Living the Christian Life Magazine
This is the great mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh,
”And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. (1 Tim. 3:16)"
a. The two natures.
Since many in our day deny the DEITY of Christ, it is necessary to stress the Scripture proof for it. Some old Testament passages clearly point to it, Such as
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)"
"In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: Jehovah our righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:6)"
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2)"
The New Testament proofs are even more abundant,
"All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal [him.] (Matthew 11:27)"
“ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:18)
“ No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]. (John 1:18)"
b. The two natures united in one Person.
Christ has a human nature, but He is not a human person. The Person of the Mediator is the unchangeable Son of God. In the incarnation He did not change into a human person; neither did He adopt a human person. He simply assumed, in addition to His divine nature, a human nature, which did not develop into an independent personality, but became personal in the Person of the Son of God.
After this assumption of human nature the Person of the Mediator is not only divine but DIVINE-HUMAN; He is the God-man, possessing all the essential qualities of both the human and the divine nature. He has both a divine and a human consciousness, as well as a human and a divine will.
This is a mystery which we cannot fathom. Scripture clearly points to the unity of the Person of Christ. It is always the same Person who speaks, whether the mind that finds utterance be human or divine,
For a fuller study
see
The Doctrine of the Person and Work of Christ
The Names and Nature of Christ
At
Bible Theology Web site
The Natures of Christ.
The Bible represents Christ as a Person having two natures, the one divine and the other human.