What is Dyophysitism?

from the old testament

• Though discussions of Jesus’ nature are largely drawn from the New Testament, the Old Testament hinted at His dual nature. For example, Isaiah prophesied about His birth, saying, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The child is both born and called God.
• Psalm 110:1, used by Jesus to refer to Himself as divine and to stump His challengers (cf. Matthew 22:41–45), opens by saying, “The LORD says to my Lord ….” Contextually, it is King David speaking, with God (Yahweh) speaking to someone in authority over David (Adonai), implying that Person was also God.

from the new testament

• The incarnation is when the Son of God added a human nature. Of Him, we learn that He was eternally the Son of God (John 1:1) who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Paul said of the incarnation that Jesus “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6–7). Being born “in the likeness of men” does not mean that He looked like a human. It means that He is human.
• Jesus needed to become a true human to be a sacrifice for human sin. The author of Hebrews noted, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. … Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:14, 17). Jesus thus needed to be, and was, fully human.
• Yet Jesus remained truly divine, as well. He claimed equality with the Father (John 10:30), forgave sins (Mark 2:5–7), and accepted worship (Matthew 14:33).
• Because this is a discussion of nature and Jesus’ human nature in relation to His divine nature, we cannot fully understand the mechanics. However, the Dyophysite position best conforms to Scripture's teaching that Jesus never ceased to be divine while also being fully human. Of Jesus, Paul said, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). In some way, the one Person Jesus is both fully human while also fully divine.

implications for today

The Dyophysitism position was a theological argument in the fifth century that held that Jesus had two true natures, in contrast to Monophysitism, which held that He had only one divine nature, with His human nature absorbed into it. A subsequent error, Nestorianism, overcorrected Monophysitism by effectively saying that Jesus was two separate Persons. However, the orthodox position is Dyophysitism, teaching that Jesus had two natures that were neither mixed nor so fully separated as to create separate Persons. That “not mixed but not separated” position is known theologically as the hypostatic union of Christ.

Dyophysitism is like many theological arguments in that, to the modern reader, they sound obtuse, even unnecessary. However, they exist because the early church wrestled with Scripture as it fought against heretics who attacked core Scriptural truths about Jesus. Indeed, much of what you take for granted today as obvious is only so because people spent a lot of time searching the Scriptures to protect the truth from error. Thus, while theological topics such as Dyophysitism sound abstract, they are, in fact, attempts to define Jesus precisely in ways that both conform to what Scripture reveals and acknowledge the limits of the human mind in comprehending everything.

And the dual nature of Christ is not a minor or abstract theological discussion. It speaks to whether or not Jesus can save us. The reason that the blood of bulls and goats could not save us (Hebrews 10:4) was that they were not equivalent to us. This is why Jesus came—to be a sacrifice that was exactly like us, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

However, being like us doesn’t mean He stopped being God. If He stopped being God, then doctrines such as the immutability (unchanging nature) of God would be in doubt (Malachi 3:6) and Jesus’ ability to be a true bridge between humans and God would also be at risk (1 Timothy 2:5). Finally, if He were not fully God, then Scripture (John 1:1) and Jesus (John 10:30) lied when they said He was!

Believer—appreciate your heritage. Not everything in church history was perfect, but don’t shun it either. Your brothers and sisters fought hard to protect the truth so that you can truly know Jesus and the Father today. Praise God for how He worked through those individuals and pass along the truth you have received to the next generation (2 Timothy 2:2)!