The Doctrines of the Trinity

&The Deity of Christ

The Doctrines of the Trinity

&The Deity of Christ

as revealed in John’s prologue

“The Word became flesh…”

Issues and questions this will resolve:

• Reason for the Holy Spirit conception

• Is Jesus truly, fully man?

• If yes, how was He man without the Adamic nature?

• Were His temptations real like ours?

-- Heb. 4.15: [Jesus] has been tempted in all things as we are-- James 1.13: for God cannot be tempted

• Is the Word still fully deity after He becomes flesh?

This view of Jesus is most familiar to us.

Christologically, this is known as the Incarnation.

CommonDivineNature

The

God

The Word

The Holy Spirit

Material Imm

aterial

The Holy Spirit

The Son

The

Fath

er

CommonDivineNature

Most are unfamiliar with John’s opening view of the Trinity (ontological view).

Only Logos became flesh.

Personhood & Nature are distinct

1.14 specifically states that only the Person of the Word became flesh.

CommonDivineNature

The

God

The Holy Spirit

The Word

The Father did not become flesh

1.14 states that the incarnate Word came from the Father.

Jesus said, “I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again, and going to the Father.”

Jn. 16.28

John 17.13 Jesus prayed to the Father, “But now I come to you…”

Jesus spoke of the Father as another person in another location.

The Spirit did not become flesh

In chapters 14-16 Jesus speaks of sending the Spirit to be with believers in His (physical) absence.

John 16.7:Jesus said, “…if I do not go away, the [Spirit] shall not come to you…”

The Spirit and the incarnate Logos are distinct persons of the Trinity.

Clarification…Colossians 2.9 (KJV):For in [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Theotes means:deity; the state of being God.

This verse is not stating that in Jesus dwelt the Trinity bodily, but that in Jesus dwelt the fullness (completeness) of deity.

A synonym, theiotes:Acts 17.29 translated divine2 Peter 1.3 & 4, both times trans. divineRomans 1.20, trans. Godhead (clearly meaning divine nature)

Clarification…2 Corinthians 5.19:“…God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself…”

“In Christ” denotes the relationship of the Father working through the Son to reconcile gospel believers to Himself.

John 17.21 & 23:…that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me…I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity…

Clarification…John 10.30:“I and the Father are one.”

“One” is neuter in gender & cannot modify either of the masculine nouns, Father (or the understood) Jesus.

“I and the Father are one thing; in nature or essence.”

Logos has not always been flesh

Jesus conceived

Law given

King David born

The

God

The Word

The H.S.

Nature

4500 years

Fath

er Son

Spirit

human natureNatureTh

e G

od

The Word

The H.S.

Nature

creation

Logos was Logos became flesh

Was Became“I AM” is eime (I-mee). It means: to be; to exist.

“was” is ane. It is the imperfect tense of eime which means it specifies no beginning point.

Simply: eternal existence.

“Has always been”1.1; 1.2; 1.4

Egeneto means: existence with a definite beginning point.

All things were made…

There *was a man…

The Word became…

“began to be”

Why the word Flesh?Speaking of the Baptizer in 1.6, John wrote,“There came a man…”

Why didn’t John write “man” or “human being?”

Since the Word is a personhood, that which He took on was the human nature only.

The Humanity of Jesus

Personhood of the Word

(essence of identity)

I

BONES BLOOD

BRAIN

ORGANS

MUSCLEHEART

ETC.

SKIN

CONSCIENCE

AP

PE

TIT

ES

MIN

D WIL

L

EMOTIONSETC.

ETC.

Immaterialpart of Jesus’ human nature

Material partof Jesus’ human nature

Flesh used to describe the material part of man’s nature:

The Greek word translated flesh is used in the NT to describe both the material and the immaterial parts of human nature.

Luke 24.39:“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

Matthew 26.41:“Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Flesh used to describe the immaterial part of man’s nature:

Ephesians 5.31:For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.

Matthew 16.17:“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

Since all the attributes of humanity reside within the human nature, the

absence of a human personhood makes Jesus no less human. Terms

like “man” or “human being” would say too much, suggesting the

Word took on not only a human nature, but also a human personhood.

Reason for “Flesh”

In both the Trinity and man, personhood is void of attributes. Attributes reside in the nature.

Material Imm

aterialH

uman N

ature

(flesh)

Acquired human nature

The Holy Spirit

The WordTh

e G

od

CommonDivineNature

The Word, a Person of the Trinity, assumed a human nature.

After John 1.14, the Word, inseparable from the common, divine nature also possesses a human nature.

Grey area representsthe God-Man

Personhood who became flesh

Material Imm

aterial(flesh)

Remains Divine

Acquired human nature

The Holy Spirit

The WordTh

e G

od

CommonDivineNature

Remains Deity

• The Word is not separated from the divine nature• He does not cease to be deity in personhood

Jesus, the God-Man is fully deity with a real human nature.

Incarnational SonshipMaterial Im

material

The Holy Spirit

CommonDivineNature

The relationship between these two eternal persons changes; it is now Father to Son.

The

Fath

er

The

God

The Word

The Son

(flesh)

John 10.30:“I and the Father are one.”

John 14.8:“…for the Father is greater than I.”

Material Imm

aterial(flesh)

The Holy Spirit

The Son

The

Fath

er

CommonDivineNature

He has TWO natures, human and divine.

The God-Man

Jesus has a divine personhood, He knows who He has always been.

John 17.5:“And now, glorify Me together with Yourself, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

John 17.24:…for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Q and A Q Why do the Father and Son seem to have different attributes?

A After incarnation they do. But it is not because of Modalism or Tritheism, it is because the attributes of Jesus’ human nature are different than the attributes of the divine nature. Yet, Jesus still retains the divine nature common to the three Persons.

Q Doesn’t rank exist between the Father and the Son?

A Yes. After incarnation the Son is submissive to the Father. Not because the Son loses part or all of His deity, but because of choice. The relationship between the Word and the God changes from co-equal to that of a Son to a Father.

John 6.35:“I am the bread of life”

John 8.12:“I am the light of the world”

John 11.25:“I am the resurrection and the life”

John 14.6:“I am the way, and the truth, and the life”

John 8.58:Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM!”

The Word incarnate (Jesus) retained the fully divine nature and also possesses a fully human nature.

This is why Jesus can claim that He is, presently, the I AM!