Jesus, fully God, fully man, Saviour

By Jason Nicholl

Have you ever found something too confusing or too hard to understand or comprehend? Maybe you found certain subjects in school hard to grasp, like mathematical equations – something upon which we build so much in our society, or maybe you found different languages hard to understand and learn, or maybe you have struggled with certain philosophical questions in the past, like “what is the meaning of life?”

I think it’s fair to say that all of us have had points in our lives when we found something hard to grasp and understand fully, and when it comes to doctrines of the Christian faith these are no different.

Firstly, the Bible makes it clear to us that it is God who reveals the truth to us, not the other way around, He is the one who gives understanding, Matthew 16 is a prime example. Here we see that Jesus is with His disciples and asks the question “Who do you say I am?”, and Peter famously replies saying “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus then makes it clear that “this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (verse 17)

God the Father reveals the truth of the Gospel to us through the power and work of the Holy Spirit, however, there will inevitably be certain truths and doctrines within God’s Word that will be difficult to fully grasp and understand because our wisdom and understanding is so limited compared to the vast knowledge and wisdom of God. Listen to the words of Isaiah 55, there God says:

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God is the One who reveals truth, and gives understanding, so we need to pray and ask God for wisdom and understanding when we find certain biblical truths hard to grasp or understand fully.

The doctrine of the incarnation is definitely something that is a profound mystery, and yet is clearly taught from Scripture. BCM holds to this biblical truth, that Jesus is both fully God and fully man at the same time, and that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life of obedience to the Father’s will.

Knowing this truth, that Jesus is both fully God and fully man, will reveal in a beautiful way the very heart of who Christ is and will deepen your devotion and love for Him. Matt Perman on this subject has said that “The union of Christ’s deity and humanity in one Person makes it such that we have all that we need in the same Saviour.”

The very fact that Jesus is both fully God and fully man makes Him the only one able to be our Saviour King and accomplish the Father’s plan of redemption. In light of this, we have a Saviour that on the one hand is all powerful, all knowing and all seeing; a Saviour who cannot be defeated and in whom we can find refuge and strength in times of trouble. On the other hand, and at the same time, we have a Saviour who can sympathise with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15), who experienced all same things we do (troubles, hunger, toil, sadness, thirst, betrayal, danger, death, illness, conflict etc). And He’s a Saviour who is also close and relatable, gentle and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29).

Take some time to go deeper into this biblical truth this week through the questions below and discover how profoundly beautiful and transforming it is.

Monday: Jesus is fully God

Read John 1:1-5

1. How does John describe Jesus (the Word) here?
2. How does what John says support the truth that Jesus is God?
3. In verses 4 & 5, Jesus is described as the one who brings life, and that life was the light of men, how do these verses contrast with the Genesis account of creation? And how does Jesus being the “light” give hope in a dark and sinful world?

Tuesday: Jesus is fully man

Read John 1:14-18

1. How do these verses describe Jesus?
2. Verse 14 says that Jesus “became flesh and dwelt among us” how does the act of Jesus putting on flesh and dwelling among His creation make you feel?
3. Verse 16 says that through Christ we have received “grace upon grace”, take some time to reflect upon this truth . . . How does this transform our lives?

Wednesday: Jesus experiences loss

Read John 11:1-44

1. List the verses where Jesus is emotional, how does the way Jesus responds to the death of Lazarus give you comfort?
2. Jesus says to Martha that He is the “resurrection and the life”, take some time to think through this statement and list the ways in which it confirms that Jesus is both fully God and fully man.
3. What does Jesus’ reaction to all these things teach us about how we should react to death in light of who Christ is?

Thursday: Jesus is tempted

Read Matthew 4:1-11

1. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where the devil tempted Him in many different ways, in what ways are you tempted in life?
2. Look at the ways that Jesus responds to each temptation, what does He teach us about how we should respond to temptation? And what is essential for this fight? (What does Jesus use each time to respond?)

Friday: Jesus the Saviour calls us to come

Read Matthew 11:28-30

1. Here we see that Jesus extends an invitation, but who is this invitation to? (v28)
2. What does Jesus promise to those who “labour and are heavy laden”?
3. What does this teach us about the heart of Christ for each of us? And how does this encourage us and spur us on in the Christian faith?