O
oldernotwiser
Guest
My beliefs concerning Jesus Christ are summed up in the Nicene Creed.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things are made, who for us men and our salvation came down from heaven, and was made incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.
While the Incarnation and the person of Jesus are two distinct theological topics I find it difficult to address either without making connections. In entering history God divested Himself of His divine attributes. (Phil.2: 6-8)
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
In doing so He faced the world as the man, Jesus of Nazareth. This man defined himself in terms of The Suffering Servant of Isaiah:
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our inequities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isa. 53:5
This definition was validated by the Resurrection and the witness of the Apostolic Church:
He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things are made, who for us men and our salvation came down from heaven, and was made incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.
While the Incarnation and the person of Jesus are two distinct theological topics I find it difficult to address either without making connections. In entering history God divested Himself of His divine attributes. (Phil.2: 6-8)
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
In doing so He faced the world as the man, Jesus of Nazareth. This man defined himself in terms of The Suffering Servant of Isaiah:
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our inequities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isa. 53:5
This definition was validated by the Resurrection and the witness of the Apostolic Church:
He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.