Beloved,
Here comes the long overdue second part of our series about Jesus. Sorry, that you have to wait a long time for it!
In the first part we came to know Jesus-God and what that means for believers as well as non- believers: hope for all of us.
Today we will discover Jesus-man. As I said, the Bible gives an equally clear support to Christ's full deity as well as His humanity. Several passages affirm that Jesus became fully man as you and me.
Christ had a human birth (Luke 2:4-21; 1:18-25).
He also had a human development (Luke 2:52).
He had all the human elements: a spirit (Luke 23:46), a soul (John 12:27) and a body (John 2:21).
He had human names such as “man” (1 Tim. 2:5), “Son of man” (Luke 19:10), and “Son of David” (Mark 10:47).
Jesus possessed all of the human limitations except sin: He got tired, hungry, thirsty, sorrowful, and He died physically.
The Bible, therefore, gives clear testimony to the humanity as well as the complete deity of Jesus Christ. Paul summarizes it in Colossians 2:9 so beautifully: “For in Him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form”.
I'm aware that this “Jesus is 100% God and 100% Man” truth is a “scandal” for our human mind. If Jesus were 50 percent God and 50 percent man (as some have taught), there would be no problem, since 50% + 50% = 100%. But the Bible does not allow this because it testifies that Jesus is a total man and fully God. Then according to the bible, 100% + 100% = 100% and that cannot be understood by the mind. But the revelation here lies in the fact that humanity is not the same as deity. Considering Jesus as 50% God and 50% Man is like trying to put one liter of water and one liter of oil into a one liter container. It won't work! Human reasoning denies that one can be fully human and fully divine, but the Bible tells us that is the case with Jesus Christ. Period.
So how can we model Jesus the God-man?
The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 2:22 that we are supposed to model our lives after Christ. “For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in his steps. He committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth”.
Wait a minute Rosine: How can Christ be our example and model when He was also God? How can we follow in the steps of the One who committed no sin? To some it seems almost unfair, as they often said, “The Christian life is not difficult - it’s impossible”. But Paul says it can be done: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians. 11:1). Here Paul is stating that his life is so Christ-like that others can and should imitate it. How can our lives attain this quality? The solution is found in Paul’s statement: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Paul’s life of modeling Christ was possible only in so far as he appropriated the power of the indwelling Jesus- God.
That means, the Christian life is a divine-human process. It is a supernatural, not a natural life. God has not told us “here are the rules. Good luck!” Instead, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwelt in everyone who has received Christ (John 14:17-23). Christians are empowered by the eternal Godhead, but we need to allow this power to control and transform our lives by faith.
