Pastor-teacher
Don Hargrove
Faith Bible
Church
Wed., June 10, 2009
2 Pet 3:18.
GOD’S PROBLEM
SOLVING DEVICE #10:
OCCUPATION WITH JESUS CHRIST
Part 44: THE
HYPOSTATIC UNION AND UNDESERVED SUFFERING
(Messiah &
A.C. #225)
A. Philip 2:5-8; Col 1:15-20; 2:9 & the
Hypostatic Union of Jesus Christ.
1. Both the OT and NT affirm the humanity and deity of Jesus
Christ.
2. It is the hypostatic union that enables us to
understand what seems to be a clear contradiction between being both God and
man, infinite and finite, Creator and creator; it is the hypostatic union that
enables us to unite in a single person both omniscience and ignorance,
omnipotence and weakness, perfection and perfectibility; it is the hypostatic
union which enables us to unite in the one person of Christ the attributes of
deity and the attributes of humanity without the former driving out the
attributes of the latter, or the latter corrupting the former; it is the
hypostatic union which enables us to rationally understand that Jesus is truly
God and truly man.
3. There are no less than 20 false views about
the Person of Christ. Each one contains
a key denial of some aspect of who Christ is; denial of humanity (Gnostic);
denial of deity (Ebionite 100-300 A.D.); denial of
full humanity (Alexandrian, 200-400 A.D.); denial of distinctiveness of Person
(modalism, 215 A.D.); denial of full deity (Arianism, 250): denial of human soul (Apollonarianism, 310-390); denial of unity of
Person (Nestorianism, 428); denial of two distinct
natures (Eutychianism, 448); denial two natures (monophysitism, 400s); denial of one volition of Christ (Diothelitism, 620-683); Denial of eternal deity (adoptionism, 8th century);
denial of full deity during incarnation (kenoticism,
19th century); denial of the doctrine or rationality of hypostatic union
(existential Christology, Kierkegaard, 19th century); denial of
dogma concerning person of Christ (Liberation Christology, 1950); denial of
true identity and focus of Jesus Christ, (black “Christology);” denial of true
identity and focus of Jesus Christ (feminist “Christology”); denial of immutability of Christ (process
“Christology,” 1940s); denial of
exclusivity of Christ (universalist “Christology);” denial of objective truth
(deconstruction/postmodern “Christology);”
denial of the importance of doctrinal understanding of Christ (emergent
“church”).
4. The Chalcedonian
Creed (451 A.D.) … our Lord Jesus
Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and
truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with
the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with
us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards
his Godhead …for us men and for our salvation… one and the same Christ, Son,
Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without
change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being
in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature
being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as
parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son… even as the prophets from earliest times
spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the
fathers has handed down to us.
5. For the first few centuries the principal
struggle was between the Alexandrian Logos-man Christology (Monophysitism) and Antiochene Chistology
(Dyophysitism) with the former tending to destroy the full humanity of Jesus
Christ while the latter tended to destroy the full deity of Jesus.
B. Suffering in the POG, Job 5:7.
1. There are two categories of suffering in
life: deserved & undeserved. The former is designed to correct while the
later is designed for advancement.
2. Christ learned obedience and humility through
undeserved suffering, Heb 2:10; 5:8; Philip 2:5-8.
3. We have not only been grace out to believe
in Jesus but to also suffer unjustly on behalf of Him, Philip 1:29.
4. Part of the supergrace
package is undeserved suffering, Philip 3:10.
5. Purposes and blessings of undeserved
suffering: knock out human resources
that you depend upon; motivate you to depend upon the grace of God; wake you up
to the reality of the POG; knock out all human crutches; inculcate genuine
humility; create enormous capacity for happiness in blessing or adversity; rid
you of your arrogance; teach you that you can be happy even without all of
those things….
6. How a believer handles unjust suffering will
determine if he becomes a winner or loser in life.
7. It is impossible to handle unjust suffering
let alone parlay unjust suffering in the most fantastic blessing without Bible
doctrine, Js 1:2-4.
8. All categories of suffering are designed to
teach us something, Psa 32:8-9.
9. The promise of 1 Cor
10:13 is always available to all believers regardless of the circumstances and
what type of suffering they might be experiencing.
10. The single greatest area of suffering among
Christians has always been a result of carnal spiritual immaturity under the
law of VR, Gal 6:7; Hos 8:7; Ecc.
11. Only through growth in the Christ-centered
life does the believer have the capacity for life, sufferings, and even death, Psa 23; Philip 1:21-24; 4:4, 11-13.
12. Undeserved sufferings have the potential to
bring you enormous power and blessedness in life, Js 1:2-4.
a) Power to remove arrogance, 2 Cor 12:7-10.
b) Power of mental stability.
c) Power of greater grace orientation.
d) Power to force you to stop leaning on human
crutches, “weaknesses.”
e) Power over people testing, “insults.”
f) Power over thought testing, “distresses.”
g) Power to glorify the Lord in unfair
treatment, “persecutions.”
h) Power to glorify the Lord in disaster
testing, “difficulties.”
i) Power to
empathize with others, 2 Cor 1:3-10; Heb 2:17-18.
j) Power to refine your faith & move you
forward, 1 Pt 1:6-7; Js 1:2-4.
k) Power to glorify Jesus Christ in the angelic
conflict, Job.