Sunday Sermons
The Fullness of Diety
The Fullness of Deity
There are many passages which proclaim that Jesus is God. The question that has arisen in some minds is not whether Jesus was God before He arrived on the earth or whether He is God now, but when Jesus became flesh, did Jesus surrender His Divine nature for awhile? I have been impressed that many of the passages that assert that Jesus is Divine likewise stress that He was fully God while upon the earth as well:
- Isaiah 9:6
Observe that in this passage Isaiah speaks of the “Child that will be born”, and concerning this Child, Isaiah specifically calls Him, “Mighty God” and “Eternal Father”. This would certainly be strange wording if the Child was not God.
- Micah 5:2
Concerning the one who will be born in Bethlehem, Micah says, “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity”. The one to be born in Bethlehem, the child to be born, would obviously be a child with an eternal past.
- John 1:1,14
Here God calls Jesus the Word and says that the Word is God. In verse 14 he says that the Word (God) became flesh. Nothing is said about the Word ceasing to be God, rather the clear inference is that Jesus remained Divine. In fact the context asserts that in the flesh Jesus remained the same person He had always been. He was still the Creator (1:10), He still had glory (1:14), He still had a higher rank (1:15), He was still full of grace and truth (1:16), and He still was the ultimate revealer of the Father to men (1:18).
- John 5:23
While upon the earth Jesus said that He was deserving of equal honor with the Father. This could only be true if Jesus remained equal in nature with the Father. This explains why Jesus, while on earth, accepted worship which is to be reserved for God (Matthew 4:10; 8:2).
- John 14:9
Jesus here said that anyone who had seen Him, had seen the Father. This can only be true if Jesus was still Divine while upon the earth. If He had set aside His Deity then it would not be accurate to say that one had seen the Father when observing Jesus, if He indeed had been only be a mere man.
Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form”.
Paul is here explaining to the Colossians why they only need Jesus. In verse 3 it is asserted that in Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Paul now tells us why or how that is true. The word “deity” means the very essence of God. The term “fullness” means exactly that. Jesus is not partially Divine or 51% of the nature of God, rather, all that makes God--God continually and permanently dwells in Jesus. Then there is the expression “in bodily form”. It would be very strange for Paul to add this statement and yet exclude that period of time when Jesus was in “bodily form” while upon the earth. I know that Jesus presently dwells in a glorified body (Philippians 3:21), but Paul is equally stressing that the incarnation, when Jesus became man, Jesus was the fullness of God as well.
Passages to Consider
Consider now a few passages that some people think hint or teach that Jesus had to lay aside His Divine nature when He became flesh.
- Luke 2:52 “Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men”
The argument would be that since God cannot “increase in wisdom”, this passage proves that Jesus was not God. Yet the Scriptures cannot be in conflict. John does say that the Word (God) became flesh. When Luke says that Jesus increased in favor with God, Luke does not mean that Jesus was at one time in disfavor. Rather it means that the Father and Holy Spirit were continually pleased with Jesus’ life. From Jesus’ interaction with the Jewish teachers (2:46) it is clear that Jesus was far more than a 12 year old Jewish boy. Luke is saying that Jesus’ childhood development appeared normal for most of the time. Even though God came into the world as a baby, the plan was for God to appear as a normal human being for much of His early earthly life. God had a definite timeline and plan. Jesus could have worked miracles as a baby or young child, but did not (John 2:4). I am not impressed by the argument that says God could not have become a baby. Why not? All things are possible with God. In addition, both Matthew and Isaiah clearly teach that the child born of a virgin would be Immanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
- Mark 13:32 “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone”
Some read this passage and assume that it teaches that Jesus is not omniscient and therefore could not have been God while on the earth. If this passage proves that Jesus is not God, then it likewise proves that the Holy Spirit is also not God. Why? Jesus limited this one aspect of knowledge only to the Father. Jesus did demonstrate omniscience while upon the earth, such as reading the hearts of men (Mark 2:8). Finally, if all things are possible with God, then God must uniformly have the ability to choose what to know and what not to know. Seeing that there are three members of the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and at times they assume different roles, we should not be surprised that one may take a secondary role to the others, or one may handle other responsibilities. For example, Jesus in the gospels clearly teaches that He is the Judge on the last day (John 5:22) and that all judgment has been given to Him. Yet this does not imply that the others are inferior to Him.
Philippians 2:6-8 “Who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”
Some have concluded that this section teaches that Jesus emptied Himself of His Divine nature when He came to the earth. But examine the text more fully:
“Existed”: Many here note that the present tense used here involves a previous, present and future existence. That is, Jesus existed in the form of God before He arrived, during His stay, and after He left. “The present tense reveals that the Savior’s existence, in the ‘form of God,’ is a sustained mode of being, not one that was interrupted by the incarnation. A.T. Robertson called attention to the difference between the present tense, huparchon (denoting ‘eternal existence in the morphe [form] of God’), and the Lord’s ‘becoming’ (aorist tense) in the likeness of man (1931, 4:445). There was a time when the second Person of the Godhead did not exist as man; there never has been a time when He was not in ‘the form of God’” (Wayne Jackson, Did Jesus Christ Exist in the Form of God While Upon Earth?). Clearly, the New Testament would back this up. Jesus was God before He arrived (John 1:1), while on earth (John 14:9) and presently (Hebrews 1:8).
“In the form of God”: The essence or essential nature of God. Note that in this section the text does not say that Jesus took upon Himself the “form” or essential nature of man. Rather, He was found in appearance and likeness as a man—yet He was much more.
“Did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped”: Clearly, Jesus existed on a level equal with the Father (John 1:1). “There is no question of Christ's trying to snatch or seize equality with God: that was already His because He was in very nature God. Neither is there any question of His trying to retain it by force. The point is rather that He did not treat His equality with God as an excuse for self-assertion…on the contrary, He treated it as an occasion for renouncing every advantage or privilege...as an opportunity for unreserved self-sacrifice” (F.F. Bruce p. 69).
“But emptied Himself”: From the passages we noted early on in this lesson, it is clear that Jesus did not empty Himself of Who He is. After all, how could God ever cease to be God? Rather what Jesus gave up was His heavenly privileges of living in glory, in the presence of the Father and in heavenly bliss (John 17:5). Jesus traded all these wonderful privileges and comforts for a life of service to the lost (Luke 19:10; Matthew 20:28). In like manner, the purpose of this section is to encourage us to do the same. Like Jesus, we never cease being who we are; He remained God, we remain human. Yet we are by the same token expected to assume the essential role and form of a “servant” (2:7; 2:3-5).
Finally, some argue that since the Bible says that God cannot be tempted (James 1:13) and yet Jesus was tempted (Hebrews 4:15), that Jesus could not have been God while on earth. I believe that such is a misuse of James 1:13. The text is not saying that no one has ever tried to test God or try His patience. Obviously men, by their sin, try God’s patience every day! In fact, we tend to forget the huge ordeals that God faces. And yet He has never misused His unlimited power. He has never misused His role as Lord. He has never reacted in sinful anger. James 1:13 is not saying that God has never been tested, rather it means that God cannot be enticed. Nothing in Him would yield to sin, even though men—and Satan try Him. Added to the tests that God has faced throughout time, Jesus in the same way faced the type of tests that we face—and never yielded to sin. Thank heaven for our perfect Savior and Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). May we use every day of our lives to reflect the honor due this Divine Christ.
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.com
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
