Just as professional golf has four majors each year, so the New Testament contains four major Christological passages. This is the fourth and final of those passages. Here is a brief review of what we have studied so far.
In Hebrews 1-2, we discovered that even though Jesus is higher than the angels, He came down lower than the angels to bring salvation to mankind. In Colossians 1-2, we saw that redemption from sins and reconciliation with God can only be found through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And last time, in John 1, we learned that Jesus is the incarnate Word of God, personifying grace and truth by giving life and light to those who will receive Him as Savior.
This lesson is will attempt to bring perspective to the idea that Jesus indeed is fully man and fully God. He is not 50 percent of one and 50 percent of the other. He is 100/100. He absolutely could not be any more of one than He is, because He is completely and perfectly both.
When we view Jesus as God—in other words, when we observe His deity—we correctly find that He is above us and that we can never attain to His God-likeness. We will never on earth reach perfection; and even in our future glorified bodies we will never be God. The Deity of Jesus means He is God—something we will never be.
When we view Jesus as a man—that is, when we observe His humanity—we see Immanuel (God with us). And while He was among us on the earth, He set a perfect example of what we should strive to be like. Even though we cannot do away with our sinful nature in this life, we are not excused from trying to pursue the holiness that Christ modeled.
The command of this passage is found in verse 5—“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (KJV). If we think like Christ thought, we will be more inclined to act like He did, since one’s actions are directly related to one’s thought patterns. One of the ways that Christ modeled humanity perfectly for us was in thought. His mindset and attitude were exemplary and we should strive to direct our thoughts in ways that He did.
The second way that Christ modeled humanity perfectly for us (and also was an extension of His mindset) was in humility. He had a humble mind and it showed though His humble actions. He did not use the fact that He was equal with God for His own advantage (v. 6). He didn’t cling to His status as God in order to avoid humility. Instead, Paul says “He emptied Himself” (v. 7).
Understand this does not mean he stopped being God, for God cannot cease to be what He is at any point. However, Jesus did periodically give up the voluntary use of His divine attributes. In other words, Jesus was not power happy; He was humble. His humility is further explained in the end of verse 7 and into verse 8, where Paul writes that Jesus took the form of a servant and was made to look like an ordinary man.
This brings us to the third way that Jesus—in His humanity—set the perfect example for other humans to live: obedience. Verse 8 explains that Jesus “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (KJV). Most of us aren’t obedient even in the easiest of circumstances. But Jesus was obedient even when He was given the most difficult of all tasks: to face a criminal’s execution and to bear the punishment of all sin when He was completely innocent. His perfect obedience in our place ought to burden us to be obedient to God the Father just as He was.
In addition to showing how Jesus set the perfect example for other people, this passage also gives much insight into the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first teaching of this kind here is that He is equal with God (v. 6). He is “in the form of God” (KJV), or “in very nature God” (NIV). As the old creed says, Jesus is “Very God of Very God.” The second person of the trinity (the Son) possesses all the power and authority that the first person (the Father) has.
Not only is Jesus equal with God, but He is also exalted by God (v. 9). His name is above every name. He is the Savior of which everyone else is in desperate need. His exaltation is to the place of highest honor (the right hand of the Father), so that he is to be worshipped as God, because He is God.
Next, because He is highly exalted, every knee will bow (v. 10). In fact, three groups are singled out to show that all people who have ever lived will physically bow the knee to Jesus Christ. The first group is “in Heaven”. It is not too difficult for our minds to imagine all of Heaven bowing to Christ as Lord, but for the sake of being all-inclusive, Paul mentions them here.
The second group that will bow is “on Earth”. Although this will not physically happen until the Millennial Reign of Christ on Earth, it is a promise that all the earth will acknowledge Jesus as Lord. At the mention of His name, people will bow to Him.
The third group is the most interesting, and that is the group “under the earth”. Most scholars speculate that Hell is located in the midst of the earth. Assuming this is true, then this indicates that even those who enter into Hell recognize that Jesus is Lord and bow to Him while they are there. The eyes of all who are in Hell will be opened and they will know that they are being justly punished by the righteous King of Kings.
Paul concludes this section by adding that every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord (v. 11). This is in correlation to the bowing of the knee: one is physical and one is verbal. Notice also that all of this is done for the glory of God the Father. All of God’s actions in history have been to display His glory and make Himself known, and this will be no different.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Christology: Part Three (John 1:1-18)
After a lengthy break we resume our four-part study of the major Christological passages of the New Testament. This time we are looking at the first eighteen verses in the gospel of John. In this section we see four key terms that are used to describe the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The first term associated with Christ is “Word” (John 1:1-3, 14). John writes, “In the beginning was the Word” (v. 1). Reading down, one discovers that the Word made all things “in the beginning” (see also Genesis 1:1-2 and 1 John 1:1-4 for further uses of the phrase “in the beginning” and Christ’s involvement with the Father in the creation of the universe.)
The opening paragraph of the prologue indicates four things about the Word. (1) He was with God, (2) He was God, (3) He was in the beginning with God, and (4) He created all things. Interestingly, John uses two different phrases in verse three to describe the same thing. He writes, “All things were made by Him,” which would suffice as an argument of itself. However, he chooses to also say the same thing in different wording: “Without Him there was not one thing made”. By doing this—using two different phrases to say the exact same thing—John wants his readers to understand that the Word of God (in the person of Christ) is the source of all that has ever existed.
To clarify, the term “word” is also used in Scripture to refer to God’s written word (the Bible) and God’s spoken word (His actual voice, as recorded in the Bible) in addition to the person of Christ, who is sometimes spoken of as the “living word”. In all three terms, it should be understood that the “Word” of God—whether written, spoken, or living—is authoritative. Whenever God speaks, writes, and acts, He is displaying His authority over all that He created, which is everything (John 1:3).
A final key point about the Word is given in verse 14 where John writes, “And the Word became flesh.” This is the most direct statement about the incarnation of the Son of God anywhere in the Bible. In his classic work Knowing God, J. I. Packer explains that the incarnation is the primary truth for understanding who Jesus is. All the debates about Jesus—virgin birth, authoritative teaching, miracles, death, resurrection, etc.—are put to rest if God actually became a human. If “the Word became flesh,” there are no issues to be raised about what He did.
The second term used for Christ is “Light” (John 1:4-13). John equates light with “life” here, just as he does elsewhere in his gospel (8:12). Other Scripture writers also frequently associate light with life and darkness with death. John says “the Light shined in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it” (1:5). The majority of the dark-minded people of Jesus’ day did not understand that the light of the world was in their midst (see also 1:10-13).
The word “comprehend” used here could also carry the idea of “overtake.” Think of a dark room, that upon waking into it, you flip on the light switch. Where does the darkness go? It ceases to exist in that place. When light appears, darkness does not overtake light. The opposite happens; light overtakes darkness. When Jesus entered into the world, darkness did not (nay, could not!) overtake Him because He is light. Unfortunately for many in Jesus’ day and countless more since, they do not see Jesus as light. They misunderstand Him and are not able to comprehend Him.
A sort of parenthesis in this paragraph is seen in verses 6-9, and that is the description of the ministry of John the Baptist. His ministry is stated twice here—once each in verses seven and eight—and both times the wording in Greek is identical: “in order that he might testify concerning the Light.” Verse 15 of this chapter acknowledges that John did testify about Him, thus fulfilling his God-given responsibilities stated in verses 6-8. This ought to be the desired testimony of every believer, namely, that we would continually testify concerning Christ.
The final two key words about Christ that we will look at are used together twice in this section: grace and truth (vv. 14, 17). Verse 14 describes Jesus as “full of grace and truth.” In other words, Jesus personified these attributes. When one desires to see grace in action and truth lived out, one needs only to study the life of the Lord Jesus. Because of His fullness in these areas, there is no room for falsehood or slander. Elsewhere in John’s gospel, Jesus very famously declares himself to be “the truth” (14:6).
Because Christ is the ultimate source of grace, any grace we may obtain is through Him (v. 16). His grace overflows to us although we are not worthy of it. We are undeserved objects of the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Grace is contrasted with the Law of Moses in the Old Testament. “The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (v. 17). Although salvation has always been by God’s grace, grace was a misunderstood concept until it was perfectly modeled by Christ, who also perfectly modeled all other attributes of God the Father (v. 18). Jesus has declared (made known) to us what the Father is like through His words and actions, which are “full of grace and truth”.
The first term associated with Christ is “Word” (John 1:1-3, 14). John writes, “In the beginning was the Word” (v. 1). Reading down, one discovers that the Word made all things “in the beginning” (see also Genesis 1:1-2 and 1 John 1:1-4 for further uses of the phrase “in the beginning” and Christ’s involvement with the Father in the creation of the universe.)
The opening paragraph of the prologue indicates four things about the Word. (1) He was with God, (2) He was God, (3) He was in the beginning with God, and (4) He created all things. Interestingly, John uses two different phrases in verse three to describe the same thing. He writes, “All things were made by Him,” which would suffice as an argument of itself. However, he chooses to also say the same thing in different wording: “Without Him there was not one thing made”. By doing this—using two different phrases to say the exact same thing—John wants his readers to understand that the Word of God (in the person of Christ) is the source of all that has ever existed.
To clarify, the term “word” is also used in Scripture to refer to God’s written word (the Bible) and God’s spoken word (His actual voice, as recorded in the Bible) in addition to the person of Christ, who is sometimes spoken of as the “living word”. In all three terms, it should be understood that the “Word” of God—whether written, spoken, or living—is authoritative. Whenever God speaks, writes, and acts, He is displaying His authority over all that He created, which is everything (John 1:3).
A final key point about the Word is given in verse 14 where John writes, “And the Word became flesh.” This is the most direct statement about the incarnation of the Son of God anywhere in the Bible. In his classic work Knowing God, J. I. Packer explains that the incarnation is the primary truth for understanding who Jesus is. All the debates about Jesus—virgin birth, authoritative teaching, miracles, death, resurrection, etc.—are put to rest if God actually became a human. If “the Word became flesh,” there are no issues to be raised about what He did.
The second term used for Christ is “Light” (John 1:4-13). John equates light with “life” here, just as he does elsewhere in his gospel (8:12). Other Scripture writers also frequently associate light with life and darkness with death. John says “the Light shined in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it” (1:5). The majority of the dark-minded people of Jesus’ day did not understand that the light of the world was in their midst (see also 1:10-13).
The word “comprehend” used here could also carry the idea of “overtake.” Think of a dark room, that upon waking into it, you flip on the light switch. Where does the darkness go? It ceases to exist in that place. When light appears, darkness does not overtake light. The opposite happens; light overtakes darkness. When Jesus entered into the world, darkness did not (nay, could not!) overtake Him because He is light. Unfortunately for many in Jesus’ day and countless more since, they do not see Jesus as light. They misunderstand Him and are not able to comprehend Him.
A sort of parenthesis in this paragraph is seen in verses 6-9, and that is the description of the ministry of John the Baptist. His ministry is stated twice here—once each in verses seven and eight—and both times the wording in Greek is identical: “in order that he might testify concerning the Light.” Verse 15 of this chapter acknowledges that John did testify about Him, thus fulfilling his God-given responsibilities stated in verses 6-8. This ought to be the desired testimony of every believer, namely, that we would continually testify concerning Christ.
The final two key words about Christ that we will look at are used together twice in this section: grace and truth (vv. 14, 17). Verse 14 describes Jesus as “full of grace and truth.” In other words, Jesus personified these attributes. When one desires to see grace in action and truth lived out, one needs only to study the life of the Lord Jesus. Because of His fullness in these areas, there is no room for falsehood or slander. Elsewhere in John’s gospel, Jesus very famously declares himself to be “the truth” (14:6).
Because Christ is the ultimate source of grace, any grace we may obtain is through Him (v. 16). His grace overflows to us although we are not worthy of it. We are undeserved objects of the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Grace is contrasted with the Law of Moses in the Old Testament. “The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (v. 17). Although salvation has always been by God’s grace, grace was a misunderstood concept until it was perfectly modeled by Christ, who also perfectly modeled all other attributes of God the Father (v. 18). Jesus has declared (made known) to us what the Father is like through His words and actions, which are “full of grace and truth”.
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