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Introduction:
In my opinion, the most amazing event in all of history is
recorded in Luke
2:1-7. Mary, betrothed to Joseph and still a virgin, gave
birth to a Son. Some distance away, in the field, angels appeared
to shepherds and proclaimed a Savior was born (Luke
2:11). A year or two later, wise men from the east arrived
in Jerusalem looking for the “king of the Jews” in order to
worship Him. And they did worship the child (Matthew
2:11). But what kind of child is this, proclaimed to be
the Savior of the world, the king of the Jews and worthy to
receive worship? Only God is to receive this kind of obeisance.
Only God is to be worshiped. What child is this? John
1:1, 14 explains this Child was deity become flesh. I do
not wish to take away from the most important event in history,
which is the death of this child when He grew to be a man.
However, to me, this birth is the most amazing event. Deity did
not merely imitate humanity. God did not merely look like man. The
Word really became flesh. Think of how amazing it is to see an
infant in a manger or a child of about two running around His
parent’s legs and fall before Him, worshipping the King, the Son
of God, God in flesh. This is impossible to fathom. Our finite
minds cannot grasp the entirety of God all by Himself, let alone
God as man. However, let us examine what the Scripture says about
Jesus that we may grasp as much as we can and be able to serve Him
as we ought. Discussion: I.
Jesus is God, but not God the Father A.
John
1:1
says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God” (ESV). We know the Word became flesh
according to vs.
14. The Word, therefore, is Jesus. This verse says two
things about Jesus. First, Jesus was God. That is, He was (and is)
divine. Second, He was with God. That is, He was with the Father
and the Spirit who are also God. We use the term “God” in two
different ways. Sometimes we use it as a name. Usually, when we do
we are referring to the Father. When we say, “God did this and
God did that.” We usually mean the Father did this or that.
However, we also use it as a classification. We use the word
“God” interchangeably with “deity” or “divine.” Jesus
was not only human, He was divine. He not only had humanity, He
had deity. He was not only man, He was God. When we ask the
question, “Is Jesus God?” we might have two possible answers.
If we are using the term “God” as the name we commonly give
the Father, our answer would be, “No, Jesus is not God, He is
not the Father.” However, if we are asking if Jesus is divine or
deity, our answer would be, “Yes, Jesus is God; He is divine.” B.
Notice some verses that demonstrate this. John
1:1 said the Word is God. John
1:18 speaks of Jesus as “the only God, who is at
the Father's side” (ESV).
Colossians
1:19; 2:9 say the fullness of deity dwelt in Him. Colossians
1:15 says Jesus was the express image of the invisible
God. Hebrews
1:3 says Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God and
the exact imprint of his nature” (ESV). Jesus is God. However, John
8:16-18 demonstrates Jesus is not the Father. He claimed
He did not judge alone, but the Father also judged. If Jesus is
the Father, He couldn’t claim this. Further, He said He was one
testifying witness and the Father was another. Again, He could not
claim this if He was the Father. II.
While Jesus is God, He was also man. A.
Jesus is God. He was God in the beginning. He has always
been God. However, a little over 2000 years ago, Jesus became man.
Notice that wording in John
1:14. Jesus did not hide His deity with flesh. He did not
pretend to be flesh. He did not appear to be flesh. He did not
represent Himself as flesh. He became flesh. According to Romans
1:3-4, Jesus is both the Son of God according to the
Spirit and the Son of David according to the flesh. Hebrews
2:17 says Jesus was made like His brothers in every
respect. Finally, I
Timothy 2:5 says, “There is one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus. The Bible says Jesus was a man. He was
a man in every respect like we are. B.
There are, no doubt, some difficult questions about how the
incarnation worked. But we need to understand, it did work. We may
not understand how, we may have a lot of questions, but we must
always remember “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke
1:37—ESV). Just because we can’t grasp how God did it,
doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. C.
Before moving on, we need to recognize the two things the
Bible says about Jesus. Colossians
1:19; 2:9 explains Jesus was the fullness of deity. Hebrews
2:17 says Jesus was made like us in every respect. Jesus
was not half God/half man like some mythical creature. He was not
a divine spirit wrapped in flesh. Jesus did not have a divine side
and a human side. Jesus was fully God and fully man. He was
everything He needed to be and had everything He needed to have to
be God. He was everything He needed to be and had everything He
needed to have to be man. And He had all that at the same time. I
have heard Christians say repeatedly when they come to Matthew
26:38-39 that we are seeing Jesus’ human side. No, we
are not seeing Jesus’ human side. We are seeing Jesus. Jesus did
not have a human side and a divine side that alternated control or
expression. He was not some Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was what
He was, incarnate deity. In every passage where Jesus speaks, we
see incarnate deity speaking. In every passage where Jesus acts,
we see incarnate deity acting. Jesus is God. He was also man. He
was both at the same time. Be amazed and be thankful. III.
Jesus is, therefore, the perfect mediator. A.
As the one in whom the fullness of deity dwells and who was
made in every respect like His brethren, Jesus is the perfect
union of God and man who can mediate between God and man. I
Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and there is
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” As the
divine human, Jesus is perfectly suited to mediate and bring
reconciliation between humanity and deity. B.
The only way to the Father is through the Son. He is the
way, the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father
except through Him (John
14:6). There is no other name under heaven by which men
can be saved (Acts
4:12). Only by the blood of Jesus Christ can we enter the
house and presence of the Living God (Hebrews
10:19-22). Colossians
1:18-23 explains Christ’s mediation as He, the perfect
God/man, reconciled us to the Father through His death. IV.
Because the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus, we must fully
dwell in Jesus. A.
Colossians
2:6-10
says not only does the fullness of God dwell in Jesus, we need to
dwell in Jesus. We must receive Jesus Christ the Lord and walk in
Him. By this, we are rooted in Him, built up in Him and made
complete in Him. Our life is to be hidden in Him (Colossians
3:3). B.
John
15:1-11
says a great deal about dwelling in Christ. Each of us is a branch
that needs life in order to bear fruit. Unless we are connected to
the vine, we shrivel and die. Jesus is that vine. He is the source
of our life (cf. John
1:4). Abiding in Christ is not a mysterious, ethereal
feeling. Rather, it as a very practical issue. We abide in Christ
when His words abide in us and we do what He says. Through this,
we may have joy and our joy may be full. Paul made this same point
in Colossians
3:15-16. When we allow the word of Christ to richly dwell
within us, then the peace of Christ will rule in our hearts,
guarding our hearts and minds (cf. Philippians
4:7). C.
Paul further explains we must not be turned away by
deceitful doctrines and teachings (Colossians
2:9, 20-23). We must not be turned aside by what merely
has the appearance of wisdom. We need to “try the spirits,” so
to speak, (cf. I
John 4:1) and make sure what we are following is truly
from Christ, comparing what is taught to the word of Christ. No
matter how logical, how reasonable, how deep something may sound,
if it is not anchored in the word of Christ it will not help us
dwell in Him in whom the fullness of deity dwells. V.
Because deity became flesh, we can find help from Him. A.
Hebrews
2:14-18 and 4:14-16 says the incarnation of deity in Jesus Christ should be a great
comfort to us. In fact, these passages are an amazing
demonstration of the grace of Jesus Christ. First, we recognize
that God, knowing all things, did not have to become one of us to
fully know and understand what we go through. Therefore, this
incarnation was not at all for His benefit. He was not trying to
figure out what our lives were like. Rather, He was giving us
comfort. We are now more certain that deity knows what it is like
to be human. We are far more likely to turn to the God who has
been through what we go through than the God who has merely
created us and left us on our own. He did this for us. What a
great God we serve. B.
Having said that, something else amazes me about these two
texts. Jesus lived as one of us, yet He did so perfectly. He faced
temptations, trials and tests, yet He came out completely
unscathed, speaking spiritually. In this kind of situation with
men, we generally see that those who have gone through something
and come out victorious are usually not that helpful. They were
able to do it; they can’t understand why we can’t succeed
easily too. They are rarely sympathetic with us at all. However,
Jesus is completely different. His success has not made Him
arrogant, harsh or impatient. Rather, His experience has made Him
sympathetic with our plight. When we struggle, we know we can go
to Jesus and find a source of strength and help. He doesn’t want
to hold His success over our heads. He doesn’t withhold His help
saying, “I did it, so can you.” He doesn’t look down on us
as failures. He helps us. No doubt, we should learn to treat each
other in the same way. VI.
We must follow His example. A.
Philippians
2:3-8
says that the incarnation was not just for our benefit, it was for
our example. As Jesus was willing to leave the glories of heaven
and abandon the visible glory of deity in order to come to earth
as one of us and serve us, we ought to be willing to serve one
another. Jesus did not regard “equality with God a thing to be
grasped” (ESV). The point is Jesus, as deity, is equal with God.
In heaven, that was apparent, however, coming to earth, no one
would see that equality. In fact, if He tried to assert that
equality, He would be rejected by men. Yet, Jesus did not scratch
and claw to hang on to His honor and appearance. He was willing to
let that go and come among us. He did not live from rivalry,
trying to politically put Himself forward. He had no conceit that
He had to let everyone know how great He really was. He was far
more interested in our needs than His own. B.
The great point for us is if the divine can exercise this
kind of humility in order to serve us, how much more ought we
exercise humility to serve one another. Jesus gave a pointed
object lesson on this in John
13:12-17. If the Master could put on the vestments of
slave and perform the duties of slave for His disciples, how much
more ought the disciples be willing to do that very same thing for
one another. He has given us an example that we should do as He
did for us. If deity can be a servant, so can we. Conclusion: Jesus Christ was a man, the son of David, yet the fullness of deity dwelt in Him. He was and is fully God. As such, He is our perfect mediator and source of help. Deity dwells in Jesus. The question is do you dwell in Him? Have you entered Christ? Galatians 3:27 is clear. If you want to dwell in Christ, you have to be baptized into Him? Have you begun to dwell in Christ? Can we help you with that right now?
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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