The Four Adverbs Regarding the Incarnation of our Lord
It is wise never to adopt new words to describe biblical doctrines other than the words given to us in Scripture. Sometimes it can cause us to be out of balance regarding a specific doctrine. The nuance may be slight, but given enough time, a new word may lead someone to emphasize a doctrine the wrong way. However, because of the weakness of our language and the weakness of our knowledge of spiritual things, sometimes the adoption of new words is unavoidable.
For example, the Church has adopted the English word “sovereignty” when speaking of God’s omnipotent rule, even though one will never find the word in the Bible (i.e. in the King James Version of the Bible). The same can be said with such words as the word “rapture.” It is not found in Scripture, but the doctrine to which it refers is certainly found in the Bible. The same thing is true of the word “Trinity.” It is never found in the Bible. However, the “doctrine of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit” is found from Genesis to Revelation, and it is that doctrine to which the word “Trinity” refers.
These are some examples of words the Church has adopted throughout her history to aid her in understanding biblical truth. However, there are other words adopted by the Church which are just as important as the words previously mentioned. These are words adopted by the Church to clarify the important truths concerning the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And even though, they too, are not found in Scripture, they certainly refer to essential doctrines of the Faith that are found in Scripture.
The first of these words is the Greek word ὁμοούσιος (homoousios). It is understood of the Son being “of one and the same substance with the Father.” It was utilized by the framers of the Nicene Creed to show forth the full equality and oneness of the Son to the Father. It bespeaks the fact that the Son and, therefore, by implication the Holy Spirit both possess the same substance of the Father without division or diminution. This doctrine, of course, is revealed to us in such verses as Jn. 1:1 and Jn. 10:30 (cf. John 15:26; 16:13-14).
In English, we translate this word as “consubstantial.” The Son and Holy Spirit are consubstantial with the Father. It is a good and acceptable word, just as are the words sovereignty, rapture, and Trinity.
Other words, adopted by the Church, which are not as well known, but which are just as essential for our proper understanding of certain biblical truths concerning our Saviour are the words: without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation (ἀσυγχύτως, ἀτρέπτως, ἀδιαιρέτως, ἀχωρίστως). These words were adopted by the Church during the council at Chalcedon, which acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ to be “in two natures inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably.”1 And just like the other words mentioned above (even though they are not be found in Scripture), the truths to which they refer are certainly found and affirmed in Scripture.
These four adverbs, chosen by the Church, help us to understand the biblical truth regarding the incarnation of our Lord. They are solid biblical pronouncements regarding our Lord’s incarnation, which, when rightly understood, aid us not only in our knowledge of the Lord, but also strengthen our own Christian walk (II Pet. 1:2-3). They protect us against heretical views concerning Christ and can teach us many truths about our own Christian lives. In regard to the incarnation of our Lord, “without confusion” and “without change” protect us from Eutychianism, while “without division” and “without separation” protect us against Nestorianism.
They may be explained as follows:
Without confusion – The two natures were not mixed together so that either one was lessened or lost its distinction. The Lord never lost consciousness of either his Divine Nature, or his Human Nature (Mk 13:32; Mk. 14: 61-62; Jn. 17:5). They were not confused because they never changed. The Lord did not empty himself of His Divinity in His incarnation (Ph. 2:6-7), for in His Divinity from eternity He always existed in the form of God. Nor was the Human Nature of our Lord deified by its unionization with the Divine Nature (Lu. 24:39), for He remains the Son of Man in His ascension. Christ remained the Son of God in his incarnation and remained the Son of Man in His ascension. Neither nature was confused or changed.
The difference between “without confusion” and “without change” is that “without confusion” can refer to the outward perception of the two natures, whereas “without change” refers to the inward and substantial reality of the two natures.
One false example, used by Eutychians concerning the Divine and Human Natures, was the example of water and wine. When the two are mixed, the two become imperceptible. You cannot see the water once it was mixed with the wine. This is why “without confusion” was adopted. The two natures never become confused in the Person of Christ where one nature could no longer be perceived. One could perceive the Divine Nature in Christ when He uttered the words. “I Am!” And one could perceive the Human Nature of Christ when He said “I thirst.” The two natures were not changed into a third entity through their unionization in one Person, thus losing their own distinctiveness. Christ was ever conscious of both His Divine and Human Natures (Jn. 8:24; 10:30; Mk. 13:32).
Therefore, knowing this, what a comfort it is to know that He was “made like his brethren in all things” (Heb. 2: 17), and was ever conscious of all our infirmities. As the writer of Hebrews says, “For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15). Why?—Because his Human Nature never changed or became so confused with the Divine Nature that He was not aware of it.
Without change – Even though the two natures were unionized in One Person without separation, which we will soon discuss, we must also realize the two natures never changed. The Divine Nature remained the same, and the Human Nature remained the same. Eutychian heresy taught the two natures were mixed to form a new nature. However, John 1:18; 3:13 (KJV) reveals to us the Son was still in the bosom of the Father, even while on earth, demonstrating to us that his Divine Nature never changed, since He still was coinhering in the Father even while on earth. In the same way his Human Nature never changed, for He was still flesh and bones after His resurrection (Lu. 24:39). He claimed to be both the Son of Man (Human Nature) and the Son of God (Divine Nature). The natures never changed but remained the same (cf. Matt. 16:13, 16-17).
Therefore, since the Divine Nature can never change, we must realize that it remained impassible in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Person Jesus Christ. Heb. 13:8 tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Jesus Christ – One Person – with two natures unionized without change continued to ever possess his Divine Nature impassibly, and the Human Nature (which was passible) passibly. Peter clearly affirms this when he tells us that “Christ has suffered in the flesh” (I Pet. 4:1).
Without division – This refers to the fact that there were not two individuals in the Person of the Son, as if the Son of God descended on a human individual named Jesus, whether at his baptism, as Docetism taught, or in the womb of Mary, as taught by Nestorianism. John does not tell us in John1:14 and I John 4:2-3 that the Word came into a man (i.e. an individual), but, rather, that the Word became flesh (i.e. Human Nature). The Word which was God became flesh in the womb of Mary (Lu. 1:31-32, 35) and thus was fully God and fully Man. Therefore, the Human Nature never existed as an individual named Jesus apart from the Divine Nature of the Son, for that would entail a division of natures within his Person. While distinction is an aspect of the Godhead, division is not an aspect of the Godhead, or of the incarnation.
Without separation – This tells us that the two natures could never be separated, but were forever unionized in one Person. Scripture can speak of the “Lord of glory” being crucified (I Cor. 2:8 NASB77; also cf. I Cor. 2:2 with II Cor. 1:19), or the “Son of Man” being crucified (Matt. 26:2; Luke 24:7), because, even though the former refers to his Deity, and the latter refers to his humanity, both are titles of the one and same Person. In other words, since the Divine Nature can never be separated from the Human Nature unionized with the Divine Nature in One Person, Scripture can speak of the “Lord of glory” being crucified. Conversely, since the “Lord of glory” was also fully Man, and his Human Nature could never be separated from its unionization with the Divine Nature in One Person, it can speak of the “Son of Man” being crucified. Scripture, in the same way, can speak of God’s own blood (τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος—Acts 20:28), or it can speak of the Son of Man’s blood (John 6:53).
By using both sets of titles, Scripture is showing us that any title, meaning a name, referring to one of the two
natures in the incarnated Son, can also be used of the Person as a whole, because the two natures were forever unionized in the one Person of the Eternal Son and that without separation. Thus it is important to realize that there was only one Person on the cross. If there were a separation of natures, then one would have to say that two Persons were crucified on the cross, which, of course, is nonsensical and would contradict Scripture. He was the LORD Jesus from the moment of His conception in the womb of the virgin Mary by the power of the Highest. The LORD, i.e. the Eternal Son of God, the Word, who was with God and was God, was made flesh, being God manifested in the flesh, and given the name of Jesus, as we are told in such verses as in Matt. 1:20-21, John 1:1, 14, 18; I Tim. 3:16 (also cf. I John 4:2). Jesus Christ is LORD, because he is the LORD Jesus Christ—One Person who possesses both natures without separation and as we saw without change.
And so, as one considers the four adverbs of Chalcedon one realizes they are special nomenclatures given to biblical statements. They protect us against heresy by keeping us from exceeding what is written. They affirm the Faith regarding the incarnation of our Lord, without having to explain the intricacies of that incarnation. In fact, the Council never sought to explain such intricacies, because that was not their purpose. Their purpose was simply to protect from heresy the clear affirmations of Scripture regarding our Lord’s incarnation by these four adverbs, for the intricacies of the incarnation were not revealed to us by God. They are one of the secret things which belong only to Him (Deut. 29:29). As such, it is best for us to leave it with God. God never gave us a model to understand the Incarnation as He has given us a model to understand the Trinity, i.e. creation, (Rom. 1:20). Therefore, the best we can do is ever affirm the truths of God regarding the incarnation of His Son by speaking out against the various heresies that arise concerning His Person, and by ever affirming the clear Scriptural pronouncements that God has given to us regarding that blessed event.
And yet, there is still more we can glean from these words. These words can help clarify other biblical doctrines. One such important doctrine is the doctrine concerning the blood of Christ. Today some modern evangelicals are belittling the blood of Christ by saying we are not redeemed by the blood itself, because the blood was simply human blood; it never changed or became Divine blood (as some other evangelicals falsely confess) and so they are saying the blood is not efficacious in itself.
One well known evangelical even went so far as to say that there was nothing in the blood itself that washes away our sin, but it was only the death of Christ that atoned for our sin; the blood in and of itself had nothing to do with our cleansing. The blood only had to be shed on the cross, but the blood itself was not efficacious.
He even prefaced his statement by saying he was going to say something that might shake some people up and then goes on and categorically states the Scripture never teaches that the blood of Christ had any efficacy for washing away our sins. He emphasizes that it was human blood, and not Divine blood.
Now part of what our brother declares is true. The blood of Jesus was 100 percent human blood. Christ had a Human Nature like you and like me (yet without sin or a sin nature). The blood did not change into Divine blood. Yes, it is referred to as God’s own blood (Acts 20:38) because the Eternal Son of God took on Him Human Nature, but that nature was without confusion and without change, and so his blood remained completely human.
Hebrews 2: 14, 16 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. KJV
But while the blood of Jesus was indeed human and not Divine, it was still had a uniqueness apart from your blood and my blood because his Human Nature (which, obviously, includes the blood), was unionized with the Divine Nature in one Person, and that without change or separation. Our brother mentioned above rightly affirms, “without change,” but he forgets, “without separation.” The Human Nature was never separate from the Divine Nature, but was unionized with it in One Person. Because the term “without separation” has been forgotten or ignored, the precious blood of our Saviour has been unwittingly denigrated!
The blood of Jesus was, indeed, the same as your blood and my blood because it was 100 percent human; but it was unique in yet another way; His blood was pure unlike yours and mine (Heb. 9:14). Our blood has been tainted by sin. His blood was not. He was sinless (Heb. 4:15; 7:26). Therefore His blood was unlike yours and mine in that His blood was untainted by sin. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, not in sinful flesh (Rom. 8:3). As such, his blood was pure and not polluted by sin.
Moreover, through unionization with the Divine Nature, Christ’s Human Nature (and, thus his blood) was also sustained by the mighty power of God, a mighty power that worked in Him, and through His Human Nature, if you will, through His hands which healed, through His lips from which fell gracious words (Lu. 4:22), through His feet which carried forth the good news of salvation, and, if you will, through His blood, which cleanses us from all our sin.
And again, because the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit all possess the one and same Divine Substance, there was a Divine power working (ἐνέργειαν) in Christ in His resurrection. Scripture tells us that this Divine power was “wrought” (ἐνεργέω) forth in Christ by God the Father when He raised Him from the dead, as the apostle Paul tell us, wherein, we are also told that His flesh, His Human Nature (which would obviously include His blood) did not undergo decay or see corruption, as the apostle Peter tells us.
Ephesians 1:19-20 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working (ἐνέργειαν) of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought (ἐνεργέω) in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. KJV
Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. KJV
This Greek word translated “working” in Eph. 1:19 is the Greek word ἐνέργεια, transliterated as energeia, and defined by W. E. Vine as follows: “ENERGEIA ἐνέργεια (Eng., "energy") is used (1) of the "power" of God, (a) in the resurrection of Christ, Eph. 1:19; Col 2:12, RV, "working" (AV, "operation").”2 And its verbal form, ἐνεργέω, is used in verse 20, where it is translated in the King James Version as “wrought.” This power of God the Father that was wrought forth, or brought to bear upon the Human Nature of Christ by God the Father, was also “wrought” forth by Christ Himself, if you will, for John records these words of Jesus in his Gospel:
John 2:19-22 “Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Then said the Jews, ‘Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?’ But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. KJV (Also see John 10:18.)
So we see that the LORD Jesus reveals that He also was actively involved in His own resurrection in verse John 2:19, which means the same power of the Father was working in Him by His own Divine Nature. The verb in the clause, “I will raise (ἐγερῶ) it up,” is a Greek 1st person active voice verb. And, indeed, Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit also took part in the resurrection of Christ from the dead in Romans 8:11.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. KJV
So this tells us that the power that wrought forth in Christ was the power of the Father, and the power of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit, which was all the one and same power of all Three Persons, for the Son possesses the one and same substance of God the Father in his eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit in His eternal spiration. The only difference is that the Father exercised His power in a paternal manner, and the Son in a filial manner, and the Holy Spirit in a spirital manner, but it was the one and the same power that characterizes the one and the same Divine Substance, which all Three Persons possess substantially. Because of this Scripture also tells us that the Son had the authority or power to lay down His life and take it up again.
John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. KJV
And because the Two Natures in Christ were unionized without separation or division, this mighty power of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit was always present, and, through the Son, at work in His Human Nature by virtue of its unionization with the Divine Nature, which is why Scripture says His flesh (i.e. Human Nature, which included His blood) could not undergo decay (Acts 2:27), and why it says He was raised up from the dead “with” that pure, untainted, and uncorrupted blood (Heb. 13:20 ASV).
Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus ASV
And so when we are told the Son ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high, having made a purification of sins (Heb. 1:3; 9: 7, 11-2), we are also told He entered Heaven “with His own blood,” having secured for us an “eternal” redemption (Heb. 9:12).
Hebrews 9:12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. NKJV
J. Vernon McGee once wrote the following regarding this precious truth:
“I believe this verse proves that Christ took His literal blood to heaven. If that is not what the writer is talking about here, I do not know what he is saying. ‘Neither by the blood of goats and calves’—that is literal blood. ‘But by his own blood,’ this is the literal blood which He shed on the cross. “He entered in.’ How? By His own blood. His was a superior sacrifice and the only one worth of the genuine tabernacle.” 3
“I take the position that Christ offered His literal blood in heaven…I think He was at that moment our High Priest on His way to offer His literal blood in heaven. And I believe it will be there throughout eternity to remind us of the price that He paid for our redemption. When my book was first published, it was reviewed by a Christian magazine. The critic recommends it but warned that I took this literal view. The critic called it a crude concept. Well, I don’t think that the blood of Christ is crude—either when it was shed on earth or offered in heaven. Simon Peter, who was not what one might call a cultured individual, called it precious blood. A society dowager approached a great preacher in the East years ago. Looking at him through her lorgnette… she said, ‘I hope you will not be like our last preacher. He was rather old fashioned and put great emphasis on the blood. The blood offends my aesthetic nature. Don’t you think it is crude?’ His reply to her was, ‘Madam, I see nothing crude about the blood of Christ except my sin and your sin.’ I agree with him wholeheartedly. I say to you very definitely and dogmatically that I believe His blood is even now in heaven and throughout the endless ages it will be there to remind us of the awful price Christ paid to redeem us.” 4
(Now as an aside; Scripture does not say how this took place, but that it did take place. I would rather rest in that truth, than try to dissect and analyze which part of His blood it was that Christ entered into heaven with, because we know that since His blood had to be shed for us to be redeemed, we know that His blood must have stained the cross, from that blood which poured forth from His head, His hands, His feet, and His side, etc. Why not simply bow our head and give thanks to God for the blood and not require logical theories of explanations in order to believe the truth! What folly of man to think God is bound by the laws of nature He created! Miracles do not need to be logically explained but only believed, but, unfortunately, many times Christians today lack the faith to so believe, and so need logical explanations as to how Christ could have ever entered into the holy place with His own blood.)
And so we see that because his blood was pure and sustained through the unionization of His Human Nature with His Divine Nature, His blood is distinguished from my blood and your blood. While it was the same human blood as yours and mine, it never became a Divine blood, because the Human Nature was without change, but it was also distinguished from your blood and my blood because it was not tainted by sin, being ever sustained by its unionization with the Divine Nature of the Son, without separation, from that very moment of His incarnation in the womb of the virgin Mary. Therefore, we must realize the blood of Christ is special and unique, able to wash everyone who believes in Him from all their sins, past, present, and future (Rev. 1:5)!
Yes, many times in Scripture, (as our aforementioned brother said), the word blood is used as a metonym for death (e.g. Lev. 20:9; I Kings 2:37), but many times it is not! And when it is not, it is referring to the blood in and of itself! For example, Lev. 16: 14-16 tells us that the high priest had to take the blood of the sin offering from the altar and sprinkle it on the mercy seat to make atonement. In this case, blood is not being used as a metonym of death. It was not enough that a death had occurred on the altar. That alone did not make atonement. The blood from the altar itself had to be taken and be sprinkled on the mercy seat in order to make atonement. It was the blood itself that made atonement, not just the death upon the altar. So too, with the blood of Christ, of which it was a type, it too needed to be sprinkled for atonement (Heb. 9:11-14; 10:22; 12:24; I Pet. 1:2).
The blood of Christ, that makes atonement for our sin, is not just a metonym for death, as some are now teaching; it is the blood itself that atones for our sins because it was shed on the cross by one who is unique – the Only Begotten Son – the Lord Jesus Christ – whose blood was also unique and special.
Therefore, because of this purity and unionization with the Divine Nature, the blood of Christ, itself, is indeed, efficacious for sin! Scripture many times declares this to be so. The blood itself is capable of cleansing (I John 1:7). It washes us from our sins (Rev. 1:5 KJV). It sanctifies us (Heb. 10:29; 13:12). It redeems us (Rev. 5:9). It provides forgiveness (Eph. 1:7). It justifies (Rom. 5:9). The blood is, indeed, most precious (I Peter 1: 19)! It certainly is efficacious! It is the precious blood of the Lamb!
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And so we can see the importance of understanding these four adverbs! It protects us against error. Yes, we were reconciled by the death of our Lord, and, yes we are saved by his life (Rom 5:10). Yes, we were redeemed by the death of a testator (Heb. 9:15-16), and yes, we were ransomed by the sacrifice of his life (Mt. 20:28). But, as also Scripture declares, we were also redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unblemished and without spot (I Pet. 1:18-19).
And yet we can go further in the significance of these four adverbs. As we continue to ponder these four adverbs we also can see that they also help us to understand Trinitarian truth, as well as the truth regarding the unity of the Church. For example, in regard to Trinitarian truth, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit exist as Three Persons “without confusion.” The Father can never be confused with the Son, nor the Son with the Father, nor either with the Holy Spirit. And we can see that the eternal Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, according to their Nature, are “without change”—the Father was eternally and will always be the eternal Father who eternally begat His Eternal and Only-Begotten Son, whose goings forth were from everlasting (Micah 5:2); and the Holy Spirit will always be the Spirit of God, the One who eternally proceeds from the Father through the Son (John 15:26; cf. Titus 3:5-6).
Equally, in the unity of the Godhead the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit can never be “divided” from each other, so they are “without division,” which, of course, means they can never be “separated” from each other for they all possess the one and the same Divine Substance, which means the Son and the Holy Spirit are consubstantial with the Father, and so they are from eternity “without separation.”
In the same way, in an analogous and most limited manner, we can say that since we are begotten of God the Father—and are born of the Spirit—we are made members of the household of God. We each exist as a special child of God “without confusion.” Each of us is special in our Father’s eyes, with even the very hairs of our heads being numbered (Matt. 10:29-31). He loves us each individually so much! And we also can see that as the Church we all exist “without change.” The nature of the Church will never change. It is the Bride of Christ, being one with Him
forever and ever. As such, the true nature of the Church exists is also “without division,” which means that if we all were to live according to our true nature with Him we would never be “divided, but would be long-suffering, loving and kind to each other. And finally, as we mentioned before, once we are born again, being baptized into the Body of Christ by one Spirit, we exist with our Saviour “without separation,” we are forever one with Him, as Jesus promised us, saying in His High Priestly prayer.
John 17:20-21, 25-26 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. KJV
How succinctly truth coinheres within truth. The four adverbs of Chalcedon protect us against heresy regarding the incarnation of our Lord. They emphasize the importance of the blood of Christ. They help us understand the Triune unity of the Blessed Trinity, and they direct our hearts into maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in the Church.
And now, if you will allow me, let me elaborate a little more on the last adverb we mentioned above, the adverb “without separation,” wherein we always will be with Him forever. And, of course, again this is by way of analogy and should not be stretched too far, but should be considered like all types, figures and parables in Scripture—limited pictures or analogies of that can aid us in understanding Divine truths.
With that in mind, let me say that as the two natures in Christ were without separation, we came to understand that God never separates from that which he is in union with. Thus the Human Nature of Christ will never be separated from the Divine Nature. He will always bear in his hands and in his feet the imprint of the nails, and he will always bear the wound in his side unto all eternity. This is a comfort to us because we have been united to Christ in his death, burial and resurrection (Rom. 6:5 NASB77). We were baptized into Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:3) and we were baptized into one Body by one Spirit (I Cor. 12:13). By the Divine operations of God we have been unionized with Christ! We were not unionized with his Divine Nature, for we can never be unionized with the Divine Nature of the Son, for if we were, we would have to be a fourth person in the Blessed Trinity, which, of course, would be nonsensical! Only the Three Persons of the Trinity possess the same fullness of the Godhead in perfect unity. However, Scripture does say we have been united to the Human Nature of the Son (Eph. 5:30 KJV), and since that Human Nature will never be separated from his Divine Nature, we will never be separated from God!
The apostle Paul declares for us in Ephesians 5: 30 (KJV) the following—“For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.” What great joy and what great peace comes from knowing we have been unionized with Christ by being baptized into his humanity – into his body – becoming members of his flesh and of his bones, as Paul says! So once we have been united to Christ, we are forever secured as members of His body (Human Nature), which means a Christian can never be separated from Him! He is our Saviour, the Saviour of the body, His Bride, the Church. We are “of” his flesh and “of” his bones, which is forever unionized with His Divine Nature, without separation in the Divine Person of the Son. Our salvation is secure! We will be with Him forever and ever! O what grace! O what love!
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 8:35-39
How wonderful are the four adverbs regarding the incarnation of our Lord – without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation. May they continue to aid us in our understanding of our precious Saviour, so that in all things we can grow up in all aspects into Him. Amen.
BPH
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1. Philip Schaff, ed., The Creeds of Christendom, With a History and Critical Notes, Vol. II (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 1993) pg. 62
2. W. E. Vine, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Fleming Revell Company, Old Tappan, 1981) Vol. 4, pg. 233
3. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Volume V, I Corinthians—Revelation (Thru the Bible Radio, Pasadena, 1983) pg. 566
4. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Volume V, I Corinthians—Revelation (Thru the Bible Radio, Pasadena, 1983) pg. 560