118. II. Elements Of The Doctrine.
II. Elements Of The Doctrine.
1. The Divine Nature of Christ.—As we found in the divinity of the Son a necessary element of the doctrine of the Trinity, so must we find in the divinity of Christ a necessary element of the doctrine of his personality, as it is maintained by the Church. If he does not possess a divine nature through the incarnation of the divine Son, there is not in him the ground of a theanthropic personality, and the Chalcedonian Christology must give place to an Arian, Nestorian, or Socinian Christology. So vital is the question of a divine nature in Christ. However, much of this question was anticipated in the discussion of the divinity of the Son as a necessary part of the doctrine of the Trinity. That discussion need not here be repeated; and it will meet all further requirement that we set forth, in its appropriate place and on the grounds of Scripture, the incarnation of the Son in the person of Christ.
2. The Human Nature of Christ.—The reality, of a human nature in Christ is determined by the presence of human facts in his life. This determination is on a principle which underlies science, and is valid for the knowledge of things in the many spheres of science. In all these spheres we know things by the presence of their distinctive qualities. The principle is thoroughly valid respecting the human nature of Christ. As we know men to be human, thoroughly human, by the presence of human facts in their lives, so by the presence of such facts in the life of Christ we know that he possessed a complete human nature. We are just as certain of this in the instance of Christ as in that of any eminent man of history. So far we have proceeded on the assumption of such human facts in his life, and, therefore, must now set them forth as they are given in the Scriptures. A summary presentation will suffice for the present point.
It is in the meaning of the first promise of a Saviour that he should be the lineal offspring of Eve (Genesis 3:15); and this means his possession of a human nature. There are various Christological facts which, in form and meaning, are in close accordance with this first promise. Christ is the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:18; Acts 3:25); is the offspring of David (Revelation 12:16); is made of a woman (Galatians 4:4); is born of Mary (Matthew 1:21-25); is the Son of man (Matthew 13:37). All these facts mean the reality of a human nature in Christ. He was born in the manner of other children, and, both physically and mentally, grew in the manner of others: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). The great texts of the divine incarnation clearly contain the truth of a human nature in Christ, and can receive no proper interpretation without it. Indeed, the reality of the divine incarnation is the reality of a human nature in Christ. A body was prepared for the Son, that through an incarnation he might redeem mankind (Hebrews 10:5-9). The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). The Son, who was in the form of God, was made in the likeness of man (Php 2:6-7). He assumed a body of flesh and blood in the likeness of our own (Hebrews 2:14). However, as these and other texts of the incarnation must be considered in the direct treatment of that subject they need no formal exposition here.
If it should be said that these texts make no direct mention of a human soul as a part of the nature assumed by the Son, the fact is admitted; but it is not admitted that they mean any restriction to a mere physical nature. That in the incarnation the divine Son did assume a complete human nature, the mind as well as the body, is manifest in many facts in the life of Christ. These facts are such that they cannot be interpreted without the presence of a human mind in him. We recall the fact of his increase in wisdom. This increase shows the presence and development of a human mind. This is none the less certain if we account his growing wisdom specially moral or spiritual in its kind. For such a growth there must be a ground in rational mind. The temptations of Christ, both as presented to him and as endured or repelled by him, show the presence of a human mind. We may specially note the temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-10). Hunger is a physical appetite, and may be suffered by an animal; but only with a rational mind can any one receive or repel such a temptation in the manner of Christ. The other temptations, the one to religious presumption and the other to ambition, whether viewed in the manner of their presentation or in that of their resistance, can have no satisfactory interpretation without the presence of a human mind in him. He has joy of soul: “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, Father” (Luke 10:21). Only with the presence of a human mind can we find the ground of a joy of spirit so thoroughly human in its cast. Christ had sorrow, many and deep sorrows, and such as were specially mental in their mode. It suffices that we recall his deep words on the night of his betrayal: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38). These words must mean a human soul, though his suffering was far deeper than a mere human consciousness. The sympathy of Christ, through a law of common suffering with us, as set forth in the Scriptures, is possible only with his possession of a mental nature like our own (Hebrews 2:17-18; Hebrews 4:15). The perfecting of Christ through suffering, that he might accomplish the work of our salvation, means, and must mean, his possession of a human soul (Hebrews 2:9-10).
3. The Personal Oneness of Christ.—Oneness of personality is intrinsic to personality itself. With the presence of its distinctive facts, and the absence of all contrary facts, we are sure of its reality and oneness. Personality is a most definite form of existence. Its determinations thoroughly differentiate it from every other mode of being. These determinations are well known in our observation of others as well as in our own consciousness. There is nothing of which we are more certain respecting either ourselves or others. By the presence of its distinctive and determining facts in any human life we know the reality and oneness of the personality which they express. To assume a duality of persons in what is formally one human life would be to assume two sets of personal facts as really distinct as in the instance of any two men. By the presence of personal facts in the life of Christ, and the absence of all facts expressive of duality, we know the oneness of his personality just as we know that of any man of historic eminence. He appears among men as one person, talks and acts as one. In his words he often uses the personal pronouns in application to himself, just as he uses them in application to others. Thus I, mine, me, frequently occur in his discourses and conversations. Friends and foes address him and speak of him in like manner. Clearly, they fully recognize the oneness of his personality. There is no intimation of any thought of a duality of persons in Christ.
Such are the facts as given in the Scriptures; and they are the more decisive because, while the personal qualities ascribed to Christ are often in the utmost contrast, there is no intimation of any personal duality. Some have a purely human cast, while others have the perfection of divine attributes. He is at once the Son of God and the Son of man; a newly born child and the everlasting Father; before all things and yet of human lineage; upholder of all things and yet daily subsisting in the manner of men. If the Scriptures mean any duality of persons in Christ, surely that distinction would be made, or at least recognized, in ascribing to him personal facts so widely different. There is no such recognition. Hence his personal oneness must be a truth of the Scriptures.
We may easily verify and illustrate the above statements by reference to a few appropriate texts. The Messiah is at once a child born, a son given, and truly God—The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). The child of Mary is Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). Christ is both the Son and Lord of David—Son in the sense of a human lineage. Lord in the sense of divinity (Matthew 22:42-45). Wearied by his journey, Jesus sat and rested on the well of Jacob, and asked a drink of water of the woman of Samaria. Then, in further conversation, he assured her that he could give her to drink of the water of life, and that whosoever drank of this water should never thirst, but possess the fountain of everlasting life (John 4:6-14). Herein the person who sat by the well as a weary man asserted for himself the resources of divinity. The same personal Christ is of Jewish lineage, as concerning his flesh, and over all, God blessed forever (Romans 9:5). We have given the substance of a few texts out of many. They all concur in ascribing to Christ both human and divine attributes, and yet without any distinction as to his personality. That is ever one.