All Articles For Hanko Ronald H

Ronald H. Hanko is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church, Houston, Texas. 2. Denials of this doctrine (continued). Though the false teaching of the sects regarding the divinity of Christ is still a threat to the church, especially because of the deceitfulness of these false teachers, the greatest threat to church doctrine at, this point comes not from without but from within. That threat is the neglect of this doctrine by the church herself. Such neglect of Christ’s divinity is at least as malignant as the outright denials of this doctrine that characterize the sects, perhaps even more so since...

Ronald H. Hanko is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church, Houston, Texas. 4. The divine Person of Christ. In speaking of the two natures of Christ, it is necessary not only to speak of these natures, but also of the Person of Christ. These terms, “person” and “nature,” are not so much biblical as theological terms, and are also used in connection with the doctrine of the trinity. The use of them arose out of the need to express and define the truth of Scripture concerning God Triune and concerning Jesus Christ as clearly as possible over against various heresies...

Ronald H. Hanko is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church, Houston, Texas. The Humanity Of Christ 1.The testimony of Scripture. There seems little need of demonstrating the humanity of Christ from Scripture when there are few, even as far removed from orthodox Christianity as the sects, the Jews, or the Muslims, who do not believe that there was a real man named Jesus. Especially when one remembers that, if anything, there is today the tendency to emphasize the humanity of Christ to the detriment of His deity, it would seem superfluous to try to prove from Scripture that He is...

Ronald H. Hanko is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church, Houston, Texas. 2. The characteristics of Christ’s human nature. Because of various errors that have arisen in the history of the church there are certain characteristics of Christ’s human nature that have been emphasized in church doctrine. These are worth our study, not just because of the errors they contradict, but because each of them helps us understand the wonder and significance of Christ’s humanity for our salvation. There are usually five of these characteristics or attributes that are given, the reality, completeness, weakness, sinlessness, and centrality of Christ’s human...

Ronald H. Hanko is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church, Houston, Texas. 2. The characteristics of Christ’s human nature (con’t.). b. Christ’s complete human nature. Closely connected with the reality of Christ’s human nature is its completeness. It should be immediately obvious that if His human nature is not complete, that is, if it does not include body, soul, spirit, heart, mind, will, and all that belongs to our humanity, then it is not real either. This also was denied in the early history of the Church, first of all by those who taught that the deity of Christ replaced...

Ronald H. Hanko is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church, Houston, Texas. 2. The characteristics of Christ’s human nature (continued). c. A sinless human nature. That Christ was sinless is, of course, the foundation of our faith in Him as Saviour. But there are several things that need emphasis at this point. First of all, that Christ had a sinless human nature does not only mean that He had no actual sin, but also that it was not possible for Him to sin. That He actually committed no sin is clearly taught in a passage like I Peter 2:22, 23. That...

In previous articles we have seen that our adoption as the children of God is predestinated from eternity by God the Father and prepared and sealed in time through the work of Christ, the First-begotten Son. Now we turn to the third phase in the revelation of the wonder of our Sonship, the work of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of adoption. It is through the Spirit of adoption that the adoption of sons is possessed by the children of God. 

The final phase in the revelation of our adoption as God’s children takes place in the judgment day. The adoption of sons which God has predestinated in His eternal counsel and prepared in Christ, and which we possess through the Spirit of adoption is perfected when at last we leave our earthly house of this tabernacle and receive from God a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (II Cor. 5:1).

Ronald H. Hanko is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church, Houston, Texas. 2. The characteristics of Christ’s human nature (continued). e. A central human nature. This last aspect of Christ’s humanity is little appreciated and seldom mentioned, even by those theologians who have written extensively on the subject of Christ’s two natures. This is probably due to the fact that it is the most difficult aspect of Christ’s humanity, at least as far as its significance is concerned. In referring to the centrality of Christ’s human nature, we mean that He was not born at random out of the human...

Ronald H. Hanko is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church, Houston, Texas. 3. The Virgin birth.  The reality and significance of Christ’s humanity are inseparably connected with belief in the virgin birth. The church father, Tertullian, saw that long ago: