Think of it this way. Who is your favorite author? And in that book or in those books who is your favorite character? For instances’ sake I am going to suggest, Puddleglum the Marshwiggle in the Narnia series, The SilverChair by C.S.Lewis. What if you could take that book, hold it by its front and back cover, pages down and shake it until all the words about Puddleglum fell off the pages and onto the floor in front of you? Then somehow take all those words and form them into Puddleglum himself and then top it all off by bringing him to life. This is basically what God did when he created Jesus. Jesus was, before he was born of the virgin Mary, the Word of God. He dwelt with God and was God. Then at a point in time, God gathered his Word and sent it to earth in the form of a baby whom Mary bore and Joseph named Jesus. Jesus fully understood this about himself and reaffirmed this all throughout his ministry.
John 7:23
But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.
John 8:58
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
This got him in trouble all the time with the rulers of that time. Heated debates and physical abuse was always at the doorstep for Jesus when he mentioned these things. Read the Gospel of John and note all the times Jesus speaks, knowing full well, who He was, the Word of God. He often said that he did not say anything that His heavenly Father did not tell him to speak.
He was God the “Son” because he came as a “man”, not God the Daughter.
He was God the Son because his origins were from God.
He was God the Son because he obeyed everything that God asked him to do, even the cross.
He was God the son because it is a term that we can relate to in that we understand that kind of a relationship: the procreative bond between a maker and his creation, a father and his son. Our procreation is of a physical nature, God’s procreation is of a spoken word nature. Is this something foreign to us, so much that we cannot understand it or relate to it? Not at all, but lets talk about that after we look at God the Holy Spirit.
I like your Puddleglum illustration.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying this series. Especially the last one in which you used so much Scripture. In this post I was just a little confused by the language, or rather, really just one word that was used to describe something being done to Jesus. You said God created Him. Here's the exact sentance.
ReplyDelete"This is basically what God did when he created Jesus."
I'm just wondering if a better word to use, rather than "created," would be "incarnate." Here's why I'm suggesting this. Created, by its very definition suggests that Jesus Christ, God the Son, was made at a specific time and place, when He had not previously existed. That's basically what creation is, right? Making something out of nothing?
As you pointed out, immediately folowing the last quoted sentance, "Jesus was, before he was born of the virgin Mary, the Word of God. He dwelt with God and was God."
If God has no beginning and no end, and if Christ is Himself, very God of very God, begotten and "not created," then we cannot say He was created.
I'd suggest the word "incarnate" for two reasons: 1, the early church fathers used the word, especially when they were fighting off the heresies that were teaching the Christ was created in some form or fashion; and 2, the very definition of the word fits perfectly, to the best of our understanding from the Bible, the very nature of what was taking place in the embodiment of Jesus Christ as a man.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Incarnate.
1a: invested with bodily and especially human nature and form; b: made manifest or comprehensible
Christ was invested with bodily and especially human nature and form. The only thing that He lacked was the sin nature that we all have. In coming to us He was also making God manifest and comprehensible to us, to some degree. There are still many, many things we do not know about God, but that which He has revealed to us through His Word, or as you have so aptly put it, through His Son, God the Word, we may know those things with certainty!
John 14:8-9
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
For your consideration I would like to suggest an ancient Christian creed, the Athanasian Creed. This creed is named after St. Athanasius, a staunch defender of the Christian faith in the fourth century. It was prepared to assist the Church in combating two errors that undermined Bible teaching. You can read more about it on this web page: http://www.wels.net/what-we-believe/statements-beliefs/athanasian-creed
I'd also like to point out that the creed contains the words "catholic faith." That's small "c" catholic which simply means "universal faith," as you probably know, but I used to get confused about that myself. It has nothing to do with the Roman Catholic Church.
Anyhow, the Athanasian creed is one that I regognize as an accurate expression of Bible teaching. As it helped me understand better, to some extent the nature of the Trinity, and correct some erroneous ideas I had regarding the Biblical teaching.
I like that word better too, Incarnate. Even though Jesus was "created into a baby" he was, in fact, as you pointed out, around since the begining. He wasn't a new idea that God needed to fix something. It was all part of the plan. That blows my mind. I thoroughly enjoy thinking about stuff like that. I hope to blog about how I see that so I can see what you think and what others think also.
ReplyDeleteThanks agian for the re-word. I appreciate it.