The doctrine of the hypostatic union states that the two natures of Christ (deity and humanity) are united and cannot be separated. They are united without being mixed and without a loss of separate identity. He remains forever the God-man, fully God and fully man, two distinct natures in one Person forever.
The hypostatic union emphasizes three main facts:
● Jesus has two distinct natures: humanity and deity.
● There is no mixture or combining of the two natures.
● Although Jesus has two natures, Jesus is one Person.
Why does this matter? First, it matters because we must hold firmly to the biblical teaching that Jesus always was and is God. We need to be careful that in our thinking about Jesus, we don’t think that He became less God when He became human. In fact, the last part of that statement isn’t even a very good way of expressing this. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, did not go from being God to becoming human. I prefer to say that He took on or added humanity to His deity. Do you see the subtle difference? Deity was not replaced by humanity or even put into humanity. Humanity was added to deity.
It is important that we hold firmly to the truth that Jesus was, is, and always will be 100% God. We must also hold firmly to the truth that Jesus did take on true, pre-fall humanity. He was 100% man. In fact, remember with me what Hebrews says about the importance of Jesus’ humanity.
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil . . . Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:14, 17 ESV)It is critical that we realize that Jesus is 100% God and that Jesus is 100% human. But then, we must also realize that these can’t be mixed. It may not seem clear to us why this is so critical for deity not to mix with or affect humanity, but, if humanity mixes with deity, it is no longer deity. Ok, a bit confusing? Think of it this way. If the humanity of Jesus mixed in anyway with the deity of Jesus, than deity would be diminished by humanity. Infinite would be polluted by finite. Omnipotence would be mixed with weakness. We could go on. If you don’t get anything else, get this: If Jesus humanity was mixed in anyway with His deity, it would have polutted His deity. Deity is deity. Humanity is humanity. God is God. Man is man.
There is one last important point that Paul Enns states.
Jesus must be viewed has having these two distinct natures, but, He must be viewed as one person. Jesus is 100% God and He is 100% man, and He is 100% one person. How do I make this clear? Well, I can’t. At least not completely. But I must hold on to these truths. Jesus was fully, 100% God. He was fully, 100% man. Jesus was one person. He acted as one person. He did not act sometimes as God and sometimes as man. Every word and action came from the one person, Jesus in the unique combination of deity and humanity.Next: (43) Kenosis
Tonight we are debating with a proponent of the late Colonel Robert B. Thiemes' "two deaths of Christ on the cross" teaching. Thiemes view of the Hypostatic Union is that it was separated when Jesus bore our sins on the cross. They say that Jesus died spiritually when He cried out "My God... why has thou forsaken me". They seem to propose a de-incarnation on the cross. Thiemes was a student of Chafer (DTS) but taught many things Chafer never imagined.
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