Media Source
Dwayne Hiler – Instructor
The Bible teaches that Jesus is both human and divine. The common mistake is to believe that Jesus was half man and half God. When Jesus became man he did not become any less God. When he died on the cross, and rose from the dead, he was no less human.
Jesus didn’t benefit from his divine nature when he suffered as a man. He chose to experience the intense suffering that a man can feel and a sinless God cannot. Jesus always knew that he would one day become a man.
Isaiah 9:6 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.”
He had been God’s son/His word for all of eternity, but there would come a point when God’s son/His word would take on humanity and enter the world through birth to a virgin. He was just like any human in every way except one, He never sinned.
He was God almighty in his holiness. He was tempted as we are, He suffered as we suffer, He felt and saw the effects of sin in the world, but He never succumbed to the temptations that would have disqualified him as Savior of the world.
Jesus revealed His humanity over and over during his years on earth. He was human when weariness overtook Him and He fell asleep in the boat as the disciples feared the coming storm. He was human when He attended a wedding and shared in the joy of the happy couple. He was human when Roman soldiers captured Him and hung Him on a cross.
Jesus demonstrated his full divinity when He spoke a word to calm the wind and the waves. He proved his divine nature when He turned water into wine at the wedding. He proved He was God when he refused to call angels to his assistance as He was dying on the cross. His followers knew they were looking at more than a man when they looked upon His resurrected body.
Why would God become a human? The descent from God to man was steep, but Christ was motivated by a depth of love that only God can experience. The fact that we will never understand it only widens the gulf between our own humanity and His divinity.
Hebrews 10:7 KJV – “I have come to do your will, O God.”
His death was desired by the Father, and Christ’s purpose was to please the Father. The Father requested the death of the Son so that any man willing to submit to Him might be saved.
In Matthew 1:21 KJV the angel told Mary to name her child Jesus because he would “save his people from their sins.” Jesus clarified his mission in John 12:32 KJV when he told his followers, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto myself.”
There, Jesus experienced what it meant to be a man. He was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. {Because of Abrahams obedience}
He did not take advantage of His divine nature to live holy, He lived holy through his humanity. He showed us a level of holiness that is only humanly possible if we submit to Him.
Both Human and Divine