Q: “Who does the Bible say Jesus is?”

Matt Crawford | May 10, 2012 | Q&A On The Bible

Perhaps the most basic Christian question is, “Who is Jesus?” It was this question that Jesus Himself asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” (Luke 9:18-20). Since Jesus is without doubt the most central figure in Christianity, discerning His identity is of paramount importance. The most basic answer to this question is that Jesus is fully God and fully man in one person. Let’s explore each of these three aspects in sequence.

First, the Bible says that Jesus is truly God. John 1 is the classic statement to this effect. There Jesus is called “the Word” who was with God in the beginning, and who Himself is “God” (John 1:1). Paul expresses the same point in Philippians 2:6, where he says that Jesus was “in the form of God” and possessed “equality with God” before coming to earth as a human.

Second, the Bible unequivocally asserts that Jesus is truly man. Numerous passages in the Gospels present Jesus doing the things that are suitable for a man to do rather than for God to do. For example, Jesus was thirsty (John 4:7), His spirit was troubled (John 13:21), He wept (John 11:35), and, most importantly, He died on the cross as a common criminal. Each of these activities are something that God in Himself would not be capable of because He does not have a body, and does not experience need or lack like human beings do.

So we have here two basic principles that initially appear to be at odds with one another. Jesus is truly God and Jesus is truly man, begotten from God the Father in eternity as the Son of God, and born of the Virgin Mary as an infant in a stable in Bethlehem. But how can both these statements be true? We might be tempted at this point to resolve this dilemma by supposing that Jesus was sometimes doing God-like things, and sometimes doing human-like things. In other words, at times He was God and at times He was a man. That might help to alleviate the apparent contradiction of supposing that someone can be both God and man.

The problem with this idea is that it runs up against biblical passages that speak about Jesus as God doing human things and about Jesus as man doing God-like things. One example of this is Paul’s statement that “the rulers of this age . . . crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8). Being crucified is something that only a person can experience, but only God would be called “the Lord of glory.”

The Scriptures teach that Jesus is God and man at the same time and in a single person. He is not divided into two separate individuals, but is now and always will be both God and man. And the wonderful truth is that He is both of these things for us, as the perfect mediator between God and humanity.

Why do we use the word “Trinity” when it doesn’t show up in the Bible?

Matt Crawford | April 24, 2012 | Q&A On The Bible

Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Christians sometimes are puzzled as to what the term “Trinity” means, since it is a word that doesn’t itself show up in Scripture. Even though the word itself isn’t in the Bible, it is an attempt to do justice to the reality of God that we do see in Scripture. The term itself (Trinitas) is a combination of two Latin words, unitas, which means “unity,” and trias, which means “three.” These two parts capture well the two basic biblical principles that the word “Trinity” is meant to convey: the oneness of God (i.e., unity), and the threeness of God (i.e., the distinction between Father, Son, and Spirit).

Augustine, the fifth-century bishop of Hippo who wrote one of the most extended and profound treatments of the Trinity, began his work by laying out these two principles as starting points for understanding this mysterious reality:

“According to the scriptures Father and Son and Holy Spirit [are] . . . a divine unity; and therefore there are not three gods but one God; although indeed the Father has begotten the Son, and therefore he who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and therefore he who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, himself coequal to the Father and the Son, and belonging to the threefold unity.”

The first point Augustine makes has to do with the divine unity (unitas). Father, Son, and Spirit are all divine, and yet are not three gods, but one God. There are ample biblical passages that support this idea. No one would dispute that the Father is called “God,” and this title is given to the Son, Jesus Christ as well (see John 1:1). The Spirit is less often explicitly called “God,” but there are plenty of passages that point in that direction. For example, Jesus told his disciples to baptize new Christians in the “name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:29-20). If the Spirit were not God, and were merely a creature like us, it would be very unlikely for Him to be included in this list alongside the Father and Son.

However, Deuteronomy 6:4 tells us that “God is one,” indicating that we should not think of Father, Son, and Spirit as three separate and distinct “gods.” So this is Augustine’s first point and we find it throughout Scripture: Father, Son, and Spirit are all God, and yet there is only one God.

At this point we are faced with an apparent conundrum that we might be tempted to solve by saying that the Father, Son, and Spirit are really just three “names” or “manifestations” of the one God, such that there is no real distinction between them. Here Augustine’s second point comes into play by emphasizing the threeness of God (trias). He says the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. The three truly are distinct from one another. A clear biblical example of this is the baptism of Jesus. The Father speaks from heaven calling Jesus his Son, while the Spirit comes upon Jesus like a dove. All three are present and acting simultaneously, and so are truly distinct from one another, albeit without being divided into three separate gods.

If at this point you’re still wondering how to hold these two ideas together then don’t worry. That means that you’ve actually gotten the point! Scripture presents us with both these truths so we must affirm them both even if there is an ultimate mystery in terms of how to reconcile them. It is this biblical mystery of unity and threeness that the term Trinity is meant to capture.

Greg Thornbury on the Crucifixion

Greg Thornbury is the Dean of the School of Theology and Missions and Vice President for Spiritual Life at Union University in Jackson, TN. He also serves as editor for the “Q&A on the Bible” section of the BibleMesh Blog.

BibleMesh aims to help people understand the big picture as well as important facts of the Bible. The first BibleMesh resource is “The Biblical Story,” a course that presents Scripture as a cohesive narrative of God’s work in the world from Genesis to Revelation. It utilizes an interactive quizzing tool that helps people remember what they have learned. And finally, it includes a social networking platform which will allow pastors and church leaders to host their own online Bible studies and contribute their own resources. Forthcoming content will include courses in Biblical Greek and Hebrew.

VIDEO: Alistair Begg on the Death of Christ

BibleMesh | April 5, 2012 | BibleMesh

Alistair Begg is the senior minister at Parkview Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

Bishop J. W. Hood on How a Love for the Lord Makes Service Delightful

BibleMesh | March 30, 2012 | The Bible + Life

Bishop J. W. Hood (1831–1918) ministered to freed slaves in North Carolina and was the first African-American to publish a book of sermons.

James W. Hood—bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church during the Civil War—was the first black man in America to publish a book of sermons. Having spent most of his life in Pennsylvania, he moved to North Carolina near the end of the war to minister to freed slaves. Tensions ran high in the region, and he even received some death threats from slavery enthusiasts. As the following excerpt from his sermon, “Personal Consecration,” shows, this did nothing to rob him of his joy in serving the Lord. His infectious words apply most directly to those involved in Church ministry, but as Ephesians 6:6-7 and Colossians 3:23 counsel, Christians (even slaves) should count all their labor as service unto God.

I am aware of the fact that some professed Christians complain and whine about their troubles and vexations. They will have it that their lot is a hard one . . . But to the sound, healthy Christian, the service of God is really delightful. It must be so, for the true Christian loves the Lord with all his heart, and can it be hard work to serve one we love with all the heart? Does the lover find it hard work to serve his spouse? Does the bridegroom find it hard work to serve his bride? Does the loving mother find it hard work to serve her helpless infant? I anticipate the answer, there can be but one. In all these cases love makes the service delightful, and the more that can be done, the more happiness there is afforded . . .

Now if we love God with all our heart, it will be our chief delight to serve him. The angels don’t find it hard work to serve God, it is their delight. Jesus says: “My yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Solomon says, “her ways are ways of pleasantness.” If we have on a heavy yoke, it is not the yoke of Jesus; if your way is not pleasant, it is not the way to heaven . . . The truly pious find it joyful work to serve God; hence they sing, “Let the children of Zion be joyful in their king,” and again, “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoice.”

The devil, in his attempt to slander Job, by mistake uttered a very important truth. He said that Job did not serve God “for nought.” It is true. The Christian does not serve God for nought. He that serves God has the assurance of an abundant reward. The sinner toils in vain, and labors all his day to reap eternal woe. But he that serves God is assured of an inheritance with the saints. God grant you grace to “consecrate your service unto the Lord this day.”¹

Grace Changes What It Means to Be “In” and “Out”

John Starke | March 27, 2012 | The Bible + Life

Do you ever wonder why you often look down your nose at others who maybe don’t have it quite together as you do; who don’t dress like or talk like or associate with the people you do? Do you ever catch yourself and wonder, Why do I do that? Or possibly, do you always feel guilty, inadequate, or joyless when you are around people who are morally superior to you, who have it more together, who seem to give more of their time and money? Do you ever wonder, Why do I let myself be bothered?

In Luke 5, the Pharisees found the behavior of Jesus, who was eating and drinking with tax collectors, to be distasteful. Jesus was, so far, a rabbi in good standing with the religious community. But this conduct was threatening that good standing. Jesus was in, but He was associating with those who were out.

“Why do you eat with and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” they asked the disciples.

Luke doesn’t want you to miss the irony, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” answered Jesus. In other words, they accused Jesus of eating and drinking with sinners, but it’s only sinners who can repent.

The religious leaders were calling tax collectors, “sinners,” but recognizing that you are a sinner with nothing good in and of yourself was the one thing that made the tax collectors fit for salvation, and it was the one thing the religious leaders lacked.

So back to my original questions: Have you ever wondered why you feel inadequate and joyless with those who are morally superior to you or look down your nose at those who don’t quite cut it the way you do?

If you base your relationship with God in what you do or your behavior, then you’ll likely feel guilty, inadequate, or joyless when you are around people who are morally superior than you, who have things more together, who seem to more give of their time and money.

And then, everything you do in response will be guilt-based; so you can feel better about yourself and relieve your conscience.

Or, you completely give up and say, “I can’t do this religious thing anymore.”

But if you live believing that grace is what gets you in—based on what Jesus did, not on what you do—then you’ll be quick to rejoice in the goodness of others and you’ll labor to honor God with your behavior out of thankfulness and joy, not out of guilt or to feel better about yourself.

Let’s answer the second question.

If you believe what gets you in is based on what you do and who you are associated with, then you’ll always look down your nose at those who don’t quite cut it the way you do. Why does that happen? Because if you base your worth on what you do and your behavior, then that is also how you will find worth in other people. When your relationship with God is not based on grace, then hardly anything else in life will be either.