The Son of God, the Son of Man–Jesus Christ identified himself by both of these terms. What was he talking about? Was his identity a mystery, a contradiction, a paradox, or all of the above? In this post, we’re going to delve into just who Christ was because–and this is important–his identity is directly related to what happened on the cross. Without understanding who He was, we cannot fully understand the power of his death and resurrection.

     In the days of Caesar Augustus, God found a young Hebrew woman who had the faith that was needed for Him to open the door to a new covenant with the human race. Mary was engaged to be married and was pure. She also was no one’s fool and knew how to ask the right questions. For example, in Luke 1:26-38, the summary of the conversation between Mary and the angel Gabriel, Mary was confused and thought about the words Gabriel used to greet her, “Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you.” Her confusion grew as Gabriel went on to tell her that she would conceive a son who would be called “the Son of the Most High.” At that point, Mary could not contain her skepticism at what the angel was saying and blurted forth the “How” question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel was ready with the answer that the power of the Most High would overshadow her through the Holy Spirit and ended his answer with the words, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Gabriel’s explanation broke through the fog of her perplexity, so Mary responded with words to the effect of “I believe, so be it!” And, the rest is blessed history!

     Have you ever wondered why Mary was favored, why she was chosen? If we look at the conversation between Gabriel and Mary through the context of Proverbs 13:15–”Good understanding produces favour…”–and through Mary’s questions, we can infer that one of the reasons God chose Mary was because she was determined to understand. God knew she would ask the right question and knew He would be able to give her the understanding she needed for what He wanted to accomplish. Once she did understand, her faith was activated and God’s plan was put into effect.

     In a real way, the conception of Jesus Christ mirrored the creation of our world. In the beginning, the combination of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit resulted in the new creation of physical life. Likewise, in Christ’s conception, the combination of the Word of God (spoken through Gabriel) and the power of the Holy Spirit resulted in the new creation of spiritual life melded with physical life. This is the key to Christ’s identity–spiritual life melded with physical life.

     As we discussed in my last post, God is righteous and His righteousness exists because God is free from guilt or sin. God’s righteousness is intertwined with the self-sustaining life that God is; in fact, they are one and the same. Proverbs 12:28 speaks to this, “In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.” God has and is life, and He is completely removed from death. Not only that, but John 4:24 tells us that God is spirit, so His righteousness and His life are spirit, not physical.

     Let’s think this through: God is spirit, righteousness, and life while Mary was a physical being. So, we can infer that when the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, God’s spirit infused her womb causing her to conceive. Just as He used dust to bring forth the creation of physical life, God used Mary’s ovum to bring forth the creation of His righteousness clothed in human flesh. Jesus Christ was truly a new creation–his connection to God was brand new to this world. He was the Son of God and the Son of Man.

     Because Christ was born with the inner man of God’s righteouness, he was born completely free from guilt and sin and was born having the life of God–spiritual life–within his physical body. His physical life came as the result of one woman’s faith, and his spiritual life came as the result of God’s faithfulness. Because of his unique identity, Christ was able to accomplish things that no other human being had previously done. And, his identity is what made his death on the cross so powerful.

     In my next post, we are going to analyze Christ’s purpose and his teachings. But, before we end this session, I want to go back to Mary’s drive to understand. Even the night Christ was born, she found that there was much to figure out. Luke 2:15-20 tells us that after Mary heard the shepherd’s story of their angelic visit, she treasured their words and pondered–reflected deeply–them in her heart. Mary was truly a woman of faith and we are all blessed because she believed.

     As always, please feel free to comment and remember to be respectful.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.