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Jesus is 100% God, 100% man
It is vital to be precise when we talk of the Person of Jesus Christ. Heresy looms large on either side of the biblical road, and many a soul has fallen in to its hellishly hewned ditches. Getting it right about Christ is not merely a job for elite theologians. All of us are called upon to proclaim, herald and worship the biblical Christ. Only the biblical Christ is worthy of worship. Only the biblical Christ can save. That's because the biblical Christ is the only one who truly exists.
Jesus warned us that many false Christs would appear. This is the case in two ways: Firstly, there are false Christs who appear in human history to draw away disciples after themselves; secondly, there are false Christs erected in the minds of people, such as a Christ who is God but not man, or a man, but not God. Either kind is deadly to the soul.
So who exactly is the biblical Christ? The scriptures reveal very clearly that He is God and He is man. He is not a concocted blend of God and man, being perhaps 50% God and 50% man. He is full and undiminished deity and true humanity - in one Person. Exactly how can this be understood?
I came across a very helpful article on this theme today from Desiring God Ministries here . I recommend it highly. May the truths govern our thinking and guide our worship, as we do so in spirit and in truth. - Pastor John Samson
Comments
Amen. A right view of Christology is essential to the Christian faith. Most heresy begins with a departure from the biblical teaching concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ. A right understanding here is a soild foundation from which to grow in the faith.
Posted by: David McCrory | October 11, 2006 02:26 PM
This is a good article on the incarnation of Christ, especially as it deals with the hypostatic union...
http://www.apuritansmind.com/ChristianWalk/McMahonMeditation Incarnation.htm
I especially liked these interesting quotes from the article...
"That does not mean He absorbed the human nature into His divine nature, but that He attached the human nature of the man Jesus Christ to Himself. The divine nature did not change, but assumed the flesh of the human nature. "
"When the Son of God assumes, or takes upon Himself, the human nature of Jesus Christ, the union of the two natures adds nothing but a “relationship†to the person of the Son"...
..."that one person, the eternal Son, expresses Himself through both natures in their respective capacities."
Posted by: theologian | October 11, 2006 02:48 PM
John,
I beleive Jesus is 100% God and 100% Man, however, I have heard Chuck Swindoll describe Jesus like this: "God wrapped in flesh." Is that enough of an emphasis on the Humanity of Jesus? I prefer to think of Jesus as all God and all Man minus the Sin Nature we all have. In other words, Jesus' Humanity is like that of Adam before the fall. Would this be a correct understanding?
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
Posted by: Mike Ratliff | October 12, 2006 09:39 AM
Yo Mike
How are you sir. Adam, before the fall was not sealed in righteousness ... so his nature most certainly differed from Jesus.
Posted by: Johnny H | October 12, 2006 11:32 AM
Johnny H,
Jesus humanity was perfect. Yes, I believe that. He was incapable of sin, but Adam wasn't. Thanks for the clarification.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
Posted by: Mike Ratliff | October 17, 2006 10:59 AM
i believe that even the scriptures reveal very clearly that He is God and He is man. He is not a concocted blend of God and man, being perhaps 50% God and 50% man. He is full and undiminished deity and true humanity - in one Person.
Posted by: Neil Ian C | March 11, 2013 05:36 AM