The hypostatic union of Christ
“true God and true man”
Introduction:
1. Claiming to be rational, the
Christian is asked to explain or attempt to explain a seeming paradox in
Christian teaching. How can Jesus be both God and man?
2. There are four essentials to the
orthodox understanding of the person of Christ.
a. Christ is truly God.
b. He is truly human.
c. He is one person.
d. There are in him two distinct natures,
divine and human, clearly distinguishable and substantially different, yet
undivided, inseparable, and unconfused.
A. Theanthropos
(a Greek term) meaning God-man.
Hypostatic (a Greek term) meaning “substance”, “nature”, “essence” -
the root or core of a person as opposed to the attributes which may vary and are
an expression of the core.
This issue is
important because:
1. To be a vicarious sacrifice Jesus
had to be fully human.
2.
To be a worthy sacrifice
Jesus had to be divine.
B. Key concepts
1. Person = an internally consistent unit.
Nature (human or divine) = a complex
of attributes.
a.
The single Person of the incarnate Christ retained the total complex of divine
attributes and possessed all the complexities of human attributes essential to a
perfect human being.
b. Christ was a theoanthropic Person, but
did not have a theoanthropic nature. The divine and human attributes were
distinct and not mixed.
2. The actions of Christ come from
either the “will” of His divine nature or the “will” of His human nature or a
blending of both.
a. Actions predicated on the whole
Person - redemption.
b. Actions predicated on the divine
nature - preexistence.
c. Actions predicated on the human
nature - thirst.
3. Christ was always aware of Himself
with respect to His deity and He grew in self-consciousness with respect to His
humanity.
C. Key Scriptures
1.
Jn.1:14
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth”
2.
Gal.4:4
“God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law”
3.
I Tim.3:16 “He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen
by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in
glory”
4.
I Cor.2:8 “None of the rulers of this age understood this (the secret and
hidden wisdom of God); for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord
of glory”
5.
Col.2:9
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
6.
Phil.2:6-8
“who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of
men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
NOTE: Kenosis (a Greek word) =
“emptying”
|
Sub-Kenotic Theories |
|
|
Christ Emptied Himself of the Use of
the Divine Attributes |
The Logos possessed the divine attributes but chose not to use them. |
|
Christ Emptied Himself of the
Independent Exercise of the Divine Attributes |
The Logos always possessed and could utilize the prerogatives of Deity but
always in submission to and by the power of the Father (and the Holy
Spirit). The incarnate Christ never did anything independently by virtue of
his own deity. |
|
Christ Emptied Himself of the Insignia
of Majesty, the Prerogatives of Deity |
The Logos emptied himself of the outward form of Deity. (This view is vague
as to what is precisely meant.) |
|
Traditional Kenotic
Theories |
|
|
Christ Emptied Himself of Divine Consciousness |
The Son of God laid aside his participation in the Godhead when he became a
man. All the attributes of his deity literally ceased when the incarnation
occurred. The Logos became a soul residing in the human Jesus. |
|
Christ Emptied Himself of the Eternity
Form of Being |
The Logos exchanged his eternity-form for a time-form bound down by human
nature. In this time-form Christ no longer had all the attributes
commensurate with Deity, though he could use supernatural powers. |
|
Christ Emptied Himself of the Relative
Attributes of Deity |
This view differentiates between essential attributes, such as truth and
love, and those that relate to the created universe, such as omnipotence and
omnipresence. |
|
Christ Emptied Himself of the Integrity
of Infinite Divine Existence |
At Christ’s incarnation the Logos took up a double life. One “life center”
continued to function consciously in the Trinity while the other became
incarnated with human nature, unaware of the cosmic functions of Deity. |
|
Christ Emptied Himself of the Divine
Activity |
The Logos turned over all of his divine roles and duties to the Father. The
incarnate Logos was unaware of the happenings within the Godhead. |
|
Christ Emptied Himself of the Actual
Exercise of Divine Prerogatives |
The Logos retracted the mode of the divine attributes from the realm of the
actual to the potential. He retained his divine consciousness but renounced
the conditions of infinity and its form. |
(Modified from Charts of Christian
Theology and Doctrine by H.Wayne House, Zondervan)
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