The eternal Son assumed a human nature.

This is a profound component of the doctrine of Christ. Who was Jesus Christ? God, man, or both? The branch of theology which studies Christ is called Christology, and the position of the historic, orthodox Christian faith comes from the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451). The council summarized what the Bible tells us about who Jesus is. Here is a critical portion of the Chalcedon Definition:

Following, then, the holy fathers, we all unanimously teach that our Lord Jesus Christ is to us one and the same Son, the self-same perfect in Godhead, the self-same perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man; the self-same of a rational soul and body; co-essential with the Father according to the Godhead, the self-same co-essential with us according to the manhood; like us in all things, sin apart; before the ages begotten of the Father as to the Godhead, but in the last days, the self-same, for us and for our salvation (born) of Mary the Virgin Theotokos as to the manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten; acknowledged in two natures unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the difference of the natures being in no way removed because of the union, but rather the properties of each nature being preserved, and (both) concurring into one person and one hypostasis; not as though He were parted or divided into two persons, but one and the self-same Son and only-begotten God, Word, Lord, Jesus Christ; even as from the beginning the prophets have taught concerning Him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself hath taught us, and as the symbol of the fathers hath handed down to us.

(emphases mine)

Key points:

Jesus is truly God and truly man.
He is like us in all things, sin apart.
He has two natures united without confusion, change, division, or separation.

Why revisit Systematic Theology? Recently, a intriguing video crossed my feed; it was captivating, really. The music held my attention to the end and to my surprise, the video concluded with a statement about Jesus. I visited the website linked to the video:  hegetsus.com.

These words came up-

Jesus gets our lives,
because he was
HUMAN TOO.

I clicked around and learned about the $100 million dollar ad campaign launched by anonymous Christian donors to help people find “the Jesus of the Bible and his confounding love and forgiveness.”

I wound up watching all the videos on channel. I also clicked around to learn more about the team who put them together. The branding agency, Haven, had initially puzzled over this question:

”How did the world’s greatest love story in Jesus become known as a hate group?”

After exhaustive research and polling, they compiled their data and created ads which make claims about Jesus. Here’s a list I’ve compiled:

“Jesus was wrongly judged.”

“Jesus was a refugee.”

“Jesus was an immigrant.”

“Jesus felt pressure to be a good example too.”

Jesus was “a rebel who took to the streets.”

“Jesus felt alone, too.”

“Jesus wept, too.”

“Jesus welcomed all to the table.”

“Jesus let his hair down, too.”

“Jesus struggled to make ends meet, too.”

“Jesus had to control his outrage, too.”

“Jesus was cancelled.”

“Jesus suffered anxiety, too.”

“Jesus felt heartbreak, too.”

“Jesus was fed up with politics, too.”

“Jesus was in broken relationships.”

“Jesus was discriminated against, too.”

“Jesus was born to a teen mom.”

I have no doubt that the team at Haven and the donors writing them large checks all have sincere motives.  Nobody pays $100 million dollars for something they don’t believe in! When viewers go to the website they are given options to chat, join an Alpha group, or go to the YouVersion Bible app. Creative and artistically composed, the content I’ve seen so far is skillful;  the images and music produce powerful, persuasive advertising for Jesus.

The focus on Christ’s humanity is clear.

But what about his divinity?

In his excellent book God the Son Incarnate, Dr. Stephen J. Wellum says, “We simply must know and confess the person of Christ in truth.”[5] 

The person of Christ is one person, two natures: divine and human–truly God and truly man. Does “He Gets Us” communicate that? Have the ads divided his indivisible natures to make Jesus more relatable?

There is also the question of Christ’s human nature as it relates to human sin. When Christ’s humanity is emphasized, it’s important to emphasize he was like us in all things, sin apart.

Again from Dr. Wellum, “The New Testament teaches that Jesus shares fully in our human nature, but not in our sin nature.”[1] Peter tells us, “Jesus committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.[2]

A statement such as “Jesus let his hair down” points to Jesus’ humanity, but it might suggest to some that he engaged in sinful behavior. Dr. Wellum summarizes another key truth found in the fourth chapter of Hebrews: “Unlike us, he was not tempted by anything within himself. He was not enticed by sinful desires because there was no sin in him, not even a predisposition to sin.”[3] [4] I wish the ads did a better job of communicating that about Jesus.

We are the ones with an internal sin problem, not Jesus. This is why the appeals which over-emphasize Jesus’ humanity could be misleading. The phrase “He gets us” easily leads to the idea that Jesus approves of our sinful actions.  As sincere as the people behind this campaign are, Chaldedonian Christology is key to understanding and describing Jesus accurately. If I learned anything in Systematic Theology II it was this: Jesus is both God and man and both the divine and the human nature must be held together to prevent a failed Christology.

If the ads cause someone to begin reading the YouVersion Bible reading plan, will the gritty Jesus characterized in the ads mesh with the true Jesus of the Bible- the God-Man?

Jesus Christ was HUMAN TOO, but that’s not all he was. Wellum comments, “…from his earliest teaching and miracles to his final acts of eternal judgment and resurrection to eternal life, the man Jesus self-identified as God himself-he knew he was God the Son Incarnate.”[6]

God the Son assumed a human nature, while never ceasing to be fully God. This is what the ad campaign misses, in my view. But surely this is an estoteric doctrine; does it really matter?

The late theologian, J.I. Packer, offers a sobering warning: “Christology is the true hub round which the wheel of theology revolves, and to which its separate spokes must each be correctly anchored if the wheel is not to get bent.”[7]

From what I’ve seen so far, the team of marketers, videographers, digital strategists, etc. have done a masterful job of making Jesus the “Biggest Brand in Your City”, but they’ve bent a few spokes in the theological wheel in the process.

[1] Wellum, 230.

[2] I Peter 2:22

[3] Wellum, 234.

[4] Hebrews 4:15

[5] Wellum, 27.

[6] Wellum, 155.

[7] J.I. Packer, “Uniqueness of Jesus Christ,” Churchman , 92/2 (1978), 110.