“But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” -Galatians 4:4-5
Today, we move on to our discussion of the second person of the Blessed Trinity. We will then discuss the third person before returning to an in-depth study of the Incarnation and the teaching of Jesus. From all time Jesus proceeds from the Father. He is not created by the Father, but is co-eternal and of the same substance as the Father. We really struggle, as people who live in time, to try to understand existence outside of time. I would argue that we really can’t understand it. We can talk about it as best we can, but at the end of the day it is a mystery to us. Jesus proceeding eternally from the Father is a statement that causes us a lot of consternation precisely because we think temporally. From our experience if something proceeds from something else it has a beginning. But this is not so with God who is outside of time. Jesus proceeds from the Father from all eternity. Jesus always was and always will be.
This divine person took on a human nature. The divine person now has two natures; a human nature and a divine nature. This event is called the “Incarnation.” This making into the flesh occurred in a specific time and place. The Divine Logos existed from all time, but he became a man at a concrete moment in history. He continues to possess that human nature. He was resurrected and ascended to the Father. For all eternity a person with a human nature will be sitting on the Throne! That is part of the reason the Church sings, “O felix culpa” at the Easter Vigil!
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