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CHPT 25- Christ'- Divine- Human- Unity-
0THEO-201
Theology Survey I (Liberty University)
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CHPT 25:
Christ’s Divine-human Unity
The Unity of the Person of Jesus-Christ; Christological enigma, yet needed reality
●A high Christology is the critical center of Christianity,
●the Incarnation is the essential center of Christology and
●The reality of Jesus Christ being fully human and fully God in one person is the absolute
center of the Incarnation, AKA…
●The Hypostatic Union
●<By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is from God; every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is
the spirit of the antichrist that you heard was coming and now is in the world already= 1
John 4:2-3
Was Jesus human like me? He was like us in every way, but without sin.
- He was more human than we are.
You become like the gods you worship
T/F T Kenosis 3 to empty 3 to put on
<We have seen His glory, of <the only begotten= full of... Grace & Truth (1:14)
●Hypostatic Challenge: no passage directly and clearly lays this out
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●John 1 <The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us= v. 14
●<the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!= v. 29
●Hebrews 2 <Therefore, Christ had to be made like His brethren in all things… to
make propitiation for the sins of the people.= v. 17
●By Sovereign grace, God the Son became a human to share our humanity, seek the lost
and be God’s Sacrifice for our Salvation! Making sense of the mystery, <God manifest
in the flesh…= How does it work? - a confessional hymn…
●Phil. 2:7 - <but He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being
made in… the likeness of men.=
●The Kenosis: Christ <emptied Himself= of what (deity?) How? Why?
1. Veiling His divine glory, temporarily
2. Accepting the limitations of human nature
3. Voluntarily giving up the independent use of the full scope of His divine
attributes (omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence…)
●Subordination of the Son to the Father’s will and Spirit’s
empowering: Jesus <learnt= obedience through suffering, to taste
death for us all! Historical Council of Chalcedon (AD 451)
●Major church council came to a consensus on how to understand the
incarnation: <One person with/in two natures= = Creedal
Christianity
●451 Chalcedonian Fence…
●Faith Commitment & Church Confession
●<one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, to be
acknowledged in two natures: Hypostatic Union:
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1) inconfusedly
2) unchangeably,
3) indivisibly
4) inseparably
When God calls a mystery… don’t make a theory
A Review: Christological Heresies Misunderstandings that denied/limited Christ’s fully divine or
human nature/s
1. Ebionism: Jesus Christ is the Messiah because, exclusively as a human, He justified
Himself by the works of the Law 3 by His example, His followers can do the same
[Genuineness of God]
2. Arianism: Christ is not of the same substance of God but is rather the first created Being
[Completeness of God in Christ]
3. Docetism: Christ’s humanity was merely an appearance rather than a reality. Fully
God only appeared to be man [humanness of Son]
4. Apollinarianism: Jesus’ human spirit was replaced with the divine Logos. His soul was
completely divine; His body completely physical did not possess a completely human
soul and body [fullness of God]
Absolute - fully Authentic 3 really God and really man
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Needed 451AD Chalcedonian Commitment
●5 th Heresy > Nestorianism: The Logos (Christ) indwelt Jesus only morally rather
than essentially 3 puts a distinction between Jesus’ natures resulting in two persons
●6 th Heresy > Eutychianism: Christ’s humanity is collapsed into His deity and
therefore the one person of Christ has one essential nature (docetic view leads to… a 3rd
nature!)
other heresies that deviate, distort eventually damn!
●Adoptionism:
●Jesus was essentially non-divine, but4at either His birth or baptism4was adopted by
God to become the savior
●Kenoticism:
●Jesus traded part of His divine essence for a human essence and its characteristics
●Dynamic Incarnation:
●Jesus simply possessed the active presence of God rather than being God Himself
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6 Major Christological Controversies Chart
The Creator became a carpenter to go to the Cross, so we can crown Jesus Christ as… Lord of
all!
●Christ incarnated is both distinctly divine and human, yet one person
●<I and the Father are one.= (Jn. 10:30)
●<Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary?..= (Mk. 6:3)
●Christ laid aside the right to exercise His divinity, thereby allowing Himself to be led
by the Spirit, even led to the cross, to be our Savior!
●Christ did not shed away His human nature at His resurrection so today, we worship
a glorified <Person= who is both God and human!
