THE101/401 \\ Christian Worldview Topic 5 \\ The Person of Christ

THE PERSON
OF CHRIST
Divine and Human
THE101/401 Christian Worldview

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Introduction

The identity of Jesus Christ is the central question of human life and human history.

“The same vexing question surfaces today for anyone who reads the New
Testament texts – ‘Who is this?’ … One cannot easily read the New
Testament without taking up this question of Jesus’ identity” (Thomas C.
Oden).1

Consequently, many have sought to portray their understanding of who Jesus is.

 Movie Jesus

 Revolutionary Jesus

 Artistic Jesus

 Surfie Jesus

 Novel Jesus

 Mysterious Jesus

 Realistic Jesus

Identity of Jesus Christ

(a) Jesus is truly and fully divine in nature

“Jews and Muslims also acknowledge one supreme God, and revere the
patriarchs and prophets of the OT, but in the claims made for Jesus,
Christianity stands alone” (Bruce Milne).2

(b) Jesus is truly and fully human in nature

“His deity was not converted into our humanity. Rather, he assumed our
human nature” (Michael Horton).3

1
Thomas C. Oden, The Word of Life, vol. 2, Systematic Theology (Peabody, MA: Prince Press, 2001), 32.
2
B. Milne, Know the Truth (Leicester: IVP, 1982), 128.
3
Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2011), 468.

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(d) Jesus is divine and human in one person

“We may summarize the biblical teaching about the person of Christ as
follows: Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man in one person and will
be so forever” (Wayne Grudem).4

“Each nature is entirely preserved in its distinctness yet in and as one

person” (Michael Horton).5

Four elementary scriptural teachings are essential for understanding the distinctive
personhood of Christ
Truly God
Truly human
One person
There are in him two distinct natures, divine and human

THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST

The Gospels

(a) he exercises the functions of deity

 forgiving of sins – Mark 2:1-12

 ruling of nature – Mark 4:35-41

 conquering of death – Mark 5:35-42

(b) he applies divine titles to himself

 Shepherd – John 10:1-18 (cf. Psalm 23, 80; Ezekiel 34)

 Bridegroom – Mark 2:19-20 (cf. Isaiah 62:4-5; Ezekiel 16:8; Hosea 2:14-20)

 “I Am” – John 8:24, 28, 58 (cf. Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 43:10)

“The absolute egō eimi … here is the clearest example yet (cf. 8:24, 28;
13:19; 18:5–6) of the proclamation, “I am Yahweh,” seen in its Isaianic
background (cf. Isa 41:4; 43;10–13, 25; 45:18–19; 48:12; 52:6) as a divine
self-disclosure. Jesus was saying in effect, ‘Before Abraham was even

4
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester: IVP, 1994), 529.
5
Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2011), 468.

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born, I, Yahweh, was there.’ Thus, this is a claim not only of divinity but
also of preexistence. Jesus, as part of the divine Godhead, was in existence
long before Abraham” (Grant Osborne).6

(c) he applies Yahweh texts to himself

 Matthew 21:16 (cf. Psalm 8:2)

 Luke 19:10 (cf. Ezekiel 34:16, 22)

 Luke 20:17-18 (cf. Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14ff)

(d) he claims divine authority

 Matthew 5:21-22, 7:21-23, 25:31-46, 28:18; Mark 13:31 (cf. Isaiah 40:8)
Internal more important than the external
The motivation is more important than the legislation

(e) he claims divine status

 Matthew 10:40, 11:27; John 5:17-18, 10:30-33, 14:9

(f) he accepts divine worship

 Matthew 28:17; John 20:28

The apostles

(a) applying Yahweh texts to him

 Romans 10:9, 13 (Joel 2:32)

 1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17 (Jeremiah 9:24)

 Philippians 2:9-11 (Isaiah 45:22-23)

 Hebrews 1:10-12 (Psalm 102:25-27)

 1 Peter 3:14-15 (Isaiah 8:12-13)

6
Grant Osborne, The Gospel of John, ed. Philip W. Comfort, vol. 13, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream,
IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007), 139.

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(b) using divine titles for him

 Lord – Deut 6:4; Isaiah 42:8 – Romans 10:9

 Saviour – Deut 32:15; Psalm 79:9; Isaiah 45:21 – Titus 1:3, 4; 3:4, 6

 Shepherd – Psalm 23:1, 80:1; Jeremiah 31:10 – Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25

(c) attributing divine functions to him

 creating – compare Romans 11:36 and Col 1:16

 judging – 1 Cor 4:4-5; 2 Thess 1:5-8

 forgiving sins – Col 3:13

(d) linking him with the Father as the joint source of divine gifts

 Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; Galatians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:12, 2:16-17.

(e) designating as his what belongs to God

 the Spirit – Rom 8:9-11

 the Kingdom – 1 Thess 2:12; Col 1:13

 the Gospel – 1 Thess 2:2, 3:2

 the Last Day – 1 Cor 1:8; Phil 1:6, 10

 the Judgement seat – Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10

 the Church – Acts 20:28; Rom 16:16

(f) calling him “God”

 John 1:1, 18; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1

THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST

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The Incarnation

(a) the word “Incarnation”

 literally means “en-fleshment”

(b) the title “Emmanuel”

 supreme demonstration of “God with us” (see Matt 1:23)

(c) the designation “Son of Man”

 Jesus often used the self-designation “Son of Man” – although there is some
debate over its meaning and significance, it does appear clear that Jesus’
intention was to identify himself with humanity

He is a real human being – just like us

(a) the evidence of the Gospels

 His birth (Matt 1: 18-25; Mark 3: 31, 6: 3; Luke 2: 1-7)

 His human characteristics (Mark 4: 38; John 4: 6, 11:33-35)

 His human sufferings (Mark 10: 21-22, 14: 32-34; Luke 19: 41-45)

 His death (Mark 15: 37, 42-47)

(b) the teaching of the apostles

 His human condition (Gal 4: 4; 1 Tim 2: 5; Heb 2: 14; 1John 4: 2)

 His human characteristics (2 Cor 10: 1; Heb 12: 2-3)

 His human sufferings (Heb 2: 18, 5: 7; 1 Pet 2: 21-23)

 His human end (Phil 2: 8; Heb 2: 9)

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He is a unique human being – not just like us

(a) He is the sinless human (John 8: 46; 2 Cor 5: 21; Heb 4: 15; 1 Peter 2: 22; 1
John 3: 5)

 He is sinless not because he was ‘not able to sin’ but because he was ‘able not
to sin’

 We affirm two things about Christ sinlessness …

o he was like us in that he was truly tempted – “Because he himself

suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted” (Heb 2:18).

o he was not like us in that he was truly sinless – “For we do not have a
high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we
have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet
was without sin” (Heb 4:15).

Humans:
at creation we were able not to sin
After the fall we were not able of not to sin.
In redemption we are able sin
In grlorification we were not able to sin

(b) He is the representative human

 the second Adam (Rom 5: 12-21; 1 Cor 15: 45-49)

 the great High Priest (Heb 4: 14 - 5: 6; 7: 22-28)

“The sole purpose of Christ’s incarnation was our redemption” (John

Calvin).7

Adam--- trespass sin--- death for all

Jesus.---

7
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 2.12.4.

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EARLY CONTROVERSIES
In the early centuries of the Christian church, the main ways in which people
departed from the biblical Jesus and made various missteps or mistakes were …

(a) Denying or diminishing Jesus’ divinity – that he is God

(b) Denying or diminishing Jesus’ humanity – that he is Human

Controversies Concerning Christ’s Divinity

(a) Ebionism

Ebionism denies the deity of Christ and states that Christ was an ordinary human with
supernatural or superhuman gifts of righteousness and wisdom.

(b) Arianism

Arius (250-336AD) was a bishop in Alexandria. He argued that the …

 Son is a created being by God

 ‘there was a time when he was not’

The Son is ‘alien from and utterly dissimilar (anomoios) to the Father’s
substance (ousia)’ and, hence, that ‘… the substances of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit are separate in nature, and estranged, and
disconnected, and alien, and without participation in each other’ (Arius of
Alexandria).8

Controversies Concerning Christ’s Humanity

(a) Docetism

Docetism taught that Christ only seemed to be human (drawn from Greek verb dokeō
– ‘I think, suppose, seem’).

(b) Apollinarianism

8
Cited in Athanasius, Orations Against the Arians I.6 (NPNF II, Volume IV), 309.

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Apollinarius (310-390AD) taught that Jesus was genuinely human but not fully
human.

There were other proposals in the early centuries which were also found to be
inadequate and inconsistent with scripture. Two of these were Nestorianism and
Monophysitism. In all of these cases, what was found wanting in them was that they
either diminished or denied either Jesus’ divinity or Jesus’ humanity.

Conclusion

The theological and practical implications of Jesus’ divinity and humanity are deeply
significant …

(a) Divinity of Jesus

 Revelation: Jesus must be God to truly reveal God. Only divinity can reveal
divinity

 Redemption: Jesus must be God to fully rescue us. Only divinity can redeem
humanity

(b) Humanity of Jesus

 Identification: Jesus must be human to truly identify with humanity. Only

humanity can take the pain of humanity.

 Substitution: Jesus Must be human to fully substitute for humanity. Only

humanity can take the place of humanity.

“The importance of Jesus’ humanity cannot be overestimated, for the issue

in the incarnation is soteriological, that is, it pertains to our salvation … For
the validity of the work accomplished in Christ’s death, or at least its
applicability to us as human beings, depends upon the reality of his
humanity, just as the efficacy of it depends upon the genuineness of his
deity” (Millard J. Erickson).9

9
M. J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 665.

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APPENDIX 1
Nicene Creed or the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed – 381AD

We believe in one God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible. And we believe in one Lord Jesus
Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all
worlds, God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not
made, being of one substance with the Father; through whom were made all
things; who, for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was
incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and became human; and
was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and
rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into
heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and is coming again, with
glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who
proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is
worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And we believe in one
holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the
remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life
of the world to come. Amen.

Definition of Chalcedon or Creed of Chalcedon – 451AD

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to
confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in
Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a
reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the
Godhead, and 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 and for our
salvation, born of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the
Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be
acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly,
inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the
union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and
concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into
two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word,
the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning have declared
concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself has taught us, and the
Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.

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APPENDIX 2
(a) Was Mary really a virgin?

 The fact of the virgin birth is only mentioned in two passages – Matthew 1:18-
25 and Luke 1:26-38. hDmVlAo (almah) – in Isaiah 7:14 (quoted by Matthew
in 1:23), which is translated by the NIV as “virgin” but may also mean “young
woman”, a woman who is “ripe sexually” (BDB).
 parqe÷noß (parthenos) – the word used in Matthew 1:23 which means
“virgin.”

(b) Virgin birth or virgin conception?

 Although the expression “virgin birth” has become commonplace, it has

brought with it some difficulties because different theologians have begun to
mean different things by it. Therefore, it is perhaps helpful to use the
expression “virgin conception” (the first to suggest this was Dale Moody in
1953).
 The reason for this is that we want to make clear what we are referring to – the
belief that Jesus was conceived in the womb of a virgin without the sexual
intervention of a human father.

(c) How long was Mary a virgin?

 Mary was a virgin at the point of conception and continued to be up until the
point of birth.
 See Matthew 1:25 – “But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a
son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
 The translation “had no union with her” renders the expression oujk
e˙gi÷nwsken aujth\n (ouk eginōsken auten – “did not know her”).

(d) How did Mary fall pregnant?

 Mary became pregnant through a supernatural influence upon her by the Holy
Spirit.
 This does not mean that God and Mary had sexual intercourse (a
misunderstanding of Christianity commonly held by some Muslims).

(e) How did Mary give birth to Jesus?

 Mary gave birth to Jesus naturally.

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(f) Why is it important?

The virgin conception made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one
person. What are the alternatives?

 (i) God could have sent Jesus as a man direct from heaven
o but that would make it hard for us to accept that he was fully human
in the way that we are, nor would he be directly descended from
Adam.

 (ii) God could have sent Jesus into the world with two human parents
o but that would make it hard for us to accept that he was fully God
because his origin was like ours in every way.

Therefore, we can see the wisdom of God. His humanity is evident through the
human birth to a human mother – his deity is evident through his conception by the
Holy Spirit.

(g) Other issues – the development of Mariology

 Mariology – theological teaching about Mary.

 development in use of the term qeotokoß (theotokos – mother of God). This
term was actually approved by Council of Ephesus (431AD) to affirm the true
deity of Jesus Christ even in his incarnate life.
 however, the Roman Catholic Church came to accept certain teachings about
Mary and have made them a part of dogma (official teaching of the church) –
these are the perpetual virginity of Mary; the immaculate conception of Mary;
the heavenly assumption of Mary and others.
 Mariologists believe that Mary, who enabled God the Saviour to be born, has a
position more exalted than any other creature. They refer to her as the “queen
of heaven.”
 during Medieval times, as theology became more divorced from scripture,
Mary herself gradually became a channel for saving grace. Some Roman
Catholic authorities view her as a mediatrix between Christ and humanity. This
is a thesis (a pious belief) rather than a dogma (a binding doctrine).

(h) The Perpetual Virginity of Mary (553)?

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 the perpetual virginity of Mary is the idea that she at no time engaged in sexual
intercourse and that the biblical records of brothers and sisters of Jesus actually
refer to sons and daughters of Joseph from a previous marriage or Jesus’
cousins (this idea appears first in an apocryphal gospel of the 2nd century called
“Protoevangelium of James” in which Jesus is born in a cave in a miraculous
way that preserves Mary’s virginal state and the brothers of Jesus are said to be
sons of Joseph from a previous marriage).
 as a result, some theologians, particularly Roman Catholic, have believed that
Jesus was not born normally but simply passed through the wall of Mary’s
uterus. This means that Mary’s hymen was not ruptured – a sort of miraculous
caesarean section.
 the perpetual virginity of Mary was declared at the Council of Constantinople
II (553) in which Mary was described as ‘ever virgin’ (aeiparthenos).
 why affirm this? Deep concern that her purity not be questioned. However, this
perspective evidences a very low and unbiblical view of sexual relations.

(i) The Immaculate Conception of Mary (1854)?

 a more recent Roman Catholic dogma is the immaculate conception of Mary –

that Mary the mother of Jesus was from the moment of her own conception
exempted from original sin. This doctrine was thought necessary to preserve
Mary from being tainted by original sin. Only then would she be able to give
birth to God’s own son.
 Aquinas had rejected such a view as inconsistent with universal sin.
 it was first suggested by Duns Scotus (Scottish Franciscan – Scholastic –
known now as the “Marian Doctor”) in the 13th century but was declared
dogma by Pope Pius IX, without benefit of council, in his Ineffabilis Deus in
1854. It states, “We declare, pronounce and define that the most blessed Virgin
Mary, at the first instant of her conception was preserved immaculate from all
stain of original sin, by the singular grace and privilege of the omnipotent God,
in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the saviour of mankind, and that this
doctrine was revealed by God and therefore must be believed firmly and
constantly by all the faithful.”
 in the mystery of sin, however, Mary endured sin’s consequences in the form
of sickness and death (however, see Heavenly Assumption of Mary).

(j) The Heavenly Assumption of Mary (1950)?

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 an even more recent dogma concerning Mary is the bull Munificentissmus

Deus (1950) in which Pope Pius XII certified longstanding legends that Mary
did not die but was translated bodily into heaven (like Enoch and Elijah) – the
Heavenly Assumption of Mary.
 she is now said to be seated at the right hand of Christ to mediate the prayers of
the faithful – the co-redemptrix.
 he wrote, “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having
completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into
heavenly glory.”10
 post-Vatican II, some Roman Catholic scholars have denied the dogmas of the
Perpetual Virginity, Immaculate Conception and Heavenly Assumption of
Mary and state that none of them are necessary for good standing in the church.

10
W. N. Kerr, “Assumption of Mary,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. W. A. Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2001), 745.

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