by Garrett Glende
On the heels of probably the most difficult article I’ve written to date, comes this one – probably the most important. There is no more central theme to Christianity that the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the main character of the story of Scripture and all of redemptive history is focused on Him. There has never been a more influential or controversial man to have ever walked the earth. I could go on and on with the sweeping praises of His worth simply as an object of study, but what is far more valuable to us is to actually know Him for who He truly is. What we believe about Jesus is foundational to our salvation and is what separates Christianity from all the other religions of the world.
Jesus as Human
In order to fully comprehend who Christ is, we must see both His humanity and deity in equal light. It is clear throughout Scripture that Jesus was not only in the form of a man, but that He had a complete human nature as well. As early as Genesis 3:15 we see that the promised Messiah would come from the seed of Eve, being fulfilled in the virgin birth. Jesus also experienced all the same things that any other human would feel. He was hungry (Matt 4:2), thirsty (John 19:28), tired (John 4:6), and felt pain. He expressed sorrow (John 11:35), agony (Matt 26:38), and wonder (Matt 8:10). He was even tempted in every way, yet was without sin.
The importance of Christ’s humanity cannot be understated. In order to obtain salvation for man, Jesus had to be their representative. It was Jesus’ humanity that enabled His sacrifice to be applied to us. As sinners, we needed someone to represent us before God and Jesus does that. In this way, He is the mediator between God and man, as 1 Timothy 2:5 says that “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Even more, Christ acts as our faithful high priest according to Hebrews 2:17: “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Had Jesus not been man, He would not have been able to satisfy the wrath of God against the sins of men. To put it simply: there is no salvation without the humanity of Christ.
Jesus as God
This is the point where Christianity stands out above all other religions. Most will admit that Jesus was a man who lived on earth and had good teachings. Many even go as far as to call Him a prophet, yet they are unwilling to submit to the clear teachings of Jesus himself about His deity. If I were to list all of the arguments for the deity of Christ, this article would be far too long. Needless to say, since the message of Christianity hinges on the deity of Christ, then the Bible better be fairly clear on this front. The gospel of John opens with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 of the same chapter tells us that this eternal logos “became flesh and dwelt among us,” clearly revealing that the logos in John 1:1 is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who explains the Father. In fact, Jesus says that “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). We must also be aware that Jesus is not only partly God and partly man. Paul tells us that “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 2:9) and we read in Hebrews that “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb 1:3).
The significance of Christ’s deity cannot be understated. What happens to the cross if Jesus is not God? It becomes just like any other death. Thousands of men were crucified before Jesus was, all of them providing nothing of worth for our souls’ benefit. But because Jesus is God, His death means something. No human being could ever provide salvation for another, for “salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). Again, the fact that Jesus is God allows Him to mediate between God and men. He is the one who represents God to us and us to God.
Application
One of the many applications of this great doctrine is the fact that Jesus’ humanity provides us with an example of how we are to live today. If we strive to emulate Christ in all our actions, we can be sure that our lives will be honoring to God. Because He lived a sinless life, there is no part of Christ’s ministry that we are to exclude when we follow after Him as disciples. This is not to say that all of Jesus’ actions were to be prescriptive, in that we would now need to do the exact same deeds as He did (for we are not to literally take up our crosses for the sins of the world), but rather His life shows us a pattern of living that is not to be ignored. He lived as a humble servant, even though He was the Lord of all creation. He fed the hungry and helped the weak. He confronted the false teachers of the day and invested His own life into those that would lead the next generation. All these qualities are certainly to be implemented in our own lives as we submit to His lordship and follow in His footsteps. May we always be thankful for this doctrine of Christ as both fully man and fully God, for there is no gospel without it.