Christology is the theological study of how Jesus’ divinity and humanity are united in one person. This is a crucial doctrine related to the Trinity, and at its core, it answers the question: “Who is Jesus?”
From the early days of the Church, there have been many debates about Jesus: whether He is God, to what extent He is God, and whether He was God from the beginning or became God’s Son as a human. These discussions led to various heretical theories about the Trinity. Among them are adoptionism (the idea that Jesus was originally human and later adopted as God’s Son), modalism (the belief that God the Father transformed into Jesus), subordinationism (the claim that Jesus is subordinate to the Father), monothelitism (the view that Jesus has both divine and human natures but only one will), and monophysitism (the belief that Christ has only one nature, either divine or human).
The Church felt the need to establish a correct doctrine in response to these differing opinions. As a result, the doctrine of the Trinity was formally defined at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, and the official doctrine concerning Christ’s two natures (divine and human) was settled at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE.
The Chalcedonian Creed can be summarized as follows:
- Jesus Christ is fully God, identical to the Father.
- He is fully divine and fully human—the true God and the true man.
- He is of the same essence as the Father and shares the same humanity as us, but without sin.
- In His divine nature, He was eternally begotten of the Father; in His human nature, He was born of the Virgin Mary for our salvation.
- The two natures (divine and human) are united without confusion, change, division, or separation.
- These two natures do not cease to exist due to this union; each nature’s properties are preserved and function together in one person and one substance.
- He is not divided into two persons or separated.
According to this creed, Christ is both fully God and fully man. In other words, “Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, with His divinity and humanity united in one person. These two natures are preserved and function together in one person without confusion, change, division, or separation.” This is considered orthodox Christology.
Understanding this is challenging, as it is a doctrine—along with the Trinity—that is difficult to grasp with human reason. Explaining it is not easy for me either, so I will focus on how Christology is expressed in this novel.
In this novel, the main terms used to describe Jesus are “Son of God” and “Son of Man.” I use these expressions to refer to Christ’s two natures.
The term “Son of God” pertains to Jesus’ divinity. This divinity can be understood as judgment based on God’s standards; any actions aligned with these standards cannot be considered sinful. This is reflected in the novel when discussing original sin and Satan’s temptation, where Jesus’ divinity is not susceptible to temptation. The core of this divinity is that the Son of God cannot sin.
The term “Son of Man” refers to Jesus’ humanity. As stated in the Chalcedonian Creed, Jesus’ humanity began with His birth from the Virgin Mary. Humanity involves experiencing and feeling things from a human perspective, not God’s. Jesus, with His divine nature, was born in human flesh and experienced things He had not as God, such as hunger, thirst, and physical suffering. These actions of Jesus as the Son of Man are depicted in the novel.
You might wonder if Jesus could sin in His human nature. That is why I included Satan’s monologue about tempting the Son of Man. However, Jesus judges based on His divine nature, so He cannot sin. Jesus Himself said:
“I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” (John 5:30, WEB)
“You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. But if I do judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me.” (John 8:15–16, WEB)
These verses explain why I set up the narrative in this way.
Thus, within the single person of Jesus, divinity and humanity coexist, yet they exist independently. This independence does not mean they are separate in the sense of being different; rather, it means that the criteria for their manifestation are entirely different. Jesus acts and judges as the perfect God, and He also acts as a perfect human with a physical body. These two aspects do not contradict, divide, or separate from each other. Although divinity and humanity influence each other, they ultimately manifest in a single action. This is the Christology explained in this novel, where divinity and humanity unite within the single person of Jesus to manifest in a single action. In this manner, Jesus can fully express both His divinity and humanity within a single person without them becoming mixed or confused.
Do you understand? To explain it more simply using an analogy: even if you have two different criteria for judging a situation, you will ultimately take one action. What I am saying is identical to this. Even if you have two criteria within you, you are still one person, not two. The relationship between Jesus’ divinity and humanity is similar, so understanding it this way might make it slightly easier.
If my explanation seems inadequate or unsatisfying, I would appreciate your understanding. Providing further complex explanations would exceed my topic and cross boundaries. I will explain the Trinity in more detail later.
