“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your house.” Acts 16:30-31
We rejoice in the Lord that all who believe in the Lord Jesus will be saved. I am troubled however at how many profess faith in Jesus, but alas, the Jesus they believe in is not the Jesus of the Bible. So we are answering the question, “Who is the Jesus of the Bible?” with this short series entitled, Essential Truths About Jesus. The bulk of the content in this series comes from papers I wrote when studying Systematic Theology in seminary in 2001.
Last time we considered the Deity and Humanity of Jesus. This time: how do Jesus’ two natures (divine and human) relate?
Jesus is one Person who has two distinct natures. An important theological term for the two natures of Christ in one Person is the Theanthropic Person of Christ. This word comes from the Greek words Theos, meaning God, and anthro, meaning man. Joining these words describes the joining of deity and humanity in Christ.
1. Jesus’ deity and humanity are not to be mixed or confused. Jesus is one Person with two natures, not a composite being made up of two persons or personalities. He is not God possessing a man’s body, nor is He a man in whom God dwells or who has a profound sense of God within Himself. He is God and man in one Person. This union of two natures in the one Person of Jesus Christ is called the Hypostatic Union, the term that describes how God the Son took on a human nature, yet remained fully God at the same time. Jesus Christ is one Person, fully God and fully man. This is unique to Christ.
2. There are important distinctions regarding the two natures of Christ. An important distinction regarding the two natures of Christ is that the deity of Christ did not make the humanity other than human, and the humanity of Christ did not make the deity of Christ other than divine. The two natures come together in one Person, but they do not change either of the two natures. There are actions taken by Jesus in which His humanity is in the forefront, and there are actions taken by Jesus in which His deity is in the forefront, but these actions are taken by one Person, who must not be divided. His two natures are distinct, but never separated.
A footnote: It is interesting that the unbelieving world often has difficulty with the deity of Christ, while believers often forget about or downplay the humanity of Christ. An essential truth is that Jesus is the one and only God-man.