The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14
It is not usually an easy transition to go from thinking God is a distant, supreme being to realizing that in Jesus, the world has seen and interacted with the Lord of all Creation. I have found that whenever I talk about the divinity of Christ, people have questions about what I mean. I recall being seated at a luncheon one day and a lady said, “For over sixty years I went to church, and I heard about Jesus. I thought I knew about Him. Until one Sunday when I turned on the In Touch program. All of a sudden, I realized I didn’t really know who He was at all.
- Is Jesus really God?”
Of course, the fact that Jesus Christ is God is the foundational truth we celebrate at Christmas: the incarnation of the Lord God Almighty becoming flesh in the Person of Jesus in that stable in Bethlehem. Yet, it is understandable that people have trouble reconciling the fact that Jesus is fully divine while also being completely human. After all, the manner by which the Lord is presented to us in the Old Testament is awesome for sure — He is the eternal, everlasting, almighty, living God; the Great I Am; the Most High Sovereign of all that exists, who is absolutely holy, infinite in power, and unfailingly faithful. We often learn about Him in the Old Testament by His Hebrew names, Elohim, Adonai, El Shaddai, and Yahweh Yireh — titles that are beautiful and powerful, but somewhat distant and mysterious to us. Yet Jesus is so kind, loving, and approachable. He is the Good Shepherd, the Great Physician, and the Lamb of God. Whenever we read about Him interacting with others, He is so relatable, down to earth, and compassionate — always sacrificially willing to teach, heal, and redeem.
The obvious question is how can Jesus and the Father both be God when we understand them as distinct? How can the powerful hands that forcefully carved the mountains and canyons be the same that gently touched the eyes of the blind man to restore his sight? Scripture reveals that the Almighty is Trinity — one God, yet three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We use the term persons because each has a unique role and expression in the Godhead. Though the three Persons of the Trinity are all fully God, they are not three deities. Rather, together they are one God, operating in perfect union and communion in one essence.
It is true Jesus was completely human, but the wonderful, supernatural mystery is that He was also wholly divine. Believing this is absolutely essential for your faith.
He is both the One who set the holy standard for salvation and the One who fulfills it on our behalf. And Jesus does this because as fully God and fully man, He is the only One who can.
But what we need to understand is that Jesus came to reveal the true nature of God the Father to humanity. Jesus is the radiance of His glory, the exact representation of His nature. In other words Jesus shows us what it looks like when our divine, all-powerful, incomprehensibly awesome God interacts with us on a personal level. Christ said it Himself:
He who has seen Me has seen the Father. — John 14:9
When you look at who Jesus is throughout Scripture, you are observing that the Lord is a God of mercy, loving-kindness, holiness, justice, wisdom, redemption, healing, and power in bodily form. And when you know who He truly is, you understand why He is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.
Some people say they’re Christians but don’t acknowledge the divinity of Christ. They think He was simply a good teacher, philosopher, social reformer, or healer. I want to be crystal clear on this matter: you can believe all of these wonderful things about Jesus, but if you do not accept that Jesus Christ is God the Son and that He is the only One who can save you from your sins, then you do not actually know Him.
The Jesus who reached out to others in Scripture is the same God in Heaven who calls to you, offering love, redemption, wisdom, guidance, and healing no matter what you’ve done or what you face. Therefore, take time today to appreciate Him for who He really is.
A Moment of Reflection
Look up and write out what we learn about Jesus in the following verses:
How does understanding who Jesus is impact what you are facing today? Is there anything He cannot handle?
Spend time praising God for who He is.
A Gift for Today
The kind, loving, and approachable Jesus is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God — and He is always willing to help you, guide you, teach you, heal you, and redeem you.
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord:
Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail th’ incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King!”
~ “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” original lyrics by Charles Wesley1
- “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” original lyrics by Charles Wesley, hymnal.net, accessed March 4, 2022, https://www.hymnal.net/en /hymn/h/84.
Excerpted with permission from The Gift of Jesus by Charles F. Stanley, copyright Charles F. Stanley.
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Your Turn
How does understanding who Jesus is change how you go through your days, weeks, months, and years? How does Him being God change challenging and painful times for you? Let’s praise Jesus today for who He is! ~ Devotionals Daily
