Dogma Wednesday: The Hypostatic Union
- Jared Jenkins
- Feb 3, 2021
- 4 min read
Knowing Christ is, above all, the greatest experience in the world. As Paul states, "I resolved to know nothing...except Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). While some may settle for a casual knowledge about Christ, a true lover will want to know Him deeply in His person and His being. Knowing Christ necessitates knowing exactly who He is as both God and Man--a concept called "the hypostatic union". As we come to understand the hypostatic union of our Savior, we will learn to grow in awe of Him. We learn how to more effectively worship and adore Him, having our prayers shaped by the very magnitude of His being.
What Is the Hypostatic Union?
The hypostatic union is the big theological concept that describes who Jesus Christ is in His nature. The nature of the Second Person of the Trinity has been the subject of quarrels, arguments, and councils since the beginning of the church, when the Gnostics who denied the deity of Christ attacked the Church (see 1 John). Hypostasis (Gk. ὑπόστασις) refers to the idea of "substance." So, as understood in Scripture and Orthodox teaching, Christ possesses two substances or natures, a human nature and a divine nature, which are unified in Him as one person. He is not less of one or the other. He is both truly God and truly Man. Asserting that Jesus is absent of or lesser of the two ultimately rejects who He is.
The hypostatic union finds its roots throughout the New Testament, the first and foremost of which is the first chapter of John's Gospel. At the very beginning, the apostle writes, "in the beginning...the Word was God" (1:1). While Arianism and Jehovah Witnesses combat this verse with gymnastic misinterpretations, the verse is strikingly clear both in the Greek and in the English. "The Word" (ὁ λογος) refers to Jesus; and Jesus "was" (ἦν) and still is God (θεος). We see that John, after a lengthy exposition of Christ's deity, also states that "the Word became flesh" (1:14). He became human. Only a lazy reader of the Bible would miss the explicit statements of Christ being both God and Man.
When Christ descended, He did not give up His deity. This is made evident in His miracles throughout the Gospels, as well as His resurrection and ascension. Also, His direct claims of being one with the Father (Jn. 10:30), even as a man, refute the argument that He somehow became lesser when He became human. In Him, as Paul puts it, "the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily" (Colossians 2:9). The "emptying of Himself" in Philippians 2:7, which has been used to assert that Christ became less of God when He became man, refers to Christ temporarily giving up His position as equal with the Father. It does not refer to Him giving up or lessening His divine nature. There was no subtraction when Christ became a man. Rather, in the incarnation, we see the Son adding to Himself a human nature.
Similarly, when Christ ascended, He did not lose His humanity. To state such a thing would go against what the apostle Paul's statement: there is One Mediator between God and Man, The Man [Gk. ἄνθροπος], Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). From Paul's direct words, we see that a human man stands before the presence of the Father, interceding for us. With this being an eternal reality and incomprehensible truth, I cannot fully explain what this means, especially in a blog post. Rather, like the synthesis between God's sovereignty and human responsibility, I must simply insist what Scripture insists and remain silent where it also remains silent.
How Does the Hypostatic Union Affect Our Lives?
Christ's being both God and Man remains a central truth to the Gospel; and to change or subtract from it would be to fall into heresy. And yet, our lives are forever affected by it. Without Christ's humanity, we would not hear the words: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture" (1 Corinthians 15:3), for God cannot die. Nor, without His deity, would we hear "that He was buried, and that He rose again according to the Scriptures" (v. 4), because a man cannot raise himself back to life. Without the hypostatic union, we would have no hope. We would not have the Gospel.
The hypostatic union also affects our relationship with the Father. As He is human, Christ represents humanity within the Godhead. As stated before, He is the Mediator between God and Man [because] He is the Man, Christ Jesus. As He is also God, Christ represents God to us, not just powerfully but personally. Those who are united with Christ by faith see the might of God through His Son, King Jesus. And, in Christ, we also know God as our Father. As we have been united with Christ, the Father has also raised us up and seated us with Him as His right hand to enjoy Him forever (Ephesians 2:6-7).
Dogma to Pragma: Praying in Light of the Hypostatic Union
While Christ's nature is incredible, incomprehensible, and can only be known in part, we can still participate in it through a very practical way: prayer. Since Christ is our Mediator as the God-Man, we have access to the God-head. We can know and be known by the God who sees. The act of "making our requests known to God" is simply living out who we are in Christ and who He is as the God-Man. The hypostatic union, Christ being both God and Man, affects our lives as it sits at the bedrock of Christianity and determines our very relationship with the God of the universe.
Recommended Reading
DeYoung, Kevin. "Theological Primer: Hypostatic Union". The Gospel Coalition, 2018. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/theological-primer-hypostatic-union/
"A Perfect, Eternal Union". Ligonier Ministries.
Comments