Merry Christological Christmas

Welcome back to conversations with a Calvinist. My name is Keith Foskey and I am a Calvinist on today's program I'm going to be featuring a lesson I taught recently on the subject of the nature and attributes of Christ as we look forward to Christmas.

Let us focus on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Enjoy the message. We are in the Christmas season I'm looking forward to. About ten days from now. I guess it is. Well sit nine days today's 16th. So nine days from now celebrating the incarnation with my family and We have been in our church for the last several weeks celebrating Advent who knows what Advent is.

What's that? The celebration of Christ's coming. There's two of them, right or the. The world is that the word advent means arrival it's in Latin for arrival. But you're right. It means coming or arrival.

And so the idea is Christ came once and he will come again so the advent season celebrates the the the The four themes that accompanied the arrival of the Messiah hope peace love and joy and so each Sunday leading up to the Christmas Day, we celebrate each of those themes.

So we we read scripture about hope we read scripture about peace. We read scripture about love and some some years I do sermons on those topics this year I'm not. I'm trying to stick with Genesis because I'm trying to get through.

I'm preaching verse by verse to Genesis. I'm taking time to do that. Give me a second. Let me finish my sentence and I'll answer your question. So we are. We're looking at the season of Advent which celebrates the arrival of the Messiah, okay.

Yeah, we said we have the four candles yeah, I mean it's just. No, it's tradition. There are four Candles because there's four days hope peace love joy. Each one has a candle and then there's a center candle that's lit on Christmas Eve which celebrates the arrival of Christ so the center the center candle is usually bigger.

It's white and it's called the Christ candle. Our church that's not every church. It's a. That's something that's part of a liturgical tradition. Which is simply means it's a tradition that's within some church tradition, you know.

Like I think Lutherans probably do it Episcopals probably do it. I've seen it done in many Baptist churches. It's not as if it's a denominational thing. It's sort of trans or con cross denominational, but it's just it helps to encourage during the season.

Similar to but not the same as Lent, you know. The whole idea of Lent is is preparing for the resurrection Celebration which we we celebrate at Easter, right? And so a lot of Christians celebrate that period before the before Easter 40 days.

Before Easter they celebrate the time of Lent now Catholics would have a time of fasting like I think during Lent. They have a they give up something. You know you hear people talk about I'm going to give up Diet soda or I'm going to give up whatever for Lent.

I tell people I gave up the Pope. But depending on. Yeah, depending on your tradition, you know, it may be. You know that you did. I think they don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent and so there's different traditions.

And so Advent and Lent are both times of preparation there are times to get to get ready for those times during the year where you're celebrating something particularly special and The two things that we celebrate in the life of Christ is his birth and his death burial and resurrection and It's interesting that I should just say it's interesting that neither one of those is commanded in the Bible.

There's nowhere in the Bible that commands that we celebrate The resurrection except the fact that we meet on Sunday and it was Sunday that Jesus raised. Every Sunday is Essentially resurrection. Sunday every Sunday is Easter in one sense because every Sunday we gather because of the resurrection.

But one time a year celebrating the resurrection is actually an early church tradition. But it's not something the Bible tells us we have to do so if a church didn't celebrate Easter. It wouldn't necessarily be wrong.

Anymore than church celebrating Easter would be right. It's just it's sort of indifferent. What's called adiaphora, which means something that is not Not required. Yes Hanukkah is a celebration of Something that happened in the intertestamental period that's the period between Malachi and Matthew it was.

And and I'm going to try it. I'm trying to give that I'm trying to give the history as best. I remember There was a Lacking of oil for their candles. But it lasted eight days when it should have only lasted one day.

And so that was seen as a miracle from God and so now the Jewish people celebrate the festival of lights. They light candles every night eight candles eight days and each one of those is representing God's provision.

Now in the Bible it says Jesus went to the feast of dedication. And that is another name for Hanukkah. So it's interesting that even during the time of Christ there was a celebration of that feast. And it was a feast that was introduced During the time of the Maccabees which the Maccabees was during the intertestamental period like I said between the 400 years between Malachi Matthew there was The the time of the Maccabees so so but what I just think it's interesting to know that Jesus actually Participated in that feast so it doesn't say that he was it doesn't say that he Necessarily engaged it and did it but he was there.

I'm saying it was just during the feast of dedication which we believe would have been the feast of Hanukkah. That's not wrong. It's not wrong. I think the issue with Jewish Tradition today is it's being done without Christ and in that sense if those lights represented anything.

It was representing the light of the world Christ who was to come and by denying Christ. They have you know. They've tarnished everything. Yeah, absolutely, but but the feast itself nothing wrong with you know if a Christian you know like at our church.

Every few years we celebrate a Passover feast. We actually do a Passover feast at our church to show how it points to Christ. We have we don't do lamb we normally do chicken, but that's because we're cheap.

But we suck, but we we set out all of the items if you remember the Passover. There was bitter herbs and unleavened bread. And there was all these different things that were used to symbolize. Certain things that the unleavened bread represented the fact that they didn't have time for the bread to rise and the and the bitter herbs Represented the the bitterness of their slavery that they had while they were you know bondage in Egypt.

So each thing that you eat we eat it, and then we say why we eat it. And then and so that is a festival. That's no longer required. Because it's under the Old Covenant. But there's no reason why we can't celebrate it and show how it's fulfilled in Christ so every couple years.

We we do that so. There's a good question all right so getting back to the doctrine of Christ. It is vital to say from the outset that Christology is a lifetime study. There's no way we're going to get through everything today in fact I would say we're not even going to get through much today in accord with all there is to study about Jesus's life and Ministry who he is what what he is in the sense of being the the the anthropic.

Being meaning that he is the God man so we can. We can we can address some of those things today, and I'm really Thinking next week. I will be here next week. I won't be here the week after I'll be out of town, but I will be here next week.

So it'll be the Thursday before Christmas. I'm thinking of making this study even though I know it's supposed to be 12 weeks, but that's sort of arbitrary we can do whatever we want. I'm thinking of taking this into a second session next week to talk more about the virgin birth and why that's important because that's of course what we celebrate in the.

The Pre-Existence and Incarnation of Christ

So so so today, we're going to talk about Christ's Pre-existence eternality, and we're going to talk about his hypostatic union. So that's the three things we're going to we're going to look at today, so if you write this down.

All right, so the three things we're going to look at today are.

Pre-existence and I'm going to explain all these but if you're taking notes these are the major headings pre-existence. Eternality and the hypostatic Union the hypostatic in you. Now many of you if you've taken classes with Bobby or some of the other Overseers you may have heard these words before or you may have been in my class when I did it last time.

So if this is a if this is a rehearsal for you meaning You know these things and it's just reminding you that's great because the key to learning is repetition. So it's nothing bad with hearing things over again.

Also, maybe you had a question last time that I can answer. Maybe there's something that you can that will jog your memory to a new way of understanding these things last week. We talked about the doctrine of the trinity.

And we talked about the fact that God is one in essence and three in persons well one of those persons is the second person of the trinity and not second in Power or order or authority just second in name because we always say the father the son and the Holy Spirit.

And so when we address the second person the Trinity we're referring to Jesus. We're referring to God the Son we can say Jesus is the Son of God but we can also say he is God the Son and in that rough referencing him that way and so When we talk about Jesus we are talking about Someone who is fully God and fully man.

Someone who is and some people will say a hundred percent God and a hundred percent man. Some of the teachers here may use that Phrase and I'm not. I'm not saying that's wrong, but I don't use the term 100

Because when you deal with God you are dealing with Infinity and there are no percentages in infinity. You can't say there's 10 of infinity because you just can't have a percentage of infinity. So I don't say a hundred percent God or a hundred percent man, I say fully God and fully man.

And in the the the Latin term was vera homo vera deus. Not homo like maybe some of you might be thinking homo means man in Latin so vera homo truly man and vera deus truly God. Right so that's when we talk about Jesus.

That's the term that we're we use true truly or fully God and Mm-hmm Deus Deus. I said they asked it's a deus. All right, so let's look first at pre-existent. What what does pre-existent? Mean to exist before.

Okay, so pre the prefix free means before and The word existence comes from the root exist, okay, so when we said Jesus existed before. What what are we talking about what he existed before what? Everything.

Okay, I love it you're right, but you're but you're not the answer. I was looking for but that was right. Most specifically he existed before Bethlehem that that's the key that I'm getting to he existed before the Incarnation right so we talked about Bethlehem and next week.

We'll deal with this a little more clearly what happened in Bethlehem. It's not just that Jesus was born of a virgin. That's miraculous enough. But what happened in Bethlehem was the joining of the divine and the human and the one person of Jesus Christ.

It was the it was that inseparable yet unmingled union of divine and human and so Bethlehem is what we call the Incarnation. What is incarnation incarnate the Latin there the word carne means flesh? So to be to take on flesh right right so the idea of flesh.

So do you have your Bibles turn to John 1? Well that that's a good verse. That's not the one. I'm gonna look at though go to 114 John John 1. John 1 it does begin with that great Expression of Jesus's deity in the beginning was the word the world was with God the world's word was God.

All things were made through him and nothing was made that wasn't made by him. You know and all things were made through him so but then you get to verse 14 and verse 14 gives us the what we call the Incarnational passage tells us what it says and the word that's Jesus we know that became flesh and Dwells among us and and and the word dwelt there.

It's interesting the you may remember from the Bible they had what were called tents or Tabernacles and there was actually what was called the feast of tabernacles just since we talked about feast earlier the tabernacle feast was where they would Go out and stay in tents.

Reminding themselves of when they were in Egypt and when they were during the Exodus. So it was a reminder of that time and that word is the word that's used here. It says in the word became flesh and Tabernacled among us so the idea is he put on flesh like a man puts on a puts on a tent or a garment.

Jesus put on flesh. Why. So he could dwell among us so that he could dwell with us and we have seen his glory. Gloria's the only son from the father full of grace and truth. And so we have this passage which tells us that Jesus became flesh now.

Here's something from this text that we must recognize if the word became flesh. That means the word pre-existed that flesh. Because the becoming of flesh means it took on something or he took on something.

Rather than and the word became Existent. No, he already existed. He became flesh. He took on something that he didn't have before. God has always been God. God has always been a Trinity. God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have always existed in a relationship within himself and Is able to have that relationship throughout all eternity.

But there has not always been a Jesus of Nazareth. What I mean by that is God the Son took on flesh and and Jesus of Nazareth the man Was when he was not before that makes sense that he was always God but not always man.

So the taking on a flesh creates this new union of the God-man right. And so that is the Incarnation so we have the pre-existence of Jesus means everything that happened before that. Yes. Yeah, absolutely, no, you know, he certainly was not always fully man.

The the the receiving of the flesh the taking on a flesh through the Virgin was something that was not before. So we could say God. God has always been God. Jesus has always been God in the sense that the Word has always been God, but it's not always been flesh.

Yes I see. I'm sorry. No, he's still flesh he. And this is important to recognize. He is still the man Christ Jesus because first Peter one tells us the first Peter to rather. Wait, maybe it's not right.

Look back. But it says it says there's one God and one Mediator between God and man. The man Christ Jesus Christ is still man in mediator now. That is he is by this he is sitting at the right hand of the Father as the man Christ Jesus and he will forever.

I believe that incarnation will last forever. I don't think the God man ever ceases to be the God man that taking on a flesh is something that lasts. That's why I have to work my body just like we will right?

So yeah, I still man. Yeah. And this is sort of what we I mean is when we die. We turn back to dust our body will have a resurrected body. Your body that you're in now will go on forever. This one. Yes, that body will be reconstituted and you will receive a glorified version of what you now have.

Yeah. Yeah, but what does it say in first Thessalonians 4. It says that the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God and the dead will rise. Cremation yeah, they say that's destroying the temple.

Okay. I just for the sake of Being really quick, right? Yeah, I I don't think cremation is a sin, but I don't believe it's biblical either. The Bible never teaches cremation for believers. It teaches burial even Moses when he died God buried him.

So that shows us God's method. So I mean I'm saying it's not a sin, but the method of Bible Is burial and it always has been because of the promise of resurrection. We can talk more about later. I I'm not arguing with you brother.

I'm saying the biblical model is burial. I'm not saying it's a sin to be burned. I'm saying I personally don't want to be burned. That's me. But it's again. Are we going to talk about this? This is not what we can talk about.

Sorry. Sure, I didn't. Yeah, that's not it. That's not a question. No, what I'm saying is we know that The Bible tells us that Jesus was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Which means the plan was in place before it ever even happened.

So yeah, that's not even a question. Huh? Thank you. Yeah, and again, I wouldn't try to be rude brother I'm just saying if we get we guys in here ask me questions and we'll go and we will never get back to this.

Yeah, we can talk about another time. All right, but as I said not a sin just what the Bible teaches. All right, so deal with pre-existence. Why do we believe in the pre-existence of Christ? There are direct statements and indirect statements which tell us that Christ pre-existed Bethlehem.

I'm gonna give you just a few you can write them down. I'll read them to you. I have to go there because we'll be be like. Just too many verses at one time. So here's here's a few. First one is John 1 1 2 3.

We already talked about it in the beginning was the word. Well, if the word was in the beginning then he certainly pre-existed Bethlehem. So. Absolutely. He was there. John 858 my favorite. I would love to preach this one day.

Maybe one day I'll come on a Thursday night and preach to you guys. John 858 is one of my favorite sermons to preach. Jesus said to the Pharisees before Abraham was I Am not only does he say he existed before Abraham, but he also addresses himself by the divine title I am.

It didn't say before Abraham was I was he says before Abraham was I am so again we have that that statement of Jesus. John 17 5 one of my favorite I mentioned this last week. It says father glorify me in your presence with the glory that I shared with you before the world existed.

Jesus shared the glory of the Father before the existence of the world. That's John 17 5 that that should that should in any debate on pre-existence because he said I had the glory with you before the world Existed so right there.

It's proof Colossians 1 16 17. For by him all things were created in heaven and earth visible and invisible. Whether thrones or dominions or rulers all things were created through him and for him and he is before all Things and in him all things hold together.

I mean again It's not a debate and then again if you're going to be biblical now you can debate it all day long philosophical. But I'm saying biblical the Bible gives us these clearly Hebrews 1 8. Hebrews 1 8 is an interesting passage because Hebrews 1 8 is a quote From the Psalms and it's a quote about Yahweh.

But it says it is about Jesus in Hebrews. Hebrews 1 8 it says but of the Son as Jesus. It says your throne. Oh God is forever and ever and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. So says but of the Sun it says your throne.

Oh God. Isn't that interesting. That's the one I talked about when the Jehovah Witnesses come around I Pull out. I pull out Hebrews 1 8 because they're used to John 1. They want to talk about John 1 they spend their nights Just waiting for somebody to pull out John 1 because they're going to talk to you about Definite and indefinite articles and why the articular noun is necessary and why an anarthus noun has to have a Lowercase a they're going to talk about all those things which most people are not prepared to have that conversation.

But when you pull out Hebrews 1 8 and say but of the Sun it says your throne. Oh God. And When you go back to the passage that's quoting and the Psalms it says it's about Yahweh. Which means Jesus is one with Yahweh.

It's like yeah, see now you got a problem. Yeah, so I mean if you're a Jehovah Witness get a problem. All right, so that's some direct statements. Here's some indirect statements. There are many passages would say Jesus came down from heaven.

John 3 13 one good example. But there are many others John 6 says I came down from heaven. I like the manna that was in hell. Fell I came from him. So these are statements that say he didn't just appear in Bethlehem.

But he came down and so that again referencing his pre-existence. Christ is seen in his pre-existing work in creation and I already mentioned John 1 3 Colossians 1 16 but that's an indirect statement if he was at creation then certainly he Pre-existed Bethlehem and then there there are those things which we call Christophanies a Christophanies is a pre-existent Appearance of Jesus and when we read through the Old Testament We see Jesus appear at certain times.

One of the most specific times was in Isaiah chapter 6 when Isaiah saw the Lord seated upon his throne. John tells us in John 12. He saw Jesus. In that amazing 700 years before Jesus was born John saw him seated up seated upon his throne and John 12 tells us that was he saw the glory of Christ.

Yes, could you also refer to the you know, what Jesus says if you think these are greater. I can't remember who he said to me said you'll see angels Ascending and going back upon which is a reference to Jacob's ladder.

That's what I'm preaching that Sunday I'm preaching that Sunday night. That's my Christmas message. It really is because Jesus makes the way yeah, he is the ladder he is the stairwell, right? I think it's a stairwell.

But it says ladder in ESV. I just I prefer the term stairwell because I actually think it was a ziggurat. I think it was actually a almost like a Pyramids set of steps and the idea was you have angels going up and down on this thing which represents Christ and Christ is Pictured there as being with Jacob and being the mediator between Jacob and the father.

So yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So all of those things we see Christ in the Old Testament in three different ways. We see Christ in pre pre incarnate appearances. We see Christ in types, which means things that point to Christ like sacrifices Jacob's ladder things like that and we see Christ also.

What did I say said? Appearances types and we see Christ in prophecy. He's prophesied. The Messiah will come we're told in several passages, you know, the the Lord will come out of Bethlehem things like that.

The Eternity of Christ and the Witness of Scripture

Okay, so that is all examples of pre-existing Bethlehem and Now let's talk about Eternality because just just because Christ Pre-existed Bethlehem doesn't mean he is eternal in the in the grand scheme because the Jehovah Witnesses would agree that Jesus pre-existed Bethlehem if you ever talked to a a finely trained Jehovah Witness.

Which. They do train their people even though they're training them in false doctrine and it is a false teaching. They they have they have Studies where they train their people. So when the people come the thing is that they train them in like.

They train them on certain things if you know how to get them off their game. And it doesn't matter. Yeah, so Like I said, I go from Hebrews 1 8. They're not used to that. They're used to John 1. They're used to John 17.

They're used to certain passages if you can hit him from this, you know hit him from a different direction a lot of times it spins her head like a Witness come to my house one time and I I said, um, he started talking to me about you know, well, you know.

How bad things are in the world? I always want to use that as sort of an inroad. You've had a weight magazine which talks about how bad things you're getting and. And I just asked him. I said look dude if you came to my house today and.

And I was dying. I was laying on the ground. I had a knife in my back. I have two minutes to live and you're gonna share with me your gospel message in two minutes. You got two minutes go. What? Hey, so what are you talking about?

I said listen. I said I said you are preaching a false gospel and I know it's false because you don't have a message that can save a dying man. You don't have a message that can save a man who is dying.

That's because your gospel relies upon works. The Bible says we are not saved by works, but you believe we are therefore you have a false gospel. So I just got right to it. I mean just cut right to the chase.

So we didn't talk about the nature of Jesus because the problem is not only they got a false Jesus. They got a false gospel. Again, come take a talk about your witnesses, but that's the but you got they do Study so you got to knock them off the the perch sometimes.

But one of the things they'll say they'll say yes, Jesus pre-existed Bethlehem, but he was created by God. They say Jesus is the first creation of Yahweh the first creation of what they say Jehovah and what they end up doing is they end up becoming polytheist.

Actually what they call what's called henna theist they become. Where they believe in multiple gods because they say Jesus they say in the beginning was the word Well polytheism, and then there's you thinking of Trinitarianism versus that they're Unitarian they're Unitarian.

But they're henna theist and henna theist means they believe in one God and then other lesser gods. Yeah, yeah, and so they say Jesus is a little G God. Which the Bible tells us and you can turn there if you'd like.

Isaiah 43 10. This is the most important passage in regard to the eternality of Christ. Isaiah 43 10. I mentioned this one. I think last week, but we should look at it again. 43 verse 10 Isaiah writing on behalf of God who is speaking.

You are my witnesses declares the Lord and my servant whom I have chosen. That you may know and believe me and understand that I am he that means I am God. Before me no God was formed nor shall there be any after me so Isaiah 43 10.

Yeah, and again, this is another passage that they're usually not not typically ready to To deal with this is actually a great one for Mormons too because Mormons believe that God was once a man who became God.

Yeah, the Mormons believe in. That man can become a God through Adherence to Mormon teaching so this passage would say no it says before me. There was no God form. Neither will there be any after me? There's only one God and we believe that God is Trinitarian which we talked about last week.

But that one God has always existed. So the idea that Jesus became God or was created as God would violate the scriptures. He is either God forever, or he's not God at all. Say it again. He is either God forever, or he's not God at all.

Okay, so. That's right, okay, that's a good to say there's nothing God can't do. There's many things God can't do. God can't lie. God can't violate his nature. God can't make a round peg fit in a square hole.

Cuz God doesn't violate the laws of logic. He is himself eternally logical therefore God cannot create a God because a God is by definition Eternal he can't create something that's eternal so Isaiah 43 10 Addresses I believe the eternality of Christ, so we've got Christ pre-existent check Christ eternal check now.

We're going to move to a very heady Theological concept one that I think is I Think every church should do a class on this every year. And our church basically does. But I don't think many people have ever even heard this term and that is the term hypostatic union.

Now the word hypostatic comes from the word of a stasis. Which means Essence or nature. So who best aces means essence or nature so the Hypostatic Union is the union of Natures and Christ has two natures.

He has a divine Nature and a human nature. So for instance here's here's a few questions people will ask that I think this answers. That's why I say every church to teach us at least once a year people will say and Questions and I hear these all the time people say well if Jesus was God Why did he pray or?

If Jesus was God, why did he say he wouldn't know when he would return or if Jesus was God Why would he say the Father is greater than he? All right, these are all questions a legitimate question. I'm not making fun of them.

I'm saying these are questions people ask and in doing so They are Misunderstanding that the divine and human nature have united in the one person of Christ. There is only one person. But he shares these two natures and therefore There are many times where we see Christ Expressing his human nature for instance when he says I thirst or I'm hungry or he's tired.

He's asleep in the boat while everybody else is freaking out because the weather is all going. Christ Exhibits human nature and one of the one of the funniest things is If you think about when Christ was a baby.

When Christ was a baby he nursed at the breast of Mary he had soiled diapers he cried. Crying is a natural thing that babies do because it expels the and Exercises their lungs and expels phlegm and mucus and all these different things that it's it's something that has to happen in the life of a baby for health reasons.

Babies don't just cry because they're. They're immature they cry because it's healthy for them, and so there's a song we sing it every year. And I don't mind singing it, but it but it does have a little untruth, and it's called away in a manger.

So we sing away in a manger no crib for a bed the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. And then there's one part that says No crying he makes Remember away in a manger. It says the little Lord Jesus.

No crying he makes. Probably not true. He was probably just like any other baby because babies cry and Jesus was not Inhuman in fact he was fully human and that what we affirmed or we said he was fully divine and Fully human and therefore the full humanity of Christ was expressed through human action.

Eating sleeping all of the things that we don't going further. All the things that we go through as human beings. So Jesus has a human nature and see this what's interesting in our world today. There is a big debate as To the divinity of Christ.

People want to debate whether or not Jesus was fully divine. But in the early church it wasn't about Jesus's divinity that was the argument it was about his humanity. Read 2nd John and First John what does it say he who says Jesus has not come in the flesh is any Christ.

Why does it stress Jesus coming in the flesh. Because there were people who believed Jesus was just spirit that he was a spirit figure. But that he wasn't truly flesh and John says if you deny Jesus has come in the flesh.

You have the spirit of antichrist. Not big a antichrist. No world leader, but the idea of being you have the spirit of being opposed to Christ if you deny He came in the flesh. That's in 2nd John. I just finished preaching that at church.

It's an important passage because it tells us we have to affirm both. We cannot affirm Jesus is fully divine to the expense of his humanity. Neither can we Affirm he is fully human at the expense of his divinity.

We must understand that both are true and in a minute I'm going to read to you from the Council of Chalcedon which was a an early church councils in 451 so we say within the first 500 years not super early the early church.

Would have been probably first couple hundred years, and so this is this is midway through the first millennium. After Christ, but there's a wonderful thing that it expresses in regards to Christ. And I'm going to read it to you, but before we get there.

Let me just summarize again the hypostatic Union. When we talk about Christ in the hypostatic Union we say there are two natures. Christ has two distinct natures. There is no mixing or intermingling of these natures, but there is a Union of them in the one person who is Jesus.

In the same way so let's think of it like this when we talked about the Trinity last week. We said the Trinity is one God and three persons. Well Jesus is one person with two natures. So the Trinity is one God and three persons.

Jesus is one person with two natures. And I believe that it's as necessary as the Trinity is to believe. I believe the hypostatic Union is Just as necessary. This is not just an exercise in theological hair-splitting.

There is something exceedingly necessary in Christ being both God and man. I'll quote Paul ends. He wrote the book the moody handbook of theology, which I think is very good. He quotes this he says both natures are necessary for redemption as a man.

Christ could represent man and die as a man. But as God the death of Christ could have infinite value. Sufficient to provide redemption for the sins of the world. You see his death was a death of a man.

But it also had a divine quality because he was God. This is why the Bible says God Paid for our sins with his own blood. Hmm. And that amazing to think about the blood that was shed was was the blood of a man of course.