Course talk:Carey HIST501/Project 1/Adoptionism

The position of Adoptionism is that Jesus was adopted (or exalted) and become the son of God.

Now, just for argument’s sake, let me hypothetically add the following twist, do you think this Adoptionism position becomes more palatable?

Let’s just say that we start with a trinity God, then at the point of history when Jesus was born as a human (let’s say the divine son incarnated, and ceased to be God (or the proviledge to be equal to God) for the time being). Jesus as fully human then lived a perfect live until his death, and the third day resurrected by God the Father, and at this point the fully human Jesus gets adopted (exalted) back into his original form of being the divine son of God. At this time the trinity God is again complete.

For argument’s sake, the human Jesus did say “My God My God, why have you forsaken me”. So in this sense, the “inseparable” Trinity God, at some point, experienced “separation”.

So the above hypothetical scenario meant that during the lifetime of human Jesus, the triune God was temporary experiencing separation, and as Jesus has finished his purpose in flesh, he gets adopted/exalted back and reunite with the Father. So in this way, Adoptionism does not contradict Trinity God, as well it does not contradict the doctrine of Jesus is fully divine and fully human.

That being said, one can still take the Adoptionism position in understanding that Jesus was adopted/exalted by God the Father while he was human, which some would argue may be the view of some of Jesus’ disciples at the NT time. And if one has such view, is there any concern with such a believe in relation to the redemption that Jesus has accomplished? Meaning that such a believe would not be a heresy and does not affect the salvation through faith in the exalted Jesus Christ. What do you think?

Perhaps, this was why, in response to arguments like these, the fourth General Council of Chalcedon (451 CE) supplemented a new definition to the Nicene Creed. The following statement refuted such claim that Christ’s divinity and humanity were transformed into something else:

We all with one voice confess our Lord Jesus Christ one and the same Son, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man…… Acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, or without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way abolished because of the union, but rather the characteristic property of each nature being preserved, and coming together to form one person. (Shelley 145-6).

Regarding the issue of salvation, that is rather a complicated one. Can one simply be saved just by "believing" in Jesus? Or does it matter which and what kind of Jesus he/she believes and how he/she believes? James 2:19 says, You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.