1

Is there a Christological doctrine that teaches that Jesus wasn't originally divine but inherited or became divine, being exalted into divinity by the Father as the result of an act or event?

8
  • 1
    I think that various Adoptionist heresies would fit the bill, but what do you want to know about them exactly? Jun 7, 2016 at 7:03
  • 1
    When I originally asked the question, I didn't know about adoptionism and was looking for biblical arguments or that nature, but I don't recall why. I've decided to go back and edit some of my questions to improve their quality. For this question, a brief encyclopedic overview of adoptionism would answer the question. Or should I just delete it? I'm open to suggestions.
    – Andrew
    Jun 7, 2016 at 11:08
  • 1
    Well my suggestion as per comments under my answer is that you just roll this one back - you changed it too much. If you want to ask a question about adoptionism, I think you need to research it a little more yourself and then ask a new more focused question. Jun 7, 2016 at 12:00
  • You might want to check out the Nestorian heresy and the arguments for and against it during the ecumenical council of Ephesus. This may not be exactly have in mind in terms of an event, but is a similar concept where Christ was thought of as a human person joined to a divine person, but not from conception.
    – JAGAnalyst
    Jun 8, 2016 at 6:15
  • Divinity is an ambiguous word, would you care to define exactly what you mean by the term? It can mean godly, or pertain to God only, for eg.
    – steveowen
    Jan 13, 2021 at 4:29

1 Answer 1

6
Did Jesus inherit divinity?
...was Jesus originally without divinity and then as the consequence of an event or action 
became exalted into divinity by the Father later [?]

No and No - according to scripture, Jesus has always been divine:

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

...

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:1-3 & 14 NIV (emphasis added)

The 'Word' (who from the context is Jesus') 'was God' from 'the beginning'.

...or is Jesus divine as a consequence of his nature or identity?

Yes:

5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; - Philippians 2:5-6 NIV (emphasis added)

5
  • 1
    Note that the question was changed, invalidating this answer. Please consider editing this to fit or posting a new answer. I'm not deleting this outright as NAA, but it's highly likely that the community will flag this as NAA in its present form, which is in line with the guidelines established here Jun 7, 2016 at 2:02
  • 1
    @Andew (& @David) This is quite a radical change - it looks like it invalidates this previously upvoted answer - wouldn't it just be better to (revert and) ask an entirely new question? See meta.christianity.stackexchange.com/search?q=edit+invalidate Jun 7, 2016 at 2:52
  • 2
    @David The guidelines/Meta discussion are somewhat conflicting, but are more suggestive that Andrew should have been encouraged to ask a new question rather than make a radical change - Mason's "careful"; Caleb's "This kind of moving target question is a bad precedent to sent. New focused questions should be encouraged instead." here and cf. his comment here Jun 7, 2016 at 3:37
  • ...Five years later, the question was edited and @bruisedreed's answer was accepted.
    – Andrew
    Jan 12, 2021 at 14:18
  • 1
    @Andrew This answer no longer actually answers the question though. I can see two ways forward: keep the question and delete the answer, or edit the question to ask if Trinitarians think Jesus inherited divinity.
    – curiousdannii
    Jan 13, 2021 at 3:13

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .