Re. Lutheran theology teaching that Christ’s humanity received divine attributes:
Our initial response is that this is a plain
contradiction. Lutheran theology teaches that Christ’s human nature is both
finite and infinite. While we have a deep appreciation for mystery in the Chrisitan
faith, to teach logical contradictions is to promote confusion, not truth.
Lutheran theologians attempt to show the reasonableness
of their view of Christ’s humanity by appealing to the ancient illustration of
fire and iron: when combined, each retains its natural attributes, but iron
shine and burns with fiery properties. However, nothing except the divine
nature can possess or exercise divine attributes. God’s attributes are not
creaturely attributes increased manifold (like raising the temperature of
iron), but a kind of life in a category by itself. In the divine simplicity, God’s
attributes are not powers he has so much as his very essence. To have one
divine attribute is to have all, in which case Christ’s human nature must also
be eternal and uncreated. If divine attributes and acts would not prove that he
is God, only that he is in union with the Father—which would shake the very
doctrine of the Trinity. The Doctrine of God militates against granting God’s
attributes to human nature.
Therefore, we conclude that the Lutheran doctrine entails
a contradiction by ascribing contradictory attributes to the same nature. (Joel
R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology, 4 vols.
[Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2020], 2:851-52)
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