See also: Theanthropos
📖 Biblical Definition
From Greek theos (God) + anthropos (man); the God-man, the technical Christological term for the incarnate Christ as the one Person who is both fully God and fully man. The term expresses the heart of orthodox Christology: in the incarnation, the eternal Son of God (the second Person of the Trinity) took to Himself a complete human nature, so that the one Person of Christ is at once fully divine and fully human — the God-man, theanthropos. The term is not found verbatim in Scripture but expresses the biblical revelation of the incarnate Christ. The biblical foundation: the Word who was God was made flesh (John 1:1, 14); in Christ dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9); He is God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16); He is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23); the child born is the mighty God (Isaiah 9:6); He is the one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5), who as God-man uniquely bridges the infinite gulf between God and fallen men. The theanthropos doctrine grounds the sufficiency of Christ's mediatorial work: only the God-man could accomplish redemption — as man, He could stand in the place of men, take their nature, bear their guilt, and die in their stead; as God, His one sacrifice had infinite worth to satisfy the infinite justice of God and to redeem a countless multitude. The patriarchal-Reformed reader holds the substantive doctrine of the theanthropos: the incarnate Christ is the God-man, fully God and fully man in the one Person, the unique and all-sufficient Mediator; this is the marvel and mystery at the heart of the gospel (1 Timothy 3:16, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh), and the foundation of the believer's salvation.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
From Greek theos (God) + anthropos (man); the God-man, the technical Christological term for the incarnate Christ as the one Person who is both fully God and fully man; grounds the sufficiency of His mediatorial work (1 Timothy 2:5; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16).
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THEANTHROPOS, n. (Christology; Greek theos [God] + anthropos [man]) The God-man; the incarnate Christ as the one Person who is both fully God and fully man. In the incarnation the eternal Son took to Himself a complete human nature, so the one Person of Christ is at once fully divine and fully human. Biblical foundation: the Word who was God made flesh (John 1:1, 14); all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9); God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16); Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23); the one Mediator, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Grounds the sufficiency of His mediatorial work: as man He stands in men's place; as God His sacrifice has infinite worth. The marvel at the heart of the gospel.
📖 Key Scripture
1 Timothy 2:5 — "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
1 Timothy 3:16 — "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
Matthew 1:23 — "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
Isaiah 9:6 — "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The theanthropos (God-man) is the heart of orthodox Christology; the corruptions are the denials of either the full deity (Arianism) or the full humanity (Docetism, Apollinarianism) of the incarnate Christ.
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Theanthropos as a Christological term does not undergo lexical corruption. The doctrine it expresses (the God-man, fully God and fully man in one Person) is held against the denials of either nature. The denials of the full deity (Arianism, and modern liberal Christologies that treat Christ as merely a great man or moral teacher) contradict the biblical revelation that the Word was God (John 1:1) and that all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily (Colossians 2:9). The denials of the full humanity (Docetism, which held that Christ only appeared to have a human body; Apollinarianism, which held that the divine Logos replaced the human soul in Christ) contradict the biblical revelation that the Word was made flesh (John 1:14) and that Christ was made like His brethren in all things, tempted like as we are yet without sin (Hebrews 2:17; 4:15). The patriarchal-Reformed reader holds the substantive doctrine of the theanthropos: the incarnate Christ is the God-man, fully God and fully man in the one Person, the unique and all-sufficient Mediator. This is the marvel and mystery at the heart of the gospel (1 Timothy 3:16, God was manifest in the flesh) and the foundation of the believer's salvation: only the God-man could bridge the gulf between God and fallen men, taking our nature to stand in our place and possessing infinite divine worth to satisfy divine justice. The God-man is the wonder of redemption, the eternal Son who became what He was not (man) without ceasing to be what He was (God), for the salvation of His people.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek theos + anthropos; the God-man; the incarnate Christ fully God and fully man in one Person; grounds His all-sufficient mediatorial work; held against denials of either nature.
Usage
"Theanthropos: the God-man, the incarnate Christ fully God and fully man in one Person."
"Grounds the sufficiency of His mediatorial work (1 Timothy 2:5; Colossians 2:9)."
"The marvel at the heart of the gospel (1 Timothy 3:16, God was manifest in the flesh)."