We have been witnessing how the creed can speak of his divinity and humanity as two separate and distinct aspects of his person. So, this ultimately leads to two people, right?
Again, thankfully the creed is on top of this and works to clear up any misunderstandings.
Although he is God and man, yet Christ is not two, but one.
According to the creed, it would be incorrect to assume that because Jesus is God and man that he is somehow two beings or two persons. This is not the testimony of the creed and neither is it the testimony of the Scriptures. We’ve seen what the creed says on the matter, now let’s look at what the Scriptures say in the Gospel of John.
In John 1, we read: “In the beginning was the λόγος (Word, singular)…and the λόγος (Word, singular) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw αὐτοῦ (his, singular) glory” (John 1:1, 14). I want to point out just a few things that I think are crucial for our understanding of who Jesus is based on this particular text.
John’s usage of λόγος (Word) in verse 1 and 14 are singular. Grammatically, there is no hint of a plurality of persons or beings in the one Jesus. In the beginning was the Word; not the Words.
John says, “we saw his glory” in verse 14. Again, the grammar of the word choice makes a big difference. The word, in Greek, for “his” is αὐτοῦ, and αὐτοῦ is—you guessed it—singular. John is not speaking of multiple beings or persons here. Instead, he is speaking of the one Word of God who became flesh.
The question is: Does this make sense? How in the world can we believe in one person being God and man? The truth is you and I can’t look anywhere else in the world to see this sort of thing happening. But, this does not mean we’re left without a testimony. We have the Scriptures and we are bound by grace to them. And, in the good providence of God, we have testimonials written by fervent Christians of old like what we’ve seen in the Athanasian Creed.