Who Jesus Is...
The question, as well as the answers, will be explored here…and hopefully, the things we’ll discover together will help enlighten us all! It's pretty simple...but it's pretty complex, too. And it's totally AWESOME!! To begin with, we'll take a look at who Jesus is..."technically"....kinda like the "Ralph is the guy at the hardware store" kinda thing. Then, we'll look at who he is REALLY....like who he is, and how he is...and what it means for you... “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him…” (Gen. 1:26,27) Adam was created in the image of God…in His likeness. Many assume this means that man looks like God and God looks like man. That may or may not be true, although I’m sure that there is a family resemblance for those of us in Christ. :0) More than the physical appearance, though, Adam was created after God’s image in that Adam, like God, is a three-part, or triune being. A trinity. Like God. A body, a soul and a spirit. God said, “Let us make man in our image.” Who was He talking to and about? He was speaking to Himself…God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and He was speaking about Himself. All three were present and all three took part in creation because all three are One. Confusing? Well, then, you’ll just have to stick around and see if we can clear some it up for you! :) Ok, so we have God saying, “Let US make man in OUR image.” And, we also made the statement that He (God, the Father) was speaking to Himself…or Jesus (God, the Son) and the Holy Spirit (God, the Holy Spirit). Sounds a little confusing at first. But, to get an idea of how God is “put together”, so to speak, let’s take a look at us…man. After all, we are made in His image! As a human, we have three different entities that make us up, you might say. Just as an apple has a core, the flesh of the apple and the skin. Three parts, one apple. Humans are no different.
We have our minds…the part of us that thinks and feels…the part that reasons, loves, hates, gets angry, feels lust or greed….our emotions and personalities. We have our flesh…our hands, feet, eyes and ears. The stuff that makes our minds visible to our fellow earthlings. The part that is fat or skinny, short or tall, flabby or muscular. Our bodies. The part of us that carries out the “will” that our minds conceive.If our mind decides it is time to eat, it is our flesh that prepares and consumes the food, for instance. If our mind determines the grass needs cutting, it is our body that carries it out. And finally, we have our spirit…or our life-force. That mysterious “thing” that keeps our hearts beating. Our breath…the very essence of life, itself. Without our spirit, or our “life-force”…without that power of existence, our minds would not function, for they would have no life. Neither would our bodies be of any use…they would simply lie there dormant like a rock or a piece of wood. Inanimate and lifeless… And with that, we are beginning to see a picture of God. God, the Father, God, the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Since we are made in the image of God, and as we (as humans) are each made up of three different “entities” (though we are a single human being), then we can look at God in the same way. God, the Father, being the mind of God…the part that determines what He wants done and how He wants it to be accomplished. God, the Son, the “flesh” that carries out that will… and God, the Holy Spirit…the life-force of God….the power of God. Let’s look at Adam as an example… “Let us make man in our image.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:1-4) Here we see God mentioned in a three part “entity”. God, the Father- (The Word was with God (the Father) in the beginning). God, the Son--Jesus (and the Word was with God, and the Word was God). God, the Holy Spirit- (In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind). It was God’s (the Father) will to create Adam. It was Jesus who made the mud pie shaped like a human being. Then the Holy Spirit came along and breathed into Adam, the breath of life.
Another example would be “the heavens”. God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). It was God’s mind (the Father) that had the will to create them. It was the flesh of God (Jesus) who actually “physically” created them by speaking them into existence. As the heavens were created, they were simply inanimate objects floating around in space, dead as a doornail, until the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) gave them life! The dark, lifeless specks of nothingness sprang to life and light and became stars, just as Adam went from mud-pie to man. The dead rocks floating around in space suddenly became planets as the “life-force” of God flowed through them…. Now…time for a little back up from the Bible: We know there is God, the Father (the mind of God)… “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) We know there is God, the Son (the “flesh” of God)… “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God (the Father) was manifest in the flesh (Jesus), justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1 Tim. 3:16 KJV) And, we know there is God, the Holy Spirit… “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Gen. 1:2) There are many examples in the Bible to support this theology. One being: “And this is the will of him (the Father) who sent me (the Son), that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up (by the power of the Holy Spirit) at the last day.” (John 6:40) “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7) That was Jesus speaking to the disciples. Did they really see the Father? Well, yes and no. The “flesh” they were looking at was the flesh of Jesus, the Son….but the “mind” they were looking at was that of the Father, as they are both one in the same. Just different “entities” of the same Person. “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) Three parts…one God.
"He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake." (1 Peter 1:20) Jesus wasn't always the "flesh" of God, the Father. He has ALWAYS been God, just as your "parts" have always been you...but before he became the "flesh" of God, he was something else. He was the Word of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind." (John 1:1) "And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light." (Gen. 1:3) "And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky.” " (Gen. 1:6-8) "And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so." (Gen. 1:9) Starting to get the picture? :) God, the Father conceives His will, then He speaks it. The Word of God (Jesus) causes it to be...and the Spirit of God gives it life, or provides the power. Another great example of this would be the healings that Jesus did while he was on earth. It was the Father's will to heal, and Jesus carried it out by the power of the Holy Spirit. So how did Jesus go from being the Word of God to being the "flesh" of God? Because..."The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." (John 1:14) "But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” "The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."
(Luke 1:30-35) And the Word became flesh... The Word of God subjected himself to the will of God...and the Creator of all that is spoke himself into the womb of a teenage virgin, by the power of His own Spirit...to become flesh. Wow! We've already looked at how the three "entities" of God are similar to us...or rather, how our three "entities" are similar to His...the mind, or the will, being one...the flesh being another...and the spirit being the third. Hopefully, now I can share with you how the three "entities" of God differ a little from ours, and what separates us from being like God ourselves. The obvious thing of course, is that God is the Creator and we are the creation. But aside from the obvious, there are some other differences too. I'll give you a couple of examples that maybe you can relate to... Your mind determines that you need (or want) to lose weight and wills it to be so. For a few days, your flesh goes along with it...but then something starts to happen. Your flesh begins to rebel against your will. Your flesh falls back into some of your old eating habits...maybe starts spending more time on the sofa, rather than exercising...and you find that, while the first few days went along pretty well, your "diet" is shot...along with your exercise program. Or...maybe your mind has determined that you should stop smoking. The first few days, maybe your flesh goes along with it...but then, before you know it, there you are puffing away again. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to be judgmental against obesity or smoking. I'm simply picking a couple of things out of the hat to illustrate the point that our flesh and our will don't always agree or get along together. Maybe your mind determines that you're going to keep the grass cut more often, or keep your home cleaner and neater. Maybe your mind wills that you'll be on time from now on. But your flesh rebels. We all do it. Every single one of us. That's the difference between us and God. Our will and determination might be great! But we're stuck with that rebellious flesh. And, most often, our spirits lack the power to
help our flesh follow through with the will of our mind.... Now we've a quick look at how we humans operate. Great intentions. But as Jesus said about us, while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak! (Matt.26:41) With God, on the other hand...His mind conceives it, His Word (or flesh) carries it out by the power of His Spirit. All three "entities" work together to cause it to be. His "flesh"...Jesus...makes himself subject to the will of the Father, and to the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes himself subject to the will of the Father and to the Word, or the Son. All three are in perfect agreement and harmony with each other. They are One. There is no power struggle. There is unity and harmony. A couple of great verses illustrate the point here... The plan of salvation was already in place. Jesus was to take the sins of the world upon himself, offer himself as a sacrifice on our behalf...and take those sins to the grave (and beyond), so that we might find redemption through his actions. Let's take a look at what happened from the standpoint of the will, the flesh and the spirit... At any point along the way, he could have easily taken himself out of the picture and simply allowed us to remain wallowing in our sin and condemnation. He wasn't forced to allow himself to be crucified....it was his own choice. "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:17-19) As Jesus was being arrested: "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” (Matt. 26:53,54) But instead... "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" (Phil. 2:8) The "flesh" of God, subjecting himself to the will of God, by the power of God. All in perfect harmony. At the same time, the power of God subjects himself to the will and the
"flesh", while the will of God subjects himself to the "flesh" and the power....all for His glory and to accomplish His will. Amazing....
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