Daily Devotional

Theology is important. The essential quality of eternal life, according to John 17:3, is the knowledge of God. But too often, theology is boring. As someone who works with junior highers, I find that technical theological discourse lasting longer than 60 seconds usually causes their eyes to glaze over.

Take, for example, the discipline of Christology. Scripture is clear that Jesus is fully God (John 10:30) but also fully man (Hebrews 4:15). He is one Person with two natures. We call this the Hypostatic Union, as defined by the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451: “[Jesus is] truly God and truly man… to be acknowledged in two natures inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably.” This definition arose out of 150 years of intra-ecclesiastical conflict over Christological heresies like Arianism, Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, and the Monophysites.

Obviously, having a correct view of who Jesus is is extremely important for any Christian, including a junior higher or high schooler. But the paragraph above would probably put most of them to sleep. (And maybe you, too!) So how do we make it relevant?

The best way I’ve seen this done was in a lecture by Sean McDowell at an apologetics conference. I’ve since encountered similar analogies in other sources. Sean used superheroes to explain the four parts of the Hypostatic Union:

• Batman heresy: Batman may be an excellent crime fighter, but he has no superpowers. Just brains, brawn, and a bank account. Likewise, the heresy of Arianism said Jesus was a created being; super powerful, but not actually God.  Jesus is not godlike, in the same way that Batman is almost superpowered; Jesus is fully God.
  
  
• Superman heresy: Superman does have superpowers, but he’s not human. He looks human when posing as Clark Kent, but he’s really a solar-powered alien. Likewise, the heresy of Apollinarianism said Jesus only “looked” human. He only took on part of our nature, like putting on a human skinsuit. But Jesus doesn’t just appear to be human, like Superman does; Jesus is fully man.
  
  
• Hulk heresy: The Hulk has two natures: Bruce Banner and the Hulk. But only one of them controls him at a time; sometimes he’s a brilliant scientist, and sometimes he’s a giant green rage monster. Likewise, the Nestorians taught that Jesus’ two natures were separate; the “human” Jesus felt hunger and exhaustion, while the “divine Jesus” taught and did miracles. But Jesus’ two natures can’t be divided or separated, like the Hulk’s can; Jesus is one Person.
  
  
• Spider-Man heresy: Spider-Man’s DNA is a combination of human and radioactive spider. His human and spider “natures” are combined into a third nature, a human-spider hybrid of sorts. Likewise, the Monophysites taught that Jesus doesn’t have two natures, but one, a neither-fully-God-nor-fully-man nature that blends the two. But Jesus isn’t some third thing, like Spider-Man; Jesus has two natures.

See what we did there? We took a difficult theological concept (the hypostatic union) and used contemporary terminology to make it memorable and engaging. A student might not remember the Definition of Chalcedon, but they hopefully will remember the heresies of Batman, Superman, Hulk, and Spider-Man.

So what’s the point? Theology is important, but it doesn’t have to be boring, as this little superhero analogy shows. To take the truths of God and make them dull and unappealing is frankly sinful. A proper understanding of who God is, of what His Word says, is critically necessary for real worship, real life change, real service of God and others. May we never resign doctrine to ivory-tower academics because it might be “boring.”

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.