Karl Barth’s The Humanity of God was one of his first books I read. It signifies the God who speaks with man in promise and command. Christ became the God-man at the incarnation. He is the Word spoken from the loftiest, most luminous transcendence and likewise the Word heard in the deepest, darkest immanence. Equally amazing to the doctrine of the Trinity is the doctrine of the Incarnation — that Jesus Christ is God and man, yet one person, forever. Thus he is in his person the covenant in its fullness, the Kingdom of heaven which is at hand, in which God speaks and man hears, God gives and man receives, God commands and man obeys, God’s glory shines in the heights and thence into the depths, and peace on earth comes to pass among men in whom he is well pleased. Theology is not about God in himself, nor human existence in and of itself, but about the “history, dialogue and communion” of God with humanity and humanity with God—and in this order. Because the covenant is “history, dialogue and communion” theology also finds its character and form: that is, theology exists as prayer and proclamation, as responsive address to God, and as the address of the great news of God’s love to all others. The Godhead thus said: “Let us make man.” “Man” is … Rightly understood that is bound to mean God’s relation to and turning toward man. The Bible For New Believers. This lecture, delivered by Karl Barth on September 25, 1956 at a Swiss Reformed Ministers Association meeting, is the second lecture in a little collection of three lectures bearing the same name. These qualities do not exist in any creature other than man, but they make it possible for him to have communion with God and also to be morally responsible for his actions. And the freedom in which He does that is His deity. Your email address will not be published. Many of the false gods, to which numerous people, including Christians, gave their lives and were inspired, exposed the whole of humanity to grave danger. The humanity of that God, Christians believe, has made it possible for a people to exist who do in fact, as Nietzsche suggested, exemplify a slave morality. I loved it, but in retrospect I probably understood very little of it. He is both, without their being confused but also without their being divided; He is wholly the one and wholly the other. Also, the Son of God entered the world fully human in order to experience the struggles of humanity. The Bible tells us that God created everything, including humanity, because it pleased Him to create for His glory ( Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11 ). The "Human Declaration" has only a few lines in the last paragraph, which is only one sixth of the rescript. Despite all the human limitations of Jesus, most Christian thinkers have been convinced that “God was in Christ.” 2 To be sure, Christian thinkers are often in conflict over the question of how and when Jesus became divine, but as to the presence of the divine dimension within him we find little disagreement in Christian circles. … In the existence of Jesus Christ, the fact that God speaks, gives, orders, comes absolutely first—that man hears, receives, obeys, can and must only follow this first act. Answer: The humanity of Jesus is as equally important as the deity of Jesus. L. L. Zamenhof: 20th century Considered a god by members of the Oomoto religion. Adam did not resemble God in the sense of God’s having flesh and blood. The "Human Declaration" does not deny that "the ancestors of the emperor is the gods of Japanese mythology." Later theologians applied this same thinking to the laws God established in the universe. Thus He attests and guarantees to man God’s free grace and at the same time attests and guarantees to God man’s free gratitude. Barth is not saying that God is actually “human,” as though he were humanity writ large, or as though he were actually human with no remainder. It is the deity which as such also has the character of humanity. Here we delight in it. As J.I. Accordingly, humanity is unique among all God’s creations, having both a material body and an immaterial soul/spirit. It is precisely God’ deity which, rightly understood, includes his humanity. “Who and what God is—this is what in particular we have to learn better and with more precision in the new change of direction in the thinking and speaking of evangelical theology, which has become necessary in the light of the earlier change. José Rizal: 20th century Deified by some people in the Philippines due to his contributions to the Philippine Revolution. Bold text is mine for emphasis; italics are in the original. The fulsome emphasis on God’s transcendent deity meant that God’s “humanity” was left undeveloped. Moreover, exactly in this way Jesus Christ, as this Mediator and Reconciler between God and man, is also the Revealer of them both. 1: A Theological Critique, “He Descended Into Hell” – Reflections on a Neglected Easter Tradition (With Jürgen Moltmann), The Doctrine of Election: Calvin vs. Barth vs. Luther vs. Schleiermacher. Rather, in him we encounter the history, the dialogue, in which God and man meet together and are together, the reality of the covenant mutually contracted, preserved, and fulfilled by them. It signifies the God who speaks with man in promise and command. God gives freedom to man: freedom is the joy for man. When you’re a subscriber, every month you get a great free book, plus you get my book right away—Where Was God, a short and approachable introduction Moltmann’s theodicy! Barth begins the lecture with an opening statement that defines what he means by this intriguing and provocative title: The humanity of God! (emphasis added) Jesus did … Here we celebrate and witness to it. Barth recalls the fundamental shift, the 180o change of theological direction whereby forty years earlier he and his companions repudiated the major features of nineteenth-century theology and struck out on a new course. He who does that is the living God. […] In Jesus Christ, as He is attested in Holy Scripture, we are not dealing with man in the abstract: not with the man who is able with his modicum of religion and religious morality to be sufficient unto himself without God and thus himself to be God. The second essay is the one from which the book's title is taken - the Humanity of God. But what he means by this is something I will simply let him explain for himself, though its worth noting how this is a development upon what Barth argues in CD IV/1 on the condescension of God in Jesus Christ and the exaltation of man in Jesus Christ (§59.1, “The Way of the Son of God into the Far Country”). Required fields are marked *. Rather, in Him we encounter the history, the dialogue, in which God and man meet together and are together, the reality of the covenant mutually contracted, preserved, and fulfilled by them. Finally, God’s turn toward humanity calls forth and awakens a company of people who respond to God in worship, praise and service—the church. God created human beings in the divine image, enabling humans to have some understanding of God and of God's vast and complex design. In the mirror of this humanity of Jesus Christ the humanity of God enclosed in His deity reveals itself. Here we recognize the humanity of God. The few lines only confirm the facts and do not give up anything in particular. “Who God is and what He is in His deity He proves and reveals not in a vacuum as a divine being-for-Himself, but, precisely and authentically in the fact that He exists, speaks, and acts as the partner of man, though of course as the absolutely superior partner. Forsaking Penal Substitution, Pt. What they sought was a mighty reaffirmation of God’s deity, the “godness” of God over against what they understood as the anthropocentric theology of their forebears. The Hebrew language of verse 27 makes it clear that God’s image in mankind depicts humanity as distinct from animals.2The Hebrew word for “man” in this text is adam (אדם). God does not exist in majestic isolation in and for himself, utterly free from all that is not God. Jesus was God’s human agent whom He commissioned to speak divine truth to the world. The message of the church is the joyful, positive announcement of God’s. This means that it gave God pleasure and it brought Him glory to create man and woman. He is the Lord humbled for communion with man and likewise the Servant exalted to communion with God. Jesus the Son of God must walk the path of sinful humanity, sharing in our stories, including our doubts and fears. But in and of itself, it is insufficient for it does not convey with necessary precision the full truth of who God is: See the moon in yonder sky? Here we glory in the Immanuel… (64-65). Theology finds its focus and message in the humanity of God, for theology is determined by its object. In other words, God does not compel human agency, but allows us to choose. “The image of God in humanity is critical to our understanding of what makes us human.”1 Genesis 1:26–28 is the key passage of Scripture whereby foundational teaching on the image of God begins. It signifies the God who speaks with man in promise and command. Christians believe God to be both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material universe) and immanent (involved in the world). Thus He is in His Person the covenant in its fullness, the Kingdom of heaven which is at hand, in which God speaks and man hears, God gives and man receives, God commands and man obeys, God’s glory shines in the heights and thence into the depths, and peace on earth comes to pass among men in whom He is well pleased. ’Tis only half that meets the eye. In Jesus Christ there is no isolation of man from God or of God from man. It’s a rather long quote, followed by several shorter quotes to drive the point home and clarify what Barth is getting out. Without His humanity, Jesus could not have been tempted as we are (Matthew 4:1-10), nor could He experience human sadness, suffering, or pain. God determines to love us, to be our God, our Lord, our Preserver and Saviour, and as such, God is human (50-51). Also, Jesus is not merely a man who “had God within Him,” nor is he a man who “manifested the God principle.” He is God in flesh, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus Christ is in His one Person, as true God, man’s loyal partner, and as true man, God’s. The humanity of God! … We believe the church as the place where the crown of humanity, namely, man’s fellow-humanity, may become visible in Christocratic brotherhood. Leupold, pp. Sign up here.). Thus he comes forward to man on behalf of God calling for and awakening faith, love, and hope, and to God on behalf of man, representing man, making satisfaction and interceding. But neither are we dealing with God in the abstract: not with one who in His deity exists only separated from man, distant and strange and thus non-human if no indeed an inhuman God. This is an essay on Barth's Christology, in which he looks at God's divinity and humanity in Jesus Christ. Instead, the Word was joined with humanity (Col. 2:9). The mystery of God includes God’s determination not to be without humanity, but with them; not to be against humanity, but for them. These lectures/essays "reflect a certain development in Barth's thinking. In Jesus Christ man’s freedom is wholly enclosed in the freedom of God (46-48). The mystery of God includes God’s determination not to be without humanity, but with them; not to be against humanity, but for them. The most reasonable explanation is that the plural expresses the “fullness” of deity, which concept is progressively revealed in subsequent revelation as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Kidner, p. 52; cf. Nevertheless, Barth resolutely maintains the ordering of God’s deity vis-à-vis his humanity, but just as resolutely insists on his real, actual and genuine humanity. But the question must be, who and what is God in Jesus Christ, if we here today would push forward to a better answer.” 1, “In Jesus Christ man’s freedom is wholly enclosed in the freedom of God.” 2, “God’s deity is thus no prison in which He can exist only in and for Himself. _The Humanity of God_ is a fantastic introduction to Barth's theology. All this comes together in what I call a “purple passage”: In Jesus Christ there is no isolation of man from God or of God from man. In the original creation as stated in Genesis 1:27, man was made in the image and likeness of God. Jesus’ divine nature was not altered. And that means that we must treat all human beings with respect and dignity – the unborn, the weak, the poor. What Jesus Christ is for God and for us, on earth and in time, he is as Lord of this community, as King of this people, as Head of this body and of all its members. (As a quick side-note: The Humanity of God is July’s free book of the month, which I always send to my Readers Group on the first of every month. The second section of the lecture then insists that the humanity of God is seen and known only in the place where God—in his deity—has given himself to be known; that is, in Jesus Christ. Thus in this oneness Jesus Christ is the Mediator, the Reconciler, between God and man. This means that he has the essential qualities of personality, which are intellect or mind, sensibility or feeling, and will, that is, the ability to make moral choices. Thus he attests and guarantees to man God’s free grace and at the same time attests and guarantees to God man’s free gratitude. Thus He affirms man. God is essentially unknowable to humanity because God’s nature is beyond our capacity to grasp. Your email address will not be published. Shinreikyo states of its founder "God became one with a human body, appeared among humanity, and founded Shinreikyo." Thus He establishes in His Person the justice of God vis-a-vis man and also the justice of man before God. But without further ado, please enjoy! The mere fact of this development needs to be underscored. “His free affirmation of man, his free concern for him, his free substitution for him—this is God’s humanity” (51). Beyond doubt God’s deity is the first and fundamental fact that strikes us when we look at the existence of Jesus Christ as attested in the Holy Scripture. That is, Barth’s ascription of humanity to God is a metaphor intended to emphasise the utter grace of God in God’s relation towards humanity. 86-87). God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and yet only he that “calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13). The Humanity of God. The second theological theme is that of revelation; in spite of God’s essential unknowability, God makes certain divine truths accessible to humanity. 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