As discussed last week, from its very beginning, theological controversy has always accompanied Christianity. During the 4th and 5th centuries, many groups differed on the explanation of the incarnation of Christ. Below are several teachings, from the 4th and 5th centuries, on the person of Christ and the councils that resulted from these heresies.APOLLINARIANISM CONTROVERSY
Apolinarius was a pastor in Laodicia. He believed and taught that at the incarnation, the divine came down and replaced the human mind and soul of the person named Jesus. He taught that when this occurred, Jesus was no longer human but solely divine.
The Council at Constantinople (381)
This council declared that Jesus was fully human in every way.
NESTORIANISM CONTROVERSY
Nestorius took the two natures of Jesus and separated the divine and the human. He believed that Jesus was more human at times and less at others.
Council at Ephesus (431)
This council ruled that you cannot separate the human and the divine. Jesus was both completely God and completely man.
EUTYCHIANISM CONTROVERSY
Eutychianis was a minister in Constantinople and his ideas are still around today. He said that the human and the divine blended and combined the two natures into one with the divine winning out and absorbing the human.
Council of Chalcedon (451)
This council affirmed the reality of the mystery of the coexisting natures of God.
THE CORRECT VIEW OF CHRIST
(Below are notes from one of Chris' sermons on the doctrine of Christ.)
3 things the Bible teaches about Jesus
I. JESUS CHRIST IS FULLY GOD
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is fully God.
Question: What evidence is there that Jesus Christ is fully God?
Answer #1: His Titles
John 20:27-28 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Explanation: Jesus is called Lord and God and he willing accepts both titles.
Answer #2: His Claims
John 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him
Explanation: He claimed to be eternal. He doesn’t even say, “before Abraham existed, I existed. Instead, he says “I am.” This is the same language that God used with Moses. The Jews knew Jesus was claiming to be God, which is the reason they started to stone him.
Jesus also claimed to forgive sins, which is something only God can do.
Answer#3: His Miracles and Resurrection
Matthew 8:26- Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
Miracles: Jesus’ miracles demonstrate his divine authority over creation
Resurrection: Other people have risen from the dead, but they have gone on to die. Jesus was unable to die because he is God.
Question: Why It is Important that Jesus is fully God?
Answer #1: He is the One We Worship
We rightly think of the Son of God as the One who walked the earth, but often fail to think of him as the One who created the earth. If we learn to think rightly about Jesus Christ as fully God it will affect the way we worship, because we will worship the God who revealed Himself in the Person of Christ.
Answer #2: He is the One Who Saves
The OT sacrifices were not sufficient because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins. Only God can save us. When Jesus died for our sins, our sins were paid for in an infinite and eternal measure because he is infinite and eternal.
If we don't think correctly about Jesus, we will not think correctly about salvation.
II. JESUS CHRIST IS FULLY MAN
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is fully man.
Question: What evidence is there that Jesus is fully Man?
Answer #1: Jesus had a human Birth.
We could obviously point to the virgin birth as a sign of Christ’s deity, but I want to point out that the miracle was the conception, not the birth. The biological mother demonstrates full humanity.
Answer # 2: Jesus had a human body
Mt 4:2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Answer #3: Jesus had a human mind
Mark 13:32 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Explanation: In his humanity, Jesus did not know certain things.
Answer #4: Jesus had a human soul (emotions)
John 11:33-35 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35 Jesus wept.
Answer #5: Jesus was Sinless
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin.
Explanation: Should being without sin be considered a mark of his divinity? The answer is “no.” He was the perfect human. In fact, he was what humanity was supposed to be before the fall and he was what humanity will be one day when God restores everything.
We often say, “To err is to be human,” but the fact that we sin and mess up makes us abnormal. We are the ones who are not acting like we should.
Question: Why it is important that Jesus is fully human?
Answer#1: He is our example
1 Jn 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
Explanation: We are to become more like Christ
Answer #2: He is our Representative
Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Explanation: We are represented by one of two people: Adam or Christ.
Answer #3: He is our Substitute
Hebrews 2:16-17 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Explanation: The Son of God did not become an angel, but a man. He was made like us in every way in order that he might become our substitute.
Answer #4: He is our Mediator
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
Explanation: The way God relates with man is through covenants. He has made agreements with man throughout the ages. Each time, there has been a different mediator of the covenant: Adam, Abraham, Moses, etc. Jesus Christ is the final mediator.
It is also important to mention that Jesus will also never cease being a man. If he did, believers would no longer have favor with God.
Gnostics, who denied Jesus’ humanity, were considered heretics by members of the early church. John, who was clearly opposed to this belief system, said in 1 John that he and others had seen, heard, and touched Christ.
III. JESUS CHRIST IS FULLY GOD AND FULLY MAN
We often have a tendency to emphasize one over the other. When doing this, we can quickly move away from the biblical teaching of the incarnation. It is important that we affirm both.
Question: How do we put these two together?
Answer: With Jesus, we have 1 person with 2 natures: human/divine. During his earthly ministry he had two minds. His human mind developed, but His divine mind knew all. His taking on flesh did not subtract from His deity and Him being God did not take away from His humanity.
CONCLUSION
Knowing the correct view of the incarnation does not make it easier to understand. This event is still a mystery, but is also one of the greatest miracles in all of Scripture and must be understood correctly because it is the central teaching of the Christian faith.
