Ecce Homo? The Divine Anthropology of Albert B. Simpson

Abstract

The Christology of Albert B. Simpson, founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, like the Apollinarian heresy, asserts that while Christ’s body and soul were of the created order, his spirit was divine. This paper will show that, in Simpson’s opinion, Christ’s possession of a divine spirit was not contrary to essential human being but was, instead, foundational to true humanity. While such humanity is no longer readily observable, Scripture locates it in at least two, if not three, occasions: in the Garden, in redeemed humanity, and in the Incarnation. Consequently, the divine-spirit bearing Christ is not alien to essential human being and is, therefore, perfectly suited to serve as its Representative and Redeemer. In conclusion, this article will discuss the extent that an assumed, but not explicated, anthropology—such as existed during the classical Christological debates—may play in determining the orthodoxy of a given Christology.