§423We believe and confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born a Jew of a daughter of Israel at Bethlehem at the time of King Herod the Great and the emperor Caesar Augustus, a carpenter by trade, who died crucified in Jerusalem under the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, is the eternal Son of God made man. He 'came from God',4 'descended from heaven',5 a…

§445After his Resurrection, Jesus' divine sonship becomes manifest in the power of his glorified humanity. He was "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead".57 The apostles can confess: "We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."58

§461Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh",82 The Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not cou…

How the Valentinians pervert the Scriptures to support their own pious opinions. 1. Such, then, is their system, which neither the prophets announced, nor the Lord taught, nor the apostles delivered, but of which they boast that beyond all others they have a perfect knowledge. They gather their views from other sources than the Scriptures; and, to use a common proverb, they str…

Proofs of the foregoing, drawn from the Gospels of Mark and Luke. 1. Luke also, the follower and disciple of the apostles, referring to Zacharias and Elisabeth, from whom, according to promise, John was born, says: And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Luke 1:6 And again, speaking of Zacharias: And it came…

Proofs in continuation, extracted from St. John's Gospel. The Gospels are four in number, neither more nor less. Mystic reasons for this. 1. John, the disciple of the Lord, preaches this faith, and seeks, by the proclamation of the Gospel, to remove that error which by Cerinthus had been disseminated among men, and a long time previously by those termed Nicolaitans, who are an …

2. And what may be the reason that Matthew said not at the beginning, in the same way as the prophet, the vision which I saw, and the word which came unto me? Because he was writing unto men well disposed, and exceedingly attentive to him. For both the miracles that were done cried aloud, and they who received the word were exceeding faithful. But in the case of the prophets, t…

'Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.' See Matt. i. 22-23 and Isa. vii. 14. Notice that the evangelist does not say 'that it might be done,' but 'that it might be fulf…

1. When children are just brought to their learning, their teachers do not give them many tasks in succession, nor do they set them once for all, but they often repeat to them the same short ones, so that what is said may be easily implanted in their minds, and they may not be vexed at the first onset with the quantity, and with finding it hard to remember, and become less acti…

1. Moses in the beginning of the history and writings of the Old Testament speaks to us of the objects of sense, and enumerates them to us at length. For, In the beginning, he says, God made the heaven and the earth, and then he adds, that light was created, and a second heaven and the stars, the various kinds of living creatures, and, that we may not delay by going through par…

1. If you remember our former reflections, we shall the more zealously proceed with the building up of what remains, as doing so for great gain. For so will our discourse be more intelligible to you who remember what has been already said, and we shall not need much labor, because you are able through your great love of learning to see more clearly into what remains. The man wh…

Chapter 24.—Of the One Only True Principle Which Alone Purifies and Renews Human Nature. Accordingly, when we speak of God, we do not affirm two or three principles, no more than we are at liberty to affirm two or three 195 gods; although, speaking of each, of the Father, or of the Son, or of the Holy Ghost, we confess that each is God: and yet we do not say, as the Sabellian h…

Chapter 29.—Of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Which the Platonists in Their Impiety Blush to Acknowledge. You proclaim the Father and His Son, whom you call the Father’s intellect or mind, and between these a third, by whom we suppose you mean the Holy Spirit, and in your own fashion you call these three Gods. In this, though your expressions are inaccurate, you do i…

Chapter 2.—Of Carnal Life, Which is to Be Understood Not Only of Living in Bodily Indulgence, But Also of Living in the Vices of the Inner Man. First, we must see what it is to live after the flesh, and what to live after the spirit. For any one who either does not recollect, or does not sufficiently weigh, the language of sacred Scripture, may, on first hearing what we have sa…

§48Christ must be acknowledged Head of the Church for this reason too, that, as supernatural gifts have their fullness and perfection in Him, it is of this fullness that His Mystical Body receives. It is pointed out by many of the Fathers, that as the head of our mortal body is the seat of all the senses, while the other parts of our organism have only the sense of touch, so all t…

It pleased God, in his eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, his only begotten Son, to be the Mediator between God and man, the Prophet, Priest, and King; the Head and Saviour of the Church, the Heir of all things, and Judge of the world; unto whom he did, from all eternity, give a people to be his seed, and to be by him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanc…

The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever.

It is taught among us that God the Son became man, born of the Virgin Mary, and that the two natures, divine and human, are so inseparably united in one person that there is one Christ, true God and true man, who was truly born, suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried in order to be a sacrifice not only for original sin but also for all other sins and to propitiate God's …

The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, ve…

There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible and then impassible — even Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now the virginity of Mary was hidden from the prince of this world, as was also her offspring, and the death of the Lord — three mysteries of renown, which were wrought in silence by God. How, then, was He manifested to the world? A star shone forth in heaven above all the other stars, the light of which was inexpressible, while its novelty struck men with astonishment.

Be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. Be thou more diligent than thou art. Discern the times. Look for Him who is above all time, eternal, invisible, yet who became visible for our sakes; impalpable and impassible, yet who became passible on our account; and who in every way suffered for our sakes.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Calvin expounds the eternal divinity of the Word with great care. The Word was not created in time but existed from all eternity with the Father. "The Word was God" — here is a clear declaration of the deity of Christ. The Word was made flesh — this is the mystery of the incarnation, the union of th…

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. …

Chapter 1. On God. 1. I know that some will attempt to say that, even according to the declarations of our own Scriptures, God is a body, because in the writings of Moses they find it said, that our God is a consuming fire; and in the Gospel according to John, that God is a Spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Fire and spirit, according to t…

Preface. 1. When false witnesses testified against our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, He remained silent; and when unfounded charges were brought against Him, He returned no answer, believing that His whole life and conduct among the Jews were a better refutation than any answer to the false testimony, or than any formal defense against the accusations. And I know not, my pious…

1. How Christians are the Spiritual Israel. That people which was called of old the people of God was divided into twelve tribes, and over and above the other tribes it had the levitical order, which itself again carried on the service of God in various priestly and levitical suborders. In the same manner, it appears to me that the whole people of Christ, when we regard it in t…

1. Introduction to the Feeding of the Five Thousand. And when even had come His disciples came to Him, Matthew 14:15 that is, at the consummation of the age in regard to which we may fitly say what is found in the Epistle of John, It is the last hour. 1 John 2:18 They, not yet understanding what the Word was about to do, say to Him, The place is desert, Matthew 14:15 seeing the…

1. Concerning Those Who Asked Him to Show Them a Sign from Heaven. And the Sadducees and Pharisees came, and tempting Him kept asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. Matthew 16:1 The Sadducees and Pharisees who disagreed with each other in regard to the most essential truths, — for the Pharisees champion the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, hoping that there will …

1. The Power of Harmony in Relation to Prayer. Again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them. Matthew 18:19 The word symphony is strictly applied to the harmonies of sounds in music. And there are indeed among musical sounds some accordant and others discordant. But the Evangelic Scripture is fam…

25. They had best have been silent; but since it is otherwise, it remains to meet their shameless question with a bold retort. Perhaps on seeing the counter absurdities which beset themselves, they may cease to fight against the truth. After many prayers then that God would be gracious to us, thus we might ask them in turn; God who is, has He so become, whereas He was not? Or i…

44. This then I consider the sense of this passage, and that, a very ecclesiastical sense. However, there is another way in which one might remark upon it, giving the same sense in a parallel way; viz. that, though it does not speak of the exaltation of the Word Himself, so far as He is Word (for He is, as was just now said, most high and like His Father), yet by reason of His …

60. (9.) Moreover the words 'He has become surety' denote the pledge in our behalf which He has provided. For as, being the 'Word,' He 'became flesh John 1:14 ' and 'become' we ascribe to the flesh, for it is originated and created, so do we here the expression 'He has become,' expounding it according to a second sense, viz. because He has become man. And let these contentious …

15. This then is quite enough to expose the infamy of the Arian heresy; for, as the Lord has granted, out of their own words is irreligion brought home to them. But come now and let us on our part act on the offensive, and call on them for an answer; for now is fair time, when their own ground has failed them, to question them on ours; perhaps it may abash the perverse, and dis…

He recalls the beginning of his youth, i.e. the thirty-first year of his age, in which very grave errors as to the nature of God and the origin of evil being distinguished, and the Sacred Books more accurately known, he at length arrives at a clear knowledge of God, not yet rightly apprehending Jesus Christ. Chapter 1. He Regarded Not God Indeed Under the Form of a Human Body, …

Having manifested what he was and what he is, he shows the great fruit of his confession; and being about to examine by what method God and the happy life may be found, he enlarges on the nature and power of memory. Then he examines his own acts, thoughts and affections, viewed under the threefold division of temptation; and commemorates the Lord, the one mediator of God and me…

Containing a general view of the subjects treated in Holy Scripture Chapter 1.— The Interpretation of Scripture Depends on the Discovery and Enunciation of the Meaning, and is to Be Undertaken in Dependence on God's Aid. 1. There are two things on which all interpretation of Scripture depends: the mode of ascertaining the proper meaning, and the mode of making known the meaning…

Is it fitting for God to become incarnate? Was it necessary for the restoration of the human race? If there had been no sin, would God have become incarnate? Did He become incarnate to take away original sin rather than actual? Was it fitting for God to become incarnate from the beginning of the world? Should His Incarnation have been deferred to the end of the world? Article 1…

Was there any habitual grace in the soul of Christ? Were there virtues in Christ? Did He have faith? Did He have hope? Were there the gifts in Christ? Was the gift of fear in Christ? Were there any gratuitous graces in Christ? Was there prophecy in Christ? Was there the fulness of grace in Him? Was such fulness proper to Christ? Was the grace of Christ infinite? Could it have b…

Was there sin in Christ? Was there the "fomes" of sin in Him? Was there ignorance? Was His soul passible? Was there sensible pain in Him? Was there sorrow? Was there fear? Was there wonder? Was there anger? Was He at once wayfarer and comprehensor? Article 1. Whether there was sin in Christ? Objection 1. It would seem that there was sin in Christ. For it is written (Psalm 21:2)…

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth.

Following, then, the holy Fathers, we all unanimously teach that our Lord Jesus Christ is to us one and the same Son, the self-same perfect in Godhead, the self-same perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man.

Acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation — the difference of the natures being in no way removed because of the union, but rather the properties of each nature being preserved, and both concurring into one person and one subsistence — not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten Go…

In His goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature. Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God, out of the abundance of His love, speaks to men as friends and lives among…

The Word of God, which is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe, is set forth and shows its power in a most excellent way in the writings of the New Testament. For when the fullness of time arrived, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us in His fullness of graces and truth. Christ established the kingdom of God on earth, manifested His Father and Himself by …

Q. Why is he called God's only begotten Son when we also are children of God? A. Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. We, however, are adopted children of God — adopted by grace through Christ.

Q. If his humanity is not present wherever his divinity is, then aren't the two natures of Christ separated from each other? A. Certainly not. Since divinity is not limited and is present everywhere, it is evident that Christ's divinity is surely beyond the bounds of the humanity he has taken on, but at the same time his divinity is in and remains personally united to his human…

This death is of such great value and worth for the reason that the person who submitted to it is — as was necessary to be our Savior — not only a true and perfectly holy human being, but also the only begotten Son of God, of the same eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Another reason is that this death was accompanied by the experience of God's wr…

We believe that by being thus conceived the person of the Son has been inseparably united and joined together with human nature, in such a way that there are not two Sons of God, nor two persons, but two natures united in a single person, with each nature retaining its own distinct properties. Thus his divine nature has always remained uncreated, without beginning of days or en…

We further believe and teach that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, was predestinated or foreordained from eternity by the Father to be the Savior of the world. And we believe that he was born, not only when he assumed flesh of the Virgin Mary, and not only before the foundation of the world was laid, but by the Father before all eternity in an inexpressible manner. The So…

Nature is regarded either abstractly as a matter of pure thought (for it has no independent existence): or commonly in all subsistences of the same species as their bond of union, and is then spoken of as nature viewed in species: or universally as the same, but with the addition of accidents, in one subsistence, and is spoken of as nature viewed in the individual, this being i…

When we say that Christ is perfect God and perfect man, we assuredly attribute to Him all the properties natural to both the Father and mother. For He became man in order that that which was overcome might overcome. For He Who was omnipotent did not in His omnipotent authority and might lack the power to rescue man out of the hands of the tyrant. But the tyrant would have had a…

We believe the three Persons of the Holy Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — to be one God, one in essence, and inseparable. The Father is altogether unbegotten and unoriginate; the Son is begotten of the Father before the ages; the Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father, as from a fountain and cause. These are three Persons in one Godhead, equal in honor, in m…

We believe the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to have emptied Himself, that is, to have taken into His own Person human flesh, being conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Ever-Virgin Mary, and having become Man without ceasing to be God. Two natures, the Divine and the human, are hypostatically, inseparably, unconfusedly, and unchangeably united in one Person, whe…

1. Since in Christ there is a twofold nature, and the one — in so far as he is thought of as God — resembles the head of the body, while the other may be compared with the feet — in so far as he, for the sake of our salvation, put on human nature with the same passions as our own — the following work will be complete only if we begin with the chief and lordliest events of all h…

1. Afterward he speaks in this manner of the Apocalypse of John. Some before us have set aside and rejected the book altogether, criticising it chapter by chapter, and pronouncing it without sense or argument, and maintaining that the title is fraudulent. 2. For they say that it is not the work of John, nor is it a revelation, because it is covered thickly and densely by a veil…

We affirm that God who made mankind in His image has used language as a means of revelation. We deny that human language is so limited by our creatureliness that it is rendered inadequate as a vehicle for divine revelation.

The Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man.

The Formula affirms the communication of attributes (communicatio idiomatum) between Christ's two natures in the one person. The human nature truly shares in the divine majesty because of the personal union. It denies the Reformed position that limits Christ's human nature to a finite locality in heaven, and it denies that the two natures are mixed or confused. The whole Christ…

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.

Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of His mother, born in the world. Perfect God and perfec…

Tertullian argues that the Son proceeds from the Father as a ray proceeds from the sun — distinct yet inseparable. The Word was with God before all things, and the Word was God. The Son is a second Person, not a second God, sharing the same divine substance as the Father.

Tertullian teaches that the Son took on human flesh without ceasing to be God. The incarnation is a clothing of divinity in humanity, not a transformation of one into the other. The Word became flesh — He did not become something other than God by becoming man.

Gregory teaches that the incarnation was fitting because God entered human nature in order to heal it from within. Like a physician who enters a sick house, the Word took on flesh so that what was corruptible might put on incorruption. Through death He destroyed the one who held the power of death, the devil.

Leo writes against Eutyches who taught that after the incarnation Christ had only one nature. Leo insists that the two natures — divine and human — are united in one Person without confusion, mixture, or absorption. The Word became flesh, but the divine nature did not swallow up the human. Each nature remains complete and intact.

Christ is not a man who was promoted to deity but the eternal Son who is true God of true God, Light of Light, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father. He is the exact image of the Father, through whom all things were made. Cyril traces the titles of Christ — Son, Lord, Jesus, Christ — showing that each reveals a different aspect of His divine person and saving work…

The eternal Word truly became flesh — not in mere appearance (as the Docetists teach) but in full reality. He was born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, taking upon Himself a true human body and a rational human soul. He hungered, thirsted, wept, and suffered genuinely. The Incarnation is the great mystery: God became man so that man might be restored to communion with God…

The orthodox writers of the Church have correctly and wisely gathered from certain passages that the Word of God is the eternal Son of the Father, who appeared to the patriarchs under the name of the Angel of the LORD. For although it is true that angels sometimes appeared; yet when the Scripture says that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush (see Exod. i…