The Mystery of the Deity of the Man Jesus Christ

In 451 AD at the Council of Chalcedon a statement was formulated to capture the complex concept of how Jesus Christ could be 100% God and yet be born as 100% man. Did he quit being God for a while? Was he himself only a created man who was sent from God? Isaiah prophecied in 9:6, “For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given.” This verse captures the created humanity of the Messiah in “a child is born,” and the deity of this person in “a son is given.”

The full deity (eternal, omnipotent, holy) and the full nature of man (body, soul, spirit, mind, emotions) belong to Jesus. These two natures where always existing unmixed, and unchanged in Jesus. He never stopped being God, and since the first Christmas he still remains forever a man.

Concerning Jesus, Philippians 2:7 says, “Who, being in very nature God, . . .made himself nothing (literally: “but himself emptied”) taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness.” This word “made nothing” or “emptied” means in the Greek “to make of no effect.” This can not mean Christ was no
longer God, but that as God he accepted the additional nature of humanity. As God he left his position, but not his divine nature. He did not give up Deity or the
use of those attributes. He simply added the nature of humanity. Phil. 2:8 says he did this so he could die for us. While on the earth Jesus the man demonstrated
his deity many times (Mt.17:1-8; Jn.1:14; 1:48; 2:24; 16:30; 11:25,40-43)

Chalcedon 451 AD

“Yet as regards His manhood . . .
recognized in two natures,
without confusion,
without change,
without division,
without union,
but rather the characteristics of each nature
being preserved and
coming together to form
one Person . . ."