Today I summarize chapter 13, in which Calvin explains and defends the humanity of Christ. He does this for the sake of the gospel.
1. The human nature and flesh Christ took upon himself at his incarnation were real. They were not illusions, phantoms, or tricks.
2. Jesus Christ is of the seed of Abraham and Jacob, not the seed of air or phantom.
3. Calvin says, “Nor is an eternal throne promised to a man of air, but to the Son of David and the fruit of his loins [Ps 45:6; 132:11]. Hence, when He was manifested in the flesh, He was called ‘the Son of David and of Abraham’ [Matt 1:1]. This is not only because He was born of the virgin’s womb…but because, according to Paul’s interpretation, He ‘was made of the seed of David according to the flesh’ [Rom 1:3]” (Pg., 475). [Heb 2:11, 14, 16; 2:17; 4:15; Jn 3:34; 1:16; 17:19]
4. How unholy it is to think or say that God revealed and actively lived his glorious essence in the Person of Jesus by some accidental gift rather than by Christ actually revealing and actively living the glory of God’s essence as the incarnate Word. [Heb 2:11, 14, 16; 2:17; 4:15; Jn 3:34; 1:16; 17:19]
5. How do we understand Phil 2:6-8? Calvin writes, “Here Paul is really teaching not what Christ was, but how He conducted Himself. From the whole context we may easily infer that Christ emptied Himself in a nature truly human. For what does ‘being found in fashion as a man’ mean [2:8], save that for a time the divine glory did not shine, but only human likeness was manifest in a lowly and abased condition” (Pg., 476).
6. Christ’s true humanity is described in Psalm 8:4 and Hebrews 2:6, 14. “Christ is clearly declared to be comrade and partner in the same nature with us” (Pg., 477).
7. Jesus, the eternal God is not ashamed to call the elect “his brethren” [Heb 2:11].
8. This Jesus, our “Elder brother”, is of course without sin.
9. Scriptures such as Rom 5:12, 15, 18; 1 Cor 15:47; Rom 8:3-4; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 Jn 3:5, teach us this. “Thus, so skilfully does Paul distinguish Christ from the common lot that He is true man but without fault...whenever Scripture calls our attention to the purity of Christ, it is to be understood of His true human nature, for it would have been superfluous to say that God is pure” (Pg., 481).
10. Calvin uses the adjective “marvellous,” to describe the truth of the incarnation. He writes, “Here is something marvellous: the Son of God descended from heaven in such a way that, without leaving heaven, He willed to be born in the virgin’s womb, to go about the earth, and to hang upon the cross; yet He continuously filled the world even as He had done from the beginning” (Pg., 481).
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