The
Nature of Jesus Christ and God’s Essence
Eric William
King (Founder of “The Shepherds Way” & “Nugget of Truth”)
Who was Jesus
Christ? Was He God in the flesh? Yes - He was and is. I will now give to those
who study here at “The Shepherds Way” information
and hopefully some understanding regarding this most important issue.
First
we must try and explain just who our monotheistic
God is. He is ONE yet He is also three persons. We call this the “three persons
of the Godhead”. The word “trinity” is
not in the original Scriptures but the word Godhead is and it basically means
the same thing and that is we worship one God in three persons. The true
ancient Christians understood that God is three hypostasis – individuals.
These three
persons of the Godhead are of one
substance (ousia). The Greek word
for substance is ousia and
it can more accurately mean for us essence. As God’s creation we may never become His
essence but we may partake of it through His energies. This happens in the person who truly becomes regenerate (“born from
above” or “born again”). The Christian is “born again” and has received the
gift of the Holy Spirit and thus becomes a “partaker of the Divine Nature”. The
Christian begins to grow in his faith through the process of theosis to achieve apotheosis (true oneness with God through Jesus Christ our
Lord).
The
regenerate Christian lives in two matrixes, the Fallen Matrix and the Divine Matrix.
The Trinity Mystery
The
Trinity is a mystery.
This means that we can never fully grasp or understand our God in fullness. God
is “divided indivisibly”. Though God
is of one substance He is particular in the substance of three persons. This
indeed is the greatest mystery, understanding God Himself.
Though God is
in fact “three persons” at the same time He is much more, He transcends the
idea of person and nature. Simply put, God is Trinity.
I have stated
before and I here state again that the subject of Trinity is Apophatic…something
not grasped by human nature nor able to fully explain within or by any
language.
The Nature of Jesus the
Christ
Jesus is a
particular distinct and Divine Person – the second person of Deity. Jesus Christ is
true God who became true man, He is both man and God at the same time. He is
two natured, both Divine and Human. These natures are distinct. These two
natures are never separated nor mixed with each other, here again we have
mystery.
Though Christ
has two natures this never makes Him two persons. The two natures are united in
such a way that they make up ONE PERSON. These two natures are not confused nor
separate in their properties. Now that Jesus has been resurrected His human
nature has been exalted, glorified.
Jesus
received His human nature when He was born in the flesh through Mother Mary (Christotokos). We stay away from the title “Theotokos” because ultimately God has no
mother. Christ’s two natures are not mingled into one essence but remain God
the man and God the God.
Christ’s
human nature after the resurrection has been exalted above every other created
person or thing and he did not get rid of His human nature but keeps it into eternity. He has two natures but only Himself,
one person existing within the two. Jesus is “two willed” only in the sense that His will is in agreement with God
the Father’s will. He proceeded from the Father just as
the Holy Spirit proceeded from God the Father. (TSW holds to the original Nicene
Creed but we also accept and use the "filioque" version– Greek Orthodox)
It has been
explained by early Christians that “God the Father is the unbegotten, God the Son the begotten
and God the Holy Spirit the proceeding.”
As a human Jesus “laid aside” his majesty and became a humble servant, setting
the example of proper human-God relationship. (Philippians 2:7) He kept His
divinity to Himself and used it only within the will of God the Father while on
earth.
To begin to
understand the “fullness of God” we must look at the Trinity. God the Father
loves us so much that He sent His one and only true Son, Jesus Christ who saves
us, and then sent the Holy Spirit who abides within us.
St.
Irenaeus pictured God
as a Father with both hands stretched out. One arm representing the Son (Jesus)
and the other the Holy Spirit. This is a beautiful picture of our personal God who loves you so very much.
I hope that
this short article helps you to begin to more fully understand how awesome our
God is. Please continue your studies here at “The
Shepherds Way”.
Eric W. King
(Founder of TSW & “Nugget of Truth”) – April 2nd 2020
All rights reserved. Permission has been given to share this article.
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