The Man, Christ Jesus

THE MAN: CHRIST JESUS

TEXT: I TIMOTHY 2:5-6

The Bible presents Jesus as both God and Man. In our text, “Man” represents the true, human nature of Jesus. “Christ” represents His Divine nature. In 451 A.D. the doctrine of the two natures of Jesus Christ was declared by the Council of Chalcedon to be what the Bible teaches about the nature of the 2nd Person of the Godhead. The Council aimed to defend the doctrine that Jesus was and is at the same time, truly God and truly man.

In 325, the first ecumenical council (First Council of Nicaea) determined that Jesus Christ was God, "consubstantial" with the Father, and rejected the Arian contention that Jesus was a created being. This was reaffirmed at the First Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.) and the First Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.). The Council of Chalcedon, attended by over 520 bishops or their representatives, made it the largest and best-documented of the first seven ecumenical councils. They met to deal with several heresies regarding the nature of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity.

The Council issued the Chalcedonian Definition, which rejected the notion of a single nature in Christ and declared that He has two natures in one person and hypostasis. In theological terms, this is called “The Hypostatic Union,” from the Greek word hypostasis (which means substantive reality). This means that two distinct natures (divine and human) co-exist truly and in reality, in the single person of Jesus Christ.

The Definition stated: We all teach harmoniously [that He is] the same perfect in Godhead, the same, perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same of a reasonable soul and body; homoousios (same in being, same in essence) with the Father in Godhead, and the same homoousios (same in being; same in essence) with us in manhood ... acknowledged in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”

These churchmen saw clearly what the Bible taught about Christ’s two natures.

As God, Jesus was worshiped. The Wise Men came looking for the baby Jesus and the Bible says they came to “worship Him” (Matt. 2:2 and 2:11). Also, after Jesus walked on water and calmed the stormy Galilee, the disciples worshipped Him (Matt. 14:33), yet as a man, in the whole of chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, Jesus the Man, is worshipping the Father.

When He appeared to His disciples after the resurrection Thomas called Him, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28), and Heb. 1:8 declares, “But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” But Jesus was also called a man in Mark 15:39 and John 19:5. He was called or called Himself the Son of God twenty-nine times in the four Gospels, yet twenty-nine times just in the Gospel of Matthew alone, Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man. As God, He was prayed to by others, yet as a man, He prayed to the Father.

Peter declared that Jesus knows all things in (John 21:17) but just like all human beings, the Bible says Jesus “…increased in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Colossians 2:9 says that all the fullness of God dwells in Him, meaning deity was present in totality in Jesus’ human body. But He said to His disciples after the resurrection, “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see Me have” (Luke 24:39). Jesus did not pretend to be a man. He has two distinct natures in one Person -- not 50% God and 50% man, but one, Holy person -- Divine and human, not mixed, but united without the loss of each separate identity. Very God of Very God and very man of very man.

Throughout my Christian life, I have always thought of, referred to, prayed, and preached about faith IN Christ, which is necessary for salvation, and a required belief if one is to call him or herself a Bible-believing Christian. Still, I was struck recently by the thought of the faith OF Christ. While I have always recognized the full humanity of Jesus, I had never really thought, except in passing, about the fact that as a man, Jesus also had to live by faith. I found quite a bit on this topic, and just purchased the book, “Knowing Christ,” by Mark Jones, one chapter of which deals with the faith of Christ. I also found sermons on this subject by Prescott Jernigan, Thomas C. Hall, and James M. Campbell, an essay by Stephen Wellum on the two natures of Christ, and information at “Gotquestions.org. I’ve drawn on these,” and others and have asked the Lord to help my understanding. I pray it is a blessing to you also.