God, With, Us: Incarnation in Three Soundbites

I. Summary: "Jesus is Lord" — The human Jesus is the divine Jesus
1. Jesus is fully human.
2. Jesus is fully divine.
3. Jesus is one person.
Heresies are inferences that compromise one or more of these affirmations.

II. Humanity
Jesus' humanity is taken for granted in the New Testament.
Yet the NT draws theological conclusions from Jesus' humanity:
1. Romans 5:12-21: Jesus is a righteous 'last Adam' redeeming sinners.
2. 1 Corinthians 15: Jesus' resurrection is paradigmatic for humanity's eternity.
3. Hebrews 2:14-18, 4:15-16, etc.: Jesus can intercede for fellow humans.

III. Divinity
Why are the signs so subtle in the New Testament?
Surface indicators: "Prooftexts" (biblical one-liners).
John 20:28, Rom. 9:5, Heb. 1:8, 1 John 5:20, Titus 2:13 + 2 Peter 1:1, John 1:1, John 1:18, John 8:58 (Raymond E. Brown).
Why so few?
Deeper indicators: Roles and acts of Jesus (narratives).
A role in creation: 1 Cor. 8:6, Col. 1:16, Heb. 1:2, John 1:2-3.
Sovereignty over creation:
Calming the storm, walking on water, feeding miracles.
Forgiving and judging: Healing the paralytic, sheep and goats, 2 Cor. 5:10.
Central role in salvation: Luke 19:10, "savior" title, healings/exorcisms.
Special relationship with the One who sent him:
Baptism, transfiguration, Matt. 11:27
Special relationship with the Holy Spirit:
John 14:26, John 15:26, John 20:21-23, Acts 2:33, 38
Special relationship with both: Matt. 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14
Deepest indicators: Pervasive worship practices (liturgies).
"Lord" (kurios): Phil. 2:5-11 (after Isa. 45:22-23), 1 Cor. 16:22 (marana tha).
Nicea, 325 and Constantinople, 381 affirm both humanity and divinity
IV. Unity
How are they one? Two ancient orthodox schools of thought on "hypostatic union":
1. Alexandria: "Word-flesh" Christology (cf. John 1)
(vulnerable to compromising Jesus' true humanity).
2. Antioch: "Word-man" Christology (cf. Mark 1)
(vulnerable to compromising Jesus' unity or divinity).
Chalcedon's uncompromising compromise, 451 (after Ephesus, 431):
In Christ divinity and humanity are "without confusion, change, division, or separation."
Result: Communication of attributes (communicatio idiomata).
Each nature influences (without compromising) the other.
Chalcedonian orthodoxy implies divine humanity (Athanasius) — and human divinity (Luther, Barth).
(John of Damascus' analogy: red-hot iron).
My alternative interpretation sees a "concurrence of relations":
The relationships constituting divine personhood and human personhood concur in one person.
Either way, incarnation grounds doctrines of salvation (e.g., Anselm's satisfaction theory).