101. (vii) THUS GOD BECAME MAN, AND MAN GOD, IN ONE PERSON.
It follows that Jehovah God became man and man became God in one person as the consequence of all the previous propositions in this chapter, and particularly these two: Jehovah the Creator of the universe came down and took upon Himself human form, in order to redeem and save mankind (see above 82-84); and the Lord by redeeming acts united Himself with the Father, and the Father reciprocally and mutually united Himself with the Lord (see above 97-100). That reciprocal union makes it obvious that God became man and man God in one person. The same consequence follows from the union of each resembling the union of soul and body; this is in agreement with the faith of the church to-day as stated in the Athanasian Creed (98 above). It is also in agreement with the faith of the Evangelical churches as stated in their leading book of orthodoxy known as the Formula of Concord. In this the doctrine is strongly supported both from Holy Scripture and from patristic literature, as well as by arguments, that Christ's human nature was raised to Divine majesty, omnipotence and omnipresence; also that in Christ man is God and God is man (see pp. 607, 765 of that book).
[2] Moreover it has been proved in the present chapter that Jehovah God in respect of His Human is called in the Word Jehovah, Jehovah God, Jehovah Zebaoth 1
, as well as the God of Israel. Therefore Paul says that in Jesus Christ all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9); and John says that Jesus Christ the Son of God is the true God and everlasting life (1 John 5:20). The Son of God in its true sense means His Human (92ff above). Moreover Jehovah God calls both Himself and His Son Lord, for we read:
The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, Psalms 110:1.
and in Isaiah:
A child is born for us, a son is given to us, whose name is God, the everlasting Father, Isaiah 9:6-7.
Son also means the Lord in respect of His Human in the Psalms of David:
I will bring news of a decree, said Jehovah. You are my son, to-day have I begotten you. Kiss the son, so that he may not be angry and so that you do not perish on the way, Psalms 2:7, 12.
This does not mean a Son from eternity, but the Son born in the world, for it is a prophecy of the Lord's coming. This is why it is called a decree, news of which Jehovah gave to David. Earlier in that Psalm it says:
I have anointed my King over Zion, Psalms 2:6.
and later:
I will give him the nations for an inheritance, Psalms 2:8.
This proves that 'to-day' does not mean from eternity, but in time, for with Jehovah the future is present.
Imibhalo yaphansi:
