If God Became A Man Series

Introduction

One of the great assertions at Christmas is that Jesus is not only fully man but that he is also fully God. The New Testament has a number of statements affirming the deity of Jesus. For example:

• John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John is clear that Jesus is the Word, and therefore Jesus is God.

• John 1:18 – “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he [i.e. Jesus] has made him known.”

• John 20:28 – “Thomas answered [Jesus], ‘My Lord and my God!’”

• Romans 9:5 – “To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”

• Titus 2:13 – “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

• Hebrews 1:8 – “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.’”

• 2 Peter 1:1 – “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The great British apologist, C. S. Lewis, once wrote that the deity of Jesus Christ is “not something stuck on that you can unstick, but something that peeps out at every point, so that you would have to unravel the whole web to get rid of it.”

Lewis is right. Everything about Jesus points to the fact that he is not only fully man but that he is also fully God.

Imagine a group of friends getting together to talk with you about your Christian faith. They have a general idea about what the Old Testament says about God, but they struggle with the concept that God ever came to earth in human form. Then someone asks you, “If God became a man, what kind of a man would he be?”

You are on the spot. How would you answer that question?

Lesson

In this lesson, I would like to suggest some answers you might give to the question, “If God became a man, what kind of a man would he be?”

I. If God Became a Man, He Would Be Able to Explain the Old Testament

First, if God became a man, he would be able to explain the Old Testament.

The Old Testament has many hundreds of statements like, “And God said. . .” (Genesis 1:3; 1 Kings 3:11; etc.) or, “The Lord said. . .” (Genesis 4:6; Exodus 3:7; etc.). So God could obviously give a perfect explanation of what each of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament said and meant.

This is exactly what Jesus did!

Over the centuries, countless theologians had put their own spin on Old Testament teaching, but Jesus brushed all of that aside and told his hearers on several occasions, “You have heard that it was said. . . . But I say to you. . .” (Matthew 5:21-22; cf. also 5:27-28; 5:33-34).

At a later time, Jesus had a meal with two men who were trying to understand the Old Testament. We read that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).

On a different occasion he went much further and said that all the Old Testament writings “bear witness about me” (John 5:39), clearly claiming that the only way to understand the Old Testament was to see that it pointed to him.

In fact, it is accurate to say that no-one in all history has been able to explain the Old Testament as clearly and accurately as Jesus did.

II. If God Became a Man, He Would Live a Perfect Life

Second, if God became a man, he would live a perfect life.

The Old Testament says that God is “majestic in holiness” (Exodus 15:11) and “filled with righteousness” (Psalm 48:10). In other words, God is perfect.

So was Jesus!

The Bible says that Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are,” but then stunningly adds, “yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV).

The Bible repeatedly affirms that Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), that he was “without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:19), and the he was “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26).

Have you ever tried to live a perfect life? I have tried, and I have failed miserably. I used to start my attempt at perfection on Mondays. However, even by my reckoning, which was flawed at best, I rarely made it to lunch time on Monday before blowing it. I was simply incapable of doing anything that approached perfection.