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NASB | John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 4:24 "God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." |
Subject: Jesus has two nature but yet he is one. |
Bible Note: Hello It'sMe, I appreciate your reponse, but don't think it's simply a matter of understanding scripture in the way we are led:-) Ultimately, it's a matter of: what does scripture teach! I believed up to 2 years ago that Christ, when He ascended entered the spiritual realm and ceased being human. However, when challenged by a good man and biblical scholar, realized my belief had been more based on assumption than reasoned thinking and scripture! The more I've studied it and looked into orthodox views, historically, the more I agree. With that said, here's my reply: 1. Where does Paul say "he knew Him as a man" in this text? He just calls Him, "...the man Christ Jesus". It is further descriptive of Christ and is the subject here! 2. You are correct with Heb. 2:14 being past tense. However, that doesn't imply He gave up His humanity. Vincent writes: The verb only in Hebrews and Paul. The distinction "were partakers" is correctly stated by Westcott; the latter marking the characteristic sharing of the common fleshly nature as it pertains to the human race at large, and the former signifying the unique fact of the incarnation as a voluntary acceptance of humanity." 3. He was clearly "put to death in the flesh". That still has nothing to do with Him shedding His humanity?! As to the qualifications of a Mediator, you'd be at odds with scripture to state otherwise:-) Can you demonstrate why not? Hodge writes this in reference to His human qualification: "1. He must be a man. The Apostle assigns as the reason why Christ assumed our nature and not the nature of angels, that He came to redeem us. (Hebrews 2. 14–16). It was necessary that He should be made under the law which we had broken; that He should fulfil all righteousness; that He should suffer and die; that He should be able to sympathize in all the infirmities of his people, and that He should be united to them in a common nature. He who sanctifies (purifies from sin both as guilt and as pollution) and those who are sanctified are and must be of one nature. Therefore as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He also took part of the same. (Hebrews 2. 11–14.)" "These qualifications for the office of mediator between God and man are all declared in the Scriptures to be essential; they all met in Christ; and they all were demanded by the nature of the work which He came to perform." "As it was necessary that Christ should be both God and man in two distinct natures and one person, in order to effect our redemption, it follows that his mediatorial work, which includes all He did and is still doing for the salvation of men, is the work not of his human to the exclusion of his divine nature, nor of the latter to the exclusion of the former. It is the work of the theanthropos, of the God-man." The main challenge is this: Can you provide a scriptural basis to show Christ ceased being a man? Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |