Walking Through Westminster, WCF 8.2-4

Westminster Confession of Faith 8.2-4

II. The Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance and equal with the Father, did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon Him man's nature, with all the essential properties, and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin; being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God, and very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.

III. The Lord Jesus, in His human nature thus united to the divine, was sanctified, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, above measure, having in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell; to the end that, being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth, He might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of a Mediator and Surety. Which office He took not unto Himself, but was thereunto called by His Father, who put all power and judgment into His hand, and gave Him commandment to execute the same.

IV. This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake; which that He might discharge, He was made under the law, and did perfectly fulfil it; endured most grievous torments immediately in His soul, and most painful sufferings in His body; was crucified, and died, was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day He arose from the dead, with the same body in which He suffered, with which also he ascended into heaven, and there sits at the right hand of His Father, making intercession, and shall return, to judge men and angels, at the end of the world.

Summary

Jesus has always been God. As the 2nd person of the Trinity, He is truly God and has been God eternally. He is of one substance with the Father and equal to Him. According to the plan of redemption, when the Father's timing had come, the Word of God took on flesh, becoming a man. He took upon Himself human nature in all of its reality, only without sin. He lived as a true man. We often have the wrong image of Jesus in our minds, as if He was always in a glorified body; as if He spent His time on earth hovering a few inches off the ground, always with a radiant glow and an ethereal quality to Him. To think this way is to deny His humanity. He sweated; He got dirty; He probably got sick as a child; He got tired and worn out in His adult ministry. He experienced everything there is in the human experience, except for the experience of actually committing sin. And yet, He still experienced what it felt like to have sinned, as He took our sins upon Himself at the cross. 

In the power of God, the Lord's deity was united to His human nature in the incarnation. In the one person Jesus were two natures: divine and human; yet these natures were united whole, perfect, and unmixed. He did not transform His Godhood into humanness, nor was His humanness of a different sort than ours. His natures were united in such a way that we confess Him to be 100% God and 100% Man, without dividing His natures into multiple personalities, nor mixing His natures into a supernatural humanity. 

The Lord Jesus was filled with and anointed by the Holy Spirit, that He might be holy, harmless, separate from sinners, full of grace and truth. He needed to be set apart in this way so that He might be a Mediator between God and Man. That He might fulfill His office of Mediator, Christ was born under the law and perfectly kept it; Jesus was the perfect Man, the man Adam was originally supposed to be. He went to the cross and gave Himself up to the power of death, taking our sins upon Himself and becoming accursed in our place. He was buried, but His body saw no corruption in the grave. On the third day He rose from the dead in the same body in which He had suffered and died. Jesus did not rise again as a spirit or a phantom, but as a man. He rose in a physical body that could be touched and that could eat. In that same body, now glorified, He ascended into heaven to sit at the Father's right hand. Herein is a great mystery, the profound truth of the incarnation: a man sits on God's throne and it is perfectly right for Him to be there. The dust of the earth sits on the throne of the universe. The God-Man Jesus takes humanity back into heaven with Him, where He now intercedes for His people, ever praying for them and ruling the universe for their benefit. He will return from heaven at the Last Day to judge all men and angels and to bring about the full restoration and glorification of all things.

+ Blessings in Christ +