Did Jesus Lay Aside His Divinity at the Incarnation?

Did Jesus lay aside His divinity at the Incarnation? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Our phone lines are open right now, and we'll be taking your calls for the next 25 minutes. So if you've got a question about the Bible, doctrine, theology, how your Christian walk intersects with today's cultural issues, by all means, give us a call. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Now, you can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. You can watch us right now on YouTube and message us that way through our YouTube channel. And you can email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Bill, I just wanted to say I also have some great salsa recipes, and so, I mean, you go down that whole list, and I just want to say that doesn't exhaust everything.

There are other things that I can share with you that will really bless you in your walk with the Lord. Indeed. They will edify you, except that your mouth will be on fire. That's right. That's right. I do like it spicy.

He likes those ghost peppers. All right. Well, let's go to a question we got from one of our listeners named Josh. My wife and I have been dealing with some family and friends over the past year or so, who, whenever they have some sort of struggle, they resort to a lot of complaining and griping to the point of a lot of even gossip and a lot of slander about the people that they're dealing with, and to the point it's becoming a really big issue with us because we feel like there's a lot of, again, this atmosphere of gossip and really nepotism. There's a lot of negative, hurtful speech that is going on within the family and our circles, and we believe that the Bible says that that's a really hurtful thing, the tongue being a real source of death if you're not careful and controlling it sometimes, and when we sought out some advice on how to handle that situation, we were basically told to not ever call anybody out for that sort of thing, that we should just let people vent, we should just be a safe place. The main thing to do is just to let people feel heard, to value family relationships over ever telling anybody that what they may be doing isn't biblical, so would you have any advice on how to deal with people that you want that relationship with, but it's often defined by hurtful and what we think of as sinful ways of speaking to one another.

Thanks. Brother, God bless you, Josh. The loving thing to do when we hear someone tearing down another person or gossiping about them is not just to sit back and listen and nod and smile.

You're right. The way we use our speech can be deadly, and that's precisely what the Bible says. I think you were alluding to that text in the book of James, in James 3, where James says, verse 8, no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it, we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

Now, think of the great contradiction there. We use our tongue to bless God. We gather together for worship on Sunday. We sing praise songs. We pray to the Lord throughout the day, blessing His name, but with that same tongue, we tear down the image of God in the people around us. James goes on to say in verse 10, from the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening, both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives or a grapevine produce figs?

Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. You have in scripture this very clear warning there and in many places related to how we use our speech. Yesterday, we got a call about gossip. We were looking at a passage in the Proverbs, in Proverbs 26, verse 20. For lack of wood, the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels.

They go down into the inner parts of the body. You're right, Josh, for wanting to take this seriously and wanting to speak into this situation. In fact, the very next chapter in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 27, verse 6, says, faithful are the wounds of a friend. Profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. That is, when you love someone, when you're a true friend, you're willing to confront the sin that is destroying the other person because you love them. You don't just want to stand by idly and let them continue doing something that you know dishonors the Lord, tears down other people, and is bad for their soul. What does that mean? That doesn't mean that you need to blow up at them. It just means that graciously speaking the truth in love, maybe that looks like pulling that individual aside and having a private conversation. You say, hey, I'm kind of concerned about this.

It certainly means not participating in it, so not egging the other person on or pursuing that. Really, I want to encourage you to lovingly, graciously speak the truth to your family members, your friends when they're getting like this. I've noticed lately with all the things going on in society that people just grumble a lot these days. We're just so frustrated all day long looking at the news, being triggered over and over and over again by something that's happening out there, something that someone else said, some politician or some commentator. We just have this sort of attitude of grumbling.

I think even that needs to be put in check. I want to encourage you to do that, to lovingly have conversations where you're going to be able to encourage these people and maybe bring up the fact that this is serious in the eyes of God. It's difficult to do but so important because when family members or friends are trying to triangle us in and take sides and they're griping about somebody else, like you said, we need to stop and go, wait a minute, this is not what God wants us to do right now. It's easy for us to fall into these patterns. I've noticed you might be spending time with someone and they say something about someone and you're just registering in that moment. What's going on here?

Sometimes it's couched in very pious language as we've said. You leave and you kind of feel like, I don't know that that was the right conversation. I wish I would have spoken up in that moment.

You can go back and say something but especially when there's a pattern and you just see this over and over again, then yeah, we should speak up. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, give us a call right now.

We'll be taking calls for another 15 minutes or so. Here is our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. You might want to make a note of that number for future reference.

You can always leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day. You can also email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. We received this email question.

It came in yesterday from one of our listeners named Ricky. He says, Hi, my question is on Philippians 2, 5-11, specifically on verse 7 where Jesus emptied himself. I've had conversations and have watched people online who believe the meaning of this verse is that Jesus laid aside all of his divinity while on earth, that Jesus was only a man when he accomplished his earthly ministry. Many sound preachers have called this kenosis heresy. After much research about the hypostatic union of Christ and learning about the core doctrines of the faith, this seems to be a big issue.

I was wondering if you could help shed some light on this subject. Happy to. The incarnation is one of my favorite doctrines in the scripture. John 1, verse 14, the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

It really is so rich, so magnificent. But there's a lot of bad theology about the incarnation, about who Christ is. Let me ask you a question as you're listening to me right now. Is Jesus a divine person or a human person?

What do you think? It really isn't a trick question. Historically, what Christians have confessed is he's the divine person, the eternal son of the father who assumed our humanity so that in one divine person you have two distinct natures, divine and human. Jesus assumed our humanity, but he's the divine person, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the eternal son of the father.

And he can't just lay that aside. Anyone who says that in the incarnation Jesus stopped being the divine person, he laid aside his divinity, well, that would be heresy. That's a misunderstanding of Philippians chapter 2, which says in verse 6, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. Being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

Now that emptying there, the best way to explain that is with what follows. It helps to define what it means that he emptied himself. He emptied himself by taking on the form, if you will, being born in the likeness of men, taking the form of a servant. That is in his humiliation. The incarnation you have in one sense, the humiliation of the eternal son of God coming for us and for our sins, experiencing weakness in his humanity. In that sense, he emptied himself. He veiled his glory, if you will.

That's the proper understanding of that word being emptied there. It's important that we get it because if Jesus is not the eternal son of God, then his sacrifice for our sins isn't going to cut it. This is the eternal son of God who in his humanity offered himself up for our sins so that we might forever be forgiven. If we get this wrong, we get the identity of Jesus wrong, we're in trouble.

Thank you for that question. A heresy that's been around for 2,000 years, right? It's nothing new under the sun.

Yeah, nothing new under the sun. One of Satan's favorite things to attack is the person of Jesus. This is what John says, that the spirit of the antichrist was already doing, confusing people about Jesus, saying he didn't come in the flesh, confusing people about what Jesus accomplished. Heresy so often, it goes for the jugular. It's not just beating around the bush, if you will, of core Christian doctrine. Satan wants to destroy the proper understanding of Christ.

That's why we have to cling to what the Bible says. Amen. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. The anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is coming up, and we have a special offer for you that ties in with that.

Yeah, I'm excited about this offer, Bill. Today, we're excited to share our Bible study on the book of Romans. This 10-week study is a great way to grow in your knowledge of the gospel, some of the core teachings about justification that helped spark the Reformation over 500 years ago now.

Romans also has had a huge impact on my life, on my ministry as a pastor. This is a wonderful in-depth study. It's available as a physical study, or you can also download it as a PDF. There's leader's guides available for all of our studies as well.

That's just another added bonus. Head over to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to get your copy of our Bible study on the book of Romans. Fantastic study that will really help you grow in your faith. And again, we can go online corechristianity.com forward slash offers or call us for that resource or any one of our resources, 833-843-2673.

Let's go to Stacey in Kansas City, Missouri. Stacey, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi.

Yes, I have a question regarding the vocabulary and language. I've noticed that it's become more common for people that have said they're Christians to be using profanity or foul language and casually in their speech. And I don't know if it's just because I was brought up to not do that, that it bothers me, but I just wanted to get the biblical perspective on that. Well, you know, Stacey, we were just talking about the importance of using our speech in a godly manner earlier when we were referring to gossip and the sin of gossip.

I think that this is an area where we need to exercise wisdom. Colossians chapter 4 verse 6 says, Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Now, Jesus said, From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And I think the way we use our language really can be a witness to the outside world. And so when we talk in ways that are gracious, when we're not just using the language that everybody else outside in the world uses, that's, I think, one of the ways that we can be distinct as followers of Jesus Christ.

And I've seen this happen before. I've seen with believers, and even myself, you know, at times where people have come to me, non-Christians have come to me, and said, One thing that we've noticed that's different about you is the way in which you use your speech, that you don't swear in the same way that, you know, all of us. I remember that especially back when I was in high school, when I was a newer believer, because, you know, it's high school, I guess. And so I think that this is an issue of wisdom. I think sometimes, you know, Christians can say, Look, there are, you know, these four-letter words that we never want to use, and that's what these passages are referring to.

I think it's actually much deeper. God calls us to speak the truth in love, to build one another up with our speech, and so we can avoid all of that language and still be pretty terrible with our speech and how we use our words. And so it's bigger than just swear words, if you will, but we need to use wisdom as we speak, especially before people who aren't Christians and don't walk with the Lord, because I think this is just, in one sense, an easy win for us, a way to be distinct from the watching world and maybe to be able to be an encouragement as well. And so, Stacy, thank you for your question, and God bless. Great question, Stacy.

Thanks. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Daniel in Kansas City, Missouri. Daniel, what's your question?

Hey there. I think mine has to do with the mission and current work of Jesus. A friend of mine has gone from a pre-millennial view to post-millennial.

I'm on the pre-millennial side and trying to have peaceful conversations with him, and we both have scripture that we're using, and I really just want more people's perspective. So I'd like to know where you stand on this and why, if possible. Thank you. Yeah. Hey, thank you for that question.

Now, you're right. This is sort of related to the mission of the church and what we think the church should be doing in the world today. It's also a part of our eschatology that is our understanding of the last things. And so where I stand on this, you have pre-millennialism, which is this idea that we're looking forward to a future thousand-year millennial reign of Jesus Christ on the earth, described in Revelation chapter 20. And so Jesus is not reigning as king in that sense right now. That's the pre-millennial argument, although he's at the right hand of the Father right now. He's not reigning in that capacity.

It's something that we're looking forward to. And actually, at one point that was my view as well. When I first became a believer, the churches that I went to were pre-millennial churches. And this is not an issue, whether you're pre-millennial, amillennial, which is where I am right now, or post-millennial, that should cause us to look at others and say, well, you must not be a Christian then. It's not one of those issues that strikes at the vitals of the Christian faith that is core Christianity.

But it is important nonetheless. And so post-millennialism really would see us as, in one sense, ushering the kingdom of God here on earth through the advancement of the gospel, through the Christianization of society more broadly, until we get to a point where Jesus comes back, and so we're sort of Christianizing this world and the kingdoms of this world. I happen to think, my position is when I read the prophets and the book of Revelation, when I read Daniel, for example, and he talks about the kingdom of the Lord, replacing all the kingdoms of this earth, I don't think that we're Christianizing the political society of this world, turning it into the kingdom of Christ. I think that the kingdom of Christ is distinct. And while we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are proclaiming the gospel, and that gospel is having an impact on the people around us, the kingdom of God is not something that we build. It's something that the Lord gives to us.

It's a gift. The author of the Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 12, since we are receiving a kingdom, let us worship God with reverence and awe. And so those are some of the distinctions. We're just scratching the surface there. But it gets to our understanding of key texts in scripture, passages like Revelation chapter 20, where John talks about the millennial reign of Christ and so on and so forth. But my point is, we're Christians. We can have charitable discussions with one another.

And maybe if you want more specifics, we can hear from you again. Thank you for that question. God bless. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Sam calling in from Oklahoma. Sam, what's your question for Adriel?

Yes, I got a question. It regards why mainstream Christianity thinks that Jesus is God. When Jesus clearly prays, he says the Father is greater than I am, and he always refers to God as his Father. He doesn't pray to himself or anything like that. And also in Revelation, they say that he's going to sit at the right hand of the Father, so how can he sit at the right hand of himself? That's my question.

Hey, Sam, thank you for that question. And so I think part of this gets at a proper understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity. We don't believe that Jesus, the Son, is the Father.

They're distinct persons. When Jesus prays to the Father, he's not praying to himself in that sense, although he is God. And it's absolutely clear in Scripture, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, that Jesus is God. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called. This is the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 9.

His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Just right there, John, who you're referring to, the passage you're referring to is John chapter 14, I believe, in verse 28. You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. But John, this same gospel is the very gospel where we're told, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. That is, he was not the Father, but the Word was God. John 1, 1. And the Word, Jesus, became flesh and dwelt among us. And so, how do we make sense of passages like verse 28 of John 14, where it says the Father is greater than I?

Well, here's how we'd understand it. We were already talking about Philippians chapter 2, where Jesus emptied himself. That is, in the history of salvation, sometimes referred to as the economy of salvation, Jesus assumed our humanity, took the form of a servant, humbled himself, coming as a servant. And in that sense, in the economy of salvation, he can say the Father is greater than I, but when it comes to the essence, the nature of the eternal Son of the Father, he's equal.

Consubstantial is the theological term that was used historically, of the same substance, or of the same essence. And that's why, historically, Christians have confessed this, because it's what we see throughout the pages of the Bible. Jesus himself said in John chapter 5 that all should honor me just as they honor the Father.

Well, who could say that except God? And when you get to the book of Revelation, which was also written by John, the same guy who wrote the gospel of John, what do we see but Jesus being worshipped by all creation in places like Revelation chapter 5? And so it's clear from the testimony of scripture that Jesus is God, but that he is not the Father.

And this is a part of how we get to the doctrine of the Trinity rooted in the scriptures. Thank you, Sam. Thanks, Sam. Appreciate your question.

This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to one more question. This is from Elizabeth in Illinois. Elizabeth, what would you like to ask? Yes, good afternoon.

I'm calling again. I have a question. Is there such thing as premature deaths? I, when my daughter passed away unexpectedly to see it, there was a lot of people commenting saying, Oh, this was a demonic attack. But then I have a close friend in the Bahamas who really believed that her mother-in-law witchcraft allowed, you know, I guess was insisted in her daughter's passing as well. Let me just say to you, sister.

One, I'm so sorry to hear about your baby. And that grieves me. But know this. Jesus said not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father. In other words, God knew.

God knows. And I think of what Psalm 139 says. You form my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you. When I was being made in the secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth, you saw my unformed substance in your book were written.

Every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. And sometimes people will say, oh, man, God was so caught off guard. You know, that was attacked, the attack of the evil one and so on and so forth. And we live in a fallen, sinful world. What I can say to you is Jesus has conquered death for you and for your baby.

And so there's hope. And God loves you. He knows all things.

This didn't surprise him. And he's with you. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar. Or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.