Docetism as an Indication of Christ's Authentic Nature

    

The Christ of Docetism

From the earliest decades of Christianity, the Church as consistently espoused both the divinity and humanity of Christ in full measure. The New Testament openly and consistently asserts that Jesus is God in the flesh. (John 1:1, John 1:14, John 10:30, John 20:28, Phil. 2:6-11, Col. 1:15-20, Heb. 1:3, Titus 2:13, 1 John 5:20, Rev. 1:8, etc)

    Christianity's assertion of Jesus' full divinity and full humanity was established early on, rooted in the teachings of Jesus himself and the apostolic witness. Despite this foundational belief, the early church faced doctrinal challenges that sought to redefine or undermine these core tenets. Many of the earliest heresies were Christological, stemming from the overemphasis of either the divine or human dimension of Jesus.

    However, when and how these heresies arose can a offer significant glimpse into how Christ was initially understood shortly after his life. According to some, the divinity of Jesus was a legendary development that arose long after him. Yet this assertion, while probable in the case of many other claims of divinity, does not match the historical data about Christianity.

    If one were to put the common Christological heresies in a timeline from when they first appeared, it would look something like this:

1. Docetism (1st century AD) - This is the earliest of the three, arising in the 1st century. It posited that Jesus was purely divine and only appeared to be human, denying his humanity. Docetists typically believed that only the spirit was good, but the flesh and material world were evil. Therefore, God would never inhabit real flesh.
2. Humanitarian Christology (Early 2nd century AD) - Coming after Docetism, this belief, associated with groups like the Ebionites, held that Jesus was purely human and not divine at all. This view was prominent among certain Jewish-Christian sects in the early 2nd century.
3. Adoptionism (Late 2nd century AD) - This belief emerged later in the 2nd century and asserted that Jesus was born a mere human but was later adopted as the Son of God, typically at his baptism, thus becoming divine at that point.

    So the earliest and most significant Christological heresy to emerge was Docetism in the first century, right in the midst of the apostolic age. Docetism, rooted in Hellenistic dualism and Gnostic thought, posited that Jesus' physical body and suffering were illusory. According to Docetic teachings, Jesus only appeared to be human; in reality, he was purely divine. 

What Docetism Teaches Us About the Authentic Nature of Christ

    The emergence of Docetism challenges common assumptions about the legendary development of Jesus' divinity within early Christianity. Instead of a gradual ascent from humanity to divinity, the earliest debates and controversies centered on Jesus' pre-existing divine status. Rather than the first challenge impulse to the orthodox position being, "No, he was merely a man," it was instead, "He was not a man at all, but only appeared to be so. He was quintessentially divine."

    In fact, of the three common Christological heresies of the early church, Docetism is the only one that is specifically combatted in the New Testament. Scholars widely acknowledge that it is Docetism that is being addressed, for example, when John says in 1 John 4:2-3:

"By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already."

and 

2 John 1:7:"For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist."

and

John 20:27-28: "Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.' Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!'"

    He is specifically addressing those who would assert that Jesus did not take on physical flesh because God would not inhabit evil flesh. Yet John is very careful to fully assert the divinity of Christ, but not at the expense of his true humanity. Additionally, Luke makes the case very clear when he says in Luke 24:39:

"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

The Apostolic Witness of the Nature of Christ 

    This challenge to the accepted Christology of the Church arose during a time when there was still living witnesses in the apostolic age. This is utterly counterintuitive. One would expect that if Jesus were widely considered to be merely a man with no divine status, the first deviant Christological impulse would be to assert his humanity to the exclusion of the divinity at the outset. What is found in the historical record is that the Humanitarian Christology only arose after the apostolic age, and the view that Jesus was mere man is more accurately to be understood as the real legendary development, since it developed gradually, later in time, outside of the period of eyewitness falsification. Rather than a linear progression toward Jesus' deification through legendary development as is commonly asserted, the historical trajectory reveals that during the living memory of Christ, theological debates were instead centered around the exact nature of his divinity. However, the option of Christ being a mere man was not an idea that was seriously entertained in the period of time that was eyewitness to him.

    The existence of Docetism during the apostolic age underscores the importance that the apostolic witness had. The apostles and early church leaders, who had firsthand knowledge of Jesus, played a crucial role in defending the true nature of Christ against distortions. Their testimonies were foundational in preserving the authentic teachings about Jesus' identity and mission.

    The Church's response to Docetism was a robust affirmation of the Incarnation. The concept that God became flesh in the person of Jesus was not a peripheral belief, but a cornerstone of Christian faith. The doctrine of the Incarnation underscored the belief that Jesus was truly human, experiencing pain, suffering, and death, which were essential for the redemption of humanity. This was crucial for the early Christians because it validated the reality of Jesus' life and his redemptive work on the cross and the inherent historical nature of the Christian faith.

Conclusion

   Docetism, as the earliest Christological heresy, provides a significant indication of how Jesus was perceived shortly after his earthly ministry. It reveals that the primary concern of early Christians was not to elevate a merely human Jesus to divine status but to maintain the truth of his pre-existing divinity alongside his genuine humanity. The strength and appeal of Docetism was that everyone seemed to recognize Jesus as God, therefore Docetism acts as an early widespread recognition of the divinity of Christ. It shows that the divinity of Jesus was an established belief from the outset, challenging the notion that it was a later development. The Church's response to Docetism solidified the doctrine of the Incarnation and reinforced the balanced understanding of Christ's dual nature, which remains a central tenet of Christian faith to this day.