Jesus the God Man

Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
⁶  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

This is a fairly familiar passage of Scripture for us this time of year.  But, this verse may be more important than it might appear at first glance for it refers to the fact Jesus is both God and man.  It is the child (human) that was born.  It was the Son (God the Son) which was given.

Philippians 2:5-8 tells us a lot about this God/man doctrine.  It says Jesus was originally in the form of God, but He emptied Himself and took the form of a slave (human) and became obedient to the Father to the point of death on the cross.  It appears this “emptying” was not of Jesus’ divine nature but of the use of His godly attributes.

Being both God and man are not mutually exclusive.  A ball can be both 100% round and 100% blue, for instance.  Jesus is both God and Man.

John 1:1, 14 tells us that Jesus (the Word) was God from all eternity but took on flesh to walk among us.  What a sacrifice for God Himself to take on human form with all its limitations.

Jesus was unable to suffer in the form of God, but a price needed to be paid for our sin.  For God to create some being, an angel for instance, to come down and die for our sins would be less than a total expression of His love for us.  He came Himself.

Jesus is truly God, but He is also truly man.  1 Timothy 2:5-6 tells us that the man Jesus is our Mediator with God.  He is called a man several other times in Scripture as well (Acts. 2:22; Rom. 5:15, for instance).

To emphasize the fact that Jesus is both God and man, Acts 20:28 tells us that God purchased the church with His own blood.  Heb 1:5 & 6 tells us that the Father calls Jesus God and commanded all the angels of God to worship Him.  And, Titus 2:11-14 identifies Christ Jesus as “our God and Savior” Who gave Himself for us just as it says in our verse: “…a Son is given.”

I hope the next time you see Isa. 9:6, you’ll be reminded of the great sacrifice God has made to take on the form of a servant and come Himself to die on the cross for us.  Heb. 12: 2 says He did this, “…for the joy that was set before Him.”  Remember that you are that joy.

 

Verses cited above:

Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV)
⁵  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
⁶  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
⁷  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
⁸  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

John 1:1, 14 (ESV)
¹  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

¹⁴  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 (ESV)
⁵  For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
⁶  who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

Acts 2:22 (ESV)
²²  “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know

Romans 5:15 (ESV)
¹⁵  But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

Acts 20:28 (ESV)
²⁸  Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Titus 2:11-14 (ESV)
¹¹  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
¹²  training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
¹³  waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
¹⁴  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)
²  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.