One of the greatest mysteries of Christianity is the person of Jesus of Nazareth: Was he really the incarnated God of the Jewish faith? Or was he just a charismatic gentleman who charmed the crowd?
Needless to say, these questions have haunted the minds of Christians for centuries. Luckily, the Lord God did not leave us afloat on an ocean of mysticism – instead, He gave us the written testimonies of Jesus’ comrades and the writings of the Prophets of Old to guide inquire of curious minds.
The conclusion: Jesus of Nazareth was BOTH fully human and fully divine. He was – or rather – IS the incarnate God who came down to earth to break the hold of sin and death over all of creation. How it works is a mystery that needs not be investigated or uncovered. Instead, we are to rejoice in the tension of the God who carried enough for us that He broke the chains that bind us.
Sadly enough, some people choose not to embrace the tension of the incarnate Creator – resulting in the reduction of the mystery.
Last week we looked at the most common reduction among Western Christianity: “Limiting the Humanity of Jesus.” Today we will explore the other side of the reduction coin, the limiting of the divine nature of Jesus.
Reduction #2: Limiting the Divine Nature of Jesus
In the 18th Century, Christian European scholars started looking at the ministry of Jesus through the eyes of modern historical methods – namely they started looking at the historical and cultural context in which Jesus lived while looking at the Gospel text with a critical eye. Continue reading The Tension of Incarnate God – Part 2
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