Doctrine 4 Flashcards
What is Doctrine 4 verbatim?
We believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the Divine and human natures are united, so that he is truly and properly God and truly and properly man.
Why is the incarnation and virgin birth important?
Incarnation:
The character and being of God were fully present in the life of the man Jesus,who said, ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14:9). The early Christians adopted the word ‘Incarnation’ to describe this truth. The word is not strictly a biblical term, but literally means ‘embodiment’ or ‘in the
flesh’. (HD, Pg. 81)
Virgin Birth
“This illuminates our understanding of the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. It asserts his divinity as well as his advent in time as a man, made in the image of God. It reminds us that Jesus is both like us and unlike us.”
(HD, Pg. 82)
What does it mean that Jesus two natures are indivisibly united?
“In the person of Jesus Christ the two natures are fully and indivisibly united. Jesus in his divine nature is one with God the Father and in his human
nature is one with us.” (HD, Pg. 86)
What are a couple key questions of debate that come up regarding Jesus humanity and divinity?
“Although belief in both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus is central to the Christian faith it has been the subject of considerable debate throughout the centuries.
There are two key questions:
1) If Jesus was God come to earth, can he have been truly human?
2)Alternatively, if Jesus was a real human being, in what sense can he be considered to be God?
(HD, Pg. 90)
According to John 4:2-3 how can the Spirit of God be recognized versus a spirit that does not come from God?
The Early Church did not find it difficult to accept the divinity of Jesus and the coming of the divine in human form. However, this was often at the cost of accepting his true humanity. Eventually it was acknowledged that defending the true humanity of Jesus is vital to our salvation. Salvation is only possible because God has taken on our humanity in order to redeem it, therefore our total redemption depends on Christ’s total humanity.” (HD, Pg. 91)
“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” John 4:2-3
The Early Church’s take on Jesus divinity:
The Early Church did not find it difficult to accept the divinity of Jesus and the coming of the divine in human form. However, this was often at the cost of accepting his true humanity.
“Two main schools of theology developed, at Antioch and at Alexandria, with two ways of understanding the incarnation. What are they?
“The Antioch school defended Christ’s full humanity and particularly emphasized his moral example.”
The Alexandrian school were particularly concerned with the divinity of Jesus, interpreting it in terms of John 1:14 ‘the Word became flesh.’ Jesus took upon himself human nature and came into the world in order to redeem it.”
/ understanding of Jesus influenced by _1___________ this emphasized the importance of __2__________________ and encouraged ___3__________________
century…the
understanding of the person of Jesus has been fundamentally Influenced by
//1) the Enlightenment.//
This philosophical movement emphasized the importance of
//2)reason//,
encouraged the
//3)development of scientific inquiry,//
believed in universal progress and
rejected the authority of traditional
belief. (HD, Pg. 93)
what is being more valued and what is more easily accepted?
Valued: spirituality
Accepted: supernatural
What is Ebionitism?
derives from the Hebrew, meaning, ‘the poor’…This primarily Jewish sect saw Jesus as a purely human figure, although he was endowed with particular charismatic gifts which distinguished him from other humans.
What is Docetism ?
– “Often it was suggested that Jesus was not actually human, but was God come to earth, having the appearance of a human being…(from the Greek dokeo which means ‘to seem’)
what is . Gnosticism ?
“Docetism is a feature of Gnosticism, one of the persistent heretical sets of belief that came to the fore in the first and second centuries. Most Gnostics held a dualistic view which divided reality into matter and spirit, and saw matter as evil and spirit as the realm of good. They believed that human beings, who were created of matter, …possessed a spark of divine imprisoned with the outward covering of the body. To gain redemption individuals must escape from the earthly prison and be reunited with God.”
what is Arianism ?
…Arius taught that although Jesus was in some sense divine was the first created being. He was not one with the Father and as a created being could not bring salvation.
what is Apollonarianism?
– Appollinarius was a follower of Athanasius and taught that Jesus possessed the body of a man but the mind, or rational being, of God so that he was a miraculous mixture
what is Adoptionism?
This belief maintained that Jesus was adopted at some time in his human life as Son of God. It arose from a misinterpretation of Jesus baptism experience.
