matt 28:20) & holding the universe together. (Col 1:17).

Equally amazing to the doctrine of the Trinity is the doctrine of the Incarnation — that Jesus Christ is God & man, yet one person, forever. As J.I. Packer has said, “Here are two mysteries for the price of one — the plurality of persons within the unity of God & the union of Godhead & manhood in the person of Jesus. . . . Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation.”

Thus the grand, vital truth of the two natures yet but one Person of the glorious Immanuel is no mere dry or abstract doctrine, no speculative theory spun out of the brains of ancient fathers & learned theologians, but a blessed revelation of the wisdom & grace of God, as revealed in the Scriptures, the very 'breathed out' words of the living God!

 

[Erik Nelson]

https://weekly.israelbiblecenter.com/the-word-at-creation/

 

[Mathetes66]

Thank you Eric! I truly enjoy the way Scripture harmonizes & the progression of revelation throughout it. Jesus is mentioned all the way through. He is the One the OT saints knew personally just as we can know Him too!

 

[rakovsky]

Another 2nd century heresy was Docetism. This was coined from the Greek word, “dokesis” which means “to seem”. It taught Jesus only appeared to have a body & was not truly incarnate. Docetists viewed matter as inherently evil & therefore rejected the idea God could actually appear in bodily form. By denying Jesus truly had a body, they also denied He suffered on the cross & rose from the dead. It was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon.

Mathetes,
I think that Docetism was specifically condemned at the Council of Constantinople of 381 AD.
Chalcedon, by teaching that Christ has a human nature and a divine nature, denies Docetism implicitly.
I think I read that 2 Peter is directed against Docetism. The first time that the term Docetism comes up is in the letter of Bp. Serapion of Antioch in about 190 AD. Bp. Serapion writes that a Christian church in Rhosus (on the west coast of Syria) was using a Gospel of Peter. He says that he was able to get a copy of it from the successors of the Docetists, who he says authored it. If a previous generation of Docetists had authored it, then it could be dated to about 140 AD or earlier. A lot of scholars think that it was written in the early to mid-Second century.

One of the problems though is that the section that apparently came from the Gospel of Peter and was found in modern times in Akhmim, Egypt doesn't have anything clearly Docetic in it. I wrote about this here and would be interested in your thoughts:
THE GOSPEL OF PETER (70-160). Question: Is it Docetic?