|
WHAT
PRESBYTERIANS BELIEVE ABOUT THE
INCARNATION? |
|
What
is incarnation?
The word “incarnation” comes from the Latin word incarnatio,
which means “enfleshment,” (from in,
“in” + carnis,
“flesh” or “meat”). It refers to the bodily
manifestation of an abstract or non-physical quality.
Specifically, it refers to the entry of divinity into
human form and life. From a Christian perspective,
incarnation refers to the doctrine that the pre-existent
Son of God (the second Person of the Trinity) became a
human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
|
|
|
Is
the incarnation mentioned in the Bible?
The word “incarnation” does not occur in the Bible.
But Christians did not simply invent this doctrine.
The essential affirmations of the doctrine of the
incarnation are rooted in the Scriptures.
The
strongest Biblical support for the pre-existence of the
Son of God and of the incarnation is found in the Gospel
of John. The Gospel begins with a hymn which refers
to the Son of God as the pre-existent “Word.”
According to this Gospel:
The
Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His
glory, the glory as of a Father’s only Son, full of
grace and truth. (John
1:14)
In
subsequent verses, this “Word made flesh” is
identified as Jesus Christ (John 1:16-18).
Throughout
the Gospel, John speaks of Jesus’ prior existence (6:62;
8:38), His descent from heaven (3:13; 6:33), His coming
from God (16:27; 17:8), and His coming into the world
(10:36; 12:46). The divine origin and pre-existence
of Jesus is emphasized in the following verse:
Jesus
said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham
was, I am.” (John
1:14)
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke both witness that the Son
of God entered into the created world by birth as an
infant, Jesus of Nazareth. According to these
Gospels—as affirmed in the Apostle’s Creed—Jesus was
“conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of
the virgin Mary.” |
|
Is
the Holy Spirit the father of Jesus?
When Scripture witnesses to Jesus being “conceived by
the power of the Holy Spirit,” it is not claiming that
the Spirit is the father of Jesus. This phrase is
not meant to be a biological explanation—it is not
trying to explain the birth of Jesus as a kind of
intercourse between the human Mary and the holy God.
Presbyterians, like other Christians, believe that being
conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit emphasizes that
the Word became flesh not by biological processes but
purely by the will and word of God. The incarnation
of God in Jesus Christ is analogous to the creation itself
when God simply spoke and it was done. |
|
|
What
role does the virgin birth play in the incarnation?
Presbyterians, like other Christians, acknowledge Jesus’
miraculous birth by the virgin Mary. However, we do
not believe that the doctrine of the virgin birth is meant
to be an explanation or a proof of what
happened or how
it happened when God came to us in a human being.
Rather, the doctrine of the virgin birth is a way of
stating the mystery that
the incarnation—that
God’s coming to us in a human being—did indeed happen.
Likewise,
we Presbyterians do not believe that the doctrine of the
virgin birth is meant to imply that Jesus is a
half-breed—that He is neither wholly one of us nor
wholly God in our midst.
|
|
|
Is
Jesus half God and half human?
Perhaps one of the most common misunderstandings of the
doctrine of incarnation is that Jesus had a human body but
a divine soul. This idea asserts that Jesus was a
man “outside” but “inside” He was God. This
misunderstanding of the incarnation is called
“Apollinarianism” and was rejected by the church at
the council of
Constantinople
in 381 AD.
Presbyterians
do not believe that the incarnation means that Jesus is
half God and half human. Nowhere in the Scriptures
is there a claim that Jesus is some kind of superhuman
semi-god—that He is a combination or mixture neither
quite human nor quite divine. |
|
|
Is
Jesus fully human?
Another misunderstanding of the doctrine of incarnation is
that Jesus is divine but that He only “seemed” to be a
human being—that He is God disguised as a man.
This misunderstanding is called “docetism,” from the
Greek verb δοκέω (dokeo)
which means “to seem.” Docetism asserts that
Jesus’ human nature is only a mask which conceals His
divine self. According to this doctrine, Jesus is a
divine being who is not subject to all the limitations and
problems of human existence. Eventually, docetism
was rejected by the church.
Presbyterians
believe that the incarnation means that Jesus is
completely human in all aspects of His life. In the
Scriptures, Jesus’ humanity is evident. He grew in
wisdom and stature; He hungered; He had thirst; He was
tempted to sin; He even suffered and died. With the
exception of sin, Jesus is just as human as the rest of
us. |
|
|
Is
Jesus fully God?
Another misunderstanding of the doctrine of incarnation is
that Jesus was a human being but that his divine nature
was nothing more than being adopted as God’s Son and
receiving God’s Holy Spirit. This misunderstanding
implies that, apart from being a prophet, Jesus was merely
a man whom God had chosen to proclaim and to do His will.
Accordingly, Jesus was a man who was the incarnation not
of God but of a prophetic spirit. Eventually, like
docetism, this misunderstanding was rejected by the
church..
Presbyterians
believe that the incarnation means that Jesus is
completely divine. He is not just a prophet or a
moral hero—He is not just a very godly person. In
the Scriptures, Jesus’ divinity is evident. He
exists with God the Father from the very beginning; He
reigns eternally with the Father; He is “Emmanuel”
(God with us); He is the unique presence of God in the
world. Jesus is just as divine as God the Father. |
| |
|
Is
Jesus two persons?
The tendency to distinguish between the human and divine
natures of Jesus Christ lends itself to yet another
misunderstanding of the doctrine of the incarnation—that
the two natures are of such a distinction that Christ is
really two persons. This misunderstanding implies
that the human nature dwells in the person of Jesus the
son of David and that the divine nature dwells in the
person of Christ the Son of God—that these two persons
act with such harmony that they only seem to be one
person. This misunderstanding was officially
rejected by the church at the council of
Chalcedon
in 451 AD.
Presbyterians
do not believe that the incarnation means that Jesus is
two persons who only appear to function as one. We
believe that Jesus has two distinguishable, yet
inseparable natures. These two natures are not
separated one from the other in two persons. Rather,
Jesus is one person who is both God and human. Like
other Christians, Presbyterians concur with the Definition
of Faith as established at the Council of
Chalcedon in 451 AD.
The
one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only Begotten, is made
known in two natures, without confusion, without change,
without division, without separation. The difference
of the natures is not destroyed because of the union, but
on the contrary, the character of each nature is preserved
and comes together in one person—not parted or divided
into two persons, but one and the same Son and
only-begotten God, divine Logos, the Lord Jesus Christ.
(The Chalcedonian Definition) |
|
|
|
Why
is the doctrine of the incarnation so important?
As
Christians, Presbyterians reaffirm the Chalcedonian
Definition as a statement of faith about Jesus Christ.
We recognize that we would be without hope if Jesus were
either only human or only divine. Because Jesus is
both divine and human, we have confidence that God does
not stand at a distance from us, but has entered into
existence with us. Because Jesus is not God in a
mere human disguise, but is fully human as well as divine,
we have confidence that God truly understands us and loves
us.
The
apostle Paul writes that Jesus Christ, “though He was in
the form of God, did not regard equality with God as
something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the
form of a slave, being born in human likeness, being found
in human form” (Philippians 2:6-7).
Presbyterians
believe that the two natures of Jesus allow us to affirm
two very important aspects of our relationship with God.
The first aspect is that, in the person of Jesus Christ,
God has exalted humanity. God did not make Himself
known to us as an angel or as a superhuman spirit, but as
a human being. In so doing, God places a divine
stamp of approval on human life. In Christ, God is
showing us that our humanity is not something from which
we must escape. Rather, God shows us that our
humanity is a divine gift—a gift which we are to share
with God and with each other—a gift for which we are to
live lives of gratitude.
The
second aspect is that, in the person of Jesus, God has
humbled Himself. God does not consider His goodness
and holiness as barriers to fellowship with humankind.
God is not a prisoner of His own spirituality, but is able
to be God even in a non-spiritual realm. God can
accomplish His will in weakness as well as in strength.
God can accomplish His will by sacrificing Himself as well
as by asserting Himself. And this is precisely what
God accomplishes in Jesus Christ.
We
believe that if we want to know God, then we must look to
Jesus Christ. We also believe that if we want to
know what it means to be a human being, then we must look
to Jesus Christ. This is why the doctrine of the
incarnation is important for Christian faith.
Back to
"What We Believe." |
|
|
