The Two Souls Of Jesus Christ

[Cindy_Skillman]

Thanks, Stef

I downloaded it too – sounds interesting, though long! It may take me a bit to get through it. Reads like English might not be the author’s first language.

[Stefcui]

Hi Cindy,

As I read through the first part, it seemed to catalogue every instance of nephesh (soul) used in scripture. It is a probably a resource book more than general reading. I have not started on the ‘hell’ subject. Let me know what you think.

Steve

[Paidion]

I fail to see any substantial difference in what you quoted and the that which I quoted.

I agree. It was altered only a bit at that point. “Begotten before all worlds”= “Begotten before all ages”. But later
Trinitarians changed this to “Eternally begotten.”

Where in this creed do you find it stated that Jesus Christ is God and man?

Well, it sounds about as explicit as it can be to me:

"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 were made. Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man;

That statement does NOT say that Jesus Christ is God and man. Quite the opposite “Very God of very God” or “Very God from very God” means that Christ emerged from God (was begotten before all ages) and was therefore divine. Then it says that He was MADE man. It doesn’t say He was made into a God-man hybrid, but He was “made man”. He divested Himself of all His divine attributes when He became man (“emptied Himself” Philippians 2:7 RSV). He retained only His identity. While on earth He was 100% human. He could do nothing miraculous on His own. The Father who dwelt within Him did the works. (John 14:10). Thus He demonstrated to us that God can dwell in a fully human person, and do miracles through him. Later God performed miracles through Peter, Paul, and other apostles.

Did I say He was God the Father, or a second God? As a Trinitarian, I am neither a modalist nor a tri-theist.

But as a Trinitarian, you affirm that He is a second Person, don’t you? If so, then in what sense is He and the Father (and the Spirit) a single God? That seems possible only if God is a compound Being. But nowhere do we find in scripture that the word “God” refers to a three-in-one Deity. Most of the time, the word “God” refers to the Father alone, indeed it refers to the Father alone EVERY time in the New Testament when the word is preceded by the article, and has no other modifiers. Jesus Himself addressed the Father as “the only true God” and so how can He be part of a Trinity? Jesus prayer, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God AND Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) So with that little conjuction “and”, Jesus indicates that He Himself is someone OTHER THAN “the only true God” (even though, being of the same divine essence as the Father, He is just as divine as the Father).

[Stefcui]

Good post, Paidion.