No human, even the most highly esteemed, can match our Lord. For He is unique, the only Person who is both human and divine. The same passage that warns against human traditions goes on to say,
For in [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority (Colossians 2:9-10).
That echoes the letter’s early emphasis on Christ’s unrivaled supremacy, a theme also of the letter to the Hebrews.
For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Colossians 1:16-19).
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. … But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom” (Hebrews 1:1-3, 8).
Why listen to God’s Son? Because the Father now speaks through Him! He represents God with perfect accuracy because the Son is Himself God (Hebrews 1:8). This is the amazing truth—God born into this world—that the prophets had foreseen.
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 (Isaiah 9:6).
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3 cf. Mark 1:3).
Behold, I send My messenger, and He will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple (Malachi 3:1).
While remaining fully divine, Jesus took on full humanity. For a little while He was made “lower than the angels” and shared in humanity’s “flesh and blood” in order to taste death for us all (Hebrews 2:9, 14). Yet, while tempted like us in every way, He remained “without sin” (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15). Thus, we have the perfect Human to represent humans, and the divine Son to represent God the Father. No one else qualifies so perfectly to be the go-between that links us with God. Therefore, 1 Timothy 2:5 boldly declares, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
“There is one God, and there is one Mediator.”
In His unique role as Mediator, Jesus ensures peace between God and His people. In His unique role as Lord, He unites all who follow Him. Truly, He is our Prince of Peace.