The "Binitarian" Jesus

[Costeon]

According to Trinitarianism, there is one Being, God, and this Being exists as three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These Persons, though united in being, are nevertheless distinct, each recognizing and interacting with the other two.

As I was contrasting Trinitarianism and Oneness and then began thinking about the different christological views of each, it struck me that a standard explanation of the Oneness view of Jesus is open to the charge of being, in effect, a form of "binitarianism."

David Bernard states that "the Father had united with humanity to form one being--Jesus Christ, the Godhead incarnate" (The Oneness View of Jesus Christ, 21). Bernard expresses it elsewhere that Jesus is one person who has two natures, divinity and humanity.

So we have one Being, Jesus Christ, who consists of two natures, divinity and humanity. But though it is standard practice to describe Jesus this way, what do we see on just about every page of the Gospels? We see these "natures" actually interacting as individuals or persons, Father and Son. How is this view not "binitarian"? That is, there is One Being--Jesus Christ--and this Being exists as two Persons, Father and Son, who interact with one another in personal relationship.

[Michael The Disciple]

Originally Posted by Costeon

According to Trinitarianism, there is one Being, God, and this Being exists as three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These Persons, though united in being, are nevertheless distinct, each recognizing and interacting with the other two.

As I was contrasting Trinitarianism and Oneness and then began thinking about the different christological views of each, it struck me that a standard explanation of the Oneness view of Jesus is open to the charge of being, in effect, a form of "binitarianism."

David Bernard states that "the Father had united with humanity to form one being--Jesus Christ, the Godhead incarnate" (The Oneness View of Jesus Christ, 21). Bernard expresses it elsewhere that Jesus is one person who has two natures, divinity and humanity.

So we have one Being, Jesus Christ, who consists of two natures, divinity and humanity. But though it is standard practice to describe Jesus this way, what do we see on just about every page of the Gospels? We see these "natures" actually interacting as individuals or persons, Father and Son. How is this view not "binitarian"? That is, there is One Being--Jesus Christ--and this Being exists as two Persons, Father and Son, who interact with one another in personal relationship.

As I understand it Binitarian is the belief that are are TWO GOD PERSONS. This was taught by the Worldwide Church Of God. They believe the 2 persons had love and interaction.

That is different than saying there are two persons or natures God and man who are loving and reacting to each other.

Rather than 2 God persons there is one God and one man as in 1 Tim. 2:5.

Thats the beauty of modalism. In one mode of being Jesus is YAH. Simultaneously in another mode of being he is a man.

[Esaias]

It's not binitarian. Binitarianism is the belief in two divine persons in the godhead (binitarianism was a brief stop on the way to trinitarianism in the antenicene world).

Bernard's explanation of Christology is weak, in my opinion. Drysdale's is quite Nestorian, others have offered explanations that range the gamut of all known Christologies familiar to trinitarians.

I believe it is a mystery, as Paul referred to it as a mystery. Indeed, a "great" mystery without any controversy. That is, there is no controversy about the fact that the Incarnation is indeed a great mystery.

There are some things we can be certain of:

God was manifest in flesh.
Christ is the son of God.
Christ is a genuine human being.
Christ is Jehovah Who created everything.
God is ONE, not two or three.

Getting into the mechanics of the incarnation is fraught with difficulty, because the explanations we seek to provide are often simply not given in Scripture. So we are prone to errors in our choices of terms and in our presentations and explanations.

Honestly, the BEST explanation I have read is by Servetus in his On The Errors Of The Trinity. It is not perfect, but it is the best I have read so far.

[Costeon]

Just a quick reply, and then I'll try to respond more fully later. I wasn't quite sure what word to use, so I put "binitarian" in quotes because I was not meaning precisely what the Church of God has taught about two divine persons. I was focusing on the fact that we have two individuals, Father and Son, who are in personal relationship, yet both, according to Bernard et al, are united in one Being--Jesus Christ. So One being composed of two, Father and Son.

[Michael The Disciple]

Originally Posted by Costeon

Just a quick reply, and then I'll try to respond more fully later. I wasn't quite sure what word to use, so I put "binitarian" in quotes because I was not meaning precisely what the Church of God has taught about two divine persons. I was focusing on the fact that we have two individuals, Father and Son, who are in personal relationship, yet both, according to Bernard et al, are united in one Being--Jesus Christ. So One being composed of two, Father and Son.

Bernards view seems to make Jesus a Godman. I'll stick with modalism.

[Scott Pitta]

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

[diakonos]

Originally Posted by Scott Pitta

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

“God didn’t send his son, he sent himself.”
-my first pastor

[Tithesmeister]

Originally Posted by diakonos

“God didn’t send his son, he sent himself.”
-my first pastor

1John.4

[10] Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

[1 God]

Originally Posted by diakonos

“God didn’t send his son, he sent himself.”
-my first pastor

That's like saying the son(Father) impregnated Mary.(conceived himself)

[Scott Pitta]

And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.