Thomas, when he first saw the risen Christ, had called Him, “My Lord and my God!” In that moment Thomas realized that Jesus, though a Man, was far more than any man or angel. Yet who is higher than the highest man or angel? God alone. There is only one God. Jesus, therefore, had to be that same God in human form. The apostle John agreed with this. Guided by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13), he wrote,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3). And the Word became flesh and dwelt [lived] among us… (John 1:14).
Jesus had often shown that He was one with God the Father (John 8:58; 10:30,38; 12:45; 14:7-9). He received “worship,” which belongs to God alone (Matthew 2:11; 4:10; 14:33; 28:9,17). He taught that all should “honor the Son just as they honor the Father” (John 5:23). The Jews tried to kill Jesus because of His “claim to be God” (John 10:33), and for “making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18). They should not have been so surprised at Jesus’ claims. Scripture had said that God Himself would come. The last prophet of the Old Testament had faithfully recorded Yahweh’s promise,
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1).
Isaiah had seen beforehand “God” being “born” to rule.
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. (Isaiah 9:6-7).
This is the same Isaiah. He explained clearly to us that there is only one God.
“Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:10-11).
And, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god’” (Isaiah 44:6).
This is the same Isaiah (7:14) whose prophecy was fulfilled through Mary, the mother of Jesus (Matthew 1:22-23). Before Mary was married, God’s angel said to her,
And behold, you will conceive [have a child] in your womb [stomach] and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David … and of his kingdom there will be no end (Luke 1:31-33).
Mary wondered how she could have a child. She had never had sexual relations with a man. The angel explained,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow [cover] you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
Jesus’ mother was a virgin. Therefore His fleshly life did not start through a sexual act of any kind. Jesus began His human life in Mary’s body only by a miracle of God’s pure power. Jesus’ divine life – His life as God – did not begin in Mary’s body. God is eternal, and has no beginning and no end (Hebrews 1:8). To the Almighty nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). Therefore God could certainly reach down to the earth as God the Son, and become flesh through Mary.
We may wonder how God can be One, and yet show Himself as more than one person, “Father” and “Son.” This is not a new mystery. From the beginning of the Old Testament God showed Himself as two, Yahweh and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1-3). In that same Old Testament, God revealed that He would be born as “Son” (Isaiah 9:6-7). In all of this God assured us that He is One. God surely knows how best to reveal Himself to us. Therefore we accept Scripture’s teaching that God is One, and yet is Father, Holy Spirit, and Son. What do we mean when we confess that Jesus is “the Son of God”? We are saying that He is fully human (by His birth on earth), and fully divine (by His oneness with God).
Why was it necessary for the Divine to take on flesh? The New Testament reveals the reason in God’s honor and God’s love. First, think about God’s honor. God’s glory is so high that humans can only approach God through a “go-between” or “mediator.” But God is also totally fair and just. That is part of His honor. So the question becomes, “How can this mediator represent God fairly and also represent humans fairly?” God, in His fairness, decided that the final Mediator (and also the final Judge) should be both God and man: Jesus. In this way, the Mediator can truly speak for God and also truly speak for humans (John 5:27; Acts 17:31; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4-7). By sending His Son in flesh, God met all of the requirements of total fairness.
Now think about God’s love. God, in His complete honesty, could not simply ‘wish away’ sins. God’s justice required that sin be punished by death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23). Yet God’s great love sought to spare and save mankind. Who could pay the death penalty for sinners? God told the truth when He said, “besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11). Only God can save. Death for sins was necessary. Yet God, as Spirit, could not die. Such was God’s love that He took on flesh, which could suffer and die for our sins.
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to [controlled by] lifelong slavery (Hebrews 2:14-15).
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish [die] but have eternal life (John 3:16).
God wanted people to know and honor Him fully. Their weak hearts failed to understand the far greater heart of God. How could God picture Himself to His people? Earthly images were so far beneath His glory that they were useless and forbidden. God told the truth when He said,
“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols” (Isaiah 42:8).
The only one who could mirror or represent God properly was God Himself. No one else could possibly compare with God!
So God took on the form of a Man (Philippians 2). As we watch Christ, we see how God really thinks, feels, and works. We escape false gods, and false ideas about the true God. We can worship and love God, knowing Him for who He truly is.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt [lived] among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth … No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known (John 1:14,18).
Jesus said … Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9).
He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).
He is the radiance [shining light] of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:3).
ERV for Hebrews 1:3: The Son shows the glory of God. He is the perfect copy of God’s nature.
Jesus, being divine, fully shows what God is like. Being human, Jesus also reveals to us what man ought to be like. The world’s best people have faults and so can never be complete examples for us. But in Jesus we see the perfect example. He shows us how godly people should think and live.