I was late for my next teaching engagement. While racing through the crowded halls of College Park Church in order to get to my basement classroom I was abruptly stopped by an elder. He told me that he had a theological question. I was known as the resident theologian of the church, and so I was used to receiving such requests. Sensing his urgency, I resigned myself to being late to my class in order to help a friend.

Realizing he had my attention, he posed his question. With a hint of embarrassment he asked, “Is Jesus still human?”

“Why do you ask?”

“This topic came up in discussion in the class I just taught.”

“What conclusion did the class come to?”

“Generally speaking, the class agreed that Jesus was no longer human.”

I asked him, “What do you think? Do you think they are right?”

“I agree with my students’ conclusions, but I thought I would ask you for your opinion, just to make sure. Quite frankly, it just seems odd to me that Jesus would still be human.”

Unable to hide my shock and dismay over his conclusions any longer, I responded briskly and harshly, “The answer you have given is absolutely wrong. It is a fundamental denial of the gospel.”

He was clearly taken aback by my answer. As he fumbled to find words, I excused myself and hurried along to my class.

Is Jesus Still Human?

The elder who asked me this question is a good man. He is faithful, full of integrity, a loving father, and a devoted church leader. He possesses every quality that you could ask for from a spiritual leader.

Yet, in spite of this man’s impeccable character, I was shocked by his conclusion that the continued humanity of Jesus is somehow “odd.” It made me wonder: What is it about the contemporary gospel that makes this conclusion possible? How could a Christian who claims to be orthodox in the faith be unsure of that which is the most important aspect of the Christian gospel?

I am no longer shocked by such conclusions. For many Christians, the continued humanity of Jesus has little, if any, significance. This is tragic and must be corrected if we are to do justice to God’s saving work in Christ. Without the humanity of Jesus – not just during his earthly ministry, but now in his heavenly ministry – there is no Christian salvation.

Union with God

At its most fundamental level, salvation is union with God. “All major religions agree on one thing: the deepest desire of the human person is to get in contact and to live in union with his or her God.”[1] For the Christian, salvation is union with the Triune God through the person and work of Christ. Though we often speak of a “personal relationship” with God as the primary focus of salvation, union with God is even more important, for it is the very basis upon which a personal relationship with God is possible.

Union implies a deep intimate bond. It speaks of the highest level of relatedness that two distinct entities can possess. Union does not result in the loss of identity. It is not absorption or assimilation into another. Instead, it affirms the otherness of the beloved and celebrates his or her uniqueness. It brings two different entities as close together as possible.

The union of husband and wife, the two who become one flesh in the bond of matrimony, is one of the best examples of union leading to personal communion. Union results in a shared life and shared love. It involves participation in the life of another. It knows by love and experience, not simply by analysis and reason. It does not seek to control or manipulate the other; instead, it freely and lovingly receives the other.

Three Divine Unions

As stated above, union with God in Christ is the heart of salvation. For this reason, it is imperative that we take a closer look at three divine experiences of union that form the matrix for salvation: (1) the perichoretic union between Father, Son, and Spirit; (2) the union of humanity and deity in the person of Jesus; and (3) the union between humanity and deity through Jesus and the Spirit.

The three unions are summarized in the theological terms: (1) Trinity, (2) Incarnation, and (3) Theosis. These three doctrines are inseparably bound together at the heart of the Christian faith. When any one of these “unions” is neglected then all are undermined.[2] Unfortunately, a quick glance at contemporary evangelicalism proves that we tend to fall short in each area.

• Though evangelicals do not reject the Trinity we tend to neglect the doctrine and its significance. For some, the Trinity is merely a doctrine to defend, rather than a reality (the ultimate reality!) to experience. Though we still claim the Trinity in theory, in practice, many of us are Unitarians. We profess the Trinity, but we possess no idea why it makes any difference in our lives.
• In our attempt to preserve our belief in the full deity of Jesus, we often tend to underemphasize Jesus’ full humanity and its vast significance in salvation. The Word did not become flesh merely to die. As we will see below, God has assumed humanity forever in the person of Christ for reasons that extend far beyond substitutionary atonement.
• In our attempt to preserve salvation by grace alone through faith alone apart from works, we have underemphasized the fact that salvation is not simply forgiveness of sins. Salvation involves much more than wiping our slate clean.

We must recover the centrality of union with God. In order to do this, we must possess a deeper understanding of the three divine unions mentioned above: Trinity, Incarnation, and Theosis.

The Perichoretic Union of the Trinity

God is one divine being eternally existing as three distinct persons. The doctrine of the Trinity reveals that personal relationship is the fundamental reality of God. The essence of God is the perichoretic union of Father, Son, and Spirit. The divine experience consists of a shared life of mutual indwelling (circumincessio) and a shared love of mutual delight and deferment (perichoresis).

This is the “dance of eternity.” The mutual self-giving, other-affirming, and love-sharing of Father, Son, and Spirit is the constant experience of God. The communion that derives from this union is the source of God’s joy.

The Union of Divinity and Humanity in the Incarnation

We share in the dance of eternity through the second great divine union – the union of divinity and humanity in the person of Jesus. At the heart of the triune mystery resides the greatest mystery of all – the mystery of the incarnation. Since God is transcendent, we expect the divine life to shatter all our human categories. This is exactly what the Trinity does. But to imagine that the infinite, sovereign God would forever unite himself with humanity is absolutely astonishing. Yet, this is the heart of the gospel: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This is the mystery of mysteries!

God is three persons sharing one nature. Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, is one person sharing two natures. The union of divinity and humanity in the person of Christ is called the hypostatic union (see John 1:1, 14; Col. 1:19; 2:9-10).

This great mystery is preserved, but not fully explained, in the church’s ancient creeds. All the terms used in the Chalcedonion Creed (451 A.D.) to describe this union are negative: “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”[3] They do not tell us how the two natures are united in the person of Christ; they simply preserve the revelation that they truly and inseparably are united in Christ without diminishment or loss of either.

The hypostatic union is a new movement within the life of God. It was not always the case that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This happened at a particular point in time. This was not true from eternity past. We must remember this in order to keep in mind the staggering implications of the incarnation for both humanity and deity.

Through the incarnation, God unites humanity to deity. This union is not temporary. It is permanent! And not only is it permanent, it is complete. As one ancient church father put it, “that which is not assumed cannot be healed.” If Jesus was not fully human, that is, if there was some way in which he did not identify with us, then that aspect of our humanity would remain corrupt and diseased. The good news is that Jesus has fully, completely, and permanently identified with humanity. Through the incarnation God has totally embraced the whole of our human nature in order to heal it from its sin and corruption, restore the divine image within us, and transform us into the full likeness of God in Christ by the Spirit.

The hypostatic union proves that God is not simply for us as a sovereign divine power, but with us in intimate union with our humanity.

Theosis: The Transformative Union of Humanity and Deity

The third divine union is the union of humanity with the Triune God through Jesus by the Spirit. This union of humanity with God is the heart of salvation. Through the incarnation, Christ restores and sanctifies humanity, thus making it possible for us to be fully receptive to God’s Spirit. This progressively transforms us into the likeness of Christ. By sharing in the life and love of God through Jesus and in the Spirit, we begin to reflect God’s life and love to others. The ancient term for this glorious transformation of human nature through participation in the divine life and love of the triune God is theosis.

Note how all three divine unions work together. Salvation is the union of humanity (theosis) with the perichoretic union of Father, Son, and Spirit (Trinity) through the union of divinity and humanity in the person of Jesus (hypostatic union).

The Centrality of the Incarnation

In the eleventh century, Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote a book entitled, Cur Deus Homo (Why the God-Man?). In the book, he set out to answer this important question.

Before we consider Anselm’s answer, we must recognize that this was not a new question that had somehow been overlooked by the ancient church. The accepted orthodox answer had been given long ago in the fourth century by Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, in his book, On the Incarnation of the Word. Though Anselm’s answer is the one that continues to dominate Western thought (both Catholic and Protestant), it is not the oldest or the best answer.

Why did God become flesh in Christ? Anselm answered the question from within his own personal context – the context of medieval feudal society. Anselm’s answer was that the God-man was necessary in order that Jesus could die to satisfy a debt of honor owed to God because of humanity’s own sinful shortcomings. This reflected his cultural context that consisted of land-holding feudal lords who experienced dishonor when their vassals failed to fulfill their obligations to their lord.

According to Anselm, only a God-man could fully satisfy the debt of honor owed to God. Since God is the only one able to satisfy God’s sense of justice, God gives us Jesus who is fully God. But since it is axiomatic that God cannot die, Jesus must be fully human as well. Thus, in order to pay humanity’s debt, God had to become human in order to die.[4]

Anselm’s answer continues to influence our contemporary gospel presentations. Our emphasis is usually on Jesus’ death rather than his resurrection. Ask any card-carrying evangelical to briefly summarize the gospel, and he or she will most likely response, “Jesus came to die for our sins.” If the resurrection is mentioned at all, it is usually reduced to the level of proof that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Rarely is the resurrection proclaimed as the supernatural beginning of a completely new creation through the glorified God-man. As another proof of Anselm’s influence, consider how many evangelical Christmas sermons conclude that the most significant aspect of the incarnation is this: Jesus was born to die! Is this the only reason for the incarnation?

Saved From Sin and Saved For Life

There is nothing wrong with proclaiming the importance of Jesus’ atoning death. Jesus clearly came to die for our sins. Anselm’s answer is not untrue. It is simply incomplete. If this is the only answer we possess to the question, “Why the God-man?” we undermine the full significance of the incarnation.

If Anselm’s theory is the whole truth, then Jesus’ job is done. Jesus has paid the debt we owe. His sacrifice has satisfied God’s righteous demands. Since God’s justice has already been satisfied in the past, Christ is no longer necessary for salvation in the present. At the very least, his continued participation in our humanity, begun at the incarnation, is pointless.

According to Anselm, God became human in Jesus in order that he might die for our sins. With this accomplished, Jesus’ work is done, and his humanity is no longer necessary. What further purpose does it serve? Payment for sins and perfect satisfaction of God’s justice is complete.

In Anselm’s theory, Jesus’ humanity is a means to an end, not the end itself. Once the purpose of his incarnation was accomplished, namely, his death to satisfy God’s righteous demands, his continued participation in our humanity is pointless.

Unfortunately, for those of us who have inherited Anselm’s emphasis, we stop here. We assume that salvation has been completely accomplished. We see no real need for Jesus’ continued humanity. Everything necessary for our salvation has occurred in the past. There is no longer any present or future role for Jesus’ humanity.

This would be the case if – as Anselm taught – the purpose of the incarnation was simply to allow God to identify with us in death in order to atone for our sins. But there is more to salvation than simply wiping our sin-slate clean. Our problem is bigger than legal penalties. We are not just guilty and need the gracious gift of divine forgiveness; we are spiritually dead and need the gift of divine life.

Through the incarnation, God addresses both of our needs. As Anselm taught, the God-man came to die for our sins. As Athanasius taught, the God-man came to give us intimate access to the divine life of God. In other words, Jesus came so that we could receive and experience union with God. And he does this through his present glorified humanity which shares fully in the divine dance of the Trinity.

Our view of salvation is often reduced and cheapened by focusing only on Christ’s death. As important as Christ’s atoning death is – and it certainly is important! – it is a means to an end. We have been saved from our sins through the death of Christ in order to be saved for life in God through the risen Christ. Our view of salvation often isolates Christ’s cross from Christ’s resurrection, ascension, sending of the Spirit, and eternal glorification as the God-man. Yet, all of this – not just the cross – is Christ’s work.

The Continuing Significance of Christ's Humanity

When we embrace the full spectrum of Christ’s work, we realize that it is both complete and continuing. It is not accurate to speak of it as solely a past event. It is also continuing in the present. And, because Christ’s completed work on the cross is the secure foundation of it all, it will continue without fail into eternity!

It is necessary that we recover the ancient theory advanced by Athanasius in order to correct our contemporary imbalance. According to Athanasius, salvation is not simply forgiveness from sins. Salvation is the union of deity with humanity in Jesus (hypostatic union) in order that humanity may share fully (theosis) in the divine dance of eternity (perichoresis). Put simply, Jesus’ incarnation makes possible human participation in the life of God. “For that was the very purpose and of our Lord’s Incarnation, that He should join what is man by nature to Him who is by nature God.”[5] The ancients also put it like this: God united himself with humanity in order that humanity may be forever united with deity.[6]

When we recognize that the incarnation is not temporary, but permanent, our understanding of Jesus changes dramatically: “Seated now and forever at the right hand of the Father, inside the circle as a full participant in the dance, is the fully divine Son of God as man.”[7] Before the incarnation, the Word was “face-to-face” with the Father (John 1:1). Now, as a human being, Jesus is “face-to-face” with the Father. The relationship continues, but with a new twist. Jesus has brought humanity with him, making it possible for all humans to be restored to this “face-to-face” relationship. By doing this, Jesus proves to be the “open embrace” of God to us. He both reveals it and makes it possible.

Kathryn Tanner summarizes God’s movement toward us in Christ: “God is not changing God’s relation to us in Christ but changing our relation to God. In the old language of the ancient church, God is not going anywhere when God becomes human; we are being brought to God, assumed into the divine trinitarian life.”[8] As the God-man, Jesus is the only perfect bridge between God and humankind. The ancient message of the church is that new humanity has begun in Christ. Through the union of humanity and deity in the person of Jesus, we approach God and share in the life and love of God – the dance of eternity.

The Embrace of God’s Spirit

How do we personally participate in this divine dance? According to Athanasius, we do so through union with the God-man, Jesus Christ. This prompts another question: How, then, do we experience union with Christ? Through the Spirit that Jesus has given. God embraces us through Jesus’ incarnation and immerses us in the dance through the Spirit.

On the final night of his earthly ministry, Jesus comforted his disciples by telling them of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:16-20)

Jesus promises another Helper. This Helper is distinct from Jesus (“another Helper”), yet he possesses qualities of deity (“He will be with you forever”). It is the possession of the Spirit that will allow the disciples to fully share in Christ’s divine life (“because I live, you will live also”). After Jesus’ resurrection, when he sends the Spirit, they will intimately know the indwelling presence and outstanding pervasiveness of God. “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20).

What was true for Jesus’ disciples is also true for us. Through the Spirit, we participate in the dance of eternity, sharing the life and love of Father, Son, and Spirit. Through the Spirit, we not only find our home in God (“you in Me”) but God also makes his home in us: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23).

With the sending of the Spirit, the open embrace of God extends to its widest possible reach. God is not only for us and with us – God is also in us!

Christ has forever sanctified creation through the incarnation. Christ’s sanctification and restoration of humanity has made it possible for humans to become the dwelling place of God. The most holy place – indeed, the holy of holies – is no longer located in a sacred building separated from the harsh realities of daily life. The most holy place is now located within the hearts of those who have opened their arms in response to the open embrace of God in Christ by the Spirit.

Now, as those who have received God’s Spirit and have joined the dance through the God-man, Jesus Christ, we invite others to share God’s life and love. As partners in the divine dance we call others to share our joy and fellowship. It is this privilege and responsibility that we will discuss in our final session.

© Richard J. Vincent, 2005