excellencies of christ, final assignment

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Donovan Neufeldt

Excellencies of Christ: Final Assignment

The objective of this paper is to take a brief introductory look at the

incarnation, or more specifically, the hypostatic union. The hypostatic union (also

known as the theandric union) is essentially the inseparable joining of God to man

in the person of Jesus, the second person of the trinity. Lest one may think this

subject is similar to any other, in the sense that more study brings one closer to

understanding the whole subject, one must consider that the depths of this holy

subject is unsearchable (though it is our privilege to search it out). The reason the

theandric union is infinitely deep is because the theanthropos is not a just subject,

but a person, and that person is not just a man, He is truly God. Every class,

textbook, or study on this subject, therefore, may be rightly called an

introduction. To those who have gazed at the God-man, it is plain and without

controversy that the mystery is great and that its depths cannot be plummeted (1

Tim. 3:16). This paper does not permit space to develop the themes of fascination

and meditation, but the reader is encouraged to let the information lead him or

her back to the Bible, to ponder, to marvel, to gaze, and to be transformed with a

heart growing in love while beholding this astonishing mystery.

Belief in the divinity of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith, and

what sets us apart from all other religions. Eastern religions and many humanists

believe in Jesus as a good teacher. Muslims believe in Jesus as one of the top five

prophets. Certain cult groups such as Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses believe

in Jesus as leader and savior. All of the above believe in Jesus as a man, but the

confession of Christ as Lord and God belongs to the Christians. In our day it is

especially important to understand the divinity of Jesus, because few will disagree

with Jesus humanity, but declaring His divinity has become offensive and


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unpopular.

John begins his Gospel giving the incarnation the place of greatest

importance. He declares Jesus to be the divine Word, setting forth his pre-

existence with the father, his participation in the creation of everything, then

stating that that same Word who is God (theos) became flesh (John 1:1-3,14). This

Greek word theos (God), which was used to refer to God alone,1

was directly

used on several occasions to unmistakably refer directly to Christ in the epistles.

Jesus is called the eternally blessed God (Romans 9:6), Our great God and

Savior (Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1), and the one to whom God the Father says, Your

throne, O God, is forever and ever (Hebrews 1:8). It is also interesting to note

that when Thomas cries out to Jesus, My Lord and my God (John 20:28) Jesus

does not rebuke Thomas (as the angels, apostles, and prophets have done to

those who tried worshipping them) but actually received, and affirmed Thomas

declaration. The only precedent for this is the theophanies, where Jesus appears

to Old Testament men and women of God as the divine Angel of the Lord.

Worship of Jesus occurred occasionally in the gospels, and became

common the decades following His resurrection, and one day it will be universal.

Revelation 5:8-14 tells of the the four living creatures, the twenty four elders,

innumerable angels, every creature in heaven, every creature on and under the

earth, and all in the sea both worshipping Him who sits on the throne and

worshipping the Lamb (a common title that John uses to refer to Jesus). The same

idea is mentioned in Philippians 2:10-11, which speaks of every knee bowing and

every tongue worshipping Jesus in confession that He is Lord. Isaiah 45 (from

which Paul borrows his phrases) gives even greater clarity to the specificity of

1Hood, Allen. Excellencies of Christ: An Exploration into the Endless Fascination of the God-Man. Kansas City,

Missouri: Forerunner Books, 2006. p. 96.


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what was meant by Lord. The chapter begins with the statement I am the

LORD (YHWH), and there is no other repeated about 10 times, and concludes

with God saying to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath

(Isaiah 45:23). It is unmistakable that Paul is declaring a day to come when

everyone will confess that Jesus is God, that He is YHWH incarnate indeed and

there is no other.

Jesus is shown to clearly believe in and teach His own divinity, which is very

evident especially in the discussion of John 8:48-59. The Pharisees begin with

accusing Jesus of being a demon possessed Samaritan (the most despised person

they could imagine). Jesus corrects them by saying those who obey His word will

never die. Recognizing how extreme such a statement is, they asked, Are You

greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who

do You make Yourself out to be? (John 8:53). To this, Jesus responded, before

Abraham was, I AM (John 8:58). This was an unquestionable claim to be God,

YHWH, the eternal I AM who spoke to Moses through the burning bush. Jesus

enemies were content to understand Jesus as a demon possessed Samaritan, and

may have been troubled if He called himself a prophet or the messiah, yet Jesus

claim to be YHWH, God Himself, was so clearly understood by them that they

picked up stones with which to kill Jesus.

It is also interesting to note the side by side descriptions of the Father and

the Son as recorded by John the apostle. The Father says, I am the Alpha and

Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. 1:8), while the Son of Man says, I am

the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last (Rev. 1:11). Such ascriptions

necessarily require that the Son be both equal in divinity and co-eternal with God

the Father.


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The reason why the divinity of Jesus is absolutely essential to Salvation is

related primarily to the requirements of mediation. Only one who is fully God

could bear the just penalty of our rebellion, redeem us, reconcile us with God,

and overcome the power of death. Only God Himself could overcome the sin

problem, and only a man who is fully God could solve the knowledge of God

problem. In other words, if Jesus is not God and has not resurrected, our faith is

futile and we are still dead in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17). This will be expanded further

in later discussion of the mediator and the theological necessity of simultaneous

divinity and humanity.

The humanity of Jesus is more universally accepted than His Divinity, yet to

the apostles, His humanity was also of utmost importance. There was a time

when Gnosticism was very common, and many accepted the Greek philosophy

that all flesh/physicality was bad, and that all which is immaterial and spiritual is

good. This led to the heresy of Docetism, which teaches that Jesus only appeared

to be human. John also addressed this in his epistles, saying that all who deny

Jesus humanity is a deceiver and Antichrist (1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7).

It seems obvious, but it is necessary to state that the accounts of Jesus

birth and childhood (Matt 1-2, Luke 2) clearly show that Jesus was human. He was

conceived in a young Jewish girl, the virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus developed in her womb and was delivered through the normal birthing

process. To sing, No crying He makes goes beyond what the Bible actually says

and even, perhaps, reveals our own lack of understanding related to Jesus

humanity. The gospels present Jesus as a man with a real body, mind, soul,

emotions, and real human needs. Jesus hungered and thirsted (John 19:28; Matt.

4:2), was tired and slept (Matt. 8:24), and during His crucifixion, Jesus bled,


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with a view of Jesus that is incomplete and incapacitated of the ability to bring

redemption. The four essential parts of this premise (the first two have been

developed and defended already) are the following:

Christ is truly God, He is truly human, He is one person, and there are in

Him two distinct natures (divine and human). The natures are clearly

distinguishable and substantially different, yet undivided, inseparable, and

unconfused.2

Jesus identity as theanthropos (God-man) is both required by scripture

itself, and constantly assumed throughout the New Testament. The incarnation as

well as simultaneous divinity and humanity of Messiah is prophetically developed

even throughout the Old Testament. From the promised seed/ second Adam who

would reverse the curse of the fall and crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15),

to the virgin born Son called Immanuel/ God with us, Mighty God, Everlasting

Father (Isa 7:14; 9:6), to the Branch of David called The LORD Our

Righteousness (Jer. 23:5-6), to the Ruler whose goings forth are from everlasting

(Micah 5:2), to the Son of Man who comes from Heaven to receive everlasting

dominion over all peoples, that they should serve and worship him forever (Dan.

7:13-14), the Old Testament constantly foreshadows and tells us of the person

and work of Jesus, the promised Divine-human Messiah.

The apostles also tell us of this union in no uncertain terms. Jesus is called

the fullness of the Godhead, or deity, in bodily form (Col. 2:9), God manifested in

flesh (1 Tim. 3:16), the One in the very form of God, who came in the likeness of

men, died a criminals death, and will receive universal worship (Phil. 2:6-11), and

the only qualified mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). Paul even states

2Oden, Thomas C. The Word of Life, Systematic Theology: Volume Two (1

sted. San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco,

1992), p. 164.


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that if the rulers would have known Jesus identity, they would not have crucified

the Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8). Jesus being Lord of Glory requires the divine

nature, but crucifixion and death require a human nature. Although the Apostles

did not use the same exact theological jargon to discuss Christology that is used

today, it is more than clear that they believed and taught the doctrine of the

hypostatic union.

The significance of the incarnation and hypostatic union is immeasurable.

The implications are not just ideas and philosophies, but it affects all reality, our

lives, and our eternal destiny in an unimaginable way. The doctrine of divinity and

humanity become exponentially powerful when joined together inseparably. The

distance between us and God is so great it cannot be bridged. Even before the

fall, before sin entered creation, there was still the problem that God was

substantially unknowable. Without the incarnate Christ, how could they truly

trust a being they did not know? I am convinced that this is the reason that un-

fallen humanity could distrust God and eat the fruit in hopes to acquire such

enlightenment and knowledge. Even if the sin problem is set aside, how does one

deal with the knowledge of God problem? In the incarnation of Jesus, God has

become so low, even what we are, so that we might look upon the man, and see

exactly what God is like. When one has witnessed the God-man hanging on an old

rugged beam of wood, torn flesh, eyes full of fire and love, bleeding for our

redemption, how can anyone accuse His heart? How can one not trust Him and

love Him forever? I do not understand how, but perhaps that is why it is called the

mysteryof iniquity. Jesus, the eternal Word has surely revealed God to humanity

(1 Tim. 2:5-6; Gal. 3:20; Eph. 1:10; John 1:18, 14:7-11).

The fall and the sin problem caused by the disobedience of the first Adam


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caused the defilement of all creation, but specifically created a barrier between

God and man, Holy and unholy. Only God himself could provide the adequate

substitutionary sacrifice for sins and bring redemption (2 Cor. 5:19; Heb. 10:11-

12), yet only man ought to make it, and because God is unable to suffer and die, it

is necessary that Jesus, the second Adam, the God-man should make it.3

The incarnation revealed the zealous, passionate, loving heart of God, it

secured and guaranteed the path to regeneration and eternal participation in the

divine life (2 Pet. 1:1-4), it secured Christian love and fellowship (1 John 1:7, 4:7-

11), and it guaranteed the final outcome of history, providing Jesus an equally

yoked bride and providing the Father sons and daughters with whom He may

enjoy fellowship forever (2 Cor. 6:14-18). Through the incarnation, the second

Adam also re-established the human dominion of the Earth (Gen 1:26-28), which

had been lost by the first Adam, as well as the re-joining of Heaven and Earth in

Jesus (Eph. 1:10).4

No mediation could have taken place between God and man,

however, if the Mediator lacked participation in either side.5

In the mystery of the incarnation and hypostatic union, we find a depth of

fascination that will never end, and will forever cause hearts to grow in love for

Jesus. The impact of the incarnation affects us all individually, corporately,

temporally, and eternally. There has never been and never will be a greater gift to

humanity with greater significance.

3Stott, John. The Cross of Christ(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1986), p. 119.

4The above ideas in this paragraph borrowed from:

Hood, Allen. Excellencies of Christ: An Exploration into the Endless Fascination of the God-Man. Kansas City,

Missouri: Forerunner Books, 2006. p. 117-120.5

Oden, Thomas C. The Word of Life, Systematic Theology: Volume Two (1st

ed. San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco,

1992), p. 119.

excellencies of christ, final assignment

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