HOLY TRACK OUTREACH MINISTRIES

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS

Pastor J Djan.

ESSENTIAL CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE: "THE INCARNATION"

INCARNATION:

The Incarnation is a Christological doctrine of Christian orthodoxy which affirms that Jesus Christ who is God, came in the flesh. Jn 1:14, 1Jn. 4:3, 2Jn.1:7. 1Tm.3:16

WHY THE INCARNATION:

The incarnation was necessitated by the fact that the original sin has made every man fall short of the glory of God; for all are born in sin and a sinful blood could not pay for man's sin. The soul that sins shall die (Ezk.18:4)'and to redeem man from death, it required life which is in the blood but not a blood contaminated with sin. This made it impossible for man to redeem himself; so God in His love decided to save man by becoming man in order to shed his holy unblemished blood to pay for our sins and thus redeem us from death. Jn.1:14, 29

KEY WORDS:

Monophysite, Dyophysite, Hypostasis, Theotokos, Ben-Adam, Incarnation, Oneness, Christophany Nestorianism Miapyhsite

Council of Chalcedon, Adoptionism, Kenosis, Arianism , Eutychianism

Docetism.

NATURE OF THE INCARNATION:

ORTHODOXY- The Hypostatic Union, Dyophysitism ,  

HERESY: Appolinarianism, Monopyhsitism, Docetism, Oneness, Eutychianism, Arianism, Nestorianism, 

DEFINITION OF TERMS:

1.Monophysite: (Mono-Gk.=one + phsico-nature). One nature

A Monophysite is a one who holds the doctrine of Monophysitism .

This teaching states that the two natures of Christ (divine +human) have merged to form one nature. This means Christ no longer has two natures but one hybrid nature.

Dyophysite : ( means 2 natures). The one who adheres to Dyophysitism . This doctrine states that, Christ has two natures one is 100% God and the other is 100% human and all are united in one person. The nature of the union is called the hypostatic union. This doctrine is accepted as orthodoxy by the Council of Chalcedon 451AD

HYPOSTATIC UNION: This is an orthodox teaching which means " in Christ, one person subsists in two natures, the Divine and the Human" - Catholic Encyclopedia 

COMMUNICATIO IDIOMATUM : (Communication of idioms.) This term is crucially important in the doctrine of incarnation: We begin from the first premise that Christ has two natures in one person (Hypostatic Union -dyophysitism). Now how these two natures relate to the one person of Christ is what is described in the communicatio idiomatum, and it goes like this: The person of Jesus Christ can claim all the attributes of the 100% man and 100% God. For example God is a Spirit and has no blood but we can say God shed his blood for us. In this sense The person Christ as God is claiming the attribute of humanity - blood. Another example is when Jesus said "...before Abraham was I AM " . You may ask how Can Jesus not fifty years old exist before Abraham who was over 2000yrs ago. It is because the person of Christ can claim the attributes of divinity. In this way we can say God died for our sins even though God cannot die.

APPOLINARIANISM :

The teaching from Apollinaris Bishop of laodecia that:

 Jesus has one nature with a divine mind and human soul but no human spirit. His divinity overwhelmed his human body to the extent that He has no human mind. This heresy was condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 381 AD be cause it denied the true humanity of Christ.

Nestorianism : The teaching of Nestorius that Christ has two natures and two persons instead of one person with two natures. Nestorius was a monk and a priest who became a Bishop of Constantinople. He was condemned of heresy by the Council of Ephesus in 431.AD. because his theory denies a true unity between the divine and human in Christ and thus denies the true incarnation.

EUTYCHIANISM: This is the teaching by Eutychius bishop of Constantinople and it is similar to Monophystism . The variation is that the divine nature of Christ has almost swallowed the human nature into one nature which is almost not human. In other words Christ is not fully human. This was condemned as heresy by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD because it denied the true humanity and the true deity of Christ. Eutychius was excommunicated .

Miaphysitism: Two natures Divinity and Humanity are united into one nature in the person of Christ.

Adoptionism : The teaching that Jesus was adopted by the Father as His Son during His baptism because of his perfect sinless devotion to God.

Docestism . 

Docetists believe that the human form of Christ is only a seeming appearance and not real, therefore He is only a Spirit . This heresy which proceeded from the Gnostics denies that Christ came in the flesh; It denies His suffering and His death. 

ONENESS

The Oneness doctrine also known as oneness Pentecostalism is the doctrine that Is called Modalism. The adherents are also known as the Jesus only. (Baptize in Jesus name only). This heretical doctrine teaches that one God manifests himself in different modes or forms. By this doctrine the Trinity is denied hence God the Father is the same that manifests Himself as the Son and as the Holy Spirit. 

 

ARIANISM:

Arianism originates from Arius, Bishop of Alexandria. He held to the view that: Christ the Logos was created by God and that through this Logos who is a small god that God made the world. He denied the deity of Christ. Arianism was condemned by the Council of Nicaea 325 AD

THEOTOKOS: (Gk) God-bearer, one who gives birth to God. This designation is used for the Virgin Mary.

BEN-ADAM: Son of man

CHRISTOPHANIES:

Christophany is the appearances of Christ in another form in the Old Testament before His incarnation. It is also used for His appearances after His Ascension.  

Some of the clues that point to the pre-incarnate Christ in the Old Testament are that, though the bible introduces him as the angel of The Lord:

(a) He speaks in the first person singular. ("I"). 

(b) He does the prerogative of God such as receiving worship.  

(c) The people to whom He appeared, believed that they had seen God.

Some Scripture verses of Christophany: Gen.16:1-13, Ex3:2-6, Judges 13:1-23

THE ONTOLOGY OF CHRIST.

Christ is truly Man. This means he has all the attributes of the human nature spirit soul and body. He was conceive by the Holy Ghost and born physically by the Virgin Mary

Christ is fully God . This means He has all the attributes of God and has the same substance with God the Father.

His two natures; Divinity and Humanity are united in a hypostatic union in one person.

The person of Jesus Christ can claim the attributes of God and Man as explained in Communicatio Idiomatum as above.