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In 9 the Person of Christ the Humanity of Christ

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In 9 the Person of Christ the Humanity of Christ In Called to Believe, Teach, and Confess have exhausted our study of grace, for God is gracious beyond anything we might expect. So St. John described our Savior, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have.se.en his 9 glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth .... from his fullness we have all received, grace up�n grace (John I: 16And . 14,16). The Person of Christ Key Terms The disciples had traveled with Jesus, heard him teach, and seen him Common Grace Means of grace perform amazing miracles. After all ofthese experiences, Jesus took the dis­ Efficacious Providence ciples aside and asked, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They Grace responded that some thought that Jesus was John the Baptist, while others likened him to Elijah, Jeremiah, or another prophet. Then Jesus redirected the question towards the disciples. "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16: 13-18). It is an essential question for the disciples and for us. The world For Review and Discussion may give many different answers, but what do you think of Jesus? Who is he? This chapter will examine how Scripture answers the question of Jesus' 1. This chapter distinguished God's goodness, saving grace, and identity as we study: spiritual gifts. Reflect on God's gifts to you in all three of these categories. Why is it important to maintain distinctions between these various types of gifts? 2. Christianity is unique among all the world's religions in that 1. The Humanityof Christ- Our Savior is one of us it is the only religion that is based not on works but on grace. 2. The Deity of Christ- Jesus Christ is tru�v God Yet many Christians seem to ignore grace and turn Christianity 3. Heresies Regarding Christ's Two Natures - Deny­ into another religion of works. Why do you think they do this? ing either nature affectssalvation How can we keep our faith focused on God's grace in Christ? 4. The Personal Union of Christ - How are these two 3. God proclaims his gracious will to humanity throughout the naturesj oined in the on e Christ? Bible. What examples of his grace can you find in both the 5. Heresies Regarding the Personal Union - Altering Old and the New Testaments? How does recognizing his grace the biblical teaching strengthen your faith? 6. The Communication of Attributes - How the two natures work together 7. Christ's Humiliation and Exaltation - In everything, our Saviorserves us 174 Called to Believe, Teach, and Confess The Person of Christ 175 "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered Jesus, "You are the Christ, biblical truths, This terminology can be confusing whenwe use it abstractly, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16: 16), Hearing this answer, Jesus said It becomes clearer when we look at the specificbiblical evidence. that Peter was blessed because he knew the truth, Peter hadn't learned this truth from human beings but from God. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the 1. The Humanity of Christ living God. Peter's answer seems to be simple, but in reality, is summarizes the doctrine of the person of Christ in only a fe w words'.Scripture teaches Evidence of a True Human Nature , that Jesus is the Christ: a human being but also the Son of God. This one ' person has two distinct natures: a human nature and a divine nature, But One of the things that we need to know about our Savior is that he is what do these words mean? truly a human being. Most people today, even non-believers, concede that there was a historical man from Nazareth named Jesus, While not all believe Getting Our Vo cabularyStraight the biblical record, few people doubt that Jesus existed, and it is unusual to findsomeone today who doubted that he was truly a human being. Yet in the For most of its history, Christian theology has described Jesus with history of the Christian church, there have been some who have doubted that these terms. He is one person with two natures. We should recognize that Jesus was truly human. The evidence of Scripture, however, clearly upholds theology uses precise definitions for these words - definitions that are not Jesus' humanity. always followed in other contexts. "Person" describes someone who exists as a unique individual. Each person is distinct fr om other persons, is able Scripture Calls Christ a Human Being to think, and is self-aware. A person is not part of another being, but he or The first piece of that evidence is the most direct. Scripture refers to she will usually be in relationships with other persons. Each one of us is a Jesus Christ as a human being, Consider, fo r example, Paul's words, "there person. is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Closely related to this concept is nature. "Nature" is a description of Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). Christ Jesus is a human being. Like all other human �haracteristics. It is the essential qualities that make something what it is. beings, Jesus of Nazareth has human ancestors (Romans 9:5). In fact, the [0 have a human nature is to have those qualities and characteristics that Gospels provide two genealogical accounts of the ancestry of J.::sus: one his Ire essential components of humanity. These characteristics include things legal ancestry through his earthly (but not biological) fa ther, Joseph (Mat­ like life, a body, or a sequence of DNA. It is the "humanness" of a person. thew I: 1-17), the other apparently showing his ancestors through his virgin Likewise a divine nature consists in everything that it means to be God. It is mother, Mary (Luke 3:23-38). He had a family history, just like the rest of the "godness" of a person. (This divine nature is seen in only three persons: us. In fa ct, Luke's genealogy goes all the way back to Adam, the first human. ,he Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Jesus' ancestry demonstrates that he is related to every human being. In our ordinary use of these terms, a person has a nature. You are a mman person with a human nature. In other words, you are a self-existing Christ Has Human Characteristics, Behaviors, and Responses ndividual who exhibits the qualities and characteristics that we would ex­ Ject to see, to some degree, in a human being. The need fo r a precise use of An examination of the life of Jesus also evidences his humanity. Many .his vocabulary becomes more urgent when we describe the person of Christ. examples from Scripture show that Jesus had the characteristics of a normal kripture describes him with two natures: Christ is fully human and at the (though unfallen) human nature. Like all other humans, his life began with ,ame time fully divine. Does this mean that there are two Christs? No, there his conception, gestation, and birth. He did not descend from heaven with s one Christ - one person - but this single person consists of two natures. a body, but obtained one in the ordinary way as he grew in the womb of his [he divine nature has existed from all eternity, even before the incarnation, mother. Luke reflects these events as he describes the time when Mary was )lit the human nature of Christ never existed independently or without the pregnant, gave birth. and even diapered her newborn baby (Luke 2:5-7). He livine nature. He has a true human nature, but it is not a human person in­ was truly human. iependent of the divine nature. Rather, the person of Christ consists of two Every biblical description of human nature is applied to Jesus. He has a latures. We use this specific vocabulary in order to uphold both of these body that is subject to the same experiences of other humans. That body is 176 Called to Believe, Teach, and Confess The Person of Christ 177 not an apparition, but is flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). He has a human soul absence of a biological father but the presence of a biological mother. The (Matthew 26:38) and spirit (Luke 23:46). Like all other humans, he experi­ virgin birth answers the question, "was Christ truly human?" with a solid enced physical and mental growth (Luke 2:40, 52). He was psychologically "yes." Naturally, almighty God could bring about human life in any manner and intellectually human, experiencing fe elings such as love, compassion, that pleased him, but it pleased him to do this through an ordinary human sorrow, and joy. Moreover, he demonstrates the physical characteristics of woman. true humanity. Like all humans he gets hungry when he fasts(Ma tthew 4:2), Some Christians have noted that the virgin birth brings about some dif­ he experiences thirst (John 19:28), fatigue, (John 4:6) and the need for sleep ferences between Jesus and the rest of humanity. Jesus is fully human, but (Luke 8:23). He feels pain and agony. When he is injured, he bleeds (John his unique conception implies a break with the ordinary. Jesus was not the 19:34) and ultimately dies. At any point in the life of Christ, an observer first human to exist without a human father - indeed our first parents came would recognize a human being (Luke 23:47). All the evidence demon­ into being without either human father or mother! They were directly cre­ strates that he is a genuine human being.
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