The Incarnation of Christ: Part FourChrist in You!

The day is winding down and you're exhausted. There are dishes to wash and wrapping paper to clear from around the tree. You'll conserve what little energy remains in order to take advantage of all the "After Christmas" sales around town. Before you have a quiet moment to absorb the true meaning of Christmas, the decorations will be gone.

Don't let this happen to you again. Determine to take quality time to embrace the miracle of the Incarnation as a living reality inside of you that will sustain you beyond December 25 and its external signs.

"Emmanuel, God with us!" was heralded to the inhabitants of the world when Jesus was born.

He lived among us then died on the Cross. He was Resurrected and afterward ascended to the right hand of the Father. He was the exact representation of God. We were able to see, hear, touch and fellowship with Him as He shared in our humanity.

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."

"Jesus replied, "...Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:8, 9 NLT)

After returning to Heaven, Jesus sent His Spirit to make the finished work of redemption a reality in the lives of people who would receive Him by faith. Each surrendered heart invites the Lord back to earth, so to speak, to continue His message and ministry through them.

Modern day Philips are asking more than ever, "Show us Jesus!"

What is our response? Is Jesus still available for humanity to see, hear and touch?

"So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son." (John 1:14 NLT)

Is the glory of the Lord visible on earth today? The "glory" is not a spooky mist or goose bumps, but unfailing love and faithfulness; in other words, manifested glory is the character of Jesus, the fruit of a Holy Spirit empowered life.

"Man fully alive is the glory of God!" (St. Irenaeus)

You see, the Incarnation didn't end in the Manger. The Church is the ongoing, visible manifestation of Christ until the Lord’s return!

"When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him with this question, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" (Matthew 11:2, 3)

People today ask, "Is your Jesus the one or should we look elsewhere?" For too long, we've left all the Philips unsatisfied with our lofty answers and disgusted with our hypocrisy. Jesus didn't respond to John's disciples with "Of course I am"! He replied, "Go tell him what you see me doing as proof!"

Are our lives proof enough?

"But we have this wealth in vessels of earth, so that it may be seen that the power comes not from us but from God" (2 Corinthians 4:7)

If Christians ever grasp the truth of the Treasure we carry, people will no longer have to ask for proof of the deity of Christ.

"...As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17) Do you believe this?

We hear many sermons about us being the "light of the world" and the "salt of the earth", but do we realize that the light is not generated by our will power, nor do we produce the salt that savors the world? It is Christ within that shines THROUGH us and flows OUT of us...despite our imperfections!

Jesus was the perfect reflection of God. At best, we only refract that light through our humanness; yet, that is exactly what produces vivid colors--bent light!

So what is the key to being a "Christ bearer" in the earth? The same heart attitude of the first one.

"And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." (Luke 1:38)

Rather than an immaculate conception, I am convinced that what made Mary's womb a suitable dwelling for God was not her sinlessness, but her surrender! Is it not the same for us today?

In the early Church (and still in the Orthodox), Mary was called the Theotokos--Greek for "God Bearer". To address heresies, the church fathers made it very clear that from the moment of conception, Mary carried God in her womb--not a man that would become divine nor part divinity/part man--but fully God AND fully man.

Being born again is also an overshadowing of the Holy Spirit to bring divine life to that which is barren within. Our "yes" to God regenerates us by grace into what we could not be by nature--a child of God, making a temple in which God is pleased to dwell.

Here is the Scripture passage that gives us insight into Incarnational living

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men.

"And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the Cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)

You rarely hear a sermon on the Incarnation of Christ in many churches today --even at Christmas--that proclaims the deity AND humanity of Christ as perfect, complete, and eternal. Chances are even less you will hear a sermon on how to personally walk out the Incarnation. That path leads to some convicting truths that we may not want to hear.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus...(We are commanded from the beginning to "take on" the mind of Christ, but how?)

...who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation...

Christ left the highest position in Heaven for the role of a servant on earth. He did this to fulfill the will of the Father (Heb. 10:5-7).

The Revised King James Version says, "He emptied Himself."

This translation has caused some to think that when He came to earth, God the Son set aside His divinity. It means, however, that still fully God, Christ chose "to empty" Himself of self-interest.

He did not attempt to hold on to His previous exalted estate, which was rightfully His. He still possessed all the divine attributes; however, He operated in self-restricted use of them.

When God the Father has a plan for your life that requires a "self-emptying"--perhaps of your status, your honor, your plans or your riches--what is your response? Can you take on, not just the form of a "servant", but the lowliest of servants, called a "bondservant" (slave)?

Paul and Timothy considered themselves bondservants of Christ (Phil 1:1) even though the Scriptures clearly tell us we are no longer slaves but sons (Gal. 4:7).

Subordinationism was a heresy that arose in the early Church from an incorrect understanding of our Philippian text. The belief stated that the Son was eternal and divine, but inferior to or "subordinate" in being or attributes to God the Father.

In the economy of the Trinity, there is at times a subordination of persons; thus, God the Son becomes the suffering Servant (Isa. 53) who gives His life in obedience to the Father as a ransom for many.This subordination of God the Son is a subordination of action, not of being. He is of one substance, nature, and being with the Father and the Spirit.

Although we are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus and have been given "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3)...can we voluntarily offer ourselves to step into the role of a servant, suffering if need be, to fulfill our Father's plan for hurting humanity?

Can we acknowledge that the Christian life is not about our rights, but all about the Crown Rights of Jesus Christ, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords?

There are no inferior members of God's family. We are all eternal priests and kings (Rev. 1:6). We are all equal and one in Christ (Gal. 3:28-29), yet we are also commanded to prefer one another in honor (Romans 12:10).

In the world--in times, places, and roles chosen by the Father--we MUST "subordinate" our actions one to another for His higher purposes, not just living for our own reputations or interests.

Just as Christ is the exegesis of God to man and man to God, so now this exegesis continues through the Church, which is a living image of eternity within time. In other words, the Church as the Body of Christ is the extension and the "fullness" of the Holy Incarnation. Christianity from the very beginning existed as a corporal reality--a body indeed--a living organism, not an organization.

"And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:23)

"He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)

Jesus humbled Himself. James 4:10 says that if we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, He will lift us up, just as the Son was highly exalted (Phil.2:9-11). It is much easier to humble ourselves in obedience, than to be humbled, isn't it?

HUMBLE: tapeino - "to depress"; meaning not just the action of "pressing", but the results of such action which causes something to go lower or become smaller

"...For you loved Me before the foundation of the world...and I have declared to them your Name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:24b, 26)

Jesus' self-humiliation and resulting obedience flowed from total submission. One can be obedient (going through the motions) without begin submissive.

Submission (hupotasso) looks at the attitude and the motive of the one performing the action versus just the act of obedience (hupakoe-compliance). Obedience without a submissive heart cannot last long.

Through his agonizing Gethsemane experience Jesus cried: "Nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42)

True submission cannot be achieved outside of a genuine love - the Agape kind - found only in God, which was demonstrated by the Incarnate Christ and then given to us who believe.

Religious man seeks to please God through His performance in order to win Divine love, but God loved us first! Therefore, "We love Him because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

How do we love God?

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3)

Immersed and living in the extravagant love of God causes us to want to fulfill the desires of His heart-- wherever that may lead, whatever that may require.

Whenever I teach on obedience and submission, I hear from believers who have been abused by immature or wounded leaders in the Church. So many are trapped in "performance Christianity" that strives grimly to please God. Consequently, these wounded individuals cannot get past their experience to truly hear in their hearts what I'm saying.

First, God is already pleased by the performance of Jesus Christ, which is credited fully to each of our accounts when we believe. We are as righteous now as we ever will be!

However, displaying that right standing with God does take progressive, life-long yielding to the will of God. That is called sanctification...and that's what living the Incarnation is all about.

Was Jesus righteous? Yes. But look at this Scripture:

"Although Jesus was the Son [of God], he learned to be obedient through his sufferings." (Hebrews 5:8)

The Greek word for "learned" is more accurately translated "mastered". Did Jesus' divinity have to master obedience? NO. His humanity did--day in and day out. He faced the same choices we do in terms of the privileges, comforts, time, possessions, status, wealth, and reputations we'll lay down in order to accomplish the Father's will.

I found these words of wisdom in Andrew Murray's With Christ in the School of Obedience:

"Men connect obedience with the idea of absolute perfection. They put together all the commands of the Bible, they think of all the graces these commands point to in their highest possible measure, and they think of a man with all those graces, every moment in their full perfection, as an obedient man.

"How different is the demand of the Father in Heaven! He takes account of the different powers and attainments of each child of His. He asks of him only the obedience of each day, or rather, each hour at a time.

"He sees whether His child has indeed chosen and given himself up to the wholehearted performance of every known command. He sees whether His child is really longing and learning to know and do all His will. And when His child does this in simple faith and love, the obedience is acceptable."

Often, the Church sadly demands more from its members than God does!

"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

This divine grace is called "sufficient" (2 Cor. 12:9) - arkeo, meaning "able to raise a barrier, ward off; avail". It also implies "satisfactory, enough." In this definition, we see that grace carries the enabling force of the Holy Spirit...bearing down, into, and around our lives.

Even when following the Father results in some form of death to our dreams, plans, or relationships, the will of God can become "a joy set before us" just as it was to our elder Brother. (Heb. 12:2)

The Incarnation makes it possible for us to respond to the Father: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me." (Phil 4:13)

"One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

"When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!"

"So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

"Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

"When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

"While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

"The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.

"You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see." (Acts 3:1-16)

Look again at the various phrases I highlighted in the above Scriptures. Is this typical of what unbelievers see of the church today as we go about our daily lives in the marketplace and in the 'temple"?

Are we confident enough to tell people to "Look at us"?

Are they running astonished to Christ or away from Him because of what they see?

Do you want to know Peter and John’s secret...and the secret of the myriad of men and women--known on earth and not--that walked in the character, joy and power of Christ that affected everyone around them?

"And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory!"(Colossians 1:27b NLT)

Of Mirth and Martyrdom: The Twelve Days of Christmas

Are you enjoying these Twelve Days of Christmas? Do you know how the popular tradition started?

Christians sincerely wanted to find the accurate birth date of Christ, but they faced challenges once they separated from Judaism. The religion followed a twelve month/thirty day lunar calendar that had to be adjusted every so often with a new month by the Sanhedrin's decree.

Greek Christians in the East followed their own solar calendar, which put observance days at odds with their brethren in the West who followed the calendar of the Roman Empire.

In 300 A.D., the Roman calendar superseded the Greek. However, the Eastern churches still marked the birth of Christ on January 6.

Although Christians in the Roman Empire began celebrating the Nativity around 380 A.D., Eastern Christians considered Epiphany to be a greater feast. To them, the day commemorated two Incarnational appearances--at the beginning of Jesus' life and at the beginning of His ministry (the day he was baptized and His divine Sonship proclaimed--Matthew 3:13-17).

By the way, though most manger scenes portray the Magi worshiping Jesus right along with the Shepherds, Scripture points to a later time (up to two years) when they arrived. The Bible does NOT mention the number of Magi who visited Jesus, but only three gifts.

"And when they had come into the house they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped Him..." (Matthew 2:11)

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men." (Matthew 2:16)

Christians in the West eventually embraced the Feast of the Epiphany. However, since December 25 was already an established date to honor the birth of Christ, churches in the region commemorated January 6 as the appearing of the star that guided the arrival of Gentile Magi.

Hence, the Twelve Days of Christmas from The Nativity (evening December 25) to Epiphany (the evening of January 6).

This is traditionally a season of great rejoicing for Christians--full of merriment, food, games and music. Children dress up and put on plays, gifts are given on each of the days (better than Santa's one night, huh?) and don't forget the delicious Wassail!

Amid this festive time, however, there are three days that call believers to what seems a contradictory somberness...observances that at first seem awkward and out of place.

December 26--The Feast of Stephen, honoring the Church's first adult martyr
(Remember the song, Good King Wenseslaus? He looked out "on the Feast of Stephen".)

December 27--The Feast of St. John, honoring the beloved disciple

December 28--The Feast of the Holy Innocents, honoring all the male children of Bethlehem and surrounding regions, two years old and younger, who were slaughtered by order of Herod--Christendom's first martyrs.

Church tradition tells us that John was the only disciple to die a natural death at a ripe old age. So why is he included?

The early Church tied them together this way:

Stephen- a martyr in blood, will, and love
John-a martyr in will and love
Innocents-martyrs in blood

The Church notes John's imprisonment, banishment to Patmos, and the unsuccessful attempts to first poison then burn him alive in a vat of searing oil. Yet toward the end of his life, his message remained the same: "Love one another". He was a living martyr!

In other words:

All believers are called to die UNTO Christ every day (like John).

Many persecuted Christians die FOR Christ everyday around the world (like Stephen).

Some people die BECAUSE of Christ (like the Bethlehem children).

Dying because of Christ is often not an act of one’s will. It falls upon a person(s) in a certain place under extraordinary circumstances because evil attempts to destroy what is good and innocent in the earth.

Innocent people, such as the children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, suffer and die because of the wickedness that for now, works through sick people who assume power—whether it’s through a parent’s gun or a corrupt government.

But God knows and loves every victim, and He keeps records of each deed. At the end of human history, when not only these acts but the consequences of each one has rippled through time, He will execute flawless justice on their behalf for all the world to see.

Still…why are Christians called to mingle martyrdom and mirth during this season?

Look at the gifts brought to the Christ child--gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The Christian life is not either/or but both/and---meaning we experience joy and suffering, triumphs and tragedies. Christian author and Pastor Rick Warren once described life as having two train tracks--opposite, yet always running parallel. Both are necessary or the train will derail.

We may be celebrating in one area of our life, only to be deeply afflicted in another at the same time. Life is a blend of the divine gifts to us of gold (victory and gain), frankincense (joy and peace), and myrrh (bitterness and loss).

These feast days were not spent in quiet introspection, though.

On St. Stephen's Day, it was--and remains in many parts of the world--a day for giving food, money, and other items to service workers and the needy. In some places, it is known as "Boxing Day" since gifts are boxed up and delivered. The custom follows the heart of a deacon, like Stephen, to serve.

The blessing of wine is associated with St. John's Feast. The head of each household takes home a portion of consecrated wine and shares it in the name of St. John with members of the family. Each person receives affirmation in the form of a spoken blessing. The wine is then taken to the sick and distressed.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents is also called Childermas (Mass of the Children).

It honors our children as little brothers and sisters in the Lord. A fun custom is for the youngest child to be "in charge" for the day. He or she decides the day's foods, drinks, music, and entertainments. (If you have more than one child, it may be wise to divide these honors!) The classic Coventry Carol, speaks of the Bethlehem sacrifices.

Christians who still observe this feast often include the millions of aborted babies with the Holy Innocents in their prayers, acknowledging that the dynamics that drove Herod to infanticide--along with the likes of Pharaoh (Exodus 1)—still rise up against all that is honest, just, pure, lovely, good, and virtuous in the earth. (Philippians 4:8)

It is a time of intercession and spiritual warfare against the forces that seek to weaken each new generation…robbing a needy world of its future healers, inventors, musicians, and philosophers.

It saddens the heart to think of the deaths of these innocent children, but we can be glad that they are now in the presence of God and nurtured by the Church at rest. One day they will return to earth with Him in glory!

Until then, let's be thankful for the bitter and the sweet! God works all things out for our good and His eternal purposes. A young man who was one of the chief persecutors of the church attended the stoning of Stephen and even held the coat of one of the executioners. He later converted and wrote most of the New Testament. His name was Paul.

Throughout our lives, we will drink from many cups, but the love of Christ can overcome the "poison" as it did for John. Therefore, go ahead…dare to rejoice through the bitter and the sweet! Sing the silly "Twelve Days of Christmas" and try to remember who leaps, who pipes, and who dances.

And don’t forget to raise a Wassail toast for me!

The Incarnation of Christ Part Three: Son of God AND Son of Man

The Incarnation of Christ Part Three:
Son of God AND Son of Man

Years ago I taught a series for our church on the Incarnation of Christ, which covered such difficult subjects as the Trinity and Jesus being both God AND Man.

To appreciate the astonishing message of Christmas--"God with Us"--we must first attempt to better understand (better, but not fully, of course) the Trinity.

Part I addressed the Trinity, and how Jesus
represents God to man.

Part II--His representation of Man (Adam II) to God
Part III--Son of God And Son of Man

Part IV--Christ in You, the Incarnation Continues!

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."  (Colossians 2:9)

Church teaching interpreted the above verse to mean that the divine nature penetrates and perfects every aspect of the human; and the human is diffused by the divine. (John of Damascus, On the Orthodox Faith, 111.8)

Jesus' conception was supernatural--exceeding natural explanation. His birth was natural.

Thomas Oden, Methodist theologian and author, comments: “The deity participated in the Passion of the humanity and the humanity in the majesty of the deity without blurring or confusing either.” (Systematic Theology, Vol. II, the Word of Life)

Lewis Sperry Chafer, evangelical theologian, stated in his Systematic Theology: "The Incarnation introduced the unique situation in which God and man became one without depriving either of their essential qualities...Jesus Christ was perfect God and became perfect man--being all that God in His deity and all that man is apart from sin."

"Jesus did not temporarily become man, but his divine nature was permanently united to his human nature...

"And He lives forever NOT JUST as the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity...but also as Jesus, the man who was born of Mary, and as Christ, the Messiah and Savior of his people. Jesus will remain fully God and fully man, yet one person, forever." (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology)

Theologians call these two natures of Christ occurring together in one Person the Theandric Union.  Theandric is a contraction of theanthropos or "God-man".

Christ is one person, two natures. God is three persons, once essence!

His union, contends Oden, was not like a physical union, as when form and matter are united. Nor is it like a union of friends. "It is a more profound union than two people in marriage, for the unity of marriages leaves husband and wife, even after their union, two persons, nor is it one nature being mingled and absorbed by the other.

"Rather, Christ's personal union is a union that can only exist in one distinctive person in who there is an intimate and perpetual conjunction of divine and human natures in one individual, wherein the human nature was ASSUMED by the Logos so as to be the WORD IN PERSON." (Systematic Theology, Vol. II, The Word of Life)

As mentioned in previous notes, many heresies arose that either rejected Christ's humanity or deity, or dualized the one person. Here's a simple breakdown:

Heresies against Christ's humanity:

Docetists-Christ as not fully in flesh

Apollinarians-Logos replaces human spirit

Eutychians-Christ as a single mixed nature

Heresies against Christ's divinity:

Eutychians-Christ not fully divine, but mixed nature

Ebionites-Jesus as the natural son of Joseph and Mary

Arians-Christ as creature, not eternal

Heresy that rejects Christ's person union:

Nestorians-Christ as two persons

Early Church Father Novatian warned, "He is a man who is of man and He is a God who is of God...however, when you read about both these truths, there is a danger that you will believe not both them, but only one." (Trinity 11)

In order to attempt to solve the problems raised by the controversies over the person of Christ, a large church council was convened in the city of Chalcedon near Constatinople (modern Istanbul) in A.D. 451.

The result was the Chalcedon Creed, which has been taken as the standard, orthodox definition of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ since that day by Catholic, Protestant, and most Orthodox branches of Christianity.

The Chalcedonian Definition declares that our Lord Christ is to be acknowledged in two natures:

Inconfusedly--no mixing of the two natures, which remain distinct even while they are in communion

Unchangeably--the deity is not transmuted in humanity, nor humanity into deity

Indivisibly--unable to be divided--the personal union is never at any point split apart

Inseparably--undissolved through eternity and perpetual

(We must rigorously examine what we believe about Christ in the honest light of Scriptures and in the clarity brought forth from the early church fathers. These heresies are STILL around--parading under different names, of course, and deceiving many well-intentioned converts!)

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52)

"Much discussion has arisen in theology over the question of Christ's self-consciousness. How could He know and sense the infinite might and wisdom of God, and at the same time appear with normal human weaknesses and limitations apart from complications with immorality?

"How could He know and not know? How could He be the source of all power and yet be prone and exposed to human frailty?

"The answer to the problem is that Christ operated in the human sphere to the extent it was necessary for Him to accomplish His earthly purpose, but at the same time continued operating in the divine sphere to the extent that it was possible in the period of His humiliation." (Chafer)

As God, the Son knew He was human. As human, He knew that He was God.

Thomas Oden further explains: “The Logos is united not with an individual person that existed prior to the God/man, but with a human nature that had no separate identity before union with the divine, for Jesus' human body had not existed eternally, but was born in time.

“Hence, there are not two conscious persons, but a single conscious person uniting the divine and human natures. It is not one or the other nature that speaks when Jesus Christ speaks, but one person bearing the harmonious imprint of two natures.”

I do not think of Christ as God alone, or man alone, but both together.

For I know He was hungry, yet I know that with five loaves He fed 5,000.

I know He was thirsty, and I know He turned water into wine.

I know that He was carried in a ship, yet I know that He walked upon the sea.

I know that He died, yet I know that He raised the dead Himself.

I know that He was set before Pilate, and I know that He sits with the Father in His throne.

I know that He was worshiped by angels, yet He was scourged by man." (John Chrysostom)

THE TEMPTATIONS OF CHRIST

"The questions of sin and temptation in Christ from an orthodox point of view should be answered by the statement that He could not sin. As far as the divine nature is concerned, it is clear that God could not sin and that God cannot be tempted.

"On the human side it is obvious that Christ could be tempted, and the human nature by itself could sin. But when the human and divine natures were united in Christ, that left the person of Christ in a situation where the Person can be tempted but where the Person cannot sin because of the presence of the divine nature.

"The doctrine is not simply that Christ was able not to sin but that Christ was not able to sin because He is God." (Chafer)

"Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but  what He sees the Father do; for whatever he does, the Son also does in like manner'." (John 5:19)

At the sixth ecumenical council (Constantinople III in 681), the undivided Church confessed that Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human; and they are not opposed to each other, but cooperate in such a way that Christ's human will submits to His divine will.

Oden comments that the divine will always went before (lead the way) for the human will, so that the human will chose freely in accord with the divine will. The pattern is the Gethsemane prayer, in which is faced and resisted in a way fitting to the human nature and then freely offered up to God.

"...And so, the Lord's soul was freely moved to will, but it freely willed those things which His divine will willed." (John of Damascus, On the Orthodox Faith, 111.18)

"For I have come down from Heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day." (John 6:38-39)

Although Christ has retained His human body, He has not added to the Godhead, but simply enriched it forever.

Part IV will show us how to take the truths of the Incarnation out of the theology book and into the practicalities of everyday life as Christians.