The New Trinity

In Peter's sermon to Cornelius, he makes a simple but profoundly important statement:

You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

- Acts 10:38

This verse is more than a passing description of Christ's ministry. It provides crucial insight into the mystery of the incarnation–Jesus as both fully God and fully man.

Jesus as Truly Human

Peter does not say that Jesus performed miracles because He retained divine powers. Instead, he declares that God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power. This supports Paul's teaching in Philippians 2:6-7 that Jesus "emptied Himself" by taking the form of a bond-servant, being made in the likeness of men.

The Son of God voluntarily laid aside the privileges of divinity in order to enter into the full experience of humanity. His miracles, teachings, and works were not accomplished because He was "secretly God in disguise," but because the Father, through the Spirit, enabled Him.

This truth underscores that Jesus' humanity was not partial or pretend. He did not merely "appear" human. He was truly man, and as such He relied completely on God to accomplish His mission.

The Power of the Spirit in Jesus' Ministry

Peter emphasizes that it was the Spirit's anointing that empowered Christ's works. This same Spirit later descended on the apostles, equipping them to continue Jesus' ministry after His ascension.

• Jesus prayed because He was man.
• Jesus obeyed because He was man.
• Jesus performed miracles because He was Spirit-empowered man.

This example is both humbling and encouraging. Christ's life models what perfect dependence on God looks like and demonstrates that divine power can indeed work through human weakness when surrendered to the Spirit.

The Permanent Change of the Incarnation

A question arises: Did Jesus merely set aside divinity temporarily, or did His incarnation produce a lasting change in His nature?

Conservative biblical teaching affirms that:

1. Jesus never ceased being God (John 1:1, Colossians 1:16-17).
2. By His incarnation, however, He took on true humanity–a nature that He did not lay aside after resurrection.

The glorified Christ still bears humanity. Paul says, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5). Notice the present tense: the man Christ Jesus.

This suggests that Jesus' incarnation has permanently altered His mode of existence. He is not less divine, but He is now divine and human together. In this way, humanity itself is drawn into the fellowship of the Godhead.

The New Trinity

Some conservative theologians have suggested that in a sense, the incarnation has produced what could be called a "New Trinity." Not that God's nature has changed in essence, but that within the eternal fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit, the Son now eternally includes humanity in Himself. The Son has forever united human nature with divine life.

This is why Christ is not only Savior but the eternal High Priest and Mediator. He remains the God-Man, bringing humanity into God's presence, not as a temporary arrangement but as a permanent reality.

Why This Matters

• The incarnation means our salvation is secure because the One interceding for us before the Father is both God and man.
• It assures us that Jesus understands our weaknesses not only by knowledge but by lived experience.
• It gives hope that our own humanity–redeemed and glorified–has a place in God's eternal kingdom.

The mystery of Christ's nature remains beyond full human comprehension. Yet Peter's simple words in Acts 10:38 open the door to understand that the power of Jesus' life and ministry lay not in retaining divine privilege, but in His Spirit-filled humanity–showing us both who God is, and what humanity is meant to be in Him.