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F3 reasoning: True humanity of Christ

Reasoning steps: True humanity of Christ

Verdicts: F3 · True humanity of Christ. Method: conventions, scoring and proximity eras. Scripture is the primary measure; fathers are weighed by era (Era I to c. 150 = 1.0, II = 0.8, III = 0.6, IV = 0.4).

F03.1: Did the Son take a full human nature?

Step F03.1.1: Scripture

John 1:14 (σὰρξ ἐγένετο); Luke 2:52 (grew in wisdom); Heb 2:14–17 (‘made like his brothers in every respect’); 4:15 (tempted, without sin); 1 John 4:2–3 (denying Christ ‘come in the flesh’ is antichrist).

Step F03.1.2: Patristic evidence

Ignatius (Era I): Christ ‘was truly born, and ate and drank’, ’truly of the seed of David according to the flesh’. Gregory: ’that which He has not assumed He has not healed’. Sources: ignatius-f03-s1 · ignatius-f03-s2 · gregory-nazianzen-f03-s1.

Step F03.1.3: Weighing decision

Unanimous from Era I against docetism, and in Era III against Apollinarius (a human mind). Verdict: consensus.

  • Confidence: High.

Step F03.1.4: Source-proximity weighing

  • Scripture (benchmark): Christ is ’like his brothers in every respect’ except sin (Heb 2:17; 4:15), and denying his coming in the flesh is antichrist (1 John 4:2–3). (Scripture confidence: high)
  • Assessment: Scripture and Era I agree. Menno Simons’s celestial-flesh view keeps true humanity but denies that it is of Mary’s substance, which departs partly from Ignatius’s ‘of the seed of David’ (Rom 1:3).

Post-750 development by tradition

Catholic

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 4/4; Scripture 4/4): Chalcedon received; Trent creed.

Orthodox

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 4/4; Scripture 4/4): Chalcedon received.

Oriental Orthodox

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 4/4; Scripture 4/4): Nerses: Christ ‘as a man, he died … drank the chalice of death by his will’ (verified); full humanity confessed.

Lutheran

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 4/4; Scripture 4/4): AC III: born of the Virgin, ’true God and true man’.

Anglican

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 4/4; Scripture 4/4): Art. II: ’took Man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance’.

Presbyterian

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 4/4; Scripture 4/4): WCF VIII.2: ’took upon him man’s nature, with all the essential properties, and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin’.

Reformed Baptist

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 4/4; Scripture 4/4): 1689 8.2 (same as WCF).

General Baptist

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 4/4; Scripture 4/4): Orthodox Creed: Christ’s two natures (OCR; article wording to verify).

Anabaptist

Confesses Christ’s true humanity.

  • F03.1 (fathers 3/4; Scripture 3/4): Menno: ’truly flesh and blood … like unto us in all things, yet without sin’ (verified), but generated ‘in’, not ‘of’, Mary.