Doubly Whole

“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 Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Beloved,

I once bought a 1993 GMC mini-van. It was one of the worst purchases I ever made. The seats did not match and the sliding door would randomly fly open while I was driving. I bought the car because the advertisement said that it was a light-duty work truck disguised as a mini-van. Unfortunately the ad was wrong. It was a mini-van and not a very good one. It is impossible for a mini-van to be a truck or a truck to be a mini-van. They may serve similar purposes, but they are different vehicles.

One of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man.

Theologians have referred to this doctrine as the “hypostatic union.” Jesus breaks the mold in that He perfectly exists simultaneously as both man and God. Unlike my van, it was possible for Jesus to be two wholes. He was wholly man and wholly God. Jesus came into our world as God incarnate becoming the God-Man. Why is this doctrine important? Why is it necessary to hold this belief?

Our Redeemer had to be fully God and fully man in order to save us from our sin. He had to be made like man in every respect so that his death would be in place of man. A man had to die for men. Jesus had to be fully God because he had to be the perfect sacrifice for man. Jesus did not inherit Adam’s sinful nature, but was wholly pure and blameless as He was fully God. If we lose Jesus’ humanity, then his death could not pay for man’s sin because he would not have been a man. If we lose Jesus’ divinity, then his death could not pay for man’s sin because he would have sin and therefore his death would not save us.

Beloved, let us not shy away from the complex doctrines of our faith. The Scripture speaks of a child that was given to us and his name shall be called Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6). In this one verse, we see this complex truth on display. Our Redeemer came as one who was fully God and fully man. If he was not both, we would still be in our sins and have no hope of heaven. Praise God for complex truths. Praise God for our doubly whole Redeemer, the God-Man, Jesus Christ.