THE TRASNCENDENT DIVINITY OF JESUS
Some times studying
Christology, we ask ourselves how much aware of his divinity was Jesus as a
man; and where was this divinity and how powerful it was during his time on
Earth.
But the Bible
lets us know certain details that shows that JESUS was all the time fully aware
of his divinity, but voluntarily denied Himself of his divine faculties in order
to live a real human life.
But not only
this, his divinity, immortal and almighty, transcended his humanity, in a way
that we can say that JESUS OF NAZARETH, the man, WAS FULLY GOD; BUT…THE LOGOS
WAS MORE THAN JESUS THE MAN, even though it was Him, and not another human separated
from the Logos divinity.
1 - JESUS
KNEW FROM EARLY AGE HIS MISSION
Apart from
extra-canonical books, from the authoritative Scriptures, we can know that
JESUS was fully aware that GOD YHWH was his Father, and was fully aware of his
mission (Luke 2:49).
2 – JESUS WAS
FULLY AWARE OF GOD’s PATERNITY BEFORE HIS PUBLIC LIFE
Apart from
declaring his own identity and mission in Luke 2:49; JESUS was fully aware of God’s
testimony when at his baptism, GOD YHWH called Him:
“MY BELOVED SON”
(Matthew 3:16-17)
3 – JESUS WAS
FULLY AWARE OF HIS OWN SUPRA-HUMAN INDENTITY ALL ALONG
Jesus not only
knew He enjoyed GOD’s favor all along and knew his mission (John 11:42); but
was also aware of his own superiority to Moses and the Prophets, which was
approved by GOD (Matthew 17:2-3,5;
12:6-8)
But not only
this, He was aware of his own divinity (John 5:18;8:57-58;10:30-33;17:5; 20:28;
Matt12:6-8)
Furthermore, his
apostles declare it openly, which indicate that JESUS must have been aware of
that all along (Philippians 2:6; John 1:1).
THE
DIVINITY OF JESUS
Through biblical
revelation we have come to know that Jesus of Nazareth was more than the man He
showed to be. He was an ‘Avatar’, or in common language, the INCARNATION OF
GOD.
Many times we
also have heard ISLAMIC sources, as well as some ARIAN ones, claiming that
Jesus could not be divine, because the immensity of GOD cannot be contained in
a human body. As the Scripture itself says, ‘YOU CANNOT SEE MY FACE, FOR MAN
SHALL NOT SEE ME AND LIVE’. (Exodus 33:20).
That is correct,
but also is true, that as GOD cannot be
contained in one place only, his presence, his essence, is everywhere at the
same time, through times and spaces, not in parts, but totally.
Since nothing exists
outside GOD’s control, and never will; GOD is present everywhere, at all times,
in every space of the universe, created and uncreated yet.
BUT also, as GOD
is ONE, He cannot divide Himself into different parts, but He is present wholly
into every angle or piece of the universe, so much close to a microbe, as
lions, and humans, and elephants, as well as to angels, of all levels, and not
one by one, or one at the time, but wholly, at all times to every single
created and animated creature that exists, ever existed or will exist.
One of these examples
is in the coming of the HOLY SPIRIT in Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit
of GOD is ONE. However, He divided Himself into more than 120 flames of fire at
the same time, and descended over the 120 disciples at Pentecost. All at the same
time, so that each of the 120 present, received the Holy Spirit entirely, not
in part, and still, the Holy Spirit remained one, and not only on Earth, but
also on the Third Heaven, simultaneously
(Acts 1:15,
2:1-4; 2Corinthians 12:2-4).
THE SON OF
GOD WHO IS IN HEAVEN
In the Textus
Receptus, we all have a declaration of Jesus:
“And no man
hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of
man which is in heaven.”
John 3:13
According to
this text, never contested or rejected by anyone in history, except now by unbelieving
revisionists, Lord JESUS declares to Nicodemus, that no human has ever seen GOD
in reality, not even Moses, except Himself, the ‘Son of Man who is Heaven’, while He was on Earth speaking to
Nicodemus.
God incarnated
into a human male, fully and wholly, and became who we know as JESUS OF
NAZARETH.
Nevertheless,
even while GOD was incarnated, the divinity transcended the humanity of Jesus,
and continued existing everywhere at the same time, so much, that while GOD
existed and looked through the human eyes of Jesus, the Logos was also in
Glory, listening and attending as He always did, to the cries of all humans,
dead and alive.
CONCLUSION
Jesus was fully
GOD, as well as human. But GOD, was more than just Jesus of Nazareth.
It is true that
God became human, but is also true that the divinity could not be held only in
the humanity of Jesus, but remained always present everywhere.
It is not that
the divinity was reduced to a human being, but the humanity was absorbed in the
eternal divinity.
That is why
Jesus knew as God, things He ignored as a human, and that He died as a man, holding
the sins of all humanity as a perfect man, while his divinity remained
untouched of death and sinfulness.
Omar Flores
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