Was Jesus Christ fully man, fully God, or both?
Many people say that Jesus Christ was both God and man when He lived on this earth. In this way they hope to avoid controversies. Entire denominations feel safe embracing this doctrine and assuming this position. The question is: can it be both ways? The scriptures say no, and anyone who takes such a position should avoid or eliminate all scriptures in the Bible that say otherwise. Furthermore, such a doctrine deprives humanity of understanding the love and richness of God’s grace for humanity.
It is absolutely true, and without any biblical contradiction, that before Jesus was born and after his resurrection, he was, and is now, fully God. The Hebrews identified him as Jehovah, the Lord God. The first chapter of the book of John states flatly that he was with God in the beginning, and was God, and all that has been made was done by him. He left his home and the glory he had in heaven to humble himself and become a man. He tells us, in the first chapter of the book of Revelation, that he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Lord who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. In verse 18 he tells us: “I am the one who lives and was dead; and behold, I live forever.”
From the foundation of the world it was written that Jesus would come into the world at a predetermined time to do the will of his Father. In Hebrews 10: 5-7 Amp, we are told that when the time came for Jesus to enter the world, he declared to the Father: “Behold, here I am, coming to do your will, O God – (to accomplish) what which is written about Me in the volume of the Book “. Jesus was born into this world by his mother Mary, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
The question then is this: if God was his Father and Mary was his mother, was it God’s plan for him to live as God and man, or was it God’s plan from the foundation of the world for him to live as God? only man? Jesus Christ lived on this earth for only thirty years or more, a very short period of time. However, the Bible tells us a lot about his birth, life, death, and resurrection from the dead, all according to God’s plan.
In the second chapter of the book of Hebrews, we are told that when Jesus was born, he did not take the nature of angels, but took the human seed of Abraham, so that he could be made like his brothers, and that he could be tempted like everyone else. men to understand the temptations of mankind.
Let us examine how it could be born of the seed of man and yet of a virgin who was impregnated by the Holy Spirit of God, and not by a man. It could help us understand that the first man, Adam, was created by God without a human father, and the first woman, Eve, was also created by God without a human father. Beyond this, it was prophesied three times that Jesus would be born of the seed of mankind. Genesis 3:15 says that the promised Messiah would come from the seed of the woman. In Genesis 12 we are told that the Messiah would come through the seed of Abraham (confirmed also in Galatians 3:16). Then we are told in Acts 2: 30-31, Psalm 132: 11 and Romans 1: 3, that it would come from the fruit of King David’s loins. These are confirmed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ given in Matthew 1: 1 and are also found in Luke, chapter three. Most Bible scholars believe that the genealogy given in the book of Luke refers to the genealogy of Mary.
The temptations of Jesus Christ
Was Jesus tempted as fully God, fully man, or both? The Bible gives us clear and direct answers to this question. In Hebrews 2: 17-18 we are told that he had to be made like his brothers in all respects so that he could be sympathetic to the temptations of mankind in order to intercede as High Priest before God. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, but without sin. If Jesus lived as full God or even as God and man, could he have been so tempted? The Bible says no! James 1:13 tells us that God cannot be tempted by evil.
If Jesus, then, existed as a total man, how could he not sin? This answer can be found in the name given to him as a man:Jesus Christ. Christ means “anointed.” The name, then, is Jesus the anointed, because he was anointed by the Holy Spirit, and lived his life filled with the Holy Spirit, connected with God through his continuous prayers. Romans 8: 3-4 tells us that the power to overcome sin is in the Holy Spirit. Throughout his life, God was in the man Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus was in God through the same Holy Spirit.
Jesus, as a man, overcame sin and told us that we too can overcome sin in the same way. In the seventeenth chapter of the book of John, before leaving this earth, Jesus raised his eyes in prayer to his Father and prayed for those who could believe: “That they may all be one; as you, Father, are in me. And I in you, so that they too may be one in us. “
God’s plan, from the foundation of the world, as found in Romans 8:29, is that through the short life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, we can hope to be molded into his image and likeness, and may Jesus be the firstborn of many brothers. I think it would be appropriate to paraphrase John 3: 6 and say this about Jesus: He, who was born of the Spirit, was born of the flesh so that we, who were born of the flesh, may be born of the Spirit.
The resurrection of jesus
Jesus died a human death just like any other human being who died. Speaking of the resurrection in the last days, Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection and the life.” However, it was not by his own power that he himself resurrected. There are many scriptures that say that it was the power of God that resurrected him. Romans 6: 4 tells us that it was by the power of God, the Father, that he was resurrected.
The question of who Jesus is separates many people on this earth, whether they are believers or unbelievers. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all come together to work on our understanding of who Jesus is, based solely on God’s word?
Jesus asks today. Who do you say that I am?