Christianity and Monophysite belief

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Website owner:  James Miller

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I distrust churches, denominations, preachers, theologians, and all religious literature. I just don’t trust the mind of man. I have always read only the Bible and eschewed all Christian literature. Why? I want to come to my own opinions on what the Bible means. I don’t want to be influenced by other people. See My views on Christianity in America. I just encountered the term “monophysitism” and learned that it was a belief that challenged the orthodox Catholic belief and was declared a heresy by the Catholic church. I found the following information on the internet:

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Monophysite. In Christianity, one who believed that Jesus Christ's nature remains altogether divine and not human even though he has taken on an earthly and human body with its cycle of birth, life, and death.

Monophysitism challenged the orthodox definition of faith of Chalcedon and taught that in Jesus there were not two natures (divine and human) but one (divine).

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Well, I think the monophysites were right. I think Jesus had one nature: the divine nature. The idea that he could at the same time have both a human nature and a divine nature makes absolutely no sense to me.

John 1:1-18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was

with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was in the beginning

with God. {3} All things were made through Him, and without Him

nothing was made that was made. {4} In Him was life, and the

life was the light of men. {5} And the light shines in the

darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. {6} There was

a man sent from God, whose name was John. {7} This man came for

a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him

might believe. {8} He was not that Light, but was sent to bear

witness of that Light. {9} That was the true Light which gives

light to every man coming into the world. {10} He was in the

world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did

not know Him. {11} He came to His own, and His own did not

receive Him. {12} But as many as received Him, to them He gave

the right to become children of God, to those who believe in

His name: {13} who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of

the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. {14} And the

Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,

the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace

and truth. {15} John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying,

"This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is

preferred before me, for He was before me.' " {16} And of His

fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. {17} For

the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came

through Jesus Christ. {18} No one has seen God at any time. The

only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has

declared Him.

I don’t know what the Catholic argument was that he had simultaneously both natures — or on what scripture their argument was based — but I have a very hard time wrapping my mind around that idea. Jesus was God. That is the way I think of him. It would be a real mind-twisting exercise trying to envision him as simultaneously having both a sinless divine nature and a sinful human nature. I do think of one passage that might support the other view:

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

From this passage we see that Jesus was subject to temptation, if that implies having a human nature. He was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness.

Jesus claimed to be God. He demonstrated all kinds of enormous supernatural power by all of the huge number of miracles that he performed. He also said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” So Jesus was God, but was subject to temptation. Perhaps it should just be left like that. Perhaps trying to get more exact about his nature, being more definitive about it, and becoming dogmatic about it, is a little too bold and not prudent. I note that if one were God he would know all about the terrible consequences of sin, the reality of a really horrible hell that lasts forever, and just that knowledge would be a gigantic help in resisting the temptations of this world. One could resist pretty much any temptation with that certain knowledge. One of the biggest problems for most humans is that they don’t really believe in a hell. They hardly even believe in a God. They think they can get away with anything without penalty.

2 Tim 2:23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ...

Titus 3:9 But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.

I certainly don’t think that holding this Monophysite belief should be cause for excommunicating someone or declaring them heretics.

23 Dec 2020