Almost all Christians believe and understand that Jesus is 100% a human being. However, they also believe that at the same time, Jesus is 100% God. But does this make sense? Let’s find out.
The idea that Jesus is both God and human is referred to as the hypostatic union. This doctrine states that Jesus has two natures: He is fully God and fully human. But does this make sense? Logically, Jesus cannot be both God and human, since God and humans possess contradictory characteristics and properties.
Here are two examples based on this verse from the Apostle Paul:
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17, NASB)
1. God is inherently immortal, but Jesus was mortal.
• God is inherently immortal, meaning however you define death, God cannot experience it. Jesus, like all human beings, was mortal, and indeed his death is vital to the Christian faith.
2. God is invisible, but Jesus was obviously visible.
• God is invisible, meaning humans cannot see God. We know Jesus was visible because the people around him obviously saw him.
So, put succinctly, Jesus is not God. Jesus is fully human. But what about all of the exalted language that’s applied to Jesus in the Bible? Well, you can embrace Jesus being a genuine human being and still confidently embrace everything the Bible says of him. You can still say that Jesus is God, just not literally. That’s because Jesus is the human representative of God.
Paul said that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, which means that unlike us, Jesus always perfectly reflects God’s character and will. All that Jesus said and did is exactly what God wanted him to do. God and Jesus are completely unified in purpose and mission. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “I and the Father are one.” When Jesus said that, he wasn’t making an ontological statement about his nature. Jesus was saying that he and the Father were on the same page in every respect.
So, is Jesus literally God? No. Jesus is God’s perfect representative. He has been sent to us on God’s behalf to save us. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.”
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