Was Jesus Human or Divine?
The impetus for writing this personal creed came when our pastor used the Definition of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) as one authoritative answer to the perennial question being tackled by our Sunday school class; Was Jesus Human or Divine? I felt that the Chalcedon creed was woefully out of date with my thinking, especially in the light of the better understanding of that subject that I believe can be acquired by weaving together scriptures and the Edgar Cayce readings. I have used the structure of the Definition of Chalcedon as a guide. I am sure I miss the mark too, but I hope by not as great a distance. I invite the reader to share this version in a Sunday school class for discussion and ask the attendees to compose their own version so that the creed becomes more personal and reflects their current understanding of Jesus and God.
The Nature of Jesus (AD 2023) by Jeffrey Imes
Following scripture and the readings,
We learn that the soul1 of Jesus the Christ is the soul Son of God
Like all souls, a composite unit of spirit, mind, and will,
A free-willed portion of God, created perfect in Spirit.
We learn that the body of Jesus the Christ was the human Son of God,
Like all incarnated souls, his human form was flesh and bone,
Like us in all respects, apart from sin.
The man Jesus was fully aware of his Oneness with God.
Created in the beginning as a soul in the image of God,
A true portion of God, Elder soul to all souls created in the beginning.
He fell as Adam, losing sight of the way God had prepared for man,
He was perfected in materiality by the mental and physical suffering
He endured while incarnated in the earth.
He returned as Jesus in perfected form for our salvation.
He chose to incarnate in human form as teacher and living example
To set souls free, release them from the bondage of materiality and sin.
Born of the Virgin Mary, virgin-born twin soul in purpose, the helpmeet,
Not bearer of God, but bearer of the soul-incarnated Son of God,
Jesus who became the Christ through the suffering he endured,
Who remained fully aware of his Christhood while in human activity,
Aware of his Oneness with God through Christ Consciousness2.
Begotten human Son of God offering his service and his life
To lost material-bound souls, lost sons and daughters of God
The Word of God, by right of his mental attunement to God,
Making his will one with the Will of God, losing Self in God,
He retained conscious awareness of his Oneness with God
Awareness of his Mission as savior of souls incarnated in human form
True voice of God, ideal pattern of life for humanity to emulate.
1Definition of soul: a portion of God composed of spirit, the substance which is God; mind, the creative force that manifests spirit; and will, the directing influence that guides mind.
2Definition of Christ Consciousness: the awareness waiting the soul, imprinted in pattern on the mind, ready to be awakened by will, of the soul's oneness with God.
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For comparison, I include the Definition of Chalcedon and my brief and incomplete summary of thoughts about the document.
The Definition of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
Following the holy fathers, we teach with one voice that the Son of God
and our Lord Jesus Christ is to be confessed as one and the same Person,
That He is perfect in Godhead and perfect in manhood,
truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body
consisting of one substance with the Father as regards His Godhead,
and at the same time of one substance with us as regards His manhood,
like us in all respects, apart from sin.
Begotten of His Father before the ages as regards His Godhead,
But in these last days born for us and for our salvation of the Virgin Mary,
the God- bearer.
This one and the same Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
must be confessed to be in two natures, without confusion, without changes,
without division, not as parted or separated into two persons,
but one and the same Son and only-begotten God the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of Him,
And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught us,
And the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.
Summary:
I find this definition misses the mark to say the least. It may be an expression of the church's doctrinal belief about Jesus 1,500 years ago but (in my opinion) is not a document that brings enlighten to anyone who expects to find a better understand of the humanity and divinity of Jesus. The first and last lines basically say believe what the church authorities tell you to believe. It repeats the thesis that Jesus is Man and God without saying what that really means and how it came to be true. It seems to hint (line 8) that Jesus was a created soul, but in A.D. 553 the church declared that anyone who 'believes in the fabulous pre-existence of the soul is anathema' (ie cursed). Lines 11-14 are perhaps meant to be the meat of the text, but they seem to be a bit of a mishmash that is confusing and uninformative (at least to me). To my mind, this creed definitely fails to provide meaningful insight into fundamental spiritual questions about the humanity and divinity of Jesus.