THE BIBLICAL CHRIST Christians, on the whole, accept without question Jesus' Godhood. Their scriptural basis for this belief is clearly defined in the statement at John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". Christians also accept the fact that Jesus came as a man to dwell on earth for a time. This belief is justified in John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...". As God, Jesus is complete Deity, fully God, He has a Divine Nature. He is Jesus Christ, the Theanthropic, or God-Man. As Man, Jesus here on earth was complete humanity, fully man, with a human nature (but not the fallen, sinful human nature or 'flesh' mentioned in Romans Chapter 7). As the GodMan, He had TWO natures in ONE person. This the Christian accepts by faith, knowing full well that a clearly logical description offered for such a belief will be at best obscure. F.F. Bruce is totally correct when he says - "Our conception of God must fall far short of His real being, and our language about Him must fall short of our conception". Isaiah 40:18 says, "To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with Him?" Even so, the language of the creeds is still to be commended as much less inadequate than the descriptions of Jesus, the godman, of the various heretics and their heresies. Therefore, in these various credal statements of Christ, it is safe alone to say that the Scripture epresentations of Christ as MAN find harmonious adjustment. It is also important to realize that these credal statements were not additions to the biblical record, but amplifications of them. Long before the Council of Chalcedon, Christians lived in the faith that Christ was, and must be, essentially related to God and man. Therefore, contrary to what some cultists say, Chalcedon did not depart from the Gospel, nor did it add to it. What was stated technically at Chalcedon in AD 451 was known implicitly at Corinth in AD 51! No doubt we can say more about Christ than Chalcedon says, but we dare not say less! The orthodox doctrine, then, of the person of Christ, has been the common heritage of the church since the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. As we have seen by the fact of its many heretical opponents, it is not a doctrine which was arrived at easily, but one which required long and patient study of the Scriptures, and lively debate in the church councils. Numerous other solutions were tried and found wanting, just as the false ‘christs’ of the contemporary cults are found wanting when it comes to their understanding of complete salvation! I believe there is much truth in the comment of Dr. A.P. Peabody concerning these many Christological heresies: "The canon of infidelity was closed almost as soon as that of the Scripture. Modern unbelievers have done little more than repeat the long-exploded heresies of former centuries"! After an exhaustive examination of the early Christological heresies, Dr. Loraine Boettner concludes: "The foregoing survey of the erroneous views concerning the Person of Christ would seem to show that history has exhausted the possibilities of heresy and that future denials of the doctrine must be, in essence, only variations of views which have already been advanced and refuted" (Studies in Theology, p265). As Christians, we need to understand these heresies and their fatal errors, and think them through once again with our early church fathers, because, until our Lord returns, they are going to keep re-appearing. F.F. Bruce says: "The various heresies that sprang up in the earliest Christian centuries are by no means out of date. They reappear regularly in one form or another from generation to generation" (The Spreading Flame, p314). We conclude this study with the exhortation of Jude - "Dear friends ... I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that God had once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who ... deny Jesus Christ our only sovereign and Lord ... These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit ... Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them" (Jude 3,4 - NIV).