As noted in a previous post, "getting Jesus wrong" is to "get God wrong."1 The first-century church in Corinth is willing to accept a false conception of Jesus, a false ontological (related to His eternal nature and being) Jesus (2 Cor. 11:4), and the apostle Paul warns them. He writes concerning the same to the church at Galatia (Gal. 1:6-9). How we conceptualize Jesus--the Jesus of the unfailing New Testament scriptures--affects our eternal state or destiny (cf. John 8:24, 28, 58; 2 Cor. 11:4). Granted, merely intellectually accepting scriptural claims about who Jesus is historically will not save anyone, as we must personally trust within ourselves that what Christ accomplished by dying for our heinous sins on the Cross, and in His rising again from the dead, personally trusting in His work alone secures our right standing before God solely by the saving grace of God. Intellectual assent cannot bring about the accomplishment of salvation granted by God through regeneration of the Holy Spirit (John 1.12-13; 3:3-8; Titus 3:5). We are saved by grace through a Gospel-influenced faith (Rom. 1:16-17; Eph. 2:8-9), not through intellectual assent, and certainly not through our own imagined willing salvation in any sense imaginable.
JESUS UNIQUE: HUMAN AND DIVINE
First and foremost, Jesus is the unique, eternal Son of God (Matt. 16:16; John 1:34; 5:25; 11:4, 27; 20:31), a confession to which even the demons attest (cf. Matt. 4:3, 6; 8:29), though many ignorant humans reject. Secondly, however, He is also the unique Son of Man, a term most referred to Christ in the Gospels (e.g., Matt. 8:20; 10:23; John 1:51; 3:14; cf. Daniel 7:13 NASB). These two truths indicate that, in His incarnation, Jesus maintains two natures--one truly divine and one truly human. Kevin Conner quotes Henry Thiessen, who writes, "In the one person of Jesus Christ, there are two natures, a human and a divine nature, each in its completeness and integrity, and these two natures are organically and indissolubly united, yet so that no third nature is formed thereby. In brief (to use the antiquated dictum) orthodox doctrine forbids us either to divide the person or to confound the natures"2 (emphases added). So there is one Person of Jesus Christ with two united natures: He possesses a genuine human nature and a genuine divine nature together (and is eternally Deity).
The Athanasian Creed, to which all orthodox Christians subscribe, insists that, "Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith, except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly." This "Catholic Faith," notes the creed, includes an orthodox view of Jesus as "Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting." Post-Reformation professor Jacob Arminius states: We say that this Person is the Son of God and the Son of man, consisting
THE ASPECTS OF THE NATURE OF JESUS
Both the deity (Ps. 2:7, 12; 45:6; Prov. 30:4; Isa. 7:14; 9:6-9; Micah 5:2) and humanity (Gen. 3:15; 22:18; Num. 24:17-19; Isa. 7:14; 11:1-4; Zech. 3:8; 6:10-12) of Christ are prophesied in the Hebrew scriptures. To deny either aspect of His Person is to deny the Christ of the Bible--the Christ of our salvation. Jesus is omnipotent (Matt. 8:23-27; 28:28; Luke 4:35-41; John 6:36; 14:11; 10:25, 37-38; 15:24), omniscient (John 2:24-25; 18:4)--limited temporarily (Phil. 2:5, 6, 7, 8) only in His humanity regarding the timing of His second advent (Matt. 24:36), which He presently knows (cf. Matt. 28:18)--and omnipresent in spirit (Matt. 28:19-20; 18:20; John 3:13). He is immutable (Heb. 1:12; 13:8), self-existent as the eternal Son (John 1:4; 5:26; 8:58), again, eternal (John 1:1-3; 3:16; 5:26; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:8), Lord, Master, Sovereign as God (Acts 2:36; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 12:3; Phil. 2:10-11) and Savior (Luke 2:11; Acts 5:31; 13:23; Eph. 5:23)--the one and only Savior of humanity (John 14:6).
Jesus is innately holy as are God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:24; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Rev. 4:8), righteous (1 Cor. 1:30; 1 John 2:1-2), and faithful (John 14:6; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 5:20). Jesus is Love Personified or, rather, Love Incarnate (John 3:16; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:4, 7; Titus 3:4-7; 1 John 4:16-19) and Truth Incarnate (John 14:6). Thus when He speaks He speaks an eternal, absolute, and objective truth. Jesus is a sinless, single and celibate man (Matt. 11:29; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:6), our perfect sacrifice for sin (Isa. 53:6; John 1:29; Heb. 10:1-10), and powerful over the works of all devils (Luke 4:35-41; 1 John 3:5, 8). Jesus is the only One who has ever fought and defeated sin, death, and hell (1 Cor. 15:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). He accomplished this through His Cross and resurrection, the latter of which proves His divinity (Rom. 1:4), and confirms all claims He and all prophets utter concerning Himself (Matt. 28:6). Without the resurrection, Jesus is a fraud, and Christianity would not exist. Both His humanity and deity are crucial.
Jesus is still ministering today as Mediator between sinners and God (1 Tim. 2:5), as God the Father is reconciling the world of believers unto Himself in Christ (2 Cor. 5:19; Eph. 1:4, 5). He is the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45) and the New Creation (2 Cor. 5:17); He is the Head of the Body of Christ (Col. 1:18, 24), and the Chief Cornerstone of the Building of God, the Foundation of God's new Temple--believers (1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Pet. 2:4-8). Jesus is the Great Shepherd of His sheep (John 10:11). He is the Vine, which sprouts branches, of which believers are (John 15:1-5). He is also the Bridegroom (Eph. 5:25-27), who is constructing a dwelling place for His Bride, the Church (John 14:2-3), referred to as the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2). Jesus is the eternal Revelation / Representation / Word / Promise / Gospel / the Messenger of God (John 1:1-3; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 19:13). He is King of kings and LORD of lords (Rev. 19:16). His Name is YHWH (Phil. 2:9, 10, 11; Ex. 3:14, 15), Wonderful (a Name that works wonders, Judges 13:18 GW), Counselor, Mighty God, Originator of Eternity (traditionally Everlasting Father; i.e., Originator or Creator of Eternity; Dispenser of Eternal Life), and Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). When He returns He will reign as Sovereign forever (Isa. 9:7).
CONCLUSION
This is who Jesus is as to His very nature, human and divine, and so much more besides. Jesus is eternally, presently, and ever shall be ontologically so incredibly and irreducibly rich and irreplaceable, spiritually and philosophically deep and exhaustively unfathomable, that whatever is revealed to us in Scripture is more than enough for us to even attempt to comprehend. What this means for us is that meditating upon any one of these attributes can satisfy one's thirsty soul for spiritual knowledge for the rest of his life. We need not--we dare not--concoct our own idol of Jesus, as so many are fond of doing today, both philosophically and politically (with Jesus viewed by right-wingers as draped in an American flag or as viewed by left-wingers as merely a social reformer with a social gospel--which is no gospel at all). We need only and solely trust and worship the Christ who has been revealed to us by the grace and mercy and goodness of God by the Holy Spirit.
__________
1 Kevin Conner writes, "The plan of salvation, as revealed by God in Jesus Christ, is dependent on the answers to these two questions [asked of Christ at Matt. 22:42 and Matt. 27:22]. What a man believes about Jesus Christ will determine how he relates to Christ [and, thus, how he relates to God]. This will in turn determine that man's eternal destiny." See Kevin J. Conner, The Foundations of Christian Doctrine: A Practical Guide to Christian Belief (Portland: City Christian Publishing, 1980), 155.
2 Ibid., 157. See Henry Clarence Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, revised by Vernon D. Doerksen (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000).
3 Jacob Arminius, "Disputation XXXIV. On the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ," in The Works of Arminius, the London edition, three volumes, trans. James and William Nichols (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 2.379.
4 Ibid., 2.380.
JESUS UNIQUE: HUMAN AND DIVINE
First and foremost, Jesus is the unique, eternal Son of God (Matt. 16:16; John 1:34; 5:25; 11:4, 27; 20:31), a confession to which even the demons attest (cf. Matt. 4:3, 6; 8:29), though many ignorant humans reject. Secondly, however, He is also the unique Son of Man, a term most referred to Christ in the Gospels (e.g., Matt. 8:20; 10:23; John 1:51; 3:14; cf. Daniel 7:13 NASB). These two truths indicate that, in His incarnation, Jesus maintains two natures--one truly divine and one truly human. Kevin Conner quotes Henry Thiessen, who writes, "In the one person of Jesus Christ, there are two natures, a human and a divine nature, each in its completeness and integrity, and these two natures are organically and indissolubly united, yet so that no third nature is formed thereby. In brief (to use the antiquated dictum) orthodox doctrine forbids us either to divide the person or to confound the natures"2 (emphases added). So there is one Person of Jesus Christ with two united natures: He possesses a genuine human nature and a genuine divine nature together (and is eternally Deity).
The Athanasian Creed, to which all orthodox Christians subscribe, insists that, "Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith, except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly." This "Catholic Faith," notes the creed, includes an orthodox view of Jesus as "Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting." Post-Reformation professor Jacob Arminius states: We say that this Person is the Son of God and the Son of man, consisting
of two natures, the divine and the human, inseparably united without mixture or confusion, not only according to ... indwelling, but likewise by that union which the ancients have correctly denominated hypostatical [two natures in one Person]. He has the same nature with the Father [and Holy Spirit], by internal and eternal communication [intrapersonal impartation]. He has His human nature from the Virgin Mary through the operation of the Holy Spirit, who ... came upon her and overshadowed her by fecundating [to make fruitful; to make pregnant] her seed; so that from it the promised Messiah should in a supernatural manner be born.3Understanding Jesus as both divine and human keeps us from all damnable errors; for if Jesus is Son of God only then He cannot relate to human beings (cf. Heb. 4:15); and if Jesus is merely human then He cannot relate to God as divine. He must be divine in order to be our sinless atoning sacrifice (2 Cor. 5:21), High Priest (Heb. 5:5-7), and only Mediator to God (1 Tim. 2:5)--discounting any other candidate (à la Mary). Again, Arminius states: Though the person of Christ is, on account of its excellence, most worthy to be honored and worshiped, yet
that He might be according to God the object of the Christian religion, two other things through the will of God were necessary: (1) That He should undertake some offices for the sake of men to obtain eternal salvation for them: (2) That God should bestow on Him dominion or lordship over all things, and full power to save and to damn, with an express command, "that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father" [John 5:23], and that "every knee should bow to Him, to the glory of God the Father" [Phil. 2:10-11].4By acknowledging Jesus as divine, Deity Incarnate (very God in human flesh), we avoid the error of denying the supernatural; and by acknowledging Jesus as human we avoid the error of denying and denigrating the natural, that whatever is physical is evil, as did the heretical groups named Gnostics and Manicheans. Let us examine some passages regarding His eternal nature, attributes, and other aspects of His character which contribute both to the past-eternal reality of His divinity and the reality of His humanity.
THE ASPECTS OF THE NATURE OF JESUS
Both the deity (Ps. 2:7, 12; 45:6; Prov. 30:4; Isa. 7:14; 9:6-9; Micah 5:2) and humanity (Gen. 3:15; 22:18; Num. 24:17-19; Isa. 7:14; 11:1-4; Zech. 3:8; 6:10-12) of Christ are prophesied in the Hebrew scriptures. To deny either aspect of His Person is to deny the Christ of the Bible--the Christ of our salvation. Jesus is omnipotent (Matt. 8:23-27; 28:28; Luke 4:35-41; John 6:36; 14:11; 10:25, 37-38; 15:24), omniscient (John 2:24-25; 18:4)--limited temporarily (Phil. 2:5, 6, 7, 8) only in His humanity regarding the timing of His second advent (Matt. 24:36), which He presently knows (cf. Matt. 28:18)--and omnipresent in spirit (Matt. 28:19-20; 18:20; John 3:13). He is immutable (Heb. 1:12; 13:8), self-existent as the eternal Son (John 1:4; 5:26; 8:58), again, eternal (John 1:1-3; 3:16; 5:26; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:8), Lord, Master, Sovereign as God (Acts 2:36; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 12:3; Phil. 2:10-11) and Savior (Luke 2:11; Acts 5:31; 13:23; Eph. 5:23)--the one and only Savior of humanity (John 14:6).
Jesus is innately holy as are God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:24; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Rev. 4:8), righteous (1 Cor. 1:30; 1 John 2:1-2), and faithful (John 14:6; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 5:20). Jesus is Love Personified or, rather, Love Incarnate (John 3:16; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:4, 7; Titus 3:4-7; 1 John 4:16-19) and Truth Incarnate (John 14:6). Thus when He speaks He speaks an eternal, absolute, and objective truth. Jesus is a sinless, single and celibate man (Matt. 11:29; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:6), our perfect sacrifice for sin (Isa. 53:6; John 1:29; Heb. 10:1-10), and powerful over the works of all devils (Luke 4:35-41; 1 John 3:5, 8). Jesus is the only One who has ever fought and defeated sin, death, and hell (1 Cor. 15:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). He accomplished this through His Cross and resurrection, the latter of which proves His divinity (Rom. 1:4), and confirms all claims He and all prophets utter concerning Himself (Matt. 28:6). Without the resurrection, Jesus is a fraud, and Christianity would not exist. Both His humanity and deity are crucial.
Jesus is still ministering today as Mediator between sinners and God (1 Tim. 2:5), as God the Father is reconciling the world of believers unto Himself in Christ (2 Cor. 5:19; Eph. 1:4, 5). He is the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45) and the New Creation (2 Cor. 5:17); He is the Head of the Body of Christ (Col. 1:18, 24), and the Chief Cornerstone of the Building of God, the Foundation of God's new Temple--believers (1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Pet. 2:4-8). Jesus is the Great Shepherd of His sheep (John 10:11). He is the Vine, which sprouts branches, of which believers are (John 15:1-5). He is also the Bridegroom (Eph. 5:25-27), who is constructing a dwelling place for His Bride, the Church (John 14:2-3), referred to as the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2). Jesus is the eternal Revelation / Representation / Word / Promise / Gospel / the Messenger of God (John 1:1-3; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 19:13). He is King of kings and LORD of lords (Rev. 19:16). His Name is YHWH (Phil. 2:9, 10, 11; Ex. 3:14, 15), Wonderful (a Name that works wonders, Judges 13:18 GW), Counselor, Mighty God, Originator of Eternity (traditionally Everlasting Father; i.e., Originator or Creator of Eternity; Dispenser of Eternal Life), and Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). When He returns He will reign as Sovereign forever (Isa. 9:7).
CONCLUSION
This is who Jesus is as to His very nature, human and divine, and so much more besides. Jesus is eternally, presently, and ever shall be ontologically so incredibly and irreducibly rich and irreplaceable, spiritually and philosophically deep and exhaustively unfathomable, that whatever is revealed to us in Scripture is more than enough for us to even attempt to comprehend. What this means for us is that meditating upon any one of these attributes can satisfy one's thirsty soul for spiritual knowledge for the rest of his life. We need not--we dare not--concoct our own idol of Jesus, as so many are fond of doing today, both philosophically and politically (with Jesus viewed by right-wingers as draped in an American flag or as viewed by left-wingers as merely a social reformer with a social gospel--which is no gospel at all). We need only and solely trust and worship the Christ who has been revealed to us by the grace and mercy and goodness of God by the Holy Spirit.
__________
1 Kevin Conner writes, "The plan of salvation, as revealed by God in Jesus Christ, is dependent on the answers to these two questions [asked of Christ at Matt. 22:42 and Matt. 27:22]. What a man believes about Jesus Christ will determine how he relates to Christ [and, thus, how he relates to God]. This will in turn determine that man's eternal destiny." See Kevin J. Conner, The Foundations of Christian Doctrine: A Practical Guide to Christian Belief (Portland: City Christian Publishing, 1980), 155.
2 Ibid., 157. See Henry Clarence Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, revised by Vernon D. Doerksen (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000).
3 Jacob Arminius, "Disputation XXXIV. On the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ," in The Works of Arminius, the London edition, three volumes, trans. James and William Nichols (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 2.379.
4 Ibid., 2.380.
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