Thinking about Him (4)
THE MYSTERY OF GOD
"Is Jesus fully God and fully man?" This was one of the earliest questions that arose in the Christian community which resulted in endless debates. It was not until the 2nd Ecumenical Council at Constantinople that the Church affirmed that Jesus is fully God and fully man.
Yet, the next question arose. "How is Jesus fully God and fully man?" Many Christians have made genuine attempts in trying to explain the dynamics and the relationship between Jesus' deity and humanity. Along the way, some of these explanations resulted in major controversies in the Church, namely the Nestorian Controversy, the Eutychian Controversy and the Monothelite Controversy. These controversies were later labeled as heresies by the Church in the 3rd, 4th and 6th Ecumenical Council.
Until today, the Church has not been able to provide a clear and complete explanation in regards to the relationship between Jesus' deity and humanity. Perhaps the Church will never be able to proide a clear explanation after all. Yet, should we discard this claim about Jesus that we have inherited from the forefathers of our faith since no one has been able to provide a satisfying explanation?
It will be a tragedy to do so. We need to recognize our human limitation and realize that there are just some things about God that cannot be explained through logical and coherent statements. There are just things about God that is beyond our human comprehension. Perhaps these are the mysteries of God, mysteries that requires us to believe with our hearts even when our minds are unable to fully understand them.
Yet, when we are able to embrace these mysteries of God, we can be able to come before him and still possess this peace in our minds and our hearts even when we know that we do not have a complete understanding of who he is.
Yet, the next question arose. "How is Jesus fully God and fully man?" Many Christians have made genuine attempts in trying to explain the dynamics and the relationship between Jesus' deity and humanity. Along the way, some of these explanations resulted in major controversies in the Church, namely the Nestorian Controversy, the Eutychian Controversy and the Monothelite Controversy. These controversies were later labeled as heresies by the Church in the 3rd, 4th and 6th Ecumenical Council.
Until today, the Church has not been able to provide a clear and complete explanation in regards to the relationship between Jesus' deity and humanity. Perhaps the Church will never be able to proide a clear explanation after all. Yet, should we discard this claim about Jesus that we have inherited from the forefathers of our faith since no one has been able to provide a satisfying explanation?
It will be a tragedy to do so. We need to recognize our human limitation and realize that there are just some things about God that cannot be explained through logical and coherent statements. There are just things about God that is beyond our human comprehension. Perhaps these are the mysteries of God, mysteries that requires us to believe with our hearts even when our minds are unable to fully understand them.
Yet, when we are able to embrace these mysteries of God, we can be able to come before him and still possess this peace in our minds and our hearts even when we know that we do not have a complete understanding of who he is.Labels: Theology
posted by Dan at 7/29/2006 04:18:00 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home