WRONG THEORIES CONCERNING CHRISTS' HUMANITY

WRONG THEORIES CONCERNING CHRISTS' HUMANITY

 

Theory of Unreal Humanity

Ancient form: Docetism. This Gnostic philosophy insisted that matter is evil. God, being infinite, could not become contaminated with material substance, and therefore could not become incarnate. Christ must have had only the appearance (dokeo ) of material flesh. "Extreme Docetism held that Jesus was not human at all but was merely a prolonged theophany, while moderate Docetism considered Jesus the natural son of Joseph and Mary, upon whom Christ came at the time of baptism. Both forms of heresy are attacked by John in the First Epistle (1 John 2:22; 4:2,3; 5:5,6)." Ryrie, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p, 1464.

"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."

"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."

"Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth."

 

 

Modern form: Christian Science. Mrs. Eddy insisted that matter is not real and flesh is a "delusion of the mortal mind".

Theory of Incomplete Humanity

Ancient form: Apollinarianism. Apollinaris (310390) divided man into body, irrational soul, and rational soul (intellect). The incarnation involved the replacing of the rational soul of a human being with the eternal spirit of the Logos. This heresy was condemned at Constantinople in 381. As Gregory of Nazianzus expressed the problem: "The unassumed is the unhealed." In other words, if the incarnate Christ did not have a human mind, this aspect of our sinful nature could not have been redeemed at Calvary.

Modern form: In the 19th century, Henry-Ward Beecher in the United States and some European scholars (Hofmann, Ebrard, and Gess) taught that Christ assumed a true human body at the incarnation, but not a human soul or spirit. See A. H. Strong, Systematic Theology, p. 686. Thus, only our body was redeemed!

PRACTICAL VALUES

Satisfies man's yearning for a Mediator Who is truly and fully human. During the Middle Ages the humanity of Christ was not clearly taught, so people turned to Mary and the saints as mediators. Maryology and etc.