![]() Rather, the divine being is fully and equally possessed by all three Persons such that all three Persons are each fully and equally God. ![]() The divine being/essence is not something that is divided between the Persons with each Person receiving one-third. Yet, they all share the exact same divine nature/essence. They are each a distinct center of consciousness, a distinct form of personal existence. The Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, the Son is not the Holy Spirit or the Father, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. This truth means, first of all, that we must distinguish each Person of the Trinity from the other two. The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one being, and this one God exists as three distinct Persons. In order to have a more complete grasp of Christ’s incarnation, it is necessary to have some sort of understanding of the Trinity. In other words, everything that God is, Jesus is. He knows everything (Matthew 16:21 Luke 11:17 John 4:29), is everywhere (Matthew 18:20 28:20 Acts 18:10), has all power (Matthew 8:26–27 28:18 John 11:38–44 Luke 7:14–15 Revelation 1:8), depends on nothing outside of himself for life (John 1:4 14:6 8:58), rules over everything (Matthew 28:18 Revelation 1:5 19:16 ), never began to exist and never will cease to exist (John 1:1 8:58), and is our Creator (Colossians 1:16). 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).Īnother way the Bible teaches that Jesus is God is by showing that he has all of the attributes of God. 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). Rather, Jesus is the Most High God himself. 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. In other words, Jesus is both God and man. The first truth we need to understand is that Jesus is one Person who has two natures: a divine nature and a human nature. 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 (Matthew 4:2) and died (Mark 15:37) when he was on earth, and 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, and does he still have his human body? Jesus has two natures - God and man ![]() Things that are true of only one nature are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ.Ī proper understanding of these truths clears up much confusion and many difficulties we may have in our mind. Each nature is full and complete - He is fully God and fully man.ĥ. Jesus has two natures - He is God and man.Ģ. 2 There are five main truths with which the creed of Chalcedon summarized the biblical teaching on the Incarnation: 1. This creed was the fruit of a large council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, in the city of Chalcedon and “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. 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 early church considered the Incarnation to be one of the most important truths of our faith. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation.” 1 Packer has said, “Here are two mysteries for the price of one - the plurality of persons within the unity of God, and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus. Equally amazing to the doctrine of the Trinity is the doctrine of the Incarnation - that Jesus Christ is God and man, yet one person, forever.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |