2 min
Friday April 18: Further Study Sabbath School Lesson podcast
-
- Religion & Spirituality
In the centuries-old controversy over the person of
Jesus, the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) marked a significant milepost.
Essentially, it agreed and proclaimed that Jesus Christ is fully
God and fully man: “. . . we all with one voice teach that . . . our Lord
Jesus Christ is one and the same God, the Same perfect in Godhead,
the Same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, . . . [one] with
the Father as to his Godhead, and . . . [one] with us as to his manhood;
in all things like unto us, sin only excepted.”—Cited in Justo L.
Gonzalez, A History of Christian Thought, vol. 1 (Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1970), p. 390. For an assessment of the implications
of the Chalcedon statement from an Adventist perspective, see Roy
Adams, The Nature of Christ (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald®
Publishing Association, 1994), pp. 57–72.
“In contemplating the incarnation of Christ in humanity, we stand
baffled before an unfathomable mystery. . . . The more we reflect upon
it, the more amazing does it appear. How wide is the contrast between
the divinity of Christ and the helpless infant in Bethlehem’s manger!
How can we span the distance between the mighty God and a helpless
child? And yet the Creator of worlds, He in whom was the fullness of
the Godhead bodily, was manifest in the helpless babe in the manger.
Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and
glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity! Divinity and humanity
were mysteriously combined, and man and God became one. It is in
this union that we find the hope of our fallen race.”—Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, July 30, 1896.
Discussion Questions:
1. What for you are the big issues surrounding Christ’s humanity?
Why are they important for you? At the same time, why must
we be careful not to be too harsh or dogmatic about the finer
points of Christ’s humanity?
2. Ellen G. White says that Christ’s humanity is everything to us
(see Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 244). What did she mean? In
what practical ways does the idea of Christ’s humanity affect you
in your Christian walk?
3. How might we use what we have studied in this week’s lesson
in our personal witness? How does the reality of Christ’s humanity
touch people where they live today?
In the centuries-old controversy over the person of
Jesus, the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) marked a significant milepost.
Essentially, it agreed and proclaimed that Jesus Christ is fully
God and fully man: “. . . we all with one voice teach that . . . our Lord
Jesus Christ is one and the same God, the Same perfect in Godhead,
the Same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, . . . [one] with
the Father as to his Godhead, and . . . [one] with us as to his manhood;
in all things like unto us, sin only excepted.”—Cited in Justo L.
Gonzalez, A History of Christian Thought, vol. 1 (Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1970), p. 390. For an assessment of the implications
of the Chalcedon statement from an Adventist perspective, see Roy
Adams, The Nature of Christ (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald®
Publishing Association, 1994), pp. 57–72.
“In contemplating the incarnation of Christ in humanity, we stand
baffled before an unfathomable mystery. . . . The more we reflect upon
it, the more amazing does it appear. How wide is the contrast between
the divinity of Christ and the helpless infant in Bethlehem’s manger!
How can we span the distance between the mighty God and a helpless
child? And yet the Creator of worlds, He in whom was the fullness of
the Godhead bodily, was manifest in the helpless babe in the manger.
Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and
glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity! Divinity and humanity
were mysteriously combined, and man and God became one. It is in
this union that we find the hope of our fallen race.”—Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, July 30, 1896.
Discussion Questions:
1. What for you are the big issues surrounding Christ’s humanity?
Why are they important for you? At the same time, why must
we be careful not to be too harsh or dogmatic about the finer
points of Christ’s humanity?
2. Ellen G. White says that Christ’s humanity is everything to us
(see Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 244). What did she mean? In
what practical ways does the idea of Christ’s humanity affect you
in your Christian walk?
3. How might we use what we have studied in this week’s lesson
in our personal witness? How does the reality of Christ’s humanity
touch people where they live today?
2 min