Fully God and Fully Man

Over Christmas, I heard a phrase that spoke of Jesus being born into the world, fully God and fully man. For weeks, I’ve been savoring that phrase like a blind taste-tester consuming a sweet, rich, luscious dessert. I knew I liked the taste of it, but I couldn’t identify the substance. Fully God. Fully man. It meant more than common understanding of the deity of God being wrapped in flesh as a baby and walking on this earth as a man with all the power of God still available to Him. It was personal…spiritual honey dripping from the comb of God’s never-ending expanse of wisdom.

Then this morning, the Father pulled back a layer of understanding that I had never quite seen in that phrase before. It seems I’ve always known we are born in the image of God, and I also knew that Jesus said we would do things that are “even greater than these”—speaking to the miraculous aspects of His ministry. I also know we’ve been given the ministry of reconciliation and the responsibility of healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, and casting out demons. All of that sounds like a tall order for a regular little gal like myself. But today, I see that Jesus being born fully God and fully man is not just about His life, but it’s also about yours and mine. It’s an example…a foreshadowing, if you will…of us, as His followers. He was God, born as man, but never ceasing to be God. After He ascended to Heaven, Holy Spirit came to the earth to complete a similar mission. Though He is fully God, Holy Spirit lives within us (fully men). In this born-again transaction, we get to participate in the mission Jesus left for us…to walk as men, but to do so with all the power and authority of One who is fully God (Holy Spirit).

I’m not being blasphemous or saying that Christians are now some kind of Gods. But I am saying that we are the vessels in which Lord has chosen to clothe Himself for this part of the journey, and as long as we cooperate with Him, we will carry all the power and authority that Jesus Christ had on this earth—and in Heaven. There is nothing that can oppose us when we walk in this truth.

We get hung up however, when we begin to question whether or not we can do something, and the answer to that question is quite simply, “No, we can’t.” Because WE can do nothing without the power of Holy Spirit. When we begin to wonder if we can do it, it’s obvious that we aren’t relying upon One who is perfect and without rival. We are depending upon us, and quite frankly we, by ourselves, don’t have what it takes to accomplish much of anything. But with Him, ALL things are possible. If we are being led by Him, submitted to His authority, and eagerly returning all the glory back to Him, our petitions will never return empty.

Let’s look at it like this. If Jesus was here and He came up to your friend who was in a wheel chair and said, “Arise and walk.” How would you respond? Would you wonder whether or not that person would get up? Would you be embarrassed that Jesus was doing this in public? Would wonder if Jesus said it right? Heck no! You would be grinning from ear to ear, brimming with excitement, ready to jump and shout when the friend got up and walked. Your expectation of Jesus is that He never fails. Your expectation of God within you…well…if we’re honest, it’s just not quite as high. Why is that? What makes us trust Him less because of the tool He chooses to use?

I believe, for reasons only He understands, we were made to partner with God. He wants us to help Him rule when we get to Heaven; He cares about our opinion; and He wants to use us to speak, touch, listen, and love on people. Though we haven’t earned it and we never will, He still trusts us with His stuff. Now He simply wants us to show how much we trust Him by using the stuff He has relegated to us.

As people made in God’s image, carrying all the power and authority that comes along with being His chosen vessels, I just want to encourage you…if you have Holy Spirit, you have what it takes! As we set out to follow His lead and pray for people and situations, don’t forget Who is really in charge. And when we ask Him to move, simply expect Him to show up and do what He is known for doing. The outcomes may not always look like we may think they should, but when walk in the light of His truth, things will begin to change.

Will we always see the results we pray for? No. But we will always see a Sovereign God who will show up and remind us that the faithful prayers of a righteous man availeth much. Our goal should never be to see the miraculous, but rather to see God show up and do what He wants to do in any given situation. Our only striving should be for us to increase our levels of trust in the Mighty One and stop trying to explain His response. Simply pray, let God move, and trust He will. Only then can we be fully men, but also fully God, by allowing Holy Spirit to flow through us as He wills.

…You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything. – Colossians 2:9-10 (MSG)

“Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.— John 14:11-14 (MSG)