Q. 37. How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
A. Christ the Son of God became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance, and born of her, yet without sin.
The good news is we all know the Christmas story. But let’s look at those two underlined details in Vos’ commentary.
What are the parts or elements of which our human nature is composed? Our human nature consists of two parts or elements, namely, body and soul. The body is made of material substance, that is, of chemical elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, carbon, etc. The soul, which is also called the spirit, is entirely different from the body, because it is not made of material substance. The soul and body are mysteriously joined together in one individual personality. Christ, however, was not a human person: his human body and soul together were united to his divine person.
What does the Bible teach about Christ’s human body? The Bible teaches that Clirist’s human body was and is real; it was not a mere illusion or appearance, but a real body trade of material substance, just as our body is.
What is meant by saying that Christ took to himself a reasonable soul? In this statement the word reasonable means rational, or having the power to think and reason.
In addition to Christ’s human soul, what spiritual nature does he have? In addition to his human soul, he is a divine Spirit, God the Son, the second person of the divine Trinity.
Rainbow Trout 