Weekly Devotional 1-8-24 The God-Man
Reading from Luke’s account of God taking on human flesh, we read: “26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:26-35).
There can be no doubt that the cellular composition commenced in Mary was the beginning of the physical body of Jesus Christ, the mentioned Holy One (Luke 1:35) But was this the beginning of His person? The beginning of the answer in found in the gospel of John. “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.1 He was in the beginning with God.2 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.3 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. …..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” (John 1:1-3; 14).
Verses 1-3 of John’s account tell us that the Word (the spokesperson of God) was at creation, (Genesis 1&2) and in fact, was the creator. Turning back to the Genesis record we read “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”(1:26b). In that God was the sole Creator the Us and Our cannot refer to other gods for He declared “I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God”(Isaiah 44:6). The Us and Our cannot refer to angels as they from heaven, “sang together and shouted for joy” as they observed God’s creative acts (Job 38:7). The Only plausible answer then is the Us and Our speak of the plurality of the One God found in three unique personages manifested in other Scriptures as God the Father, the Son (preincarnate Christ), and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was introduced to us in Genesis 1:2 “(The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” and is referenced in Job 26:13. Thus God is one God, existing as three manifestations of His oneness. All of this is to simply say that before the beginning of the cellular composition of the man who was to be called Jesus, He eternally existed. Support for this truth is recorded in the Book of Hebrews.
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.2 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.3 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.4 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.5 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.6 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come– In the volume of the book it is written of Me– To do Your will, O God.’ “7 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law),8 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 9 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:1-10).
We should take special notice of Jesus’ acknowledgment that God prepared a body for Him. As God, Jesus could not die, He was and is, eternal God. Jesus offered His body for the atonement of sin. God, as Jesus, lived in a human body for approximately 33 years and then surrendered that body to be sacrificed. Jesus the man went to the cross as perfect, sinless man to sacrifice Himself as man’s redeemer. As God He could not die but as man He could and did.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus, the Godman, “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15b). This was necessary because in God’s plan of redemption only a perfect man could satisfy the requirements of the Law. Consider Romans 5:17-19): “17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”
Living for approximately 33 years without sin and dying without sin qualified Jesus as man’s Redeemer. This is why God the Father could exclaim “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
Blessings
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