The Person of Christ
Jesus Is Divine
The church affirms, following Scripture, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who has become man. His deity is stated or entailed pervasively throughout the NT. He is the Word who was in the beginning with God and was God (John 1:1). He could say to his opponents that he preexisted Abraham (John 8:58), is equal to God (John 5:17–29), and is one with him (John 10:30). Paul refers to him as being in the form of God and equal to him (Phil. 2:6–7).
Throughout his ministry he calls God “Father” and says he was sent by him (John 5:19–47; 6:25–40). He presents himself as coordinate with the Father as the object of faith (John 14:1) and in sovereignty and knowledge (Matt. 11:25–27). Paul characteristically calls him Kyrios (“Lord”); this is significant, because when first-century Jews read the Scriptures aloud, they pronounced the covenant name YHWH (“Yahweh”) as Adonay (“Lord”), which in Greek translation is Kyrios. He is Jesus Christ our Lord (Phil. 2:9–11; Rom. 1:4; etc.), our God and Savior—salvation in the OT was a work of Yahweh (Titus 2:10–13).
He is Creator and Ruler of the cosmos (John 1:1–5; Col. 1:15–20; Heb. 1:1–3) and Judge of the world (Matt. 25:31–46; John 5:19–29; 2 Cor. 5:10), functions only God can perform. Worship is due only to God; the apostle John is rebuked by an angel for worshiping the angel (Rev. 19:9–10; 22:8–9). However, Christ receives prayer (Acts 7:59–60; 1 Cor. 16:22; Rev. 22:20).
Jesus Is Human
With this as the backdrop, we note John’s key declaration: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The same Word who was in the beginning with God and is God took human nature in the incarnation. The phrase “in the beginning” (John 1:1) points back to Genesis 1:1 and the creation of the universe. This was the work of the Word, without whom “was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). This Word became man. Yet in doing so, he did not for one nanosecond cease to be who he always was and is. The subject of the succeeding clauses in John 1:14–18 is still the Word: the Word lived among us; we saw his glory; he brought grace and truth; and, being God, he revealed God to us.
In taking to himself a human nature, the eternal Son of God underwent a normal process of human gestation and birth. The conception was supernatural; the birth was not—“conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary” (Apostles’ Creed). He had a normal development and growth from infancy to childhood to adulthood (Luke 2:40–52). He experienced a range of human relationships—with parents, brothers, sisters, and friends (Mary, Martha, and Lazarus). He grew in favor with other people (Luke 2:52). He knew hunger and thirst (John 4:7–8; 19:28), weariness and sorrow (John 4:6; 11:33–38). As a human, he feared death (Matt. 26:36–46 and parallels). He suffered betrayal and disappointment (Matt. 26:14–16, 30–35, 47–56; John 6:60–67). He was tempted in all points as we are but did not sin (Heb. 4:14–16). He suffered (Heb. 2:14–18; 5:7–8). He died and was buried.
Evidently Christ was, and is, the eternal Son of God yet simultaneously fully human. How could this be? Was he some kind of schizoid (suffering from disintegration of personality)? This was not the case. The NT presents him as a fully integrated person. While the gap between Creator and creature is vast, humans were created in the image of God with an inherent compatibility with him. Whereas Adam was made in God’s image, Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15; cf. 2 Cor. 4:4; Heb. 1:3), the second or last Adam. This is not the conjunction of two autonomous natures—divine and human. Rather, it is the incarnation, whereby the Son, the second person of the Trinity, takes on human nature—body and soul—and makes it his own without ceasing to be who he is as God.
Christ rose from the dead in the same body he had before. The marks of the nails in his hands and feet were still visible (John 20:26–29). He ate food (Luke 24:41–43), conversed with strangers (Luke 24:13–27), and was confused with other people (John 20:14–15). However, he was transformed by the Holy Spirit so that he was able to pass through locked doors (John 20:19, 26) and disappear from sight (Luke 24:31). When he ascended, he left a state of regular interaction with his apostles and friends and entered the presence of the Father in the clouds—an expression frequently associated in Scripture with the glory of God. He did so in our human nature, now seated at the right hand of God, ruling the universe (Eph. 1:19–23).
Jesus Is Savior
Do we want to know what God is like, he who “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16)? Look no further; he has made himself known as one of us. Jesus could say to Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). He says to us all, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28), the rest into which God entered after creation, the rest only he can give, the rest Jesus gives.
Jesus Christ is utterly sufficient as our Savior. Man had sinned; man had to make atonement. We could not do it, for we had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Only God can save us, for only he has the power to do so. Christ is the supreme revelation of God, as he is the personal embodiment of God. As the Son of God, the only source of eternal life (John 20:30–31), he is able to save us; as the sinless man, he is qualified to do so (Heb. 4:14–15). As King, he has supreme authority over the entire creation. His promises can and will be effected. Christ will keep us to the end, raise us from the dead, and give us eternal life on the new earth. Praise be to his holy name!