Docetism

What is Docetism?

Docetism is an ancient heresy related to Christianity.

Docetism comes from the Greek dokein (to seem). It is the belief that Jesus wasn’t actually human, but only appeared to be human. Docetism was closely related to Gnosticism, which viewed physical matter as inherently evil and spiritual substance as inherently good. This denial of Jesus’ humanity contradicts the plain teaching of the New Testament.

This idea appeared soon after Jesus’ death and resurrection. 1 John 4:1-3 appears to address it specifically:

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

In 2 John 1:7 Paul wrote that many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.

Jerome, born in the mid-300s, wrote this in The Dialogue Against the Luciferians: “While the apostles were still surviving, while Christ’s blood was still fresh in Judea, the Lord’s body was asserted to be but a phantasm.”

The question of Jesus having a body appears to have been an issue very early in the church, or John would not have needed to address it. Docetism seems to have been a fairly significant issue for some time. A hundred years after John wrote that, Serapion of Antioch discovered the idea in the false Gospel of Peter. Docetism was condemned at the first council of Nicaea in 325, and is considered heretical by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian Orthodox, and all Trinitarian Protestants.

What’s the Big Idea?

Docetism is based in the idea that God has no body, cannot suffer, and certainly cannot die. Docetists, from the Greek doketai (illusionists), believed that Jesus did not have a physical body… that his body was an illusion. Therefore, everything in Scripture that relates to Jesus having a real body must be understood as not being actually true… either false or metaphorical:

• Mary’s pregnancy and Jesus’ birth
• Eating food
• Walking around
• Being tired
• Weeping
• His crucifixion
• His death
• His resurrection
• His ascension to Heaven
• … and so on.

Two Kinds of Docetism

The denial that Jesus was fully human results in one of two primary interpretations:

1. that because God has no body, so Jesus’ body must have been an illusion, or
2. that Jesus was a regular man, and “the Christ” is a separate divine entity that entered Jesus’ body at His baptism, empowered Him to do miracles, and left His body during the crucifixion… leaving the human Jesus to die.

Every passage in the Bible that expresses Jesus’ humanity must, in the Docetist’s view, be reinterpreted. While it’s obvious that this belief contradicts Scripture, those who hold it do not generally believe the Bible to be the infallible Word of God.

Docetism Today

The idea that Jesus was only divine and not also human persists to this day. Modern Gnostics like Christian Science believe that the only true reality is spiritual, and that anything physical is an illusion. This is why they tend to avoid doctors: to receive physical treatment is to reinforce the illusion. Others who believe Jesus was only divine include some involved in the New Age movement, Theosophy, and certain sects of Hinduism that consider Jesus to have been a divine symbol rather than God in the flesh.

Implications of Docetism

Jesus’ humanity is a core tenet of Christianity. The apostle Paul wrote again and again that he preached about Jesus’ crucifixion, and in 1 Corinthians 15:17 that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.” If Jesus had no body, He could not be crucified. He could not die. Therefore, He could not be raised from the dead. Docetism, then, contradicts the most foundational element of the Christian faith.

God, in Leviticus 17:11 (and Hebrews 9:22) is quoted as saying that there would be no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. Under the old covenant, the ancient Israelites sacrificed animals to cover their sins. Jesus was the fulfillment of those symbolic acts. His death – the shedding of His blood – didn’t simply cover our sins temporarily, it removed them. Jesus paid the price for everyone’s sins, for all time… as we read in Hebrews 7:27, He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

Docetism erases Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and sacrifice… all of which are central to a biblical understanding of God, His plan, and our salvation.

Join me on Substack!