The Hypostatic Union, Gnosticism and Christian Hedonism

There are two surefire ways to combat gnosticism. One is to sit under God’s word and see what He teaches therein, the other is to sit down with a group of friends, many large pizzas and a couple of jugs of beer.

Gnosticism is a sour-tasting concoction of asceticism and ingratitude that sees the physical and the spiritual as diametrically opposed to one another. The ascetic spirit by which one says ‘true Godliness is removing yourself from Earthly pleasures, only delighting in God’s word and in prayer’ is mistaken, indeed by pretending to magnify and elevate God’s revealed word it has in fact contradicted it.

From the first page of the Bible, the Christian is instructed in one simple reality: God created this world, and it is good. From the lights in the sky to the waters that separate the land masses, from the vegetation and fruit-yielding plants to the birds in the sky, it is all good. The astute reader would keep in mind that all of these things are not God, not divine, but good nonetheless. Indeed, when God looked upon man and all his creation, he said that it was very good.

What does all that have to do with gnosticism vs a large capricciosa? Let’s put all of our ducks, as they say, in order, and see.

When the second person of the Trinity, that is, the Word, took on flesh and tabernacled among us, we saw for the first time Jesus, the image of the invisible God, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s nature. All of those things are true about the incarnation of Christ. However, there is one truth that lingers by the sidelines, hopping up and down, mostly ignored by the coach who doesn’t realise what talent he has benched. That is this: when Christ took on flesh, he was reminding the world that embodied human life is not intrinsically undesirable. Yes, he took on flesh to become a man so that he could be a High Priest that is able to sympathise with us, having suffered the same struggles (Heb 4:15) but that is not the only reason. When God took on human flesh, that was the final nail in the coffin of gnosticism. It was the ultimate collaboration, the ultimate mixtape, wherein the Creator dropped a hit track featuring the creation itself, and it was very good, or in this instance, perfect.

Theologians use the term ‘hypostatic union’ to describe the fact that in Christ are two natures united: He is by nature God, and by nature Man, and to quote Chalcedon,  “to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably”. He isn’t like the incredible Hulk, who switches between ‘natures’ and feels and thinks differently depending on that.

Though much more could be written explaining gnosticism and explaining how plainly the scriptures refute it, we shall circle back to asceticism and beer.

God has created a world that is, if anything, substantial. The Earth on which we live is not a facade, it is not dull or grey. It is vivid, teeming with life, bursting with creativity and being at all times held together and kept in motion by Christ himself. It is an ever-present banquet of delights and disasters, all of which are given to us by God to be turned back to him in praise. If we would only stop for a moment, we might notice once again with childlike wonder just how unlikely and surprising the world around us is. We stare at pieces of dead trees and skinned animals with odd markings on them as if that were normal, just because they’re called ‘books’, and we have it on good authority that books are nothing to be alarmed about. When you dive into the ocean or dig your fingers deep into soft soil, you are unable to avoid just how tangible and physical this world is; this world that God created for us like a playground temple, a place to worship and enjoy him.

If by God’s grace, the resilient reader has persevered this far, and if by a further miracle has understood even one of these points we have made, fear not, we shall draw all of these threads together to tie off this tapestry and see the picture it has been weaving.

Christian Hedonism is a wonderfully odd phrase popularised by a certain John Piper, whose elderly visage beautifully complements his abundant vivacity. The maxim ‘God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him’ is the best summary of Piper’s idea, and has been the underlying point of this picture. Christ took on flesh, becoming truly man. He created the world to be good because he is good, and so by enjoying the world as God’s creation we enjoy God, and this is worship pleasing to God. Asceticism and gnosticism team up to deny that anything merely physical could be good, much less a vessel of God’s affection and grace towards us.

Christian, see that God has created this world for his glory, and that his glory is magnified as you enjoy his world in faith. Eat bacon, and do it for God’s glory. Stare at the stars, and worship the one who hung them there. Stop and smell the roses, and worship the one who decided that they should be so beautiful. Be comforted by the breeze, and exult in the knowledge that God prepared that breeze in eternity past for that very moment, that you should enjoy it and be grateful. Say grace, thank God for your food, and eat it for his glory.