Session 10: Christology - The Humanity of Christ in the Bible
Posted by: carrie in Spring 2008Spring 2008 Online Certificate Students:
View all sessions below. Then log all your comments, questions, discussion question answers, criticisms, or thoughts below. Time spent in the comments section will apply toward your one hour of community time per week. To download audio sessions, visit the course homepage on the TTP site. The next session will be posted each Wed.
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This is not the place for general discussion and questions. Go to the foyer for general discussion and refer to the FAQ on the right for question. Time spent in the comments section will apply toward your one hour of community time per week. To download audio sessions, visit the course homepage on the TTP site. The next session will be posted each Wed.
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What are the implications of Christ’s humanity in Scripture? Did Christ divest Himself of His divine attributes? If not, why didn’t He know the time of His coming? Could Christ have sinned? If not, were the temptations that He faced real? These questions have caused great debate throughout the history of the Church. During the course of this session, the student will enter into the struggle that these questions evoke. Upon completion of this course, the student will be more aware of current issues in Christology.
What do the Scriptures say about the humanity of Christ?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (39) Why was Christ born of a virgin?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (27) What does it mean that Christ "emptied" Himself?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (26) Was Christ able to sin?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (26)
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April 2nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
1. Discuss the options listed for the reason for the virgin birth. Which one do you agree with most?
The 5th point, that Christ would not have imputed sin is the strongest argument for me. Certainly, the other points are very important and relevant. However, we need to be clear that Christ could be fully God and fully man. In order to be fully man, He had to go through all the stages of life of a man. In order to be fully God, He could not be tainted with sin or have a sin nature. Therefore, the virgin birth is a necessity in the advent of Christ.
2. Why do you think that the Scriptures do not explicitly say why Christ was born of a virgin?
I think the point that is trying to be made is that the conception of Christ was a miracle. To say that Christ was born of a virgin, may open up the doors to some options that critics will have with Christ’s humanity. I believe that the doctrine of the virgin birth is rather clear in Scripture and alternate explanations are very poor.
3. Liberal Christians have traditionally rejected the notion of a virgin birth. Conservatives have made it a test of orthodoxy. How would you explain the veracity and necessity of the virgin birth to someone who rejects it saying that it is unnecessary and impossible?
I would respond with much of the points we discussed in class. The virgin birth is a necessity so that Christ did not have a sin nature and could thereby be a perfect and acceptable sacrafice for our sins. Had he had a human father, He could not be perfect or have been a perfect sacrafice for us on the cross.
4. Do you believe that Christ ontologically divested Himself of His deity? Is this possible? Why or why not?
This is a hard question to answer and semantics are very important. I believe that Christ certainly remained ontollogically God, yet was able to divest Himself of those abilities in order to live a human life. The mechanics of how this is done I do not understand, however, I believe that is what Scripture teaches. Christ certainly came under the arch during His time on earth and subjected Himself to the human experience, in one way or another that is a humbling and lessening of all who He is.
5. Do you believe that Christ, in the kenosis (emptying), 1) chose not to utilize His divine attributes or 2) that He did not have access to them any longer? How did this help you to understand that Christ, as the second Adam, truly represented us, living the life that we could not live?
I believe that Christ chose not to utilize His divine attributes. When Satan tempted Christ, He tempted Christ to use His divine powers to help Him with His human experience. I do not think the temptation would have been real, had the possibility for Christ to use His powers existed. In this way, Christ laid aside his divinity for humanity in order to be the perfect sacrafice on the cross fo rus.
6. Do you believe that Chirst could have sinned? Explain.
No, I feel that Christ, having no sin nature, endured temptation to demonstrate and prove that He could not sin. In this way, He demonstrated that He was a perfect sacrafice for us, and He solidly proved that He was without sin, by undergoing the full weight of temptations.
7. How was your thinking challenged the most by this lesson? Explain.
This entire class has been philosophical. I have enjoyed the mind-bending that takes place quite a bit. I have certainly learned more about Christ and who He is and how He can sympathize with us and I certainly appreciate more of Christ’s humanity more.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:52 pm
TR -Week 10– Group Discussion Questions;
1. The virgin birth demands understanding. The reasons for Christ to be born of a virgin are many and most are equally weighted in importance. From Isaiah’s prophesy in Isa. 7:14, to the uniqueness of being born of a virgin. They all speak of His deity and His humanity. I agree with all of them.
2. So much of the Bible is a historical account, not a “why” book. Many why’s are gathered thru linking verses and prophesies, but it doesn’t seem that the virgin birth gets explained. With that said, I’m not really sure why it’s not explicitly explained.
3. I would point to all 5 reasons presented as to why the virgin birth is critical.
4. It makes sense that Christ would ontologically divest himself of His deity while here in a human form. He needed to experience all that we do and we need to know how human He was while representing us. The more similar to our lives and feelings, the more we relate to Him and His sacrifice.
5. I think He chose not to utilize His divine attributes to remain human yet sinless. He chose not to sin even though He could have. Unlike Adam who did sin.
6. I do think He could have but didn’t. He’s is God after all, He can do whatever He wants, including sin.
7. The challenge for me in this lesson is knowing that the virgin birth is not explicitly mentioned, yet Theologians have done a remarkable job at helping us walk thru the need. It still is a fuzzy subject needing more study and wisdom.
April 4th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
10. Christology: The Humanity of Christ in the Bible-Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the options listed for the reason for the virgin birth. Which one do you agree with most?
Clearly Isa 7:14 is the strongest option for the virgin birth. God’s word must be fulfilled. The other items listed are important aspects of the virgin birth, but not totally critical as is the fulfillment of prophecy.
2. Why do you think that the Scriptures don not explicitly say Christ was born of a virgin?
I will answer that question with a question. Are we misunderstanding or reading the passages based on our “modern man” understanding of the original language?
Matthew and Luke “explicitly” mention the virgin birth. I t seems that the early church did not consider the virgin birth as an essential to the faith in Christ’s divinity.
3. Liberal Christians have traditionally rejected the notion of a virgin birth. Conservatives have made it a test of orthodoxy. How would you explain the veracity and necessity of the virgin birth to someone who rejects it saying that it is unnecessary and impossible?
Rejecting the virgin birth reduces Jesus to nothing more than “a great teacher and example for us.” Therefore, force Christianity into mediocrity which would fit nicely into the pluralistic, post-modern worldview. So, it is totally necessary and essential that the virgin birth occurred. It is only “impossible” if Christianity has been demeaned into nothing more than a social movement.
4. Do you believe that Christ ontologically divested Himself of His deity? Is this possible? Why or why not?
No I don’t think Jesus divested Himself. I see through scripture that he willfully allowed his humanity to receive the greater recognition and observation. The hypostatic union in and of itself would not allow or even tolerate a divested God/man. Again, if he would of divested Himself our savior would be nothing more than just another guy making claims of delusion.
5. Do you believe that Christ, in the kenosis, 1) chose not to utilize His divine attributes or 2) that He did not have access to them and longer? How does this help you to understand that Christ, as the second Adam, truly represented us, living the life that we would not live?
I believe He chose not to utilize His divine attributes so that Satan’s defeat would be complete and eternal. This shows us how much God really wants us to be with Him and that He allowed Himself to belittle Himself to our level. In our post-modern culture where being number one and the narcissistic indulgences are counter to anything that suggest one debasing onesself.
6. Do you believe that Christ could have sinned? Explain.
The man side of Jesus possibly could have sinned but, the God side made this completely impossible since scripture tells us that God cannot sin.
7. How was your thinking was challenged the mostby this lesson? Explain.
Ove the years we learn about Jesus as God and man. For me I accepted this without much question. This lesson has forced me to go beyond acceptance and forced me to understand the hypostatic union and what it entails. This was a great
April 6th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
1. Each of the reasons for the virgin birth is valid, so I keep tossing them around trying to narrow it down to one. I guess I find the strongest reason to be that it points to the uniqueness of Christ. Each of the other reasons listed could fall under that category.
2. If an explanation were given in Scripture as to why Christ was born of a virgin, it might actually dilute its’ importance. The way in which Christ was conceived was spectacular; therefore, the event speaks for itself. Also, would more people believe if an explanation were given? I don’t think so. So, an explanation may not have been warranted.
3. I think the virgin birth was a necessity in a number of ways: 1) it fulfilled prophecy, 2) If Jesus just appeared without being born and living his life as we do, he wouldn’t be fully man. On the other hand, if he were conceived in the usual way, it would be more difficult to accept his divinity. Being born of a virgin attested to Christ’s deity, which I think is more difficult than proving his humanity. 3) it made it possible for Christ to be born without the inherited sin of Adam. Rejecting the virgin birth as impossible indicates a lack of belief in God or in his sovereignty. If you believe God created our universe, but find the virgin birth impossible, it is contradictory, because God can do anything (assuming it doesn’t go against his nature or doesn’t follow the law of contradiction).
4. I don’t think he divested himself of his deity. If he did so, it seems he would just be a man, rather than fully man and fully God.
5. I believe Jesus had access to his divine attributes, but chose to utilize his divine power only in ways that glorified God or to accomplish his mission. This clearly models the life that we could not live. He showed great humility and perfect character by the way he lived his life and also because he didn’t utilize his divine attributes in ways that were self-serving.
6. That’s a tough one. Christ could have sinned since he was human. But being human doesn’t mean that we have to sin. It doesn’t define us as humans. Adam and Eve were still human before they sinned. I’m still human even in those moments when I’m not sinning. So, being human he experienced human emotions, weaknesses, struggles, temptations etc, but perhaps his divine nature provided the willpower to overcome.
7. Trying to understand whether or not Christ could have sinned is very challenging and also learning more about the importance of the virgin birth was very interesting. Thank you to Rhome and Michael for your excellent instruction and to my classmates for all the wonderful perspectives!
April 11th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Session 10 Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the options listed for the reason for the virgin birth. Which one do you agree with most?
The possible reasons for the virgin birth of Christ as mentioned in the lesson included (a) “fulfillment of prophecy, (b) to point to the uniqueness of Christ, (c) to substantiate His deity, (d) to substantiate His humanity, (e) so that He would not have imputed or inherited sin, and (f) so that He might be the ‘second Adam’, undoing the failures of the first Adam, (recapitulation)”.
Of these, I agree with most of them but I do have problems with (e). I would have to say I most agree with (f). As Adam was directly created by God, it was necessary that Jesus’ birth also have an element of direct divine creation rather than of purely human origin. The one I agree with least would be (e) as I believe it would have been impossible in any way for Christ to have imputed or inherited sin.
2. Why do you think that the Scriptures do not explicitly say why Christ was born of a virgin?
In the two accounts of Matthew and Luke it is clearly stated that Jesus was born of a virgin but the reasons why are not so explicit but are rather implied in other Scriptures, in much the same way that the doctrine of the Trinity is.
3. Liberal Christians have traditionally rejected the notion of a virgin birth. Conservatives have made it a test of orthodoxy. How would you explain the veracity and necessity of the virgin birth to someone who rejects it saying that it is unnecessary and impossible?
That’s a pretty big problem, given that a liberal would more than likely not believe in the inspiration of Scripture as we evangelicals understand it. However as to the veracity of the virgin birth I would point to the prophecies of Isaiah and the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke. Matthew emphasized the fulfillment of prophecy and both writers clearly stated that Mary was a virgin. The Mosaic Law required that the truthfulness of a matter was to be established by at least two or three witnesses (e.g. see Deuteronomy 19:15 and 2 Corinthians 13:1). As to the impossibility of the virgin birth, liberal theology dismisses the virgin birth because there is no natural way this could have occurred. They completely reject the miraculous and do not believe God when He rhetorically asks “is anything too difficult for the Lord?” (Genesis 8:14)
4. Do you believe that Christ ontologically divested Himself of His deity? Is this possible? Why or why not?
Christ could not have ontologically divested Himself of His deity. God cannot cease being God and therefore this is impossible. If this had happened, then all the incommunicable attributes of God would have fallen like a line of dominoes.
5. Do you believe that Christ, in the kenosis (emptying), 1)chose not to utilize His divine attributes or 2) that He did not have access to them any longer? How does this help you to understand that Christ, as the second Adam, truly represented us, living the life that we could not live?
I go with the first option. Being God, He could have chosen not to have access to His divine attributes while on earth but I don’t believe that to be the case. He chose to limit Himself though so that He could truly experience what we go through in life. I believe He felt keenly every temptation that we all face in a much greater way than any of us ever could.
6. Do you believe that Christ could have sinned? Explain.
Absolutely not, for once again, this goes back to the divine nature that Jesus has. He faced temptation not to see if He could fall but rather to demonstrate that He could not.
7. How was your thinking challenged the most by this lesson?
That would be when the impeccability of Christ was discussed. The question was raised, “Was Christ able to sin?” To this question were raised two possible answers: (1) Yes, but He was able not to sin and (2) No, He was not able to sin. Struggling with these ideas was a rewarding experience.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Just an FYI for my Trin Pals. This link is to Mark Driscoll’s Blog on the Trinity, part of his Doctrine Series. Don’t tell CMP I posted this as he will give me a hard time.
http://voxpopnetwork.com/vision/2008/03/31/the-trinity/
April 15th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Group Discussion Questions #10
1. Discuss the options listed for the reason for the virgin birth. Which one do you agree with most?
All of the six options are equally necessary to fulfill, point to and substantiate the necessity of the virgin birth.
2. Why do you think that the Scriptures do not explicitly say why Christ was born of a virgin?
Evidently, the writers were not led to speak upon the basic truth of the virgin birth.
His birth does fulfill prophecy, but evidently God did not feel necessary to inform us of other reasons.
3. Liberal Christians have traditionally rejected the notion of a virgin birth. Conservatives have made it a test of orthodoxy. How would you explain the veracity and necessity of the virgin birth to someone who rejects it saying that it is unnecessary and impossible?
Prophecy must be fulfilled upon this point, or God would not be God. It cannot be any other way. Past prophecy, the other 5 possible reasons for the virgin birth are important towards substantiating Jesus’ divinity.
4. Do you believe that Christ ontologically divested Himself of His deity? Is this possible? Why or why not?
No, I do not believe He divested Himself of His deity. He gave up his authority and humbled himself by becoming human and serving mankind. He is fully God and fully man. Understanding how the hypostatic union works, now that is another question.
Christ was unique, one of a kind, I have to take this on faith.
5. Do you believe that Christ, in the kenosis (emptying), 1) chose not to utilize His divine attributes or 2) that He did not have access to them any longer? How does this help you to understand that Christ, as the second Adam, truly represented us, living the life that we could not live?
I am going to leave this question for another day. There is some dimensions of His Divinity that possibility could not be fully realized, such as omnipresence, since He was located in a human body, but other attributes He definitely retained. So, I am not sure either option is the right one.
6. Do you believe that Christ could have sinned? Explain.
No, I do not. God planned for the salvation of mankind before the world began.
He was unique being born without the sin nature of Adam. The combination of being God and not having the sin nature of Adam, make disobedience impossible.
7. How was your thinking challenged the most by this lesson? Explain. I have been struggling with the passage in Philippians, in which He empty’s himself. I am not comfortable at this point as to its meaning.