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Sunday, November 28, 2010

"Veiled in Flesh the Godhead See" - Docetism??

Without question the incarnation of Jesus Christ is one of the most wonderful truths of the Christian faith which we ought to especially consider during the Christmas season.  The fact that God became a man in the person of Jesus of Nazareth is absolutely essential if He is to be the Saviour of sinful human beings, but how this could possibly be we will probably never fully understand until we meet the Lord one day. 

When we talk about the incarnation, there are two opposite errors that we must avoid.  On the one hand is the heresy known as "Ebionism".  The Ebionites were an early Christian sect that denied the full divinity of Jesus.  They basically viewed Jesus as a regular human who was simply empowered by God.  This heresy is still alive and well among many Liberal Christians who deny the deity of Jesus Christ.  The second error is known as "Docetism".  Docetism was embraced by some Gnostic sects which believed that Jesus only appeared to be human.  Docetism is essentially a denial of the full humanity of Jesus.  However we speak of the incarnation or understand it, we need to avoid these two errors as orthodox believers have done down through the centuries.  St. Athanasius (4th c.) said the following about the incarnation:  "He was made man, that we might be made [like Him]".  Gregory of Nazianzus (4th c.) said: "That which was not assumed is not healed."  In other words, if Jesus did not "assume" our humanity, our sins could never have been atoned for on the cross.  A correct view of the incarnation is foundational to a correct view of the atonement - that is why this issue is so critical to get right!

Which brings me to my question:   What exactly did Charles Wesley mean when he wrote the line "veiled in flesh the godhead see" in the Christmas carol "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"?   Overall, I love the theology of this hymn as Wesley tries to capture the glory of the incarnation, but I struggle with this one line... is this not teaching a Docetic view of the incarnation?   Was Jesus' human flesh simply a "veil" for his deity?   ....Or am I simply misunderstanding Wesley on this point?? 

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