What theological insights are linked with the belief that Jesus Christ is God incarnate?
The Chalcedonian formula of 451 is a remarkably flexible definition of the twin poles that ‘the source of salvation must be God; the locus of salvation must be humanity’ (M Wiles), as understood in the incarnation of God in Jesus the Nazarene. Chalcedon insisted on the two natures of Christ, that Christ was both divine and human, while accepting a multitude of conceptions as to how this was either possible or played out in Jesus Christ. It was prescriptive in terms of its limiting effect; Christology held two natures in Jesus Christ but the description of that event was left ambiguous. The wisdom of Chalcedon is that no one model is able to adequately treat the great mystery of faith. Several approaches are given as helpful to understanding the mystery of the incarnation, each with a strength in emphasis and each with a corresponding weakness. They are: Exemplar or Degree Christology; Symbolic Christology; Presence Christology; Substantial Christology; Kenotic Christology and Mediatori
