Page 179 - Bible Writers Theology Original

Christology ♦ 1 6 3 but also proclaimed that Mary was thereby the mother of
heSonincarnate. ThisteachingencouragedtheworshipofMary.
T^ere also arose a man named Apollinaris who taught that Jesus eiv^ a human body and soul (blood) from Mary, but instead of ahuman
SpiritofGoddwellinginhim. IfChrist'sfleshandblood ^be sinful nature of Mary (corruptible seed) it could not remit sin. ^ o a a sacrifice required a sinless lamb of God for the atonement of the Sins ^ mankind. Sinless does not mean just active sins committed, but
I . *therited sin which would have come from Mary if he had any bio- ogical connection to her (Psalm 51:5; Job 14:4; 25:4-6).
Christ, as a child, proved that He was the Mighty God and the ever- astmgFather,whenHewasworshipedinthemanger(Isaiah9:6). Even Jolm the Baptist, when he was six months old in his mother's womb, wor- s ped the Son of God when he was in the womb of Mary (Luke 1:41;
Matthew 2:11).
There were some, however, who stood against the teachings of the trini ty- One such person was Sabellius, in the third century. He taught that there are three manifestations or modes of revelation of the one God.
apparently held a scriptural view of God, for the Bibleteaches that there is only one God, and He has revealed Himself as the Father, in the Son, and as the Holy Ghost. Just as the word and breath of a man cannot exist independently outside the man, so also the Word and Spirit of God
cannot be separate persons outside God the Father.
Moreover, the Bible firmly teaches that Jesus Christ is the Word of God, who was made flesh in the womb of Mary, by the miraculous work of God theFather. Jesuswastrulyheavenlyman,butHewasalsotheoneGodin His own flesh, the Father incarnate. Since He did not have an earthly father, God Himself was the Father of the human aspect (the Son). Thus,
Jesuswasagenuine,perfect,sinlessMan. HewasalsothefullnessofGod in flesh. The God-Man is God the Father in the flesh (Isaiah 9:6).
JesusChristdidnothavetwobegettingsortwobirths. AsGodtheFather, He had no beginning; as Man, He was born once of a virgin (as out of a dry
ground). "InthebeginningwastheWord,andtheWordwaswithGod,and God was the Word." (See Greek Bible, John 1:1.) The Word was within the Father from eternity and was the Word of the Father. The Father and the Word are one and the same. The Father Himself existed from eternity as both Word and Spirit, and He continues to exist in the sameessence. God theFatherbeingWordwasabletobegetWord. BeingSpirit,Heisableto breathe Spirit now and then. (See Isaiah 55:11; Psalm 33:6; Micah 2:7; Job
32:8; 33:4.)