What does "fully human and fully divine" mean? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

Answer 1

Yes it is a complete contradiction, but you'll get some mental gymnastics about how faith makes it all better.

Answer 2

He was fully human...flesh and blood.

But He had the Spirit without measure...to have the Spirit of God without measure is by definition... God Almighty.

He was both. He had to fix what the first Adam messed up. This is why He is called the Second Adam. He had to be born of a Virgin to be clean of the corruption of man. He had to walk the walk and die on the tree because you buy things back in like terms. Therefore, all of mankind is now filtered through that cross. They who reject it will be damned because there is no other way into life but by the second Adam.

The first Adam got us into this mess. Therefore all mankind is via the first Adam. Without that Second Adam, God will go medieval on you. And it's not make believe. The curse is evident on all those who can't seem to believe in the Lord or take it seriously at all.

If you do not know what I mean by the Spirit, it's going to be very hard to tell you or make you believe. The old timers call Him the Holy Ghost. He is very real and moves upon believers and resides in them. He is not bound by rules or limitations of any kind...He is from eternal past...people can't fathom that kind of power. He is everywhere at the same time, in the past, present and future. He is the glue that makes the whole thing work. He is a person but more than a he or she...He is quite OFF THE CHARTS as far as power, understanding, etc.

He is the promise of the Father given because those who are washed by the blood of Christ can hold some of Him... like a cup holding water. Each is different.

Answer 3

Hello, Enigma!

That's a good question, but "fully human and fully divine" is not a contradiction.

The Bible teaches in I Timothy 3:16:
"God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

In Christ is two natures, human and Divine. Theologians who believe in Christ's Divinity do not teach that His physical body is God. Rather, they teach the two natures in Christ are complete.

Let me offer a rough analogy: You can be a husband and a doctor. The roles are completely different, but you remain the same person. You are, if married, fully a husband and, if a physician, fully a doctor. This is not a contradiction, for one person can fulfill several occupations. No verbal gymnastics are necessary.

I hope this helps and if you'd like to discuss it further, feel free to email.

Best wishes,
Scalia

Answer 4

To be human one needs to be born of (from) a woman. Grow as a child and into an adult. To be human is to feel all the emotions and physical realities that a person experiences in all phases of life. Jesus did just that. He was born of a woman, grew up, became a carpenter, then became a teacher of religion- aka, the Messiah. Jesus experienced what it means to be happy, he celebrated, made friends, ate, slept, talked, walked, as any human does. He also felt sadness, cried, bleed, felt pain, was lied to and about, felt compassion, and was ridiculed. These are some of the human traits of Jesus. As His divine features, Jesus father was the Holy Spirit and not a man. No human being can go all through life and never commit a sin/s. Jesus, as a man, displayed His divine nature, in that He committed no sin/s. Jesus did miracles such as walking on water, turning water into wine, healing the sick, prophesying, and more. Jesus Himself, also died as a man but defeated death and rose back to life displaying Himself as divine. In these manners, Jesus displayed being fully human and being fully divine. Only God can do such a thing, and upon the last day God will raise all of us back to life too. Some will go to Heaven to live in eternal bliss, and some won't go to Heaven and live in bliss

Answer 5

Absolutely not, let's see there was the "divine Ms. M", the female impersonator named Divine, and once I was at this Scottish Fest and saw all these hunky daddies in kilts and honey, that was downright DIVINE! Also the old retort is to err is human, to laugh divine--so I guess so long as you can laugh at your own flubs, you are capable of being both.

But in referrence to the old mortal/god claim about ol' J.C.--now that is just ludicris! If he was God and therefore, being allknowing, knew that he was God, then his death on the cross meant nothing--he knew he wasn't really going to die anyway! On the other hand, if he was a human being--just a human being, then his death on the cross accomplished nothing more than anyone else's death would. Either way, I see this view as "fully meaningless".

Answer 6

The hypostatic union is the term used to describe how God the Son, Jesus Christ, took on a human nature, yet remained fully God at the same time. Jesus always had been God (John 8:58; 10:30), but at the incarnation Jesus took on human flesh - He became a human being (John 1:14). The addition of the human nature to the divine nature is Jesus, the God-man. This is the hypostatic union, Jesus Christ, one Person, fully God and fully man.

Jesus' two natures, human and divine, are inseparable. Jesus will forever be the God-man, fully God and fully human, two distinct natures in one Person. Jesus' humanity and divinity are not mixed, but are united without loss of separate identity. Jesus sometimes operated with the limitations of humanity (John 4:6; 19:28) and other times in the power of His deity (John 11:43; Matthew 14:18-21). In both, Jesus' actions were from His one Person. Jesus had two natures, but only one person or personality.

The doctrine of the hypostatic union is an attempt to explain how Jesus could be both God and man at the same time. It is ultimately, though, a doctrine that we are incapable of fully understanding. It is impossible for us to fully understand how God works. We, as finite human beings, should not expect to be able to comprehend an infinite God. Jesus is God’s Son in that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). But that does not mean Jesus did not exist before He was conceived. Jesus always has existed (John 8:58; 10:30). When Jesus was conceived, He became a human being in addition to being God (John 1:1,14).

Jesus is both God and man. Jesus has always been God, but He did not become a human being until He was conceived in Mary. Jesus became a human being so that He could identify with us in our struggles (Hebrews 2:17) and, more importantly, so that He could die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Philippians 2:5-11). In summary, the hypostatic union teaches that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, that there is no mixture or dilution of either nature, and that He is one united Person, forever.

Recommended Resource: The Moody Handbook of Theology by Paul Enns.

Answer 7

It Is.Jesus was FULLY a man. Thats why he Bled when they beat Him. He Died as Well. The Idea that Almighty God Died is Crazy. None of the Followers Of Jesus Looked Upon Him as God Almighty. Can You Imagine the Dash To Their Faith In Realizing That Their Creator Died at The hands Of His Creation.. Forget it.

Answer 8

I don't think it's something we were meant to understand. That may sound like it's beatin around the bush, but hear me out. If there's a supernatural God, that created everything (including our scientific laws), wouldn't you think that He would be above them? Just because it doesn't make sense to humans doesn't mean it's impossible for God.

Answer 9

Yes. It is miraculous.

All miracles are outside natural laws.

Christians believe that Jesus was completely God and completely Man. The incarnation, God and man, is one of the wonderful Christian paradoxes.

The Church thus confesses that Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother.

The Son of God worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains what we believe in depth: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt2art3.htm#p1

With love in Christ.

Answer 10

Remember that mankind is a hybrid creature, made of flesh and spirit. Jesus' flesh was 100% human. His Spirit was 100% divine. At least, that's the way I see it.

Answer 11

Jesus Christ is one person with two natures, since He is also God. He is God and became man also...but He is only one person. He cannot be two different people. But has human nature when taking flesh and retains Divine nature, being God.