{"id":38586,"date":"2018-12-24T06:00:09","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=38586"},"modified":"2018-12-23T16:07:25","modified_gmt":"2018-12-23T21:07:25","slug":"christmas-eve-st-nicholas-the-two-natures-of-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2018\/12\/christmas-eve-st-nicholas-the-two-natures-of-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Eve, St. Nicholas, & the Two Natures of Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For Advent we have been thinking through the Nicene Creed, a product of the Council of Nicaea, which Santa Claus\u2013I mean, St. Nicholas\u2013is believed to have attended.\u00a0 So we can think of this confession of faith as the Christmas Creed.<\/p>\n

In our earlier posts, we reflected on what the creed says about the divine nature of Christ<\/a> and about what it says about the human nature of Christ<\/a>.\u00a0 Today, just in time for Christmas Eve, we contemplate what the creed says about how those two natures come together in the person<\/em> of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\n

The Second Article of the\u00a0Nicene Creed<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I believe. . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n

[His Divine Nature]<\/strong><\/em> . . .in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, 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;\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

[His Human Nature]<\/em> who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

[His Two Natures]<\/em> A<\/strong>nd the third day He rose again <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus, like other human beings, was dead and buried.\u00a0 But He did not stay that way.\u00a0 His resurrection was not just about a \u201cspiritual\u201d survival after death.\u00a0 It was not just His divine nature that survived.\u00a0 Jesus rose bodily<\/em>.\u00a0 He rose as both God and as Man.\u00a0 Because He is God, death could not hold Him, but because He is Man, His resurrection impacts all of us who have a human nature.<\/p>\n

Again, Christ\u2019s incarnation, death, and resurrection is \u201cfor us,\u201d \u201cfor our salvation.\u201d\u00a0 Thus, because of His human nature, when we are united with Him by faith, through baptism, what is said of Christ here is said also of us:\u00a0\u00a0\u201c<\/span>We were\u00a0buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as\u00a0Christ was raised from the dead by\u00a0the glory of the Father, we too might walk in\u00a0newness of life\u201d (Romans 6:4).<\/p>\n

according to the Scriptures <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love this shout out to the Scriptures.\u00a0 God\u2019s Word tells us what Christ did \u201cfor us.\u201d\u00a0 We would never know otherwise.\u00a0 As St. Thomas Aquinas said, our reason can tell us that there is a God, but not that He became Man for our sakes.\u00a0 For that information, we need the God\u2019s revelation of Himself that He gives us in human language.<\/p>\n

and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Having accomplished everything for our salvation, the incarnate Son of God assumed His place in the Holy Trinity.\u00a0 Again, He ascended bodily.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Christ\u2019s human nature<\/em>, body and all, is now part of the Godhead!<\/p>\n

This is underscored by the\u00a0Athanasian Creed<\/a>, which memorably speaks of the two natures not as some duality within Christ but\u00a0 inhering together in a personal union:\u00a0 \u201cAlthough He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ.\u201d\u00a0 And then the Athanasian Creed describes the incarnation in words that allude to Christ\u2019s ascension and to the assumption of human nature into God Himself: \u201cone, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh but by the assumption of the humanity into God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some people think that because Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, He isn\u2019t here any more.\u00a0 But that implies that the Triune God \u201cisn\u2019t here,\u201d as if He were not omnipresent. (See Acts 17:27-28).\u00a0 As the Apostle Paul says, bringing together Christ\u2019s descent (\u201che came down from heaven\u201d) and His ascension, Jesus now fills everything:\u00a0\u00a0\u201c<\/span>He who descended is the one who also\u00a0ascended\u00a0far above all the heavens, that he might\u00a0fill all things\u201d<\/span>\u00a0(Ephesians 4:10).<\/p>\n

Because Jesus has ascended to His Father\u2019s right hand, He is no longer spatially limited.\u00a0 He was enclosed in the manger at Bethlehem.\u00a0 But now He can also be with us today\u2013in our hearts (Ephesians 3:7), when two or three are gathered in His name (Matthew 18:20), in the Lord\u2019s Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16).\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd behold,\u00a0I\u00a0am\u00a0with\u00a0you\u00a0<\/b>always, to the end of the age.\u201d(Matthew 28:20)<\/p>\n

And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, will come back.\u00a0 The first time it was to suffer and be crucified for us.\u00a0 The next time He will come in glory.\u00a0 He will set things right.\u00a0 That will be a fearsome experience for many.\u00a0 But that our judge is also our savior is the greatest consolation for Christians.<\/p>\n

whose kingdom will have no end.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And His reign will never<\/em> end.\u00a0 And we will reign with Him (Revelation 22:5).<\/p>\n

Jumping ahead to the Holy Spirit part of the creed, we see its last words, in which Christ\u2019s resurrection and His everlasting kingdom become ours:\u00a0 \u201cI look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Such a confession of Christ shows why Christians are filled with such joy at the celebration of His incarnation.\u00a0 This is the foundation for a merry Christmas!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illustration:\u00a0 \u201cAscension of Christ\u201d by\u00a0Dimitris Vetsikas via Pixabay, CC0, Creative Commons\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Advent we have been thinking through the Nicene Creed, a product of the Council of Nicaea, which Santa Claus\u2013I mean, St. Nicholas\u2013is believed to have attended.\u00a0 So we can think of this confession of faith as the Christmas Creed. In our earlier posts, we reflected on what the creed says about the divine nature […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":38698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,21,47],"tags":[5462,464,7864,7861,1582,2265],"class_list":["post-38586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christ","category-church","category-holidays","category-theology","tag-christs-ascension","tag-christmas","tag-cjrost","tag-gods-incarnation","tag-nicene-creed","tag-two-natures-of-christ"],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas Eve, St. Nicholas, & the Two Natures of Christ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Nicene Creed describes Christ's divine and human nature, which come together in one person. 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