5 Questions About Jesus

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Did Jesus ever say, “I am God”? Is Jesus fully God? Was Jesus fully man? Why didn’t Jesus appear to display all of God’s attributes? What is Jesus doing now?

Welcome to Session 5 of Discovering Good News in John.

John wrote that Jesus is God. Yet Jesus appears on earth as a man. Today we’ll look at who Jesus is: fully God and fully man. We’ll also address a question that that brings up: If Jesus was fully God, why did he appear to lack some of God’s attributes?

Question 1. Did Jesus Ever Say, “I Am God”?

The Gospels don’t record Jesus saying the words, “I am God.” If he had, the Jewish leaders would have stoned him for blasphemy and even regular folks might not have listened to him.

However, Jesus said and did things that would be inappropriate if he weren’t God. For example, we read in John 5:21 that Jesus claimed to be able to give life to people. This next week, we’ll read in John 8 that Jesus applied the divine name, “I AM,” to himself. Later, we’ll read in John 10 that Jesus claimed to be one with the Father. In John 14:9, he claimed that whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father.

Jesus Also Claimed Divine Prerogatives For Himself.

For instance, in Mark 2:5, he claimed he was able to forgive sins, which incensed the Jewish leaders who believed only God could forgive sins. Then he healed the man he had forgiven to prove his ability to forgive. In Matthew 25:31-46, he said he would judge the world, another divine prerogative.

Additionally, Jesus Claimed He Will Do Things in the Future Only God Should Be Able to Do

In Matthew 13:41-42 Jesus referred to himself as “Son of Man” and said that at the end of the age

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:41–42

Notice that he said he will send “his angels.” Elsewhere he called them “angels of God” (Luke 12:8-9; 15:10). So claiming God’s angels were also his angels is significant. So is claiming that he will send them to throw rebellious beings into hell.

In Matthew 26:63, he told the Jewish leaders at his trial that they would see him “seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest interpreted that as a claim to deity, said he had uttered blasphemy, and sent him to be crucified.

Question 2. Is Jesus Fully God?

Let’s look at what the Gospels, the Old Testament, and the New Testament letters say about that.

First, the Gospels

John’s Gospel explained that Jesus was God in its first chapter. John 1:1 reads,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1

Verse 14 tells us,

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

So we know the Word became flesh as the “only Son from the Father.” Verses 17-18 identify the Word by name:

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

John 1:17–18

In verse 18 Jesus has made the Father known and is God at the Father’s side.

The Christmas story in Luke 1 describes how the Word became flesh. The angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary and told her she would bear a child who would be called the Son of the Most High. He would be the long-awaited Messiah who would rule forever. When Mary asked how that could be since she was a virgin, the angel Gabriel told her:

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Luke 1:35

So the Gospels tell us that the Word became flesh through the Holy Spirit overshadowing the Virgin Mary. This taking on of flesh is called the incarnation.

Now let’s look at what the Old Testament says.

Second, the Old Testament

Here’s what Isaiah 9:6-7 prophesied about the future king who would reign forever:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6–7

Notice the king would be called “Mighty God.”

When the Jewish leaders asked John the Baptist who he was, he replied:

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

John 1:23

Here the Baptist quoted Isaiah 40:3, which is part of a prophecy where a herald announces that streets must be made ready for a visit on earth from God. The herald brings “good news”: He says, “Here is your God!” (verses 8-9).

Finally, let’s see what we learn from the New Testament letters.

Third, the New Testament Letters

Colossians explains:

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

Colossians 1:19

And,

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.

Colossians 2:9

Hebrews 1:1-4 reads,

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Hebrews 1:1–4

From these passages and more we discover that Jesus was fully God. He took on flesh when the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin Mary. Then the fullness of God dwelled in his flesh.

Question 3. Was Jesus Fully Man?

We read in Luke how Jesus was miraculously conceived in Mary’s womb. Mary gave birth to him as any mother would give birth, showing he was human. He grew and increased in wisdom, according to Luke 2:52. He learned to walk, talk, and eat, just like ordinary children.

John 4:6 tells us his body could become weary, Matthew 4:2 that he became hungry, and John 19:28 that he became thirsty. He experienced human emotions, such as marveling and sorrow, according to Matthew 8:10 and 25:38.

Philippians 2:5-8 describes how he as God took on human form:

… Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5–8

Although Jesus took on flesh and was born as a man, he remained sinless:

Second Corinthians 5:21 reads,

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

First John 3:5 reads, “

You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

1 John 3:5

So Why Did Jesus Become Fully Man?

1) To Sympathize

One of the reasons he took on human form was to sympathize with us, as Hebrews 4:15 explains:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15

Also,

2) To Full Atone for Human Sin as a Merciful High Priest

Hebrews 2:17-18 explains that Jesus had to be fully human to atone for human sin.

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 2:17–18

Another reason is,

3) To Make Humans Righteous

By appearing in the flesh, Jesus was able to make the descendants of Adam righteous:

For as by the one man’s [that’s Adam’s] disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s [that’s Jesus’s] obedience the many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:19

And also,

4) To Be the Necessary Ransom from Death

Jesus had to come in the flesh and lead a sinless life so that he could be the ransom that brings eternal life. Psalm 49:7-9 reads:

Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.

Psalm 49:7–9

Here the psalmist realizes an imperfect human cannot pay a ransom for his own life, let alone another’s, such that anyone can live forever. But the psalmist is not worried and continues in verse 15:

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.

Psalm 49:15

Though no mere human can ransom human souls from death, the psalmist knows that God will somehow provide the ransom. This God did by the Son taking on flesh and living a sinless life so that death had no hold on him.

Now that we know why Jesus had to become fully man, let’s consider a heresy called Gnosticism.

Gnosticism

An early church heresy called Gnosticism stated that Jesus was God but not fully man. The apostle John addressed this in two of his letters. In 2 John verse 7, John writes:

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

2 John 7

And in 1 John 4:2, John wrote

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

1 John 4:2

Because Jesus is both fully God and fully man, he is the perfect mediator between people and the Father, as 1 Timothy 2:5-6 states:

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

1 Timothy 2:5–6

Question 4. Why Didn’t Jesus Display All of God’s Attributes?

In Sessions 1 and 2, we saw that Scripture teaches that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. But that presents a difficulty. If Jesus is God, why did he appear to lack those characteristics when he came to earth?

Theologian Millard J. Erickson explains that

The incarnation was more a gaining of human attributes than a giving up of divine attributes…

As an incarnate being, he was limited in the exercise of that power by possession of a human body. This should not be considered a reduction of the power and capacities of the Second Person of the Trinity, but rather a circumstance-induced limitation on the exercise of his power and capacities.

Millard J. Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine, 228,229

Erickson gives an example of a three-legged race. He writes,

The world’s fastest sprinter is entered in a three-legged race, where he must run with one of his legs tied to a leg of a partner. Although his physical capacity is not diminished, the conditions under which he exercises it are severely circumscribed. Even if this partner in the race is the world’s second fastest sprinter, their time will be much slower than if they competed separately.

This is like the situation of the incarnate Christ. Just as the runner could unloose the tie, but chooses to restrict himself for the duration of the event, so Christ’s incarnation was a voluntary, self-chosen limitation. He did not have to take on humanity, but he chose to do so for the period of the incarnation.

Millard J. Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine, 229

So,

Question 5. What Is Jesus Doing Now?

Let’s look at three vital things that Jesus is doing now, beginning with, one,

Upholding the Universe

Hebrews 1:3 tells us that

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Hebrews 1:3

So Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God upholding the universe.

A second thing Jesus is doing is

Interceding

Jesus is also interceding for us, as Hebrews 7:25 explains:

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7:25

Why does Jesus intercede for us when justification is already accomplished? Dane C. Ortlund in his book, Gentle and Lowly, explains:

The answer is that intercession applies what the atonement accomplished. Christ’s present heavenly intercession on our behalf is a reflection of the fullness and victory and completeness of his earthly work, not a reflection of anything lacking in his earthly work. The atonement accomplished our salvation; intercession is the moment-by-moment application of that atoning work. In the past, Jesus did what he now talks about; in the present, Jesus talks about what he then did. This is why the New Testament weds justification and intercession, such as in Romans 8:33–34: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly, 79-80

Ortlund explains the wonder of this further:

The atoning work of the Son was something the Father and the Son delightedly agreed to together in eternity past. The Son’s intercession does not reflect the coolness of the Father but the sheer warmth of the Son. Christ does not intercede because the Father’s heart is tepid toward us but because the Son’s heart is so full toward us. But the Father’s own deepest delight is to say yes to the Son’s pleading on our behalf.

Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly, 80

A third thing Jesus is doing now is

Advocating

Jesus is advocating for us, as 1 John 2:1 explains:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1 John 2:1

Jesus always lives to intercede for us, but he advocates for us when we sin. John Bunyan wrote,

Christ, as Priest, goes before, and Christ, as an Advocate, comes after. Christ, as Priest, continually intercedes; Christ, as Advocate, in case of great transgressions, pleads. Christ, as Priest, has need to act always, but Christ, as Advocate, sometimes only. Christ, as Priest, acts in time of peace; but Christ, as Advocate, in times of broils, turmoils, and sharp contentions; wherefore, Christ, as Advocate, is, as I may call him, a reserve, and his time is then to arise, to stand up and plead, when his own are clothed with some filthy sin that of late they have fallen into.

John Bunyan, The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate, in The Works of John Bunya, 1:169

So Jesus right now is upholding the universe, interceding for us, and advocating for us.

In Conclusion

In this video, I answered five questions about Jesus. If you have more questions, please post them and I may address them in the future.

This week in Discovering Good News in John, complete chapter 5: The Good Shepherd. We’ll answer the question, What causes spiritual blindness? See you next time.

Join the Discussion

Please answer these questions in the comments below:

1. What one thought stuck out to you in this week’s video? Why did it stand out?
2. What one thought stuck out to you from this week’s chapter? Why did it stand out?
3. Question 43, page 90: Describe a way that abiding in Jesus’s words resulted in your knowing the truth and being set free.

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