The Word was fully divine; preincarnate Christ is fully God
The Foursquare Church affirms John 1:1 as clearly establishing the full divinity of Christ. The Logos is not created but is eternally existent with God and shares the divine nature. This interpretation is central to Foursquare Christology and is affirmed in the church's Declaration of Faith.
The incarnation of the Word in Jesus Christ is understood as God becoming flesh, the eternal taking on the temporal. This high Christology supports the Foursquare conviction that Christ is the Savior of all, worthy of worship, and the sole mediator to God. The divinity of Christ provides the theological foundation for his redemptive work and his present intercession for believers.
Foursquare teaching emphasizes that Christ's divine nature never ceased during the incarnation: he was and is fully God. This affirms both the reality of God's entrance into history and the reality of Christ's divine power and authority in salvation and in the believer's present experience.
Key Distinctions
- Logos divinity:
- full and eternal; never diminished in incarnation
- Incarnation:
- God became flesh while remaining fully divine
- Creation role:
Scripture References
Sources
- Foursquare Declaration of Faith
- Foursquare Doctrinal Teaching