One of the core proclamations that we find regarding the personhood of Jesus Christ in the Nicene Creed is that He is both God and Man, that He being God took on the human nature by the power of the Holy Spirit through the virgin birth or what we call the incarnation.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man[1]
This truth is also seen in other creeds such as the Chalcedonian Creed where in verbatim says that,
“We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man[2]”
One may falsely accuse the early church of coming up with man-made doctrines, nevertheless that is far from the truth because all these creeds were the reflection of the early church faith that is drawn from scripture and that will be the purpose of this article, to show as clear as possible that the Holy Scriptures reveal to us that Jesus is truly God and truly Man.
Do keep in mind that we are exploring the nature of Jesus Christ, who is God, infinite, eternal and transcendent over all creation, that makes this topic far more complex and beyond our ability to fully comprehend. oeverHoHaving said that, we have the Holy Scriptures as revealed to us through the inspired authors that all affirm that Jesus who is God, also possessed human nature through the incarnation and by that He continues to exist in a way whereby both these natures are completely and perfectly united in Him yet not making His personhood in someway compromised or divided, rather to be affirmed that He is truly God and truly Man.
In this article, we will primarily focus on three aspects that reveals the reality of the two natures of Jesus Christ and to keep it as concise and straight-to-the-point as possible on this complex yet crucial doctrine. The three aspects will be [1] Jesus is said to be increasing in wisdom yet being Omniscient. [2] Jesus becomes hungry yet He is the Bread of Life and [3] Jesus getting thirsty and wearied yet shown to be the fountain of living water.
Jesus Increasing in Wisdom Yet Being Omniscient
In Luke 2:41-52 we find that Jesus as a young boy was said to be one growing in wisdom: –
[41] Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. [42] And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. [43] And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. [44] But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. [45] And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. [46] And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. [47] And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. [48] And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. [49] And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? [50] And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. [51] And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. [52] And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. – Luke 2:41–52 (KJV 1900)
From this passage we can recognise a few aspects of the life of Jesus when He was just a child, more specifically twelve years of age. Though He is said to be one who grew in wisdom, yet previous verses leading up to that statement indicate that Jesus had an understanding and comprehension that makes Him distinct from a normal child of that age. Scripture clearly shows that Jesus was one who had understanding of the scripture that would make even the teachers of the law astonished. Notice also How Jesus responds to His earthly parents that he subjected Himself to; He clearly understood and had an awareness of the reality of His eternal existence, having a pre-human existence eternally with the Father in heaven. How about John 16:30 where it says,
[30] Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. – John 16:30 (KJV 1900)
Here, the disciples clearly understood that Jesus though being man, had knowledge transcendent over all creature, and that He knows ALL THINGS, clearly showing the attribute of being omniscient still present in Him though having a human nature. Let’s look at Matthew 9:3-4
[3] And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. [4] And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? – Matthew 9:3–4 (KJV 1900)
Another clear indication of Jesus as one who possesses the ability to know the thoughts of man in their hearts, an ability that only is given to God who is our creator. In Matthew 11:27 we find another revelation of the deity of Jesus Christ,
[27] All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. – Matthew 11:27 (KJV 1900)
The Son is said to be the ONLY ONE who has the ability to fully comprehend and understand the Father just as the Father is the ONLY ONE who has complete understanding of the Son. This mutual complete and perfect comprehension between the Father and the Son can only be seen as a proclamation of the Son as being equal with the Father in knowledge.
Therefore, though we find Jesus Christ as one who took on human nature had to in someway be limited in time and space, yet as God possesses all knowledge.
Jesus being hungry yet is the Bread of Life
Because of the incarnation of Jesus, He had to endure the limitations of this nature which included the need for food to sustain the human flesh. Passages like Matthew 4:1-2 shows precisely this,
[1] Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. [2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. – Matthew 4:1–2 (KJV 1900)
Jesus limiting himself from food made his human flesh to be deprived from energy and made Him experience hunger just as all of us would. However, this does not mean that He ceased to be God in anyway, in fact Jesus cannot cease to be God because that is His substance and nature. This passage merely shows that because He took on a human nature, He also had to experience human limitations that is caused by the fallen nature of the human flesh. In John 6:32-35 we find,
[32] Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. [33] For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. [34] Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. [35] And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. – John 6:32–35 (KJV 1900)
This passage shows that the bread or manna from heaven for the Israelites in the wilderness was a type of deeper truth that points to the true bread from heaven, Jesus Christ. Jesus goes on to say that He is the true bread from heaven that whomsoever comes to Him will NEVER GO HUNGRY, He is the Bread of Life. Just as bread sustains us and fills us to not go hungry, in the same way Jesus is the bread that sustains us and saves our life therefore being the Bread of Life. What type of attribute does Jesus has to have to know who of all the billions of people on earth is following Him and to be able to sustain all of them and give eternal life? Clearly Jesus has to Omniscient and Omnipotent to be able to carry out this feat as being the Bread of Life.
Jesus Being Thirsty Yet Is the Source of Living Water
In John 4:1-9 we find a particular passage that shows the limitations of the human flesh that Jesus had to endure,
[1] When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, [2] (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) [3] He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. [4] And he must needs go through Samaria. [5] Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. [6] Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. [7] There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. [8] (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) [9] Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. – John 4:1–9 (KJV 1900)
We find that Jesus became wearied and thirsty because of the journey and asks from this Samaritan women to give him a drink. This again, shows that Jesus had to experience the limitations of human nature yet the very next part of the same passage goes on to reveal deeper truths of the person of Jesus Christ.
[10] Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. [11] The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? [12] Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? [13] Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: [14] But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. – John 4:10–14 (KJV 1900)
The same Christ who experienced the feeling of being thirsty goes to say that He is the source of living water. Notice also how the Samaritan women responds to Jesus by saying, “Art thou greater than our father Jacob” and Jesus goes on to say that the well Jacob provided only gives you water that will sustain you in a limited fashion, whereas the water He is giving will sustain one for eternity, the source of everlasting life, by that Jesus simply affirms that He is truly greater than Jacob, the patriarch of Israel. Again, who can be the descendant of Jacob yet go on to say that He is greater than Jacob? or even to be one who has the ability to give living water that leads to everlasting life? Only one who possesses everlasting life has the ability to give it. What’s more fascinating is what we find in Jeremiah 2:13 where it says,
[13] For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. – Jeremiah 2:13 (KJV 1900)
Reading Jeremiah 2:1-13 in context, one would find that the speaker who is the LORD GOD goes on to say that He is the fountain of living water, the source of living water that can sustain his people and give everlasting life. By that, Jesus clearly shows that though He took on human nature, He never ceased to be God, rather He is God and explicitly claims to be YHWH in the flesh.
Conclusion
All of these passages go on to show that Jesus Christ though taking on flesh through the incarnation, did not cease to be God rather we find that these two natures somehow is held together in perfect union by the person of Jesus Christ. The early church, recognizing all these attributes in scripture while being the custodian of the faith with foundation laid by the apostles and most importantly being led by the Holy Spirit, The Lord the Giver of Life, goes on to affirm this truth regarding the person of Jesus Christ in the ecumenical councils and creeds; that Jesus is Truly God, Truly Man.
My YouTube session on this topic can be found here: https://youtu.be/kKqWsruWzlQ
We will continue to explore the two natures of Jesus Christ in my coming posts,
Till then God Bless you and
Keep Exploring Theology!
[1] Historic Creeds and Confessions. (1997). (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Lexham Press.
[2] Historic Creeds and Confessions. (1997). (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Lexham Press.