Chapter 15
The Duality of Jesus
“No one has seen God at any time. The only
begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the
Father, He has declared Him.”
John 1:18
This entire book is in essence about Christ as the Word. We all assume to know Christ as He came to earth and became flesh to die for our sins. This is basically the salvation message that has been taught and preached for centuries. It’s a very simple message, one that can be understood by all. Yet, there is another mystery that needs to be resolved before the conclusion of this book, that being the mystery of the person of Jesus.
Scripture tells us that Jesus was without sin, and therefore as able to take our sins upon Himself so we could have everlasting life. But, the mystery is how did He take the sins of the world upon Himself if He was God, as God cannot be confronted with sin? “But He said, You cannot see my face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” (Exodus 33:20). He in all His glory is pure and thus no man born into sin can look Him in the face and live. But, man did see Jesus face to face. They talked with Him, walked with Him, and they prayed with Him, all while He was God on earth. So, if he was God in the flesh, how did this happen? The answer to this mystery will bring the person of Jesus, as the Christ, full circle within the concept of the Alpha Omega Principle.
In the chapter on “Just Who is the Word”, we explored the details of the phenomenon of the person of the Word, both from the physical and the Spiritual perspectives. But, the transition from the Word to man (Jesus) and back to the Word (Christ) is the one aspect of the person of Jesus as the Christ that has basically slipped through the grasp of many Christians. It is a mystery that has not been preached nor has it been written about to any degree. However, the revealing of this mystery of the person of Jesus, being both man and God, will also reveal something of how we as Christians are transitioned from the spirit of man to the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul states, “But, we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:7). This wisdom Paul speaks of is given to us through the Holy Spirit, and it is that same origin of wisdom that reveals the mystery of the person of Jesus to those who are His. Paul is also saying that in that day no one really knew who Jesus was as the purpose of His mission was hidden in the wisdom of God. “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11-12).
The Plan of God
God’s plan to redeem man was from before time. It has always been that Jesus would be born of Mary. That Jesus would become the Christ. That Jesus would be the Savior of the world. That Jesus would die on the cross for the sins of the world. That Jesus would be resurrected. That Jesus would sit at the right hand of the Father. That Jesus would come again as Lord and King to reign on the earth.
It was prophesied that Jesus would defeat Satan and save mankind from eternal death. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15). Jesus fulfilled that prophecy on the cross when He said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30). Satan knew what God meant when He said that the seed of man would bruise his head, and Satan knew it would be Jesus (the Word), but he did not know when or how. This is the reason we find throughout the Bible that Satan is constantly trying to disrupt the lineage of Jesus. Then Satan tried to destroy the Child through Herod the Great. “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” (Matthew 2:13). And finally, after Jesus was baptized Satan tried to tempt Him to sin; “The Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1). But, we all know the outcome. Jesus did die for our sins and is today triumphant, as are we in His name.
Jesus as Man
“And the angel answered and said, The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest will over shadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35). This act by the Holy Spirit, Who is the Third Person of the Trinity, provided the seed of God, which became the paternal lineage of Jesus. This in itself was an act of creation, as the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. Therefore, Jesus at birth was both man and God. The act of the Word becoming flesh enabled Jesus to be associated with sinful man, at the same time, the act of God through the creation of the seed of Himself enabled Jesus to be sinless while on earth. “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 1:14). It is precisely this phenomenon that Jesus as both God and flesh was able to take our sins upon Himself. He was sinless.
There are two phases of Jesus’ life that must be told to fully understand this phenomenon of God in the flesh. The first phase is that of His birth up until He starts His ministry with the second phase being His ministry up until His resurrection.
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31). The birth of Jesus was prophesied in Isaiah. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”(Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel means God with us. This act in itself plainly states that Mary will conceive a child begotten of the Holy Spirit. Thus, she will provide the human side of the lineage of Jesus, with the Holy Spirit providing the heavenly side of the lineage of Jesus. No, Mary was not a surrogate mother, but the actual mother of Jesus. Her genealogy is listed in Luke chapter three, verses twenty-three through thirty-eight going all the way back to Adam. However, Adam was a created being, as opposed to Jesus, who was begotten of the Father, and thus the only begotten Son. “Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli.” Verse twenty-three therefore identifies Joseph as the son-in-law of Heli, the father of Mary. However, this lineage in Luke is actually Mary’s as the lineage of Joseph (Matthew 1:1-16) is from Solomon the second son of David and Bathsheba (their first son died – 2 Samuel 12:18). The lineage of Mary also provides the link back to David though his son Nathan who is the third son of David and Bathsheba. “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.” (Luke 1:32).
This solidifies the fact that Jesus was born of one human parent, and as such was born into the flesh even though He was sinless. But, Mary as a personwas not sinless as she acknowledged she needs a savior. “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:47). But, Scripture tells us there was no sin in Jesus. So, if Jesus was born of a human mother then how was the sin nature not passed on? This is not an oxymoron, but is the mystery of the person of Jesus. Mary was born into sin like everyone descending from Adam and thus she had the sin aspect of the flesh. However, unlike normal descendants the fallen nature of man was not passed on to Jesus although He was in the flesh. Had He been born into sin like all descendants of Adam then He could not have been sinless on earth and been able to take on the sins of the world. But, the mystery of the conception of Jesus is what differentiated Him from all others. Although Mary provided the flesh side of Jesus the sinful nature of man normally transferred to her child was prevented by the seed created of the Father.
Science states that a baby’s blood supply is completely independentfrom that of the mother. Also, the genetic codes that produce the blood come from the seed of the father. Therefore, since the seed was from God it was pure and as such no sin could be passed on to Jesus even though He was in the flesh. And this aspect of the mystery is how Jesus was able to deal with sinful man while He was on earth as Jesus the Christ, and thus take the sins of the world upon Himself on the cross so that we could have everlasting life through Him.
Although most Christians do not look at the life of Jesus in the light of symbolism, it is nonetheless throughout the New Testament, and that symbolism is very much meaningful to the understanding of the person of Jesus. One of the great symbolic acts in His life began at birth. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. We all know the story. We have heard it many, many times. A story that is read every Christmas in all the churches. But, do the people really understand it? There have been many reasons put forth as to why Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger, but most are only guesses. Jesus’ birth environment was very symbolic of the reason He came to earth. He was born in a stable because He was to be the sacrificial Lamb of God. He was the ultimate blood sacrifice, the last blood sacrifice necessary for the sins of man. Therefore, He had to be born in a stable like all the sacrificial lambs. Then He was laid in a manger, which is a feeding trough for the animals in the stable. This act was symbolic as well. Scripture tells us to feed on Him. He is the bread of life. Thus, He is our Spiritual food.
The angel of the Lord told Mary to call her son Jesus, being translated from the Greek word Iesous, meaning Jehoshua or Jehovah saves. He did not tell her to name Him Christ although that is precisely who He was, for the mission He was on as the Son of man was to die for the sins of the world. The word Christ in Greek means the Anointed One, and is an epithet of Jesus. In the New Testament He is called the Lord’s Christ, which in Hebrew is the Lord’s Messiah. However, our English translations have shortened Jesus the Christ to Jesus Christ, which creates a misconception as to the person of Jesus. “Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.” (Matthew 16:20). Thus, Jesus’ himself confirms that the transition of this duality occurred sometime during His life.
In order to fully understand this mystery it is necessary to analyze the early childhood of Jesus. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6). The first half of this verse contains the present tense verb “is” describing the Child/Son, whereas the second half of the verse contains the future tense verb “will” describing the action of the government on Jesus as the Christ. Then, “Hisname will be called” indicates an even later description of what He was to become. So, this prophecy in Isaiah, as well as Jesus’ statement to the Disciples in Matthew chapter sixteen, verse twenty, confirms this duality.
Since Jesus was “…born of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3), He had to go through a growth and leaning process as He grew into manhood. Although He was not confronted with all the pitfalls a person normally goes through in growing up, He did nonetheless have to grow both physically and spiritually. “And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. And he said to them, Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:42-43, 46-47 and 49). Some state that Jesus was able to quote Old Testament Scripture because, like you and me, He studied and committed it to memory. Some say Mary taught Him. But, Scripture tells a different story. “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:40). Spirit, wisdom and grace are all described by The New Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon as they pertain to Jesus’ growth and development in His early years. Spirit in this context is described as one who incites and directs the soul as the Spirit did with the prophets. Thus, Jesus was not directed in the manner we know to be normal for man, but that which was normal for a prophet, specifically those in the Old Testament. Wisdom, which we know comes from God, is described as the varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience, and summed up in maxims and proverbs. Thus, this wisdom was divine, and of the nature we see in the New Testament words of Jesus. Grace in this sense is the grace of God, and is described as being of God who attends and assists one. Then in verse fifty-two we find that, “… Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” This indicates growth both spiritually and physically, and provides proof that His knowledge of Old Testament Scripture did not come from the standard learning process, but from God. The Father was teaching the Son. Jesus was the Son on earth, and as the Christ and the Word, is the One that wrote the Book in the first place. Furthermore, Jesus’ words cited in the New Testament are proof that all His knowledge and wisdom came directly from God.
We do not know much about the life of Jesus between the age of twelve and thirty. We do know that He grew physically and spiritually. During this time He did not perform any miracles, nor did He conduct any type of ministry, yet He was active. He worked as a carpenter. “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at Him.” (Mark 6:3). We know He taught in the synagogue. “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.” (Luke 4:16). And we also know that His father Joseph was alive at that time. “And they said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he says, I have come down from heaven?” So up until the time Jesus was well into His ministry, Joseph, His father, was alive. Therefore, Jesus grew up in a typical Jewish family working, attending worship services, and observing all the traditional Jewish festivals and holy days. So, it appears that outwardly Jesus did not standout as being so different from all the other Jewish boys growing up in Nazareth. However, inwardly was another matter. He knew who He was and so did His mother Mary. “…Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business.” (Luke 2:49). “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Luke 2:51).
Jesus the Christ
The next time we see Jesus is when He starts His ministry at thirty years of age. Since He was Hebrew, and abided by all the commandments of God, by law He could not become a rabbi or teacher and start His ministry until He was thirty. This is borne out in the Book of Numbers chapter four in the command to Aaron’s sons who were assigned by God to be the priests of the temple. “Also take a census of the sons of Gershon, by their father’ house, by their families. From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do work in the tabernacle of meeting.” (Numbers 4:22-23). Gershon was a son of Aaron who was commanded by God to be a priest in the tabernacle.