Was Jesus Both God and Man
When Jesus was on earth, was he both God and Man?
Jeremy W. Gannon
Contents What the critics say 3 What the early church said: 4 The Apostles’ Creed 4 The Nicene Creed 5 Chalcadean Creed 6 Jesus has two natures -- He is God and man. 7 Jesus is Fully God 7 Jesus is Fully Man 9 Conclusion 12
When Jesus was on earth, was he both God and Man?
What the critics say
There are many who claim Jesus was not incarnate. Various opinions are given to try and explain who Jesus “really” was. Some say he was a great prophet, some say he was an “enlightened” angel, while still others see him as nothing more than a good man. Anne Graham Lotz relates it this way, “The world sees Jesus as a man, perhaps even a good or great man and possibly even a prophet, but still a man." (Lotz, 2000), p. 138. Prison Fellowship International Ministry founder Charles Colson states “The world can accept that we love Jesus—they can even acknowledge the social benefits of religion—and yet they can still think that he is merely a human or mythical figure.” (Colson & Pearcey, 1999), p. 31.
Other religions also try to explain away Jesus without acknowledging Him as God. Hindus have many gods and they view Jesus as just one of those manifestations. “Gandi represented typical Hindu thinking when he said, “I…do not take as literally true the text that Jesus is the only begotten son of God. God cannot be the exclusive Father and I cannot ascribe exclusive divinity to Jesus. He is divine as Krishna or Rama or Muhammed or Zoroaster” (Halverson, 1996), p.97.
More problematic than those who deny that Jesus was divine are those in religious circles who try to bring understanding to their confusion about who He was. Some say Jesus was created by God, others have said Jesus was God only appearing human. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics defines this heresy as Docetism which is “the assertion that Christ’s human body was a phantasm, and that his suffering and
Jeremy W. Gannon
Contents What the critics say 3 What the early church said: 4 The Apostles’ Creed 4 The Nicene Creed 5 Chalcadean Creed 6 Jesus has two natures -- He is God and man. 7 Jesus is Fully God 7 Jesus is Fully Man 9 Conclusion 12
When Jesus was on earth, was he both God and Man?
What the critics say
There are many who claim Jesus was not incarnate. Various opinions are given to try and explain who Jesus “really” was. Some say he was a great prophet, some say he was an “enlightened” angel, while still others see him as nothing more than a good man. Anne Graham Lotz relates it this way, “The world sees Jesus as a man, perhaps even a good or great man and possibly even a prophet, but still a man." (Lotz, 2000), p. 138. Prison Fellowship International Ministry founder Charles Colson states “The world can accept that we love Jesus—they can even acknowledge the social benefits of religion—and yet they can still think that he is merely a human or mythical figure.” (Colson & Pearcey, 1999), p. 31.
Other religions also try to explain away Jesus without acknowledging Him as God. Hindus have many gods and they view Jesus as just one of those manifestations. “Gandi represented typical Hindu thinking when he said, “I…do not take as literally true the text that Jesus is the only begotten son of God. God cannot be the exclusive Father and I cannot ascribe exclusive divinity to Jesus. He is divine as Krishna or Rama or Muhammed or Zoroaster” (Halverson, 1996), p.97.
More problematic than those who deny that Jesus was divine are those in religious circles who try to bring understanding to their confusion about who He was. Some say Jesus was created by God, others have said Jesus was God only appearing human. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics defines this heresy as Docetism which is “the assertion that Christ’s human body was a phantasm, and that his suffering and
Bibliography: Ambrose, I. (1832). Looking unto Jesus: A view of the everlasting gospel. Pittsburgh: Luke Loomis & Company. Colson, C., & Pearcey, N. (1999). How Now Shall We Live. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Halverson, D. (1996). The Compact Guide To World Religions. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers. Hindson, E., & Caner, e. (2008). The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publisherrs. HODGE, A. A. (1866). Outlines of Theology. New York: ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS. Hodge, C. (1873). Systematic Theology. New York: Scribner, Armstrong, and Co. Lightner, R. (1986). Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House. Lotz, A. G. (2000). Just Give Me Jesus. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc. Packer, J. (1993). Knowing God. Downers Grove, illinois: InterVarsity Press. Schaff, P. (1878). The creeds of Christendom: with a history and critical notes, Volume 1. Franklin Square: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, . Shedd, W. G. (1894). Dogmatic Theology. New York: Charles ' Scribners Sons. Wayne Grunden. (1994). Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Intervarsity and Zondervan Publishing. [ 2 ]. Nestorianism is the doctrine that there were two separate persons in Christ, a human person and a divine person, a teaching that is distinct from the biblical view that sees Jesus as one person. [ (Wayne Grunden, 1994) ], p. 555 [ 3 ]