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Jesus Christ: Incarnated or Created? (Endnotes)

1. Dunn, op. cit., Christology in the Making, p. 4, quoting M. Wiles. Close

2. F. L. Cross, ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press, N.Y., 1983), p. 696. Close

3. New Bible Dictionary, (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub., Grand Rapids, MI, 1975), p. 558. Close

4. Ibid., p. 558. Close


5. Ibid., p. 560. Close

6. Ibid., p. 559. Close

7. Ibid., p. 558. Close

8. Tim LaHaye, Jesus: Who Is He? (Multnomah Books, Sisters, OR, 1996), p. 80. Close

9. See Appendix A (Gen. 18:1-2). Close

10. See Appendix G for historical proofs of the resurrection. Close

11. Maurice Wiles, The Remaking of Christian Doctrine (Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1978), p. 44. Close

12. Op. cit., New Bible Dictionary, p. 558. Close

13. Robinson, op. cit., Honest to God, pp. 65 and 66. Close

14. John Hick stirred a controversy in the 1970’s and 80’s with the publishing of his book, The Myth of God Incarnate (SCM Press, 1977), p. 161. He regarded the doctrine of the Incarnation as something entirely foreign to the whole of New Testament thought, calling it “a dogma that Jesus himself would probably have regarded as blasphemous.” Rudolf Bultmann sees so much influence of mythology on the doctrine that he called for a “demythologizing” of Christianity, even including the resurrection, which he also questioned the historicity of. Modern critic A. N. Wilson is particularly demeaning of what he views as apostolic borrowing from pagan mythology in order to establish the Christian faith as a sufficiently grandiose story that could be competitive with the Greek and Roman fables. See A. N. Wilson, Paul: The Mind of the Apostle (W. W. Norton, N.Y., 1997). Close

15. This triadic motif among pagan mystery religions is well documented, and we will not elaborate upon it here. For example, in Hindu mythology, the chief divinity was Brahman, the supreme World-spirit and the Creator. He was joined by Vishnu, the Preserver, and Shiva, the Destroyer. These three divinities are called the Trimurti, which in Sanskrit means three forms. This entity had three forms, but one essence. Close

16. A. N. Wilson, Paul: The Mind of the Apostle (W. W. Norton & Co., N.Y., 1997), pp. 75 and 76. Close

17. Refer to The Creation Evolution Controversy, an audiotape seminar by Christian Educational Services. Close

18. Ovid was a great Latin poet who is famous for his narrative poem called Metamorphoses (Transformations) that included more than 200 tales taken from the favorite legends and myths of the ancient world. Interestingly, Ovid considered the stories sheer nonsense, and not to be believed. He wrote: “I prate of ancient poets’ monstrous lies, Ne’er seen now or then by human eyes.” Edith Hamilton, Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes (Penguin Books, NY, 1940) p. 21. Close

19. Robinson, Priority, pp. 393 and 394. Close

20. Robinson, op. cit., Honest to God, p. 65. Close

21. New Bible Dictionary, p. 558. Close

22. Dart cites Bultmann’s research to support this connection between his idea of “Christianity” (orthodox tradition) and Gnosticism:

Christianity asserts that humanity cannot redeem itself, that is “save” itself from the world and the powers that hold sway in it. In this concept, primitive Christianity was greatly influenced by Gnostic ideas, said Bultmann. “Man’s redemption,” he wrote, “can only come from the divine world as an event, according to both the Gnostics and the Christians.”

Rudolf Bultmann, Primitive Christianity in its Contemporary Setting (The World Publishing, Cleveland, 1956), pp. 162-171. John Dart, op. cit., The Jesus of Heresy and History, p. 39. Close

23. Ibid., p. 57. The following quote from Dart is an example of scholarly belief that the God of the Bible was unknowable: “In the wisdom genre, God tended to be more inscrutable for humans. ‘ He is removed into the distance and placed high above earthly concerns so that His acts in history and His acts of creation become veiled,’” writes Kurt Rudolph, citing Job 28 and Proverbs 30:1-4. Close

24. Dave Hunt, The Berean Call, April, 1999. Close

25. In Defense of the Faith (Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 1996), p. 50. See Appendix A for our response to some of the verses he cites, many of which involve the Granville-Sharp “Rule.” Close

26. God is both the Author of the plan of salvation and an active player in our salvation. For example, God, the Father, is called “savior” in 1 Tim. 1:1, 2:3, 4:10; Titus 3:4; Jude 25. Jesus Christ is called “savior” because he is the agent who carried out God’s plan, and without whom it could not have come to pass. See Appendix A (Luke 1:47). Close

27. See Appendix A (Gen. 16:7-13). Close

28. Perhaps the clearest example of this is in Exodus 17:14b, where God clearly says, “I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” But He did not mean that He would do so Himself without human agency, as is revealed in Deuteronomy 25:19, when Moses says: “When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” 1 Samuel 15 also verifies that the blotting out of the Amalekites was to be accomplished by the Israelites with God’s help. They could not sit back and let God do it, even though His utterance in Exodus 17:14 could have been interpreted that way. Close

29. See Appendix A (Acts 7:45). Close

30. For a more technical discussion of another fallacy employed in this argument, see Appendix K, “Undistributed Middle.” Close

31. One particularly enthusiastic supporter of incarnational theology strongly affirms that the Incarnation is the foundation of the faith: “He did not become less God because of the incarnation, God manifest in the flesh is the foundation of Christianity. That one should be the God-man is the great mystery of our faith.” W. E. Best, Christ Could Not Be Tempted (W. E. Best Book Missionary Trust, Houston, TX, 1985), p. 8. Close

32. God is also not “a son of man.” See Appendix H, #7. Close

33. Rubenstein, op. cit., When Jesus Became God, p. 118. Close

34. . It is interesting that even the devotees of the doctrine of the Incarnation see a problem with the “dual nature” theory of his being. W. E. Best writes: “To say that Christ could have sinned as to his human nature but not as to his divine nature forces me to conclude that there was a conflict between his two natures. This was impossible because his human nature was united to his Divine Person. Thus, there was never any conflict in Christ as there is in the Christian (Rom. 7:15-25).” Best, op. cit., Christ Could Not Be Tempted, p. 15. Close

35. The reader can decide for himself which of the following sounds more logical and scriptural:

a) God Himself became a man, coming down to earth from heaven to do a job. He is treated poorly while trying to do the job, and is killed. He then raises Himself from the dead and goes back to where He came from, declaring Himself victorious.

b) God created a human being, whom God prepared and commissioned to do a job. The man comes from a humble, earthly origin, is treated poorly and killed. Because he did such a good job, however, God raised him from the dead and promoted him to an exalted position in heaven. Close

36. James Dunn, op. cit., Christology in the Making, p. 61. Close

37. Raymond Brown is representative as he comments on 1 Corinthians 8:6: “The text is not really clear about his personal pre-existence. It could be a reference to the power of a new creation given to Jesus.” And, regarding the phrase in Philipians 2:6 and 7, Brown comments: “Many scholars today doubt that “being in the form of God” and “accepting the form of a servant” refers to incarnation [and therefore pre-existence].” Brown, op. cit., Community, p. 46. Close

38. We say “apparently,” because it is hard to know exactly what Arius believed. Since he was declared a “heretic” by the “winners,” all his works were burned. Trinitarian theologian McGrath acknowledges this fact: “However, it must be stressed that we know Arius’ views mainly in the form in which they have been mediated to us by his opponents, which raises questions about the potential bias of their presentation.” Alistair McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction (Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge, MA, 1997), p. 332. Close

39. Daniel 3:25 is often cited in this connection as evidence that Jesus did make a few cameo appearances in the Old Testament. When Nebuchadnezzar threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fiery furnace, they were not only kept alive, they were joined by a fourth man, whom Nebuchnezzar described as “a son of the gods.” The NIV Study Bible, despite the translators’ belief that Jesus was the Lord in the Old Testament, says the following regarding this verse: “Nebuchadnezzar was speaking as a pagan polytheist and was content to conceive of the fourth figure as a lesser heavenly being sent by the all-powerful God of the Israelites.” The one that God sent was clearly an angel, as Daniel 3:28 makes plain. Close

40. For an examination of this and other changes that copyists made to make the text more Trinitarian, see Bart Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture (Oxford University Press, N.Y., 1993). Close

41. Werner, op. cit., pp. 132-139. According to Werner, some of the early references to Christ being an angel are: The Ascencio Jesaiae, the Ebionites who recognized Christ as an archangel; Theodotus, who wrote that Christ was “an angel of the [Gnostic] pleroma; Apelles the Marcionite, the book of Jeu [probably Jehu]; the writing Pistis Sophia; the writing Sophia Jesus Christi, which identifies Jesus as “the angel of Light”; the Epistula Apostolorum has Christ as the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary; the widely known Shepherd Of Hermas portrays Christ as the angel Michael; Of Threefold Fruits; Justin wrote that Christ was the highest angel prince; Clement wrote that Christ appeared as an angel in the Old Testament; Origen wrote that Christ was the angel who guarded Paradise; Methodius of Olympus wrote that Christ was first of the Archangels; the book of Enoch has “the son of man” as an angel; and Novatian and Lactonius referred to Christ as an angel. Close

42. “Angel-Christology” is a theological term for the belief that Christ is an angel or some created spirit being who existed before he was born on earth. Close

43. Ibid., p. 149. Close

44. Dunn, op. cit., Christology, p. 20. Close

45. Ibid., p. 9 (emphasis his). Close

46. Young’s Concordance, Hint #60 in “Hints and Helps” (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub., Grand Rapids, 1964). Close

47. See Appendix A. Close

48. See also E. W. Bullinger’s The Witness of the Stars (Kregel Pub., Grand Rapids, 1972. Originally published in 1893). Close

49. E. W. Bullinger, op. cit., Figures of Speech, p. 518. Close

50. Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah (William B. Eerdmans Pub., Grand Rapids. 1996), Vol. 1, p. 329. Close

51. Bullinger, op. cit. Figures of Speech, pp. 819 and 820. Close

52. This is one of the great differences between Israel and the Christian Church, the Body of Christ. Christians will be raptured up from the earth and meet the Lord in the air. Then, after a time, we will return to earth with Christ to conquer and reign. Israel, on the other hand, will be resurrected and go right to the land of Israel (Eze. 37:11-14). Close