2. THE UNION OF CHRIST'S TWO NATURES IS A PERSONAL UNION

The union between the two natures in Christ is a personal union. It takes place in the Person of the Son of God. The two natures are not united to one another directly. They are not mixed or fused with one another to form a third thing distinct from both. Rather they are united to one another indirectly in the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Nor is this personal union of the two natures in Christ like the union between body and soul in a man. In an ordinary man, his person or personality is the result of the union of soul and body. There is no human person until a human soul and a body are united together to form the whole man. But in the Incarnation, the person pre-exists the union of the two natures, because it is the Person of the Eternal Son of God. In the Incarnation the Son of God, Who is Eternal, assumes to Himself a complete human nature, a body and soul. By this union the human nature becomes the human nature of the Son of God. He is the Person existing in this human nature, the Person responsible for all its actions, the responsible Agent acting in and through this human nature in the world of men. It should be clear at once that the human nature of Christ has no human personality. If we were to look at the human nature of Christ and ask, "What is it?" the answer would have to be, "It is a human nature." But if we were to inquire, "Who is He?" then we would not give in reply the name of any human or created person, because there is no created personality present in Christ. We should have to say, "He is Christ, the Son of God."