This is the second part of our look at lines 33-37 of the Athanasian Creed. Part one, which is introductory material explaining why these lines were necessary, can be read here.

Lesson from the Creed

Although He is God and human, yet Christ is not two, but one. He is one, however, not by His divinity being turned into flesh, but by God’s taking humanity to Himself. He is one, certainly not by the blending of His essence, but by the unity of His person. For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh, so too the one Christ is both God and human.

Lines 33-37

Explanation from Scripture

When the Creed proclaims: Christ is not two, but one, it is saying that Christ is not two Persons—one human and one divine. Again, in the previous post, we explained why this statement is necessary. But in short, though we should say: Jesus suffered according to His human nature; we must never merely say: Such-and-such happens to His human nature. This is because Christ is a single Person. When Christ suffers, for example, it is according to His humanity; but it is still the One Person Christ suffering.

Again, this is why Acts 20:28 can speak of the church of God which He purchased with His own blood (NKJV). When Jesus Christ shed His blood, it is appropriate to say that God bled. This is also why it is proper and fitting to call the Virgin Mary Theotokos—“Mother of God.” Why? Because Mary wasn’t just pregnant with Christ’s humanity! She carried the God-Man in her womb. He was Immanuel, God-with-us, even in the womb.

Next, the Creed makes two clarifications about the oneness of Christ: Not this, but that.

First: not by His divinity being turned into flesh. One could perhaps reach that misunderstanding with a naked read of John 1:14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (NKJV). But we must not understand that to mean that Jesus stopped being God when He became Man. Rather, Christ is One by God’s taking humanity to Himself. This is confirmed by Philippians 2:5ff, which speaks of Christ being in the form of God, and equal with God; yet He made Himself of no reputation, by taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (NKJV). God, the Second Person of the Trinity, took upon Himself true humanity—without diluting either.

And that brings us to our second clarification of Christ’s oneness: not by the blending of His essence, but by the unity of His person. In other words, Jesus isn’t half-God, half-Man; and He isn’t some jambalaya of God and Man; and He isn’t a mixture of God and humanity, like when you mix chocolate syrup into milk to make chocolate milk. Rather, in Christ, true God has taken on true humanity. This is confirmed by Colossians 2:9: For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (NKJV).

(Incidentally, this verse also corrects the equal and opposite error of one mentioned above: just as the Son did not cease to be God when He was conceived and born a man; He hasn’t ceased to be man when He returned to Heaven. I’ve probably mentioned this elsewhere, but it bears repeating, because you wouldn’t believe how often I encounter this idea. Jesus Christ is still our Man in heaven, with a body!)

This section of the Creed concludes by drawing an analogy for the hypostatic union (the joining of two natures in the One Person of Christ): For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh, so too the one Christ is both God and human.

Now, here we must be careful because this is only an analogy. It is not defining the hypostatic union by stating that Jesus has a human body and a divine soul. That would be one of the serious errors the Athanasian Creed is meant to guard against (see, again, the introductory material in part 1). Christ had a human soul (emotions, intelligence, will) according to His humanity. This is why He prays: Father … not My will, but Yours, be done (Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭42‬ ‭NKJV‬). His human soul yielded to the Father’s will; else wise, we’re left with multiple wills in the Godhead, which would mean three Gods. But again, this is an analogy—and not a very direct one: Just as soul and flesh is one human being; so God and Man is One Christ.