The IncarnationThe Incarnation

APOL 6543APOL 6543

IntroductionIntroduction• The New Testament affirms both the

humanity of Jesus and the deity of Jesus

• But how can this not be contradictory?– Jesus is both God and man, infinite and finite,

Creator and creature!– How can we reconcile the distinct attributes of

Jesus as both truly man and truly God?

The Christological ControversiesThe Christological Controversies• As a result of the

Trinitarian controversy culminating in…– Council of Nicaea (325)– Council of

Constantinople (381)• The full deity of Christ,

along with his humanity was declared non-negotiable

• Christological controversies that ensued in the 4th – 7th centuries focused on the central question:

“How should we understand the affirmation that Jesus Christ is both human and divine?”

Presupposition to discuss:Natural kinds of things have “natures”/essential properties

Broad Schools of Christological Broad Schools of Christological ThoughtThought

Alexandrian Christology

• Logos-flesh• Monophysite (one-nature)

• Apollinarius• Argued it is impossible

that Christ should have both a complete divine & complete human nature as it would amount to little more than a mere indwelling falling short of a genuine incarnatino

Antiochene Christology

• Logos-man• Dyophysite (two-nature)

• Theodore of Mopsuestia• Conceived of the

incarnation as a special sort of indwelling by means of which the Logos attached himself to the man Jesus at the moment of conception in Mary’s womb

Alexandrian ChristologyAlexandrian Christology• Apollinarius viewed each

human being as consists of…– A body (soma)– An animal soul (psyche)– A rational soul (nous)– The rational soul was

perceived as the seat of sinful instincts

• To the right you will see a visual depiction of Apollinarius’ conception

Nous

Psyche Soma

HumanAnthropology

The Logos

This view was condemned as heretical at a synod in Rome (377 AD)

Antiochene ChristologyAntiochene Christology• It was Nestorius who, as

Patriarch in Constantinople in 428 AD whose name came to be associated with dyophysite Christology

• Alexandrians, forced to admit the existence of a human soul, could not supply a solution but were certain that the Bible does not teach two Sons

Council of Chalcedon451 AD

•The pope, following the lead of Tertullian (against Praexas) declared Christ to be one person having two natures – this settlement marked the zenith of the early church’s Christological speculations

Chalcedonian StatementChalcedonian Statement• We… confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the

same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the manhood, like us in all things except sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the

Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the

manhood, one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-Begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures without confusion, without

change, without division, without separation, the difference of the natures being by no means taken away because of the

union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not divided or separated into two Persons, but one and the same Son and

only-begotten God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ.

Implications of ChalcedonImplications of Chalcedon• The settlement is a ringing endorsement of

dyophysite Christology• The famous series of adjectives (without

confusion, change, division, separation) serves as a reminder that the two natures of Christ must be kept distinct and that the unity of his person must not be compromised

• Thus, orthodox Christology must “neither confuse the natures nor divide the person” of Christ

Later Christological ControversiesLater Christological ControversiesLutheran ChristologyLutheran Christology

• During the Protestant Reformation the old dispute between Alexandria and Antioch replayed in debates between Lutheran and Reformed theologians

• Lutheran Christology through its doctrine of the communication of the attributes seems to violate Chalcedon’s prohibition of confusing the two natures of Christ and thus threatens the reality of Christ’s humanity

Later Christological ControversiesLater Christological ControversiesReformed ChristologyReformed Christology

• Traditional view of the two natures and one person is set forth – the hypostatic union of the natures being declared more intimate than that of soul and body

• As for attributes belonging to divine nature, such as omniscience or omnipresence, Christ did not manifest these properties openly during his state of humiliation (state of conception through ascension) but in his state of exaltation these are openly disclosed and his humanity perfected with its infirmities being left behind

• Problem here is that it tends towards Nestorianism

A Radical New School EmergesA Radical New School EmergesKenotic ChristologyKenotic Christology

• Kenoticism can be thought of as an extension of either Lutheran or Reformed Christology

• Kenoticism is the view that contends that in the Incarnation Christ ceased to possess certain attributes of deity so that he might become truly human– Four main schools of kenotic Christology– But, it represents a non-Chalcedonian approach to

Christology since it holds that the Logos in becoming incarnate changed his nature

A Proposed ChristologyA Proposed Christology

• Reminder: this is an attempt to provide a possible model of the Incarnation – it is not presumed to dogmatize but the goal is that if a plausible model can be expounded then objections to the coherence of the doctrine will be defeated

Postulations of Proposed ModelPostulations of Proposed Model1) We postulate with

Chalcedon that in Christ there is one person who exemplifies two distinct and complete natures, one human and one divine

2) We postulate with Apollinarius that the Logos was the rational soul of Jesus of Nazareth

3) We postulate that the divine aspects of Jesus’ personality were largely subliminal during his state of humiliation

Discussion & ReflectionDiscussion & Reflection

• Class discussion– Reflect additionally on Thomas Morris’ “two minds” view

and analogies shared– View a question from Reasonable Faith and discuss:

http://www.reasonablefaith.org/Does-my-Proposed-Christology-Deny-Christs-Humanity

• If the model proposed makes sense then it serves to show that the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ is coherent and plausible