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GLOSSA the Two Begettings of Christ

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GLOSSA the Two Begettings of Christ GLOSSA The Two Begettings of Christ he Scriptures marvelously reveal the two becomings of The conception of Jesus was a twofold miracle. Through TChrist. John 1:14 speaks of the Word becoming flesh, the divine intervention of the Holy Spirit, He was con- and 1 Corinthians 15:45 speaks of the last Adam becoming ceived of a human virgin and thus fully joined to a life-giving Spirit. These two becomings, however, closely humanity with the element of human nature. He was a parallel the two begettings1 of Christ. Matthew 1:20 speaks genuine human being who partook of blood and flesh of Christ being begotten of the Holy Spirit, and Acts 13:332 (Heb. 2:14), was made like us in all things (v. 17), and in speaks of Christ being begotten on the day of resurrection. His human life was even tempted in all respects like us, In both His becoming and His begetting, the processes of yet without sin (4:15). Even more miraculous than the di- the all-inclusive Christ are revealed. vine instrumentality of His human conception was the fact that the divine element itself was begotten, or born, The Greek word translated “begetting” or “begotten” in into Him; divinity was begotten in the humanity of Jesus. these verses is gennaö. Although gennaö refers primarily to The divine nature and essence of God the Father were the begetting of a father, it also refers to the result of the generated by (out of—ek) the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb process, to the bearing or to the bringing forth in birth to conceive the Lord Jesus. The entire Triune God was in- (of the mother). It is the root of the word origin or gen- volved. The Son was incarnated with the Father and by eration (Gk. genesis) in Matthew 1:1 and 18. Gennaö is the Spirit. From the beginning of His human conception used in the genealogy of Christ, where it refers to the be- and throughout all the stages of His human living, the getting of the forefathers of Jesus. It is used in the passive complete God was present and joined to the humanity of voice especially when the agent is not stressed (such as Jesus. Thus, He is both the complete God and a perfect Matthew 2:1, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem”). It is used man. He possesses two natures, which were mingled to- twice in Matthew 1 in the passive voice with the preposi- gether from the time of His conception to produce one tion ek to indicate the source of the begetting/birth of person, the God-man Jesus. He is the product of divine Jesus. Jesus was begotten of (ek) the Holy Spirit (Matt. birth and human conception. As a result, He is called both 1:20; cf. Luke 1:35), referring to the source of His divine the Son of God and the Son of Man. nature, and He was born of (ek) Mary (Matt. 1:16), refer- ring to the source of His human nature. In its latter use its he church fathers struggled to define the relationship meaning closely follows another Greek word usually trans- Tbetween the divine and human in Jesus. The Symbol lated “bear” or “give birth”—tiktö, which occurs three of Chalcedon attempted to define what was produced in times in Matthew 1 in reference to Mary bearing or giving the begetting of Jesus, acknowledging birth to Jesus (vv. 21, 23, 25). …two natures without confusion, without change [i.e., no In Matthew 1:20 and in Luke 1:35 the use of gennaö re- third essence was produced], without division, without fers to the begetting of the divine nature at the time of the separation, the difference between the natures by no human conception of Jesus. Although the NASB and the means removed because of the union, but rather the prop- NRSV translate gennaö as “conceived,” in Matthew 1:20 erty of each nature being preserved and coming [running] it is better translated as “begotten” or “born.” This was together into one person and one hypostasis, not parted more than just a human conception because of the in- or divided into two persons, but one and the same only volvement of the divine nature. This verse refers to the begotten Son, God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ. time of the human conception of Jesus, but more than just a miraculous human conception took place at this time; it Perhaps due to the monophysite and monothelite contro- was the begetting of divinity in humanity. The Triune versies that followed the Chalcedonian settlement, God was begotten, or born, into humanity at the time of theology has tended to stress the distinction between the Jesus’ human conception. The complete God was present two natures more than the unity of the one person. How- from the time of His human conception. If Matthew had ever, the biblical account of the life of Jesus as presented considered this as just an ordinary conception, he would in the four Gospels places greater emphasis on the one probably have used the word sullambanö (cf. Luke 1:31). person who is the union/mingling3 of the two natures. July 1997 49 This person was not a Eutychian tertiam quid, a third en- only then that the divine filiation is fully gained for it. tity, but one who has all the capabilities of both natures. (542-543) He was born, He had a human genealogy, He wept, He became tired, He was hungry and thirsty, and He died af- He refers to the tractate on Psalm 2 by Hilary of Poitiers: ter thirty-three and a half years. In addition to being subject to the limitations of His human nature, He was He explains that, if there is some question in the resurrec- also capable of doing what God can do, for He had all the tion of Christ of a divine generation and of a divine capabilities of the Divine Being. He could forgive sins, filiation, this is only as regards the humanity of the Son of heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. He ex- God. The Word possessed the divine filiation, but the as- pressed God, living a life in fellowship with the Father, sumed humanity had not yet been raised up to the and those who saw Him saw the Father (John 14:9). Al- enjoyment of the privileges of this filiation. In this sense, though the church fathers were very careful about Christ, before His resurrection was not yet totally in the assigning human experiences (such as suffering and mor- divine sphere. He had to, insofar as man, “be born” to the tality) to the Divine Being, the biblical account does not glory which He eternally possessed as Son of God. (541) distinguish this so clearly. There are statements concern- ing God’s own blood (Acts 20:28) and the Lord of glory Through the resurrection of Jesus, His humanity was gener- being crucified (1 Cor. 2:8), and it is acceptable to echo ated, or begotten, in divinity: Man became God; His the words of Charles Wesley, humanity became divine; His “The Immortal dies.” On the mortal humanity put on immor- other hand, the Jewish religion- tality. This was the begetting, or ists were very concerned about Through the resurrection the birth, of His humanity as assigning what is divine to the of Jesus, His humanity the Son of God at the time of man Jesus. They condemned was generated, or begotten, His resurrection. The human Him for saying that He, as the nature which had come out of Son of Man, had authority to in divinity: Man became God; the seed of David according to forgive sins (Mark 2:7, 10), for His humanity became divine; the flesh was designated the Son referring to God as His Father, of God in power out of the res- thus making Himself equal His mortal humanity urrection of the dead (Rom. with God (John 5:18), and for put on immortality. 1:3-4). This begetting was not a saying that He and the Father This was the begetting of His mere “adoption” but a bringing were one (10:30). They consid- into existence, a producing, of a ered this to be a blasphemy humanity as the Son of God new kind of humanity. The worthy of stoning, since He, at the time of His resurrection. word beget stresses a beginning being a man, was making Him- of existence, but Christ’s hu- self God (vv. 33, 39). Through manity, which was begotten in Christ’s first begetting, divinity resurrection, clearly had been in was begotten in humanity, God became man, immortality existence since incarnation. Through resurrection, therefore, put on mortality, and the divine and human natures were His humanity must have entered into a new realm of exist- united and mingled together in one person. ence. The humanity that He received at incarnation must have changed to some degree. “By resurrection His human Acts 13:33 speaks of Christ’s second begetting, which nature was sanctified, uplifted, and transformed” (Lee 23). took place at the time of His resurrection. Dupont under- This indicates that through resurrection a deified humanity scores the distinctive impact of resurrection by contrasting was produced and marked the beginning of a new era, or it with the distinctive impact of incarnation: epoch, a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). The humanity of Jesus is not the end of the eternal di- Due to the wording of the Symbol of Chalcedon, there vine generation.
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