Jesus the Divine One
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. John 17:5, NIV.
The earthly Jesus was acutely aware of the fact of His eternal deity. No one knew more than He what had to be given up when He became human. Here we find Him praying to God the Father that He might be restored to His former glory. Paul later describes the fulfillment of this prayer, noting that after Christ's life and death on the cross God "highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that is at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Phil 2:9-11, RSV).
But meanwhile in John 17 Jesus is still facing the cross, still confronted with His final excruciating act as a human being. He recognizes His weakness and inability as one of us. Yet at the same time He is consciously aware of His divine nature and past glory in the courts of heaven.
Such a mental tension is beyond the experience of the rest of us mortals. We know that we possess one short life that began at birth and will end with the decay of our minds and bodies. But only the deluded have thoughts of personal divinity. The earthly Jesus faced issues and had thoughts about realities that are totally beyond our comprehension.
Yet those very thoughts reveal His earthly understanding of His part in the divine Trinity. The reality of His place in the Trinity was revealed to Him at His baptism when "the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him" and heard a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:16, 17).
The fact that He was "the Son" as "the fullness of the Godhead manifested" in human flesh (Evangelism, p. 614) was a conscious part of His life. He knew without doubt that "there are three living persons of the heavenly trio...--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (ibid., p. 615). And Jesus reflected that trinitarian understanding in Matthew's portrayal of His last command to the disciples: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:18, 19).
What a Jesus we serve. We can understand Him--yet we can't. He became one of us, yet He was divine (and knew it). Such is the mystery of godliness.
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. John 17:5, NIV.
The earthly Jesus was acutely aware of the fact of His eternal deity. No one knew more than He what had to be given up when He became human. Here we find Him praying to God the Father that He might be restored to His former glory. Paul later describes the fulfillment of this prayer, noting that after Christ's life and death on the cross God "highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that is at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Phil 2:9-11, RSV).
But meanwhile in John 17 Jesus is still facing the cross, still confronted with His final excruciating act as a human being. He recognizes His weakness and inability as one of us. Yet at the same time He is consciously aware of His divine nature and past glory in the courts of heaven.
Such a mental tension is beyond the experience of the rest of us mortals. We know that we possess one short life that began at birth and will end with the decay of our minds and bodies. But only the deluded have thoughts of personal divinity. The earthly Jesus faced issues and had thoughts about realities that are totally beyond our comprehension.
Yet those very thoughts reveal His earthly understanding of His part in the divine Trinity. The reality of His place in the Trinity was revealed to Him at His baptism when "the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him" and heard a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:16, 17).
The fact that He was "the Son" as "the fullness of the Godhead manifested" in human flesh (Evangelism, p. 614) was a conscious part of His life. He knew without doubt that "there are three living persons of the heavenly trio...--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (ibid., p. 615). And Jesus reflected that trinitarian understanding in Matthew's portrayal of His last command to the disciples: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:18, 19).
What a Jesus we serve. We can understand Him--yet we can't. He became one of us, yet He was divine (and knew it). Such is the mystery of godliness.
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