Mission Complete

In the previous One Lord posts (One Lord posts #11-24) we proved that Jesus was Lord as far back as Creation (see post #11)! So, we have completed our study of how Jesus was Lord in the Old Testament. We noted that when believers such as Adam, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and Gideon encountered Jesus, and they treated him as Lord.

We also noted that the patriarchs and prophets treated Jesus as more than Lord, they treated him as Divine! They would call him Yahweh, God, and the Angel of the LORD, the Messenger of Yahweh. Indeed, Jesus’ equality with God, which he had throughout the Old Testament period, was the reason why Jesus had the status of God and Lord.

Don't forget: Jesus' name prior to becoming incarnate was the Word.

The Word had authority during Old Testament times. He was very much in charge. Why? Because God put him in charge. The Word got the name Jesus when God sent him to us in the flesh, so Jesus is the Word made flesh.

... the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

Tough Questions / Tougher Answers

Now, let's compare who Jesus was at conception in Mary's womb to who he was prior to conception in Heaven. What happened to the authority the Word had in Heaven when he became a baby? Did the Word remain Lord? Did he remain in charge?

Those are tough questions. Are you ready for tougher answers? The answers are "no." The Word divested himself of authority when he became human. He gave up his authority. He stopped being Lord.

Was the baby in the manger in control of the Universe? No.

When the unborn Christ was in Mary's womb and just an embryo, did he command battalions of angels? Of course not.

Could the boy Jesus in the Temple at age twelve cast out demons? No.

Could he order grown men to take missions trips to preach the Gospel? Nope.

All these questions get “no” for an answer. Do you understand why? It's because the Word humbled himself.

The Word emptied himself and took on the likeness, form, and nature of a human. If this is difficult for you to understand, then overcome the difficulties quickly. If you can't understand the humbling Jesus subjected himself to, then how will you imitate it? You need to have the same attitude he did.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as he already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men (2:5-7; NASB).

The Baby Jesus -- Not Divine!

Most pastors will say at Christmas that "Jesus was 100% God" when he was born. To say "100% God" is not clear terminology, but they normally mean to say that Jesus had the divine nature, and that's not true. Ask them what they mean, and if that's what they mean, then tell them that they're very wrong.

In the Bible, being "God" means that you have the divine nature. That's what it means in John 1:1-3 when it says that 'the Word was God.' It means that Jesus had the divine nature.

It's also what Jesus meant when he said 'You are gods' (John 10:34)--he meant that we will have the divine nature. Peter reinforces that truth when he tells us that we will partake of the divine nature!

[God]... has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4; NASB).

Jesus became what we are at his birth. We will become what he is at our resurrection.

Jesus did not have the divine nature when he was born. In fact, his birth had the opposite effect. Jesus abandoned the divine nature to be born with the human nature. He abandoned his strength to clothe himself with weakness.

Never say that Jesus was "divine" when he was born. He was not the "divine child" as Catholics are fond of saying! Saying that the baby Jesus was divine destroys the very message of Christmas--that the Word (who had the divine nature) became flesh, and took on our human nature, the nature of sin! God sent the Word to us in the flesh of sin. God prepared a body for the Word.

[God sent] ... his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3).

Therefore, when Christ came into the World, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me' (Hebrews 10:5).

Jesus was born 100% human. He had zero divine nature for the approximately 33 years he was in the flesh. In fact, his obtaining a body 100% human was the very reason and purpose why God ever promised the Messiah would be born of a woman. The Messiah had to come to humanity through a woman in order to become the savior of humanity and to triumph over sin in the flesh!

This promise of a human born of a woman was the one God gave to us as early as the Garden of Eden. It was there God said to the Devil:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and hers; he [the Seed of the woman, Eve] will crush your head, and you will strike his heel (Genesis 3:15).

Basic Questions

Pastors are wrong about Christmas, very wrong. They're not even using common sense to analyze what happened when Christ was born. They're not asking themselves basic questions: For example: How could a baby have the divine nature? A baby does not even know how to speak!

A baby cannot walk. Could a baby possibly have authority over the sun, moon, and stars if it can't walk? The divine nature is what gives someone the authority to control the heavenly bodies. Babies can't even set their toys in order.

Should a baby who cannot walk across a room be granted all divine power and authority? How dangerous that would be! Imagine the mess they would make of our solar system and our galaxy!

The rebuttal of the pastors who teach that Jesus came "100% God" is that the angels who witnessed the birth of Christ praised him (Hebrews 1:6) and the magi worshipped him (Matthew 2:11). Now those are good points, so we'll respond to them.

It's true that the magi and angels worshipped Jesus. In addition, even after Jesus was grown, people bowed down before him and worshipped him. (We're not talking about Thomas who did it after Jesus was resurrected). Prior to Jesus abandoning the flesh and retaking the divine nature, people worshipped him!

Worship to Jesus in the flesh happened, and it happened for a good reason! In the next verse, a man healed of congenital blindness worshipped Jesus. Why did he worship someone who was not divine?

… the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him (John 9:38).

The answer to the question: "Why did people worship Jesus if he didn't have the divine nature?" lies in understanding that even when Jesus took on flesh in the womb of Mary, one thing about Jesus remained the same: his identity!

... [about the Son God says] you remain the same, and your years will never end (Hebrews 1:12).

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

The unborn Jesus, the baby Jesus, the boy Jesus, and the adult male Jesus were always, in their spirit, the Word. His identity never changed. He was the Word--God's most trusted Servant--before Creation, during his Earthly life, and even now. Jesus is the Word!

The Word Became Flesh

Let’s consider Jesus’ conception—a very unique moment in the personal history of the Word (the one who was with the One God and who was Divine). Now, in order that he might be conceived of a woman, and for God's Garden of Eden promise (of the Seed of the woman) to be fulfilled, Jesus renounced his greatness in Heaven and became microscopically small.

In Mary’s womb, Jesus became one of us. Haven't we all been microscopically small at one point? Yes. And Jesus has experienced even that. He has passed through all the experiences common to man.

Jesus stepped into humanity by assuming the same nature you and I have: the human nature of sin. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. But did that make him less than he was before? Good question.

The Way Jesus Was Not Less

The incarnation made Jesus less! Of course it did. But in one way Jesus was no less: in his identity. The baby in the manger was the Word, the One who was with God the Father in Heaven. That baby was the Word in essence. The spirit of that baby was the spirit of the Word because Jesus is the Word.

The difference was that when Christ was conceived, he was no longer with God, and he no longer was God. He ceased to have the divine nature. He became 100% human.

In his essential self--that is, in his spirit--the baby in the manger was the Word. But he was the Word in the flesh, not the Word who was 'with the One God and who was God' (John 1:1-3). Jesus abandoned his divine nature. Is that clear?

The reason why angels, magi, and people who saw Jesus worshipped him was because they identified him well. They knew him to be the Messiah, the Son of God. They knew that he was the One who came from God in Heaven to be among men on Earth.

They were right in worshipping Jesus because in his essential self, his spirit, he was the Son of Man. They knew he was the Word, the Messiah. They knew he was the one who would rule Israel forever from the throne of David! The people who know Jesus' true identity are blessed. Contrast them with Pontius Pilate who looked Jesus in the face and ignored his kingship, or with Muslims who say Jesus was only a prophet.

How Jesus Became Less

So, Jesus kept his identity. But in every other way he became less than what he was in Heaven. In his spirit he was the same, but in his soul and in his body he was different. Physically, intellectually, and psychologically the Word was reduced to a microscopic human zygote. Then he matured into a human embryo. And then he became a human fetus—a baby in the womb!

In his soul and body, the Word (who previously was with the One God and who was Divine) most certainly became less, much less! He ceased to have the divine nature of holiness and power, and took on the human nature of sin and weakness.

In fact, the Word ‘was made a little lower than the angels’ (Psalm 8:5; Hebrews 2:9). So, he was no longer divine. It wasn't appropriate to call him "God" anymore since he emptied himself of his equality with God.

I cringe when I hear the Christmas song "Mary Did You Know" and the singer says: "When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God." Bad theology!

The Word abandoned all of the attributes of the divine nature: omniscience, sovereign authority, immortality, and love. When the baby Jesus was born into the World, he hadn't yet learned how to love.

Innocent But Not Sanctified

Granted, the baby Jesus was free from sin through innocence (all human babies are born innocent), but he was not yet free from sin through sanctification! The struggle to sanctify himself to God lay before Jesus the same way it's laid out before each of us.

As Jesus grew, he would be made perfect in his conscience, but as a baby his conscience hadn't been developed yet, much less had it been tested. When he was tested through temptations, he overcame, and so became our model. Jesus' victory against sin saves us--if we follow him!

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the World to save sinners... (1 Timothy 1:15)

Jesus was born to die. There was a cross at the foot of the cradle. Isn't that why the magi presented him with myrrh--a substance used for embalmment?

Why God Sent Jesus Into the World

So, the Word abandoned the divine nature and took on the human nature. We will take on the divine nature if we've died with Jesus in baptism and have a new birth. Following Jesus' pattern of humility, we also will live forever. We live through him.

For example, we will become greater than angels. For now, we are not greater than angels. We will rule over angels and be their judges after we have been freed from this body of sin. Jesus has shown us that path, the path of life.

That's why God sent Jesus into the World--for us to live through him!

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the World that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).