Jesus' Two Natures: God and Man
Jesus is the most important person who has
ever lived since he is the Savior, God in
human flesh. He is not half God and half man. He is fully divine
and fully man. In other words, Jesus has two distinct natures: divine and human.
Jesus is the Word who was God and was with God and was made flesh (John 1:1 , 14 ). This means that in the single person of
Jesus he has both a human and divine nature, God and man. The divine
nature was not changed when the Word became flesh (John 1:1 , 14 ). Instead, the Word was joined with humanity (Col. 2:9 ). Jesus' divine nature was not altered. Also,
Jesus is not merely a man who "had God within Him," nor is he a man
who "manifested the God principle." He is God in flesh, second
person of the Trinity.
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of
his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." (Heb. 1:3 ). Jesus' two natures are not "mixed
together" (Eutychianism),
nor are they combined into a new God-man nature (Monophysitism). They
are separate yet act as a unit in the one person of Jesus. This is called
the Hypostatic Union.
The following chart should
help you see the two natures of Jesus "in action":
|
GOD
|
MAN
|
|
He
worshiped the Father (John 17)
|
|
|
He
was called God (John 20:28 ; Heb. 1:8 )
|
He
was called man (Mark 15:39 ; John 19:5 )
|
|
He
was called Son of God (Mark 1:1 )
|
He
was called Son of Man (John 9:35-37 )
|
|
He
is prayed to (Acts 7:59 )
|
He
prayed to the Father (John 17)
|
|
He
is sinless (1 Pet. 2:22 ; Heb. 4:15 )
|
He
was tempted (Matt. 4:1 )
|
|
He
knows all things (John 21:17 )
|
He
grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52 )
|
|
He
gives eternal life (John 10:28 )
|
He
died (Rom. 5:8 )
|
|
All
the fullness of deity dwells in Him (Col. 2:9 )
|
He has a body of
flesh and bones (Luke 24:39 )
|
The Communicatio
Idiomatum
A doctrine that is related to the Hypostatic
Union is the communicatio idiomatum (Latin for "communication of
properties"). This is the teaching that the attributes of both the
divine and human natures are ascribed to the one person of Jesus. This
means that the man Jesus could lay claim to the glory He had with the Father
before the world was made (John 17:5 ), claim that He
descended from heaven (John 3:13 ), and also claim
omnipresence (Matt. 28:20 ). All of
these are divine qualities that are laid claim to by Jesus; therefore, the
attributes of the divine properties were claimed by the person of Jesus.
One of the most common
errors that non-Christian cults make is not understanding the two natures of
Christ. For example, the Jehovah's Witnesses focus on Jesus' humanity and ignore
His divinity. They repeatedly quote verses dealing with Jesus as a man
and try to set them against Scripture showing that Jesus is also divine.
On the other hand, the Christian Scientists do the reverse. They focus on
the Scriptures showing Jesus' divinity to the extent of denying His true
humanity.
For a proper understanding
of Jesus and, therefore, all other doctrines that relate to Him, His two
natures must be properly understood and defined. Jesus is one person with
two natures. This is why He would grow in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52 ) and yet know all things (John 21:17 ). He is the Divine Word that became flesh (John 1:1 , 14 ).
The Bible is
about Jesus (John 5:39 ). The
prophets prophesied about Him (Acts 10:43 ). The Father bore witness of Him (John 5:37 ; 8:18 ). The Holy Spirit bore witness of Him (John 15:26 ). The works Jesus did bore witness of
Him (John 5:36 ; 10:25 ). The multitudes bore witness of Him (John 12:17 ). And, Jesus bore witness of Himself (John 14:6 ; 18:6 ).
Other verses to consider
when examining His deity are John 10:30-33 ; 20:28 ; Col. 2:9 ; Phil. 2:5-8 ; Heb. 1:6-8 ; and 2 Pet. 1:1 .
1 Tim. 2:5 says, "For there
is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus." Right now, there is a man in heaven on the throne of
God. He is our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1 ). He is our Savior (Titus 2:13 ). He is our Lord (Rom. 10:9-10 ). He is Jesus.
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