INCARNATION: TRULY GOD, TRULY MAN

INCARNATION: TRULY GOD, TRULY MAN

By: Daniel McMillin

When I attended Freed-Hardeman University as an undergraduate student, one of my favorite classes was Systematic Theology with Donnie DeBord, my mentor and friend. This class helped form my thinking on Scripture and doctrine in a way that no other class has since. For the most part, it was a combination of the lectures and the readings, but it was significantly due to the investment on my teacher’s part. After every class, I would labor as his teacher’s assistant for an hour until chapel began. I would regularly ask him questions about the things we discussed in class to pick his brain more on the subject matter. Without fail, I was shaken by the depths of Scripture, whether we discussed the attributes of God, the mystery of the Trinity, or the doctrine of predestination. Often, my mind would hurt as I was forced to think critically and theologically through these wide ranges of topics. As I worked for Dr. DeBord, I was given the honor to read and, in some places, edit portions of his dissertation on the incarnation: “A Chalcedonian Critique of Neo-Apollinarianism.” As you can imagine, I was consumed by the complexities of this grand doctrine. I found it challenging to interpret this doctrine as a mere novice of theology, but the more I studied, the more I came to appreciate the necessity of Jesus’ divinity and humanity.

CHRISTOLOGY—THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST: THE PERSON OF JESUS

Getting Jesus right is the most important thing. The doctrine of Jesus is not a subject that we can agree to disagree on. This is not an issue that we can just leave up for discussion and go our merry ways. Cannot agree on Jesus then we cannot move forward. We have to stop here and determine whether we can worship at a certain church, whether we can really function as a unit at a local church if we don't have Jesus in common, and possibly whether we need to have a conversation that leads to true conversion because they did not truly know Jesus to begin with. The greatest issues the church has faced since its inception and in the present day have always centered on the person and work of Christ because he is the heart of the gospel. Defending the divinity of Jesus is on the top of the hill that I am willing to die on. This is a truth that must be upheld above all else. Christology is the most important doctrine in the Christian faith because Jesus is the only way of salvation and a genuine relationship with God, which requires a proper understanding of the person and work of God the Son incarnate.

CHRIST ALONE: Solus Christus

One of the foundational doctrines of the Reformation was the person and work of Jesus, which was summed up in the Latin phrase Solus Christus (“Christ alone”). Stephen Wellum aptly states, “Christ alone is Lord and Savior, and therefore he alone is able to save and his work is all-sufficient.”[1] As we examine the holy Scriptures, we understand that “Jesus alone is identified with the Creator-Covenant Lord in all of his actions, character, and work.”[2] Jesus is uniquely revealed to us as the God-man who came to redeem us. The doctrine of Christ is present throughout the unfolding storyline of Scripture in salvation-history. Wellum suggests that “our understanding of who Jesus is and what he does must be developed from Scripture and its entire storyline.” According to Wellum, there are three ways that this “covenantal storyline” reveals the necessity and identity of Christ’s person and work:

1.     He fulfills God’s own righteousness as a man.

2.     He reconciles God himself with humanity.

3.     He establishes God’s own saving rule and reign in this world—all because, and only because, Christ alone is God the Son incarnate.[3]

In Christ alone, we come face to face with God the Son incarnate, who acts as our Mediator and Savior.

THE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATION

The incarnation is one of the great ancient mysteries of the Christian faith. Christians have debated the issue of the incarnation for centuries and continue to discuss the depths of this wonderful doctrine. There are a few points that I would like to make concerning the nature of this mystery. (1) Mysteries are beautiful. Many find the nature of mysteries to be quite frightening or overwhelming since there are things that are evidently beyond our grasp. But it is ok to say that there are things that are a mystery in theology because we are discussing things that God knows and experiences. (2) Mysteries do not infer total incomprehensibility. We can know certain truths that have been revealed to us while also not knowing them in full. In addition, there are things that we will not understand, but that does not mean it is a contradiction. In light of this, the incarnation should remain mysterious. This, I believe, allows us to approach this doctrine appropriately with the proper humility. We do not understand everything. As finite beings, we cannot fully comprehend the infinite God. Scripture does not exhaustively describe the incarnation, and we will never experience what the Son of God did when He became like us. May this bring us to our knees so our tongues may confess the mystery of God the Son incarnate.

CONTEMPLATING THE HYPOSTATIC UNION: TRULY GOD, TRULY MAN

DEFINING THE INCARNATION: What Is the Incarnation?

Donnie DeBord defines the incarnation as “the assumption of a true human nature by the Son of God for the redemption of humanity.”[4] God became what He was not by adding on a human nature without subtracting His divine nature. As Hilary of Poitiers said, “He did not lose what He was, but began to be what He was not. He did not cease to possess His own nature, but received what was ours.”[5] Similarly, Michael Horton writes, “Without surrendering his divinity, the eternal Son fully assumed our finite humanity.”[6] Also, R.L. Reymond says the incarnation is “the act whereby the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, without ceasing to be what he is, God the Son, took into union with himself what he before that act did not possess, a human nature.”[7]

As Christians, we confess incarnation by saying, “Jesus Christ is truly God, truly man” (JESUS=MAN; JESUS=GOD). While incarnate, everything found in humanity is found in Christ, and everything found in divinity is found in Christ because He is fully God and fully man. The doctrine of the incarnation is also known as the “hypostatic union,” that is, the uniting of the two natures in one person (hypostasis). According to Brandon Crowe, “The hypostatic union speaks of the union of two natures (divine and human) in one person in the incarnation. These natures are not confused or mixed, nor do the natures act independently of the person. The Son of God is always the person who acts. He never ceases to be fully divine, even as he takes to himself a fully human nature.”[9] The incarnation essentially includes the real humanity and divinity of Jesus. As such, the human nature of Jesus cannot function without the divine nature. In sum, the doctrine of the incarnation teaches that Jesus embodies the fullness of divinity and assumes the entirety of humanity. See John 1:14; Rom. 1:3-4; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:6-8; 1 Tim. 3:16

GOD BECAME MAN: AN EXEGESIS OF JOHN 1:14

The incarnation (the doctrine of God enfleshed) is explicitly taught when John writes, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The identification of the “Word” is a divine title that is used to describe the Second person of the Trinity. The Word of God acts as the personal revelation of God’s “glory.” The phrase “became” implies that the Word assumes something He did not have before, namely, the essence of humanity. Prior to the incarnation, the Word possessed everything found within divinity, but when He “became flesh,” He took on everything found in humanity. As Augustine writes, “Nothing was lacking that belongs to human nature.”[10] Here, “flesh” is a description of the human condition that “connotes more than embodiment—scandalous as that would already be—because Scripture uses the term to speak ‘contemptuously’ of humanity.”[11] The phrase “dwelt among us” may be translated as “tabernacled among us,” which alludes to the Old Testament tabernacle and temple where God’s presence was experienced by His people. God the Son incarnate then is to be viewed as the New Temple of God where people may be present with their God. G.K. Beale notes that “the special revelatory presence of God, formerly contained in the holy of holies of the tabernacle and temple, has now burst forth in the world in the form of the incarnate God, Jesus Christ.”[12] The incarnate Word explains or reveals God the “glory” of God the Father to us, not because He is the Father, but because He is “the Son only Son from the Father.” Revelation is the norm of every world religion, but the incarnation is a unique avenue of divine revelation where God Himself leaves the glory of heaven to enter the earth and assume our likeness to suffer and die on our behalf and be raised again on the third day. There is no other world religion that so intimately displays the presence and power of God. The Word of God is able to do what no one thought was possible since “no one has ever seen God.” Since He is the Son of the Father who resides “at the Father’s side,” He is able to unveil the glory of God by making “him known” to us through the incarnation (John 1:18). When “the Word became flesh,” He maintained His divine nature while assuming a human nature. That is why, as Treier writes, “the Word incarnate is a divine person who is simultaneously one with God and, as a consequence of the incarnation, one with human beings.”[13] 

Treier summarizes these verses by saying, “The incarnation is an event with a beginning: ‘became.’ The incarnation is an event with a human body: ‘flesh.’ The incarnation is an event with a subsequent history, and enduring life: ‘made his dwelling among us.’ The incarnation is an event with revelatory significance: ‘the Word,’ whose glory the first disciples saw, overflowing with the ‘grace and truth’ glimpsed by Moses. The incarnation is, therefore, a singular event having no earthly analogies that could sustain full explanation. The incarnation is a reality with its own mysterious rationality, having its cogency in the Logos through whom all creation came to exist and comes to light.”[14]

THE INDIVISIBLE INCARNATE SON: How Do We Not Conflate the Humanity and Divinity of Jesus?

THE DIVINITY OF JESUS

The Scriptures testify to Jesus’ divine identity through four major witnesses:  

1.     The Triune God confirmed Jesus’ divine identity

2.     Jesus identified himself as God

3.     The Apostles testified to Jesus’ divine identity

4.     The enemies of Jesus acknowledged his claims as God

Scott Swain suggests four ways that Jesus is revealed as divine in the Gospel of John:[15]

1.     Jesus shares the divine name (s)

2.     Jesus possesses divine attributes

3.     Jesus preforms divine works

4.     Jesus is worthy of divine honor.

In sum, He is called what God is called, He has what God has, He does what God does, He says what God says, and He receives what God receives. We will examine five passages that illustrate this point in John’s Gospel: John 1:1-4; 5:19-29; 8:58; 17:1-3, 21-23; 20:28. 

According to Andreas Köstenberger and Scott Swain, “In John’s Gospel, the distinct personal identities of Father, Son, and Spirit and their unity in being, will and work are equally affirmed.”[16] John begins to describe Jesus as divine in the prologue of his Gospel. In John 1:1-4, we see that “in the beginning” Jesus is identified as “God”[17] through His title the “Word” and His relation to time, or for that matter, His existence outside of time since He existed prior to creation, and His relation to God, since He both “was with God” and “was God.” He is the God who created all life, since “all things were created through him” and within Christ “was life.” Here, Jesus is identified as the Creator in Genesis. The term “Word” (Logos) here “conveys the singularity of the infinite, eternal, rational, personal divine discourse.”[18] The Word acts as the agent of creation. He is, as John Frame says, “God’s own self-expression.”[19] In John’s Gospel, the Divine Logos is: (1) coequal (same rank-“was God”), (2) coeternal (same eternal nature-“in the beginning”), (3) coexistent (same existence- “with God”), and (4) consubstantial (same substance or nature-“life” and “light”) with the Father.[20]As the “Word,” Jesus shares the divine name. As life and light, Jesus possesses divine attributes. As the Creator, Jesus performs divine works. See also Col. 1:15-18; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:4-8.

In John 5:19-29, we see that Jesus is to be honored as God because He is God, and He inseparably acts with God as God, that is, He does not work apart from God the Father or Spirit. Instead, the Father, Son, and Spirit work in harmony. If Christ is not honored, then God is not honored. Jesus is not replacing God but is coequal with God. As Wellum writes, “The Son is not the Father; the Son does only what the Father does; the Son does all that the Father does. The Father and the Son are distinct from each other yet perform the same works. The Son does no less and no more than the Father—they are perfectly united in their work.”  In addition, “It is this eternal and intimate Father-Son relationship that accounts for Jesus’s authority and ability to do as the Son all that the Father does as the Father. And it is this Son, the promised image-Son whose identity has been progressively unfolded through the biblical storyline, who finally comes int the person of Jesus Christ.”[21] According to John’s Gospel, Jesus is worthy of divine honor because He is coequal with God and acts inseparable with God.

Throughout the Gospel of John, the author employs seven absolute “I AM” statements allude to the divine name used in Exodus and Isaiah. This name has an especially important place in relation to Jesus’ identity. “In all of Jesus’s ‘I am’ sayings, then, he continues to bear witness internationally and explicitly to his self-identification as God the Son incarnate.”[22] In John 8:58, Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”  Now this statement does not appear to mean anything in isolation, it just seems strange. But in light of the Old Testament background and the surrounding context where Jesus is affirming His relationship with God and the people’s reaction resulting in them picking up stones to try and kill Him says it all (5:59). It is clear that Jesus is identifying Himself as the God of Israel by using the name of God, “I AM.” He is identifying Himself as the God who existed prior to Abraham, who is the God that created the universe, who existed prior to creation, which means that He is the God who alone is eternal. As Ambrose stated, “Christ therefore is and always is; for he who is, always is.” The statement “I AM” reveals His divine nature. As Donnie DeBord suggested, “When God described himself as “I AM” it was more than just a name—it was a description of his entire being.” When He says, “I Am” He is not saying He was or will be but that He is. John is affirming that Jesus shares the divine name (s) and Jesus possesses divine attributes.

In John 17:1-3, we read one of the greatest treatises on the doctrine of the Trinity by catching a glimpse into the Garden of Gethsemane between God the Father and Son. There, Jesus communicates to God the Father in an intimate fashion as he understands the “hour” of His crucifixion has finally “come.” At this time, He makes the request to the Father that He may “glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.” Jesus makes this petition for His glorification on the basis of God granting to Him “authority over all flesh” or humanity so He may “give eternal life to all whom you have given him.” Then, He speaks of the intention of His divine mission to give “eternal life” by saying it is a gift that is given so humanity may “know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Here, it is clear that “John’s doctrine of the Trinity is in a very real sense a function of his doctrine of mission. It is in the Father’s sending of the Son (as well as in the Father and the Son’s sending of the Spirit) that the three persons of the Godhead are revealed in their personal distinctions and unified purpose.”[23] In John 17:21-23, the Son later prays that His disciples “may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” This mutual indwelling of the Father and Son constitutes the union between the Triune God and Christians so “they may become perfectly one” and display the love of the Father to the entire world.  

Finally, in John 20:28, Thomas declares the Risen Christ as, “My Lord and my God!” This is the most explicit declaration of Jesus’ divinity that confirms His identity. Since Thomas has seen Jesus’ signs of His divine identity throughout His earthly ministry and now witnessed the reality of His risen and glorified body, He confirms the truth of His lordship and divinity. Thomas “not only displays his faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but points to its deepest meaning; it is nothing less than the revelation of who Jesus Christ is.”[24]

THE HUMANITY OF JESUS

It is clear that the Scriptures affirm that Jesus came in the flesh (John 1:14; Rom. 1:1-4; Gal. 4:4; 1 John 1:1-3; 4:2; 2 John 7). This appears to be the most difficult reality for the early Christians to wrap their minds around. “The Bible presents the incarnation as true and as the voluntary action of the Son to become like us in our humanity in every respect, having a human body, soul, and psychology.”[25] The Scriptures describe Jesus’ humanity in two ways: His outer life (body) and inner life (mind, will, and soul).[26]

THE MEANS OF THE INCARNATION: How Did God Become Man?

The virgin birth is the conception of the incarnation where God chose to become man. God chose the virgin Mary as the carrier of the Christ and the Holy Spirit as the supernatural conceiver. In sum, the virgin birth is made possible by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25). In this way, the woman Mary ensures the humanity of Jesus since He was born through a woman like us, and the Holy Spirit “ensured the divine personality of the God-man without creating a new human personality.”[27]

THE DOCTRINE OF THE INCARNATION IN HISTORY: CHRISTOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN LIGHT OF HERESY

Ever since the Church was established, the people of God have affirmed the true humanity and divinity of Jesus. In fact, as Gerard H. Ettlinger says, “No member of the early Christian church would have denied the basic doctrine of the incarnation, but explanations of its meaning varied, so that mainstream Christianity displayed a pluralism that disappeared only as time passed. What Christians did reject was any view that denied either the divinity or the humanity of the incarnate Word, for linked always to the doctrine of the incarnation was the belief that, to be the Savior of humanity, the incarnate Word must be both divine and human.”[28] Unfortunately, throughout the Chruch’s history, there has been a struggle to uphold the doctrine of the incarnation as we see individuals who either alter or deny the humanity or divinity of Jesus. Thankfully, there have been generations of faithful defenders of the incarnate Son of God who have debated these issues and preserved the two natures of Christ. For lack of space, I will offer a survey of these heresies:

Gnosticism—God cannot take on flesh

Docetism—God appeared human

Ebionism—Son is not God

Nestorianism—Two sons

Eutychianism—Fusion of two natures

Arianism—Son is a creature

Monophysitism—One will of the Son

Apollinarianism—Logos is the human mind

Kenoticism—Emptying of divine nature

Adoptionism—Became Son

Neo-Apollinarianism—Logos is the human mind (theistic personalism and Monothelitism)[29]

Each of these Christological heresies has been debated and debunked, and the incarnation has been affirmed and protected. It is interesting that historically, the struggle was that God became man, and now we struggle with how the man Jesus was God. A man exalted as God, or a God humbled to become man. An example of this is seen in the debate between Bart Ehrman and Michael Bird (along with other scholars such as Craig A. Evans, Simon J. Gathercole, Charles E. Hill, and Chris Tilling). Ehrman titles his book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee, while Bird responds with the title of his volume How God Became Jesus: The Real Origins of Belief in Jesus’ Divine Nature.

The way forward is to refine our views in light of these controversies. This arises by saying not merely who Christ is but who he is not. The doctrine of Christ’s person and work remain preserved through the centuries as the scripture clearly teaches the true humanity and divinity of Christ alongside his trifold work as prophet, priest, and king. However, the doctrine has not been left untouched by those who challenge these areas of Christology. There have been heretical controversies that have challenged the church. Yet, the doctrine of Christ still remains unscathed. In fact, it is seen to be strengthened throughout its history or development. “These became provocations for the church to specify christological boundaries guiding worship and gospel proclamation.”[30]  In a way, these heretical teachings allowed Christians to explain the doctrine of Christ more fully in contrast to false claims of Jesus’ identity.

MAJOR CHRISTOLOGICAL ISSUES SURROUNDING THE INCARNATION: HOW DO WE INTERPRET THESE CHALLENGES?

COULD JESUS SIN? Since Jesus was tempted, could He have sinned while incarnate?

Jesus’ impeccability (non posse peccare) or incapability to sin in the incarnation is the key to understanding Christ’s sinlessness. Since Jesus is the Son of God, He did not have the potential to sin. “He is the Son of God, the Logos, who was in the beginning with God and himself God. He is one with the Father and always carries out his Father’s will and work. For those who confess this is of Christ, the possibility of him sinning and falling is unthinkable.”[31] God is incapable of temptation (James 1:13) while humanity is capable of temptation (Matt. 4:1-11). The Book of Hebrews illustrates how Jesus took on a human nature and yet was “without sin” (Heb. 4:15, 7:26). This is due to His unchanging nature as the Son of God (Heb 13:8). Why was Jesus incapable of sinning while incarnate? Because He was so close to God as God that He could not get away from Him. You can take the man out of God, but you cannot take the God out of man. To sin was inconceivable to God the Son incarnate. As John Owen writes, “The subsistence of the human nature in the person of the Son of God, rendered the least sin utterly impossible unto him; for all the moral operations of that nature are the acts of the person of the Son of God.”[32] Likewise, Crowe writes, “For since it is always the Son of God who acts and since it is not possible for God to sin, then we must say that Jesus was impeccable in his state of humiliation. In the hypostatic union there exists an asymmetry between the divine and human natures. This cautions us from thinking of the human and divine natures of Christ as being absolutely equivalent. The divine nature in a sense takes priority over the human nature, for the person of the divine Son in the incarnation becomes whatever he was not formally (a man)—though without the human nature mixing with or morphing into the divine nature. As with so much in the incarnation, this is a great mystery.”[33]

DID JESUS KNOW THE FUTURE? If Jesus is God, how does He not know the hour of His return?

In light of Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, it may appear that there are some things that the Father exclusively knows while God the Son and Spirit are left in the dark since the Son of God, while incarnate, did not know the hour of His return. Historically, this has been a subject of controversy that dates as early as the 3rd century among the Arians.[34] The solution to this question resides in the nature of the incarnation especially as it pertains to the relationship between the humanity and divinity of Jesus. When we read of such instances where Jesus does not know something, this should be attributed to His humanity, whereas when Jesus knows things comprehensively, this must be ascribed to His divinity. Jesus’ exhaustive knowledge or divine omniscience is a uniquely divine attribute. Jesus’ ignorance can only be explained by His humanity. As Brandon Crowe suggests:

“Statements about Christ’s ignorance must be spoken with respect to his humanity, for while the Son of God knows all things exhaustively by virtue of his divinity, the human nature of Christ is not omniscient. This lack of knowledge of the future was particularly fitting during Christ’s state of humiliation, in which his divinity was ‘veiled.’ And yet we must be careful here, for the Son of God remained omniscient even in his state of humiliation, for he did not divest himself of his divine attributes. When speaking of his divine knowledge Christ was also speaking as the God-man, and thus all statements were spoken via Christ’s human and thus cannot be ‘solely’ categorized as divine or human. For these are united in the action of the God-man.”[35]

When discussing the incarnation, we should not conflate the humanity of Jesus with the divinity of Jesus by attributing human attributes to the divine essence and vice versa. In essence, common characteristics of humanity should not be mistaken for divinity or divinity with humanity. This has become the most obvious error when examining the nature of God as individuals look at Jesus Incarnate and attribute things that are uniquely human and ascribe these qualities to the divine nature. The key to understanding the relationship between Jesus’ humanity and divinity is the communicatio idiomatum. The communicatio idiomatum is a term that refers to the communication of the incarnate Son’s human and divine properties. As Crowe writes, “Understanding the communicatio idiomatum properly helps us parse rightly the relationship between the divine and the human natures of Christ in the hypostatic union. Christ’s human nature remains human, and thus finite, created nature; his human nature does have divine characteristics. Even so, the glorious nature of the hypostatic union means that some impressively unique things can be predicated on the human nature of Christ.”[36] In sum, Jesus’ humanity is in view in these texts as the incarnate Son chooses to not exercise His omniscience to know the hour of His return.

THE NECESSITY OF THE INCARNATION: Why Was It Necessary for God to Become Man?

Anselm famously asked, Cur Deus Homo? (“Why did God become man?”). In response, it was necessary. As we see in Galatians 4:4, God chose before the foundation of the world to send God the Son to earth to take on human flesh and become like us. Wellum says, “The eternal Son of God became a man to accomplish the will and plan of God as man.”[37] In essence, it was according to God’s plan for the Son to become man so man may have a Savior and Mediator.

Christ has always been the Mediator and Savior, who was seen through the shadows in Scripture and ultimately unveiled in the incarnation. Jesus acts as our great high priest and sacrifice that was hinted through inferior models of mediation and salvation. Christ’s sacrifice and intercession are deeply personal. Herman Bavinck said that Christ does not simply stand between the two parties, but “he is those two parties in his own person.”[38] In light of Hebrews 2:5-18, we notice four reasons why God became man:[39] 

Jesus’ humanity explains the possibility of His sacrifice; since God cannot die, Jesus must assume human flesh to potentially die on the cross to offer His life as a “ransom.”

The Necessity of Divinity: “In short, the problem of sin is so great that only God can appease the wrath of God against sin. Further, only God can give life (see Deut 32:29), so it is necessary for our Redeemer to restore humanity to new life through life-giving power, seen preeminently in his resurrection from the dead. Further, no mere human can ever truly merit anything before God, but all people remain ‘unworthy servants.’ Strictly speaking, only the actions of God can attain eternal life. Further, Christ’s obedience as Mediator benefits others. This also points to his divinity. The Mediator who accomplishes salvation is the Mediator who applies salvation.”[40] 

Christ’s divinity explains the infinite value of His sacrifice concerning how His life can “ransom” the lives of all sinners.

The Necessity of Humanity: “In short, since the problem of sin originated with a man, it was necessary for a man to render the obedience to God that has been necessary from the beginning thus realizing the design for humanity as the crown of creation. As a man he also raises human nature and enables a more intimate access before the throne of God, for our great high priest shares our nature.” [41] 

God must become man because, as Gregory of Nazianzus said, “What is not assumed is not healed.” As the “Lamb of God,” we have a sacrifice of sufficient worth or value who can truly atone for our sins. As the “New Adam,” we have a sinless human being who perfectly obeyed the law of God and died to reverse the curse that the first Adam caused. And so, “God the Son became man to fulfill God’s plan to save sinners by making satisfaction for their sin.”[42]

When examining the incarnation, we cannot abandon the humanity or divinity of Christ while incarnate because Jesus’ identity is wrapped up in his two natures. Christianity rests upon the nature of Christ because the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are not possible without the humanity and divinity of Jesus. The Christian faith stands or falls without the incarnation. Our salvation rests upon the incarnate Son. The incarnation is required for our redemption. If Christ was not truly God and truly man, then we could not be saved. “In sum, only a Mediator who is both fully God and fully man could free us from the tangled know of sin’s curse. Only a man can render the obedience due from humanity to God, and only God can grant eternal life.”[43] The unity of Christ’s two natures (human and divine) offers us the only explanation and possibility of the ransom paid on our behalf.

 WORKS CITED

[1] Wellum 31.

[2] Wellum 56.

[3] Wellum 31.

[4] Donnie L. DeBord, “Among Us: The Importance of the Incarnation.”

[5] Hilary of Poitiers, The Trinity, 3.16.

[6] Michael Horton, The Christian Faith, 470.

[7] R. L. Reymond, “Incarnation,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Ed. Daniel J. Treier and Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2017), 424.

[8] R.B. Jamieson and Tyler R. Wittman, Biblical Reasoning: Christological and Trinitarian Rules for Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022), 154-155.

[9] Crowe 220.

[10] Augustine, Enchiridion X. 34, LCC VII, 360.

[11] Treier, 162.

[12] G.K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2004), 195.

[13] Swain, “John,” 188.

[14] Treier, “Incarnation,” 217-218.

[15] Scott R. Swain, “John” in The Trinity in the Canon, 177-217.

[16] Köstenberger and Swain, Father, Son and Spirit, 19.

[17] Dan Wallace suggests that the term theos describes the quality of the Word who “shared the essence of the Father, though they differed in person.” (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 269.

[18] Treier, Lord Jesus Christ, 159.

[19] John Frame, The Doctrine of God (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2002), 471.

[20] Daniel L. Akin, “The Person of Christ” in A Handbook of Theology. Ed. Daniel L. Akin, David S. Docker, Nathan A. Finn (Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2023), 324.

[21] Wellum, God the Son Incarnate,160.

[22] Wellum, God the Son Incarnate, 168.

[23] 171.

[24] Carson, The Gospel according to John, 659.

[25] (Wellum 217)

[26] “The outer life of Jesus demonstrates that he had a body and grew and developed like all other human beings…The inner life of Jesus demonstrates that he had a mind, will, and soul and experienced life like all other human beings.” (Wellum 211-213)

[27] Reymond, “Incarnation,” 424.

[28] Gerard H. Ettlinger, “Incarnation” in Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. Ed. Everett Ferguson (Grand Rapids, MI: Garland Publishing, 1999), 567.

[29] See

[30] Treier, “Incarnation,” 224.

[31] Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, III:314.

[32] Owen, Works of John Owen, 1:215.

[33] Crowe 244.

[34] Athanasius, Orationes contra Arianos, 3.26.

[35] Crowe 246-247.

[36] Crowe

[37] Wellum, God the Son Incarnate, 210.

[38] Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 3:363.

[39] Wellum, God the Son Incarnate, 218-224.

[40] Crowe 222-223.

[41] (Crowe 223)

[42] Wellum, God the Son Incarnate, 217.

[43] (Crowe 223)

[44] Treier, “Incarnation,” 216-242.

"THE INCARNATION"

Daniel Treier offers eight important points on the doctrine of the incarnation:[44]

1.     “Incarnation” means becoming embodied, referring theologically to the Son of God becoming fully human in Christ. The root metaphor of being in flesh generates the regular christological concept of assuming full humanity: if God takes upon himself even our embodiment, then this ultimate divine self-revelation surely embraces all aspects of human life. The beginning—the initial becoming—of this incarnate state was the event of the Holy Spirit accomplishing Christ’s virginal conception in Mary. 

2.     The incarnation presupposes Scripture’s widespread identification of Jesus Christ with YHWH, Israel’s God. Eternally alive with the Father “before” his Spirit-empowered ministry in earthly time, as God-man the Son will share the unceasing glory of God being all in all.

3.     The incarnation entails the truth of catholic, creedal dogma. Jesus Christ is the self-existent, fully divine Son who has taken full human life into personal union with the Triune God.

4.     The incarnation implies that earthly history has a redemptive consumption with Jesus Christ at its center. In humbling himself to assume full humanity, the Son of God fulfills three primary offices while remaining the ever-present Lord of the cosmos.

5.     The incarnation initiates the ultimate redemption of God’s covenant people. Though not atoning in itself, the incarnation inaugurates, embodies, enables, and thereby participates in God’s reconciling action.

6.     The incarnation endures forever as the Son retains full (now glorified) humanity. When he returned to divine glory after descending into hell, he ascended as the God-man in whom the church begins to enjoy divine fellowship on earth—in prayerful dependence on his intercession, obedient listening to his speech, and eucharistic celebration of his presence—anticipating complete restoration of divine rule over creation.

7.     The incarnation elicits churchly faith seeking understanding. In testimony, catechesis, nurture, discipline, debate, apologetics, and contemplation, with creative fidelity the Reformed tradition exhibits perennial tendencies and correspondingly faces particular theological challenges.

8.     The incarnation invites followers of Jesus to share in costly love as forgiven sinners. As Christ’s identification with all humans reminds us, God loves without any partiality based on sex or gender, race or ethnicity, wealth or status, abilities, or challenges. Imitating this self-involving love we encounter in Christ, the church bears witness to the singularity redemptive divine self-revelation.”