The Mystery of the Union

“’We confess that He is very God and Very Man; Very God by His power to conquer death and Very man that He might die for us’ (Belgic Confession 1562). ‘He continueth to be God and man, in two distinct nature and one person forever’ (Westminster Shorter Catechism, 1647). To deny either the undiminished deity or the perfect humanity of Christ is to put oneself outside the pale of orthodoxy . . . The Hypostatic union is the theological description of this a refers to the two hypostases, or natures, forming the one person in Christ.”( Evangelical Theology: A Survey and Review, Robert P. Lightner, 80)

The Dictionary defines paradox as “A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true.” The Bible is filled with them. To be first we must be last, to live we must die, those who serve will be exalted. Perhaps, though, none are quite as complex as the statement that Jesus is one man, fully human, yet fully divine, taking part in the triune God.

However, we must also realize that we are dealing with an ultimate mystery, which can be considered but never truly grasped, which can be contemplated, but never adequately explained. As much as we would like to try, we have to recognize that our words and minds are not sufficient to completely fulfill the task that has been set before us. However, this cannot stop us in trying to clarify what we mean when we describe Jesus as having a “God-manhood.”

To say it is easy to explain one side or the other of Jesus is an overstatement. Yet, as most heresies will show us, our rational will point us towards one or the other.

“Whenever the attempt is made to bring Christology to a logical conclusion, and formulate it, the difficulty of avoiding Ebionism or Docetism, Nestorianism or Monophysitism, which stand on either side . . . will present itself.”(Christian Theology, H. Orton Wiley, page 171)

We cannot completely comprehend how a man can be fully God and fully man. Yet, that is the paradox that the Bible points us to, and that the tradition of the church has affirmed. Nevertheless, it is easy to power out of one ditch only to stumble blindly into another. Specifically, in the current evangelical church, we have over emphasized the deity of Christ and we have regulated his humanity to the sidelines. However, if that is the case within conservative denominations, the majority of the mainline ones have made his divinity look like an underachieving bench warmer.

“ . . . The most fundamental issue, the most basic problem is the distinction that is made between the Father and the Son. All Trinitarian theology ultimately hinges on this distinction, and this distinction, as we are all well aware, has been variously interpreted in the history of Christian thought . . . Why should we posit two terms, Father and Son, in the Godhead? How could the Father and the Son be God and yet be One God? In what way do they differ?”( Aspects of the Theology of Karl Barth, William P. Anderson, page 33)

Where Barth struggles with this distinction between the Father and the Son, I pose the same to be discussed between the divinity and humanity of Christ, is most difficult in Trinitarian theology. I would speculate that these very same questions affect one’s Christology. How can Jesus be fully man and fully God? Why do we posit two terms, humanity and divinity? How can the humanity and divinity be Christ and yet Christ be one person? In what ways do these differ?


This part came quicker than the next few will I think. But it gives a start to what questions I want to answer and a peek into why I think it's more difficult than some of us make it out to be