I decided to write this article as a reaction to @hope777 post: BIBLE DOCTRINE SURVEY - Jesus Christ's humanity - The Kenosis (self-limitation or emptying) - Part 3: https://steemit.com/christian-trail/@hope777/5hq1em-bible-doctrine-survey-jesus-christ-s-humanity-the-kenosis-self-limitation-or-emptying-part-2#@joejoesky/re-hope777-5hq1em-bible-doctrine-survey-jesus-christ-s-humanity-the-kenosis-self-limitation-or-emptying-part-2-20180601t140127695z
She talked about the Incarnation Doctrine, a topic that has witnessed so many controversies, some of which I have highlighted and will address in a two-part post. This being the first part, I hope you find this post edifying.
Equally amazing to the Doctrine of the Trinity is the Doctrine of the Incarnation. The doctrine of the Incarnation proposes that Jesus Christ is God and man, yet one person. J.I. Packer describes the doctrine of the Incarnation as the union of the Trinity and manhood in the person of Jesus. The early church considered the Incarnation to be one of the most important truths of our faith. As a result, from the 8th of October to the 1st of November 451, a large council sat in the city of Chalcedon to formulate 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. There are five main truths with which the creed of Chalcedon summarized the biblical teaching on the Incarnation:
- Jesus has two natures — He is God and man.
- Each nature is full and complete — He is fully God and fully man.
- Each nature remains distinct.
- Christ is only one Person.
- Things that are true of only one nature are nonetheless true of the Person of Christ.
There has been a lot of misunderstanding, confusion and heresies that have been created by The Muslim Debate Initiative around the truth of Doctrine of the Incarnation. This misconceptions which I will address are highlighted here: https://thedebateinitiative.com/2014/11/16/jesus-the-god-man/
A proper understanding of truth of the Doctrine of Incarnation clears up much confusion and many difficulties we may have in our mind. Among the many questions about the Doctrine of Incarnation include:
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?
In The Muslim Debate Initiative, there is an allegation that Trinitarians assert that Jesus was the God-man, fully God and fully man. Hence the question: when and where did Jesus assert such a thing? When did Jesus ever say that he is fully God, and fully man, that he possesses two such natures?
The expression "the Son of man" occurs 81 times in the Greek text of the four Canonical gospels, and is used only in the sayings of Jesus. In Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58 Jesus states:
"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head."
This phrasing seems to tie in with the Old Testament prophetic expressions used by such prophets as Ezekiel, and it shows Jesus' understanding of himself as the "man" that God has singled out as His representative. For centuries, the Christological perspective on Son of man has been seen as a possible counterpart to that of Son of God and just as Son of God affirms the divinity of Jesus, in a number of cases Son of man affirms his humanity.
The Muslim Debate Initiative also ask the question: how could Jesus be God if he didn’t know the last hour? Jehovah’s Witnesses love to cite Mark 13:32 as proof that Jesus cannot be God. Speaking of the Second Coming, Jesus says:
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” If Jesus is God, then He is omniscient. But this text says the Son is not omniscient. After all, it identifies something the Son doesn’t know. Therefore, Jesus can’t be God.
Well the above dilemma is clearly answered in this: https://www.str.org/blog/how-could-jesus-be-god-if-he-didnt-know-time-his-return#.WxqPbGNdLIU article.
The Muslim Debate Initiative again as the question: How can one be fully divine and fully human at the same time?
Paul describes the mystery of the incarnation in his letter to the Philippians in Phil. 2:6–8 said:
[Jesus], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
It should be obvious that if Jesus is God, then he has always been God. There was never a time when he became God, for God is eternal. But Jesus has not always been man. As seen in the above text, He took on the form of man, limiting part of his divine nature like his glory but not giving up his divine attributes. For if he were to ever give up any of his divine attributes, he would cease being God.
The truth of Jesus’ humanity is just as important to hold to as the truth of his deity. The apostle John teaches how denying that Jesus is man is of the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 4:2; 2 John 7).
Jesus is fully God since he is God the Son incarnate. Which means that everything that is essential to being God is true of Jesus. Jesus is not part of God or one-third of God. Rather, he is fully God. “For in him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).
The Muslim Debate Initiative also allege that: Trinitarians say Jesus “took on the human nature”, that doesn’t make the situation any better, because how can the all mighty and powerful God, the infinite and the eternal, take on the finite and limited? How can the perfect take on imperfection? If God took on imperfection, then he was no longer fully perfect, yet that’s impossible for God because he is always perfect. If God took on ignorance, then he was no longer all knowing, and that’s an impossibility for God because God is perfect in wisdom and knowledge. It is impossible for him to become imperfect in that attribute, let alone any attribute. For if God became imperfect in anything then he could not be God as God is perfect and it is impossible for him to imperfect for to be imperfect would cease making him God.
Well like I stated earlier, Jesus taking on the form of man did not mean him giving up his divine attribute as He will cease being God by doing so. Jesus Incarnation only meant a limitation of some of his divine attributes like his glory. Hence He still retained His divine nature as all knowing in wisdom and knowledge and this is seen many times in the scriptures from the time when He was a child in the temple up to when he was tempted by Satan and the Pharisees who brought the woman caught in adultery who was to be stoned according to the Law.
In part two I address some other controversies about the Incarnation Doctrine.
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Yours Faithfully,
@joejoesky