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The following are questions with
answers taken from various Wikipedia articles. This is to
highlight some relevant points on the subject—"How do
Trinitarians explain that Jesus is God the Son"—which people
should understand before continuing the bible study. The
answers are excerpts taken from the full articles written on
the subject. You can readily study the full articles by
clicking on the source link after each answer.
Note: The answers to the following religious questions
are taken from various Wikipedia articles due to their
neutral point of view principle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view
However, we still highly recommend that you search the
internet for more information on the subject.
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From the previous
Lesson-3B.2
it was shown that the exact
phrase or expression "Son of God" is extensively
used in the Bible and there
are 47 places in the New Testament where Jesus is given
the title "the Son of God", whereas,
the term or title "God the Son" is not used at all.
Later theological use
of this expression "God the Son" reflects what came to be
standard interpretation of New Testament references,
understood to imply Jesus' divinity. The title "God the Son"
is associated more with the
development of the doctrine of
the Trinity (Lesson-2F). Thus the expression or title "God the Son" came to be used
even if it cannot be read in the Bible.
"God the Son" and the
Doctrine of Incarnation
3C.1
How then, do Trinitarians explain the belief that Jesus is
"God the Son", the second person of the Triune God?
From the Wikipedia
article on Incarnation
(Christianity), these
are written:
The
Incarnation
is the belief in
Christianity that
the second person in
the Christian
Godhead, also known
as God the Son or
the Logos (Word),
"became flesh" when
he was miraculously
conceived in the
womb of the Virgin
Mary. The word
Incarnate derives
from Latin (in=in or
into, caro, carnis=flesh)
meaning "to make
into flesh" or "to
become flesh". The
incarnation is a
fundamental
theological teaching
of orthodox (Nicene)
Christianity, based
on its understanding
of the New
Testament. The
incarnation
represents the
belief that Jesus,
who is the
non-created second
hypostasis of the
triune God, took on
a human body and
nature and became
both man and God. In
the Bible its
clearest teaching is
in
John 1:14:
"And the Word became
flesh, and dwelt
among us."[1]
In the Incarnation,
as traditionally
defined, the divine
nature of the Son
was joined but not
mixed with human
nature[2]
in one divine
Person,
Jesus
Christ, who was both
"truly God and truly
man".
Source:
Wikipedia,
Incarnation
(Christianity),
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnation_(Christianity)
(as of Apr. 15,
2010, 16:50 GMT).
From the
above references, please take note of the following:
GOD THE SON as
explained through the DOCTRINE OF INCARNATION
The
Doctrine of Incarnation is a fundamental theological teaching of
orthodox (Nicene) Christianity, based on its
understanding of the New Testament.
-
Incarnation is the
belief that the second person in the Godhead, also
known as God the Son or the Logos (Word), "became
flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the
womb of the Virgin Mary. The word incarnate means
"to make into flesh" or "to become flesh".
-
The
incarnation represents the belief that Jesus, who is
the non-created second person of the triune God,
took on a human body and nature and became both man
and God.
-
As
traditionally defined, the divine nature of the Son
was joined but not mixed with human nature in one
divine Person, Jesus Christ, who was both "truly God
and truly man".
3C.2
If
the title "God the Son" is not in the Bible and
is explained
only through the doctrine of the incarnation, how did the
doctrine of the incarnation develop?
From the Wikipedia articles
on Incarnation (Christianity), these are written:
Description and development of the traditional
doctrine
In
the early Christian era, there was considerable
disagreement amongst Christians regarding the nature
of Christ's Incarnation. While all Christians
believed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the
exact nature of his Sonship was contested, together
with the precise relationship of the "Father," "Son"
and "Holy Ghost" referred to in the New Testament.
Though Jesus was clearly the "Son," what exactly did
this mean? Debate on this subject raged most
especially during the first four centuries of
Christianity, involving Gnostics, followers of the
Presbyter Arius of Alexandra, and adherents of St.
Athanasius the Great, among others.
Eventually, the Catholic Church accepted the
teaching of St. Athanasius and his allies, that
Christ was the incarnation of the eternal second
person of the Trinity, who was fully God and fully
Man simultaneously. All divergent beliefs were
defined as heresies.
The most widely-accepted definitions
of the Incarnation and the nature of Jesus were made
by the early Catholic Church at the First Council of
Nicaea in 325, the Council of Ephesus in 431, and
the Council of Chalcedon in 451. These councils
declared that Jesus was both fully God: begotten
from, but not created by the Father; and fully man:
taking His flesh and human nature from the Virgin
Mary. These two natures, human and divine, were
hypostatically united into the one personhood of
Jesus Christ.
Source: Source:
Wikipedia, Incarnation (Christianity),
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnation_(Christianity)
(as of Apr. 15, 2010, 16:50 GMT).
From the Wikipedia article
on John the Apostle, these are written:
John the Apostle
(Ancient Greek: Ἰωάννης)
(c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of
Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and
brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles.
Christian tradition holds he was the last surviving
of the Twelve Apostles, the only one to die a
natural death and died around the age of 94.
Source: Wikipedia, John the Apostle,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Apostle
(as of Apr. 15, 2010, 20:22 GMT).
The
Development of the Doctrine of Incarnation: (From
the above references)
Early in the Christian era, that
is after the death of the Apostles, there was a
considerable disagreement amongst the Christians
regarding the nature of Christ's incarnation.
While all Christians believed that Jesus was
indeed the Son of God, the exact nature of his
Sonship was contested, together with the precise
relationship of the "Father," "Son" and "Holy
Ghost" referred to in the New Testament. Debate
on this subject raged most especially during the
first four centuries of Christianity, involving
Gnostics, followers of the Presbyter Arius of
Alexandra, and adherents of St. Athanasius the
Great, among others.
Eventually, the
Catholic Church accepted the
"Teaching of St.
Athanasius" and his allies,
- that Christ was
the incarnation of the eternal second person of
the Trinity, who was fully God and fully Man
simultaneously.
- All divergent
beliefs were defined as heresies.
The most
widely-accepted definitions of the Incarnation and
the nature of Jesus were made by the early Catholic
Church at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the
Council of Ephesus in 431, and the Council of
Chalcedon in 451. Please refer to
Lesson-2F.2 for related development.
- These councils
declared that Jesus was both fully God: begotten
from, but not created by the Father; and fully
man: taking His flesh and human nature from the
Virgin Mary.
- These two
natures, human and divine, were hypostatically
united into the one personhood of Jesus Christ.
Thus, the technical term "Hypostatic Union or
Two Nature Doctrine" came to be.
During this time, the New Testament books are already
completed and all the apostles have died. The last one
to die is Apostle John, who died in 100 A.D. This
explains the fact that the phrase or title "God the Son" was never
used in the Bible.
The Hypostatic Union
or Two Nature Doctrine
3C.3 How then, do
Trinitarians explain their belief that Jesus is both truly
God and truly man?
From the Wikipedia
articles on Hypostatic union, these are written:
Hypostatic union (from the Greek:
ὑπόστασις,
{"[h]upostasis"}, "hypostasis", sediment,
foundation, substance, or subsistence)
is a technical term in Christian theology employed
in mainstream Christology to describe the union of
two natures, humanity and divinity, in Jesus
Christ. A brief definition of the doctrine of two
natures can be given as: "Jesus Christ, who is
identical with the Son, is one person and one
hypostas in two natures: a human and a divine."[1]
The First Council of Ephesus recognised this
doctrine and affirmed its importance, stating that
the humanity and divinity of Christ are made one
according to nature and hypostasis in the Logos.
As the precise
nature of this union is held to defy
finite human comprehension, the
hypostatic union is also referred to
by the alternative term "mystical
union."
Source: Wikipedia, Hypostatic
union,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypostatic_union
(as of Apr. 15, 2010, 20:50 GMT).
The Confession of
Chalcedon (also
Definition or
Creed of
Chalcedon),
also
known as the
"Doctrine of the
Hypostatic Union"[citation
needed] or
the "Two-Nature
Doctrine", was
adopted at the
Council of Chalcedon
in 451 in Asia
Minor. That Council
of Chalcedon is one
of the First seven
Ecumenical Councils
accepted by Eastern
Orthodox, Catholic,
and many Protestant
Christian churches.
It is the first
Council not
recognized by any of
the Oriental
Orthodox churches.
Oriental Orthodox
dissent
The Chalcedonian
creed was written
amid controversy
between the western
and eastern churches
over the meaning of
the Incarnation (see
Christology), the
ecclesiastical
influence of the
emperor, and the
supremacy of the
Bishop of Rome. The
western churches
readily accepted the
creed, but some
eastern churches did
not.[citation
needed]
Source:
Wikipedia,
Chalcedonian Creed,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcedonian_Creed
(optional
description here)
(as of Apr. 19,
2010, 05:04 GMT).
God in
three persons
According to the Trinity doctrine,
God exists as three persons,
or hypostases, but is one
being, that is, has but a single
divine nature.[80]
Chalcedonians—Roman Catholics,
Orthodox Christians, Anglicans and
Protestants—hold that, in addition,
the second person of the Trinity—God
the Son, Jesus—assumed human nature,
so that he has two natures (and
hence two wills), and is really and
fully both true God and true human.
In the Oriental Orthodox theology,
the Chalcedonian formulation is
rejected in favor of the position
that the union of the two natures,
though unconfused,
births
a third nature: redeemed humanity,
the new creation.
Source:
Wikipedia,
Trinity,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity
(as of Apr. 5, 2010, 16:11 GMT).
From the
above references, please take note of the following:
DOCTRINE OF THE HYPOSTATIC UNION also known as
TWO NATURE DOCTRINE. Hypostatic
Union is a technical term in Christian theology employed
in mainstream Christology to describe the union of two
natures, humanity and divinity, in Jesus Christ.
- A
brief definition of the doctrine of two natures
can be given as: "Jesus Christ, who is identical
with the Son, is one person and one hypostasis
in two natures: a human and a divine."
-
As the precise
nature of this union is held to defy
finite human comprehension, the
hypostatic union is also referred to
by the alternative term "MYSTICAL
UNION."
-
in addition, the second
person of the Trinity—God the Son, Jesus—assumed human nature, so that he
has two natures (and hence two wills), and is really and fully both true God
and true human.
The
Chalcedonian creed
also known as the "Doctrine
of the Hypostatic Union"
or "Two-Nature Doctrine"
was written amid controversy between the western and
eastern churches over the meaning of the Incarnation in
451 AD. That is more than 125 years after the Trinity
doctrine was defined in the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
The precise nature of the "Hypostatic Union" was not
made clear as it is held to
defy finite human
comprehension, the hypostatic union is also referred to
by the alternative term "Mystical Union."
The
Mystical Union
3C.4 Why is the
"Hypostatic Union" also referred to as "Mystical Union"?
and/or, How does the Hypostatic Union defy finite human
comprehension?
THE MYSTICAL UNION
or the
"Doctrine of the Hypostatic Union" or "Two-Nature
Doctrine" is briefly defined as: Jesus Christ, who is
identical with the Son, is one person and one hypostasis
in two natures: a human and a divine."
The precise nature
of the "Hypostatic Union" was not made clear as it is
said to defy finite human comprehension. For,
how
can anyone understand the teaching that Jesus who is
only one person be both man and God at the same time?
The
following are sample questions an intelligent person
may find impossible to answer:
-
How can Jesus be God who
has no beginning (Psalms 90:2) be also the Man Jesus
who came from God (John 8:42)?
Simply stated:
How can Jesus be with no beginning and with
beginning at the same time?
-
How can
Jesus be God who is immortal―not subject to death
(1Tim.1:17), be also the Man Jesus who died on the
cross (John 19:33)? Simply stated: How can Jesus die and does
not die at the same time?
-
How can
Jesus be God, who is a spirit (John.4:24)―without
flesh and bones (Luke 24:39), be also the Man Jesus
(John 8:40) with flesh and bones (Luke 24:39)?
Simply stated: How can Jesus be a spirit and with flesh and bones
at the same time?
-
How can
Jesus be God who neither grows tired or weary
(Isaiah 40:28), be also the Man Jesus who wearied or
tired (John 4:6)? Simply stated:
How can Jesus tire and and
does not tire at the same time?
-
How can
Jesus be God who knows no other God besides Himself
(Isaiah 44:8), be also the Man Jesus who recognizes
the Father in heaven as His God (John 20:17)?
Simply stated: How can Jesus know God and
does not know other God at the
same time?
-
How can
Jesus be God who is above all (Eph.4:6) and subject
to no one, be also the Man Jesus who is subject to
God (1 Cor.15:28) and who's head is God (1
Cor.11:3)? Simply stated:
How can Jesus be subject to God and
not subject to God at the same time?
-
How can
Jesus be God who is not a man, nor a son of man
(Numbers 23:19), be also the Man Jesus who is a son
of man (Mark 14:62)? Simply stated:
How can Jesus be a son of
man and not a son of man at the same time?
-
How can
the Man Jesus pray to God , who could save
Him from death, if He is the same God He is praying
to? (Heb.5:7) Simply stated:
How can the man Jesus pray to
himself as God?
The inability
to answer the above questions shows that the "Mystical
Union" or "Two Nature Doctrine" indeed defies finite
human comprehension. For how indeed can Jesus be Man and God simultaneously
or at the same time?
Continue
your study. Find out
the biblical truth. Did Jesus and His Apostles explain
and wrote about the "Mystical Union" in the Holy Bible?
For more information:
You may review a related mystery in
Lesson-2D.4 "Why the Trinity Doctrine is a mystery".
Search the internet for more information on the above
subject.
______________________
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