(40) Jesus: Deity in Humanity - Introduction

Sometimes its just hard to see things clearly. I experienced this for nearly two months after losing my glasses. I need glasses so I can clearly see things that are more distant than about twenty feet. I also have an astigmatism. When I was without my glasses, I had to squint and struggle to see people in the back of the church clearly when I was preaching. But I didn’t even realize how bad my sight really was until I got off a plane at the Orlando airport and couldn’t read the signs to tell me where to go pick up my luggage. Then, when I put on my new glasses for the fist time, it was like everything around me came into sharper focus. I actually was stunned and said, “Wow!”

I have another sight problem. I have trouble seeing things clearly really close up. The best way for me to really concentrate when I am studying is to lay on my stomach and put my notes and books right under my nose! But if I don’t prop myself up on enough pillows, the writing is too close and I can’t read it.

We can experience similar problems when we approach some aspects of theology. If we don’t look at things closely enough we can have an unclear or, shall we say inaccurate view of what we are considering. But, if we try to get too close, and try to make sense of things too much, we can also get an inaccurate view. We need to get as close as we can without forgetting that God is beyond our full understanding. If we forget this vital truth, we can fall into imbalance or even error.

This is certainly true when it comes to understanding the uniqueness of Jesus’ nature. We declare our belief in the deity of Jesus. Jesus is God. 100% God. And, we also declare our belief in the humanity of Jesus. Jesus is a man. 100% man. And in embracing these two truths we already have a vision problem. We’re seeing doubles! 100% + 100% usually equals 200%. But not when it comes to Jesus. To comprehend Jesus, we need a new math where 100% + 100% = 100%

Ok, so maybe those last words still got your head spinning. Understanding the nature of Jesus in the combination of deity and humanity is mind boggling but important for us to understand – as much as we can anyway.

Next: (41) Understanding Paradox