The Doctrines of the
Trinity
&
The Deity of Christ
as revealed in John’s prologue
“The Word became flesh…”
Issues and questions this will resolve:
• Reason for the Holy Spirit conception
• Is Jesus truly, fully man?
• If yes, how was He man without the Adamic nature?
• Were His temptations real like ours?
-- Heb. 4.15: [Jesus] has been tempted in all things as we are
-- James 1.13: for God cannot be tempted
• Is the Word still fully deity after He becomes flesh?
Christologically, this is known as the Incarnation.
This view of Jesus is most familiar to us.
Most are unfamiliar with John’s opening
view of the Trinity (ontological view).
Common
Divine
Nature
The Holy Spirit
Common
Divine
Nature
The Holy Spirit
Only Logos became flesh.
Personhood & Nature are distinct
1.14 specifically states that only the
Person of the Word became flesh.
Common
Divine
Nature
The Holy Spirit
The Father did not become flesh
1.14 states that the incarnate Word came from the Father.
Jesus said, “I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world;
I am leaving the world again, and going to the Father.”
Jn. 16.28
John 17.13 Jesus prayed to the Father, “But now I come to you…”
Jesus spoke of the Father as another person in another location.
The Spirit did not become flesh
In chapters 14-16 Jesus speaks of sending the Spirit to be with
believers in His (physical) absence.
John 16.7:
Jesus said, “…if I do not go away, the [Spirit] shall not come to
you…”
The Spirit and the incarnate Logos are distinct persons of the Trinity.
Clarification…
Colossians 2.9 (KJV):
For in [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Theotes means:
deity; the state of being God.
This verse is not stating that in Jesus dwelt the Trinity bodily,
but that in Jesus dwelt the fullness (completeness) of deity.
A synonym, theiotes:
Acts 17.29 translated divine
2 Peter 1.3 & 4, both times trans. divine
Romans 1.20, trans. Godhead (clearly meaning divine nature)
Clarification…
2 Corinthians 5.19:
“…God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself…”
“In Christ” denotes the relationship of the Father working through
the Son to reconcile gospel believers to Himself.
John 17.21 & 23:
…that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me,
and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may
believe that Thou didst send Me…I in them, and Thou in Me,
that they may be perfected in unity…
Clarification…
John 10.30:
“I and the Father are one.”
“One” is neuter in gender & cannot modify either of the
masculine nouns, Father (or the understood) Jesus.
“I and the Father are one thing; in nature or essence.”
Logos has not always been flesh
Nature
Nature
Nature
The H.S.
The
H.S.
Spirit
creation
Law
given
King David
born
Jesus
conceived
4500 years
Logos was
Logos became flesh
Was
Became
“I AM” is eime (I-mee). It means:
to be; to exist.
Egeneto means: existence with
a definite beginning point.
“was” is ane. It is the imperfect
tense of eime which means it
specifies no beginning point.
All things were made…
Simply: eternal existence.
The Word became…
“Has always been”
1.1; 1.2; 1.4
There *was a man…
“began to be”
Why the word Flesh?
Speaking of the Baptizer in 1.6, John wrote,
“There came a man…”
Why didn’t John write “man” or “human being?”
Since the Word is a personhood, that which He took on was
the human nature only.
The Humanity
of Jesus
BONES
Personhood of
the Word
BLOOD
(essence of identity)
BRAIN
SKIN
ETC.
I
ETC.
ORGANS
ETC.
Immaterial
part of Jesus’
human nature
HEART
MUSCLE
Material part
of Jesus’
human nature
The Greek word translated flesh is used in the NT to describe
both the material and the immaterial parts of human nature.
Flesh used to describe the material part of man’s nature:
Luke 24.39:
“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and
see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see
that I have.”
Matthew 26.41:
“Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into
temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Flesh used to describe the immaterial part of man’s nature:
Ephesians 5.31:
For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and
shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.
Matthew 16.17:
“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood
did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Reason for “Flesh”
In both the Trinity and man, personhood is void of attributes.
Attributes reside in the nature.
Since all the attributes of humanity reside within the human nature, the
absence of a human personhood makes Jesus no less human. Terms
like “man” or “human being” would say too much, suggesting the Word
took on not only a human nature, but also a human personhood.
Personhood who
became flesh
Grey area
represents
the God-Man
Common
Divine
Nature
The Holy Spirit
Acquired
human nature
The Word, a Person of the Trinity, assumed a human nature.
After John 1.14, the Word, inseparable from the common,
divine nature also possesses a human nature.
Acquired
human nature
Common
Divine
Nature
Remains Divine
The Holy Spirit
Remains Deity
• The Word is not separated from the divine nature
• He does not cease to be deity in personhood
Jesus, the God-Man is fully deity with a real human nature.
Incarnational Sonship
The relationship between
these two eternal persons
changes; it is now Father
to Son.
Common
Divine
Nature
John 10.30:
“I and the Father are one.”
The Holy Spirit
John 14.8:
“…for the Father is greater than I.”
The God-Man
Jesus has a divine
personhood, He knows
who He has always been.
Common
Divine
Nature
The Holy Spirit
John 17.5:
“And now, glorify Me together with Yourself, Father,
with the glory which I had with You before the world
was.
John 17.24:
…for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
He has TWO natures,
human and divine.
Q and A
Q
Why do the Father and Son seem to have different attributes?
A
After incarnation they do. But it is not because of Modalism or
Tritheism, it is because the attributes of Jesus’ human nature are
different than the attributes of the divine nature. Yet, Jesus still
retains the divine nature common to the three Persons.
Q
Doesn’t rank exist between the Father and the Son?
A
Yes. After incarnation the Son is submissive to the Father. Not
because the Son loses part or all of His deity, but because of
choice. The relationship between the Word and the God changes
from co-equal to that of a Son to a Father.
The Word incarnate (Jesus) retained the fully divine nature
and also possesses a fully human nature.
This is why Jesus can claim that He is, presently, the I AM!
John 6.35:
“I am the bread of life”
John 8.12:
“I am the light of the world”
John 11.25:
“I am the resurrection and the life”
John 14.6:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life”
John 8.58:
Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM!”