Bible verse

Theme: The nature of Jesus

Date: Friday, 8th May, 2.00pm

Bible reading: John 1:14:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Question: This verse, and many others, speak of Jesus having two natures – that He was true God and true man.
— What are your thoughts on this?
— Is it important and meaningful to you, and if so, why?
— How might you respond if people ask you how can this be?

Some related verses: Heb 2:14, 4:15, 1 Tim 3:16, Col 2:9
The Nicene Creed tries to capture some of the meaning of those Bible verses: https://questionsandbelief.org/nicene-creed/

How can this be?

On the question of “How can this be?”, I have similar thoughts to our reflection on Matthew 3:16-17 on the triune nature of God – that if I were think up a religious doctrine to appeal to people, I would never imagine this, as my limited human brain rebels against the idea of a person being both fully human and fully God. But this is encouraging, as it confirms the source is not our limited human brain, but is from scripture, it is God’s revelation of the nature of Jesus to mankind.

If we accept Jesus is fully God, then we cannot fit His infinite and eternal nature into a logical framework within our limited imagination. We just need to allow our brains to open up to the real nature of Jesus as revealed in the bible, and I simply trust in that.

Wonder

As I read our verse I feel the sense of wonder John had, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.” He was one of the eye-witnesses, and was amazed at what He needed to honestly report.

Colossians 2:9 states His divine nature, “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”

And 1 Timothy 3:16 His human nature, “God was manifested in the flesh” – but shares in the amazement by saying, “great is the mystery of godliness.”

Our substitute

Hebrews 2:14 describes the purpose of Jesus being fully human, “He himself likewise shared in the same [flesh and blood], that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Jesus needed to be fully human in order to take on himself our death, to be our substitute, and by rising from death, to defeat the power of death.

Hebrews 4:15 describes how Jesus, “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He could only go in our place if He was without sin, but had also suffered the very same temptation as us.

A Choice

Jesus, being truly human and fully divine, suffered and died to be our sacrifice for sin, that we might be forgiven and reconciled to God.

If our choice is to accept His gift of forgiveness as described in the bible, we also need to accept the nature of Jesus which made it possible for Him to be our substitute, and to win victory over death for us.

Prayer:

Thank you Jesus for being my Saviour, for going to the cross in my place, to win forgiveness for my sin, and restore me to God and to real and everlasting life.

I submit and commit my life to you, and pray you will use me to bless others with the same love you have given to me.

May each person who hears this good news know the joy of receiving your wonderful gift of forgiveness.

In your name, Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen.