The Two Natures of Christ

I’ve spoken on God’s way of pointing me toward certain truths using a multitude of sources many times before, and today was no exception. One doctrine people have historically struggled with has been the dual nature of Christ- His divinity and His humanity. How do they interact? How does each affect Him? How does that even work?! Today’s devotional clarified some things for me that I wanted to share.

First, we need to define some terms. What is a “nature” of Christ?

One’s nature is their continuous state or condition. It refers to the “essential, unchanging character of something- what it is in and of itself” (MacArthur, 412). “Essence” is morphē  in Greek meaning “form.” Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are homoousios meaning of one essence.

The Athanasian Creed describes it this way: “We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.”  [Phillip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 2, The Greek and Latin Creeds (New York: Harper and Row, 1877), 66.]

John MacArthur clarified it this way: “The doctrine of the Trinity, simply put, is that God is absolutely and eternally one essence subsisting in three distinct and ordered persons without division and without replication of the essence.” (MacArthur, 302)

Okay, so what does all of that mean? How Is Jesus both God and human?

Early church leaders spent considerable time desiring to clarify for believers the concept of Jesus’ deity (God-nature) and humanity (human-nature). Some tried to explain this by saying that the God-nature came upon Jesus at His baptism and left at His crucifixion. These were the heretical gnostics so we know they didn’t get it right. That explanation separates the two natures too much, essentially making them two “persons” rather than natures. In this explanation, God would only appear to enter humanity.

Another attempt at explanation described Jesus as having one nature that is a blend of both divinity and humanity. The problem with this explanation is that these two natures are a bit contradictory so neither is completely one nor the other. His deity would have made Him more than human, and His humanity would have made Him less than deity. Essentially, He would have been something of a demi-god (think of Hercules).

The best way to explain the way these two natures work is that they remain complete but separate in the ONE person of Jesus. Theologians explain this uniting of Jesus’ two natures as the “hypostatic union.” The natures unite, but they do not mix. His human nature was complete and yet sinless. While human, Jesus was still fully God, though He chose to set aside His glory for a time. This is something theologians call the kenosis of Jesus, or His “emptying Himself” of His deity. His deity is eternally joined to His human nature.

Something very important to understand, however, is that Jesus didn’t give up His deity. This incorrect understanding is called “kenotic theology” which believes that Jesus retained some aspects of His deity (holiness, grace, etc.) while emptying Himself of other aspects (omniscience/all-knowingness, immutability/unchangeability, etc.). If this was true, He wouldn’t have been fully God and fully human. He would have only been partially God. God cannot exist as partially God.

So, what did Jesus empty Himself of, then?

The term understood as translated “to empty” might be better understood in this sense as “to pour out” (the metaphorical sense). It is Christ, Himself, who is emptied in this sense. He emptied Himself of His reputation. He didn’t take away any of His deity, He added His humanity. He did not fully express His deity, as in veiling or covering it. He surrendered the glory and honor He had in heaven. He temporarily veiled His glory, though at some times He revealed it (transfiguration, great miracles, etc.)!

What was the big epiphany today?

The two natures of Christ, His divinity and humanity, are united in His person without confusion, change, division, or separation. Each nature keeps its properties. The Person of the Son possesses the properties of each nature, but the natures don’t mix properties. Jesus is the one who acts. What He does that is uniquely human manifests His human nature, and what He does that is uniquely divine manifests His divine nature. Jesus suffered in His human nature, even though He didn’t have to.

We, too, have to choose between suffering for His sake (in order to do God’s will) or sinning to stay comfortable. 1 Peter has been in everything I’ve been reading and studying lately and today was no different. Even our Matthew study has been about Peter as the rock! 1 Peter 4:1-2, ESV reads, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

When you are faced with a choice of facing ridicule or worse in order to do the will of God or staying quiet and comfortable, what will you choose?

Resources:

“Living for the Will of God.” Tabletalk Magazine. Orlando, Florida: Ligionier Ministries. May 26, 2026. Accessed at https://tabletalkmagazine.com/daily-study/2026/05/living-for-the-will-of-God/.

MacArthur, John. Biblical Doctrine. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.