"The creeds and the volumes on theology, mindful of the heresies prior to A.D. 451, deny that Christ was a human person. They use the phrase 'two distinct natures and one Person forever.' With great uniformity they refuse to define nature. Now this leads to extreme difficulties.
If Jesus was not a human person, who or what suffered on the cross? The Second Person could not have suffered, for Deity is impassible. One of the heresies of the early ages, as mentioned before, was Patripassianism. Substituting a modal trinity for the three distinct Persons, the theory requires the Father to have been crucified. But to require the Second Person, as such, to suffer is equally impossible. The Westminster Confession describes him as 'a most pure Spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions' (II, 1). If then the Second Person could not suffer, could a 'nature' suffer? Perhaps some few readers have heard of Isaac Watts' not so popular hymn with its inference concerning children.
Dogs delight to bark and bite
For 'tis their nature to.
If, then, theologically undefined nature is certain qualities or characteristics, such as susceptibility to fatigue, aptitude for learning, joy, sorrow, or, to extend the list beyond the life of Christ, jealousy, irascibility, sullenness - if nature is such qualities can any one of them suffer pain? Can even a human, physical body suffer? If that were the case a corpse could suffer. On the contrary, only a spirit, a soul (including the souls of animals), or a person can suffer. Apparently demons can suffer (Luke 8:31; Matthew 8:29, in which one should note the word torment), yet they have no bodies." - Gordon H. Clark, Incarnation, Pg. 67-68
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