"As a man ... As God"
As a man, He was born in humility;
As a man, He was tempted in all points as we are;
As a man, He sat down on a mountain and spake unto the people;
As a man, He taught the people;
As a man He grew weary;
As a man, He walked the paths of men;
As a man, He slept on a pillow in the hinder part of a ship;
As a man, He hungered;
As a man, He wept at the tomb of Lazarus;
As a man, He talked with the blind and lame;
As a man, men scorned Him;
As a man, He suffered and died;
As a man, they laid Him in a tomb;
As a man, He was mocked as He hung on the cross;
As a man, men rejected Him;
As a man, He sat at meat with His disciples;
As a Son, He was known to the world;
As the Son of man, He came into the world;
..."
- As a man, He was born in humility;
but as God, He was worshipped by men and angels.
Scripturally humans can indeed be worshiped in a manner which does not infringe the worship of Almighty GOD.
This kind of worship is generally called
"civil worship".
The Hebrew word for worship, shachah, is used in reference to humans more than it is used in reference to Almighty GOD.
When used in regards to humans i.e. prophets, dignitaries and kings,
shachah is generally translated
(esp. in the KJV) as
"do reverence, do obeisance, make obeisance, bow down."
Here is an example where it is translated as "worship":
(1 Chr 29:20) And David said to all the congregation,
Now bless YAHWEH your God. And all the congregation
blessed YAHWEH God of their fathers,
and bowed down their heads,
and worshipped YAHWEH, and the king.Worshiped the king!?! How can that be! The king is not Almighty GOD!!
Hopefully you realize that this verse is indeed showing the two types of scripturally legitimate worship!YAHWEH is being worshiped AS GOD;
their King, the Messiah.
whilst His representative, "the king" is being civilly worshiped as the king of Israel.
How much more our Lord Jesus the Messiah,
the Son of GOD, the King of Israel?
[John 1.49]
The Greek equivalent to shachah is the word proskuneo.
It has the same range of meaning. The confusion comes about because the translators always translated proskuneo as "worship" when used in regards to Jesus.
Therefore, the reader assumes
"if Jesus is being worshiped,
he must be Almighty GOD!"
Right Assumption? Wrong!!
In the NT people bowed before Jesus (even some who at the time didn't know who he really was)
because he was a man of God, a prophet; and of course,
(after it was revealed to some,)
To bow (shachah, proskuneo) before
a man of GOD, a prophet, a king; was the custom of the day, and in no way infringed the awesome, exclusive worship of Almighty GOD!
And when GOD sends back Jesus the Messiah to inaugurate the Kingdom of GOD upon the earth,
the very angels are commanded to bow before the man Christ Jesus, whom Almighty GOD has made "Lord of all"
[Heb 1.6, Acts 2.36, Phil 2.11]
So, as a man, not only was Jesus born,
he was (and is) worshiped as
Prophet, Messiah and Lord.
For more information on the scriptural worship of Jesus the Messiah;
please see 'The worship of Christ' and
' Defining the Term "Worship" '
- As a
man, He was tempted in all points as we are;
but as God, He defeated every power of the devil.
Let's begin by stating the obvious:
(James 1:13) ... for God cannot be tempted with evil, ...
and yet:
(Mat 4:1) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness
So, as a man, Jesus both was tempted by the devil and overcame his temptations.
to be tempted of the devil.
(Mark 1:11-13) And there came a voice from heaven, saying,
Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. 13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days,
tempted of Satan; ...
GOD ALMIGHTY CANNOT BE TEMPTED WITH EVIL!
Much less be tempted by the evil one, himself, Satan!
The temptations would have been both pointless & futile if Jesus was indeed GOD Himself, who is impervious to temptation and evil.
Satan the devil was not tempting GOD! Rather he was tempting the man
Jesus of Nazareth.
Just as the devil had tempted the First Adam, he was now similarly tempting the Last Adam. The great difference is of course:
where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded. Jesus did not yield to any of the devil's temptations.
He overcame them by the word of GOD and by being totally submitted to his GOD.
Incidentally (and sadly unlike many today)
the devil knew who Jesus was!
Not once did Satan call him GOD!
Rather ... If thou be the Son of God ...
May we by the grace of GOD follow Christ's example.
- As a
man, He sat down on a mountain and spake unto the people;
but as God, He brought peace and comfort to every troubled life.
Jesus brought peace and comfort because he did not speak of himself!!
(Deu 18:18) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee,
So, as a man, Jesus spake to the people, and his words (and actions) brought peace and comfort;
and will put my words in his mouth;
and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
(John 12:48-50) He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me,
he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting:
whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
(John 14:10) Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?
the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
(John 8:28) Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he,
and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me,
I speak these things.
(John 7:16) Jesus answered them, and said,
My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
because he spoke not of himself, neither taught his own doctrine;
but rather spoke and taught the words and doctrine
which the ONE GOD his Father gave him to speak.
It has been rightly said:
Never man spake like this man.
[John 7.46]
Why? Because there could only be one man who could fulfill that criteria.
See Deut. 18.15,18-19, Acts 3.22-26!!
- As a
man, He taught the people;
but as God, He forgave their sins.
Jesus, our Lord, Master, and Rabbi/Teacher,
forgave sins by the authority that GOD had given him!
Remember, Jesus can do nothing of himself!
[John 5.19,30; 8.28]
The believers who witnessed the healing of the paralyzed man not only understood this,
but actually glorified GOD for giving such authority to mankind!
(Mat 9:5-8) For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
6 But that ye may know that the Son of man
hath power [authority, Gk. exousia] on earth to forgive sins,
(then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled,
and glorified God,
which had given such power [authority] unto men.
Oh that we all would have this understanding of these people, who glorified GOD for giving such authority
to the man Jesus of Nazareth!
So, as a man, Jesus both taught the people,
and forgave sins by GOD-given authority.
For more information on Jesus forgiving sins;
please see 'Jesus forgave sins'
- As a
man He grew weary;
but as God, He claimed to have all power in heaven and in earth.
(That must be the Almighty, the only Omnipotent.)
Let's read that verse for what it says:
(Mat 28:18) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,
All power [authority, exousia] is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Well for starters, GOD Almighty the only Omnipotent does not need to be given anything - much less authority!
Why? Because He is Almighty GOD!
Therefore, for someone needed to be given authority,
that someone is not Almighty GOD!
However GOD Almighty can chose to authorize anyone He so chooses.
GOD has indeed so chosen to authorize His totally submitted and obedient, holy servant Jesus the Messiah
[Matt 12.18, Acts 3.13, 4.27,30]
with all authority.
Amen! Let your will be done, O GOD!
So, as a man, Jesus indeed grew weary;
and now as a glorified, immortalized man,
Almighty GOD has fully authorized Jesus to totally represent Him.
- As a
man, He walked the paths of men;
but as God, He walked upon the waves of the sea.
Well that kind of reasoning would therefore make Peter, GOD!!
(Mat 14:28-29) And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship,
he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
So, just like Peter,
as a man, Jesus walked on water by the power of GOD.
Remember, (John 14:10) ... the Father that dwelleth in me,
he doeth the works.
In fact, here is Peter's testimony of Jesus:
(Acts 2:22) Ye men of Israel, hear these words;
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by [through] him in the midst of you,
as ye yourselves also know:
- As a
man, He slept on a pillow in the hinder part of a ship;
but as God, He rebuked the wind and the sea, and they obeyed Him.
Again, let's look at Peter's testimony i.e. Acts 2.22 &
(Acts 10:38) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;
for God was with him.
Jesus did such miraculous things because GOD was with him!
Jesus was GOD's anointed one,
the Christ of GOD.
[Luke 9.20]
Truly, What manner of man is this?
Answer: He is the Messiah, GOD's authorized agent!
So, as a man, Jesus slept; and as GOD's authorized agent,
the wind & sea obeyed this man, just like they obeyed Moses in times past!
[e.g. Exo 10.13, 14.16,21,26-27; Isa 63.12]
Truly, Jesus the Messiah is that Prophet like unto Moses!
- As a
man, He hungered;
but as God, bread grew and multiplied in His hands.
(Mat 15:36) And he took the seven loaves and the fishes,
and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
(Mark 8:6) And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves,
and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
(John 6:11) And Jesus took the loaves;
and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
Now who do you think Jesus gave thanks to?
That's right!
To the GOD of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob!
To the GOD of Elijah who caused the barrel of meal & cruse of oil to multiply!
[1 Kings 17.8-16]
To the GOD of Elisha who caused the oil to multiply!
[2 Kings 4.1-7]
Amen! The same GOD who is the GOD and Father of Jesus [John 20.17] caused the loaves and the fishes to multiply!
And what was the men's response?
Did they cry out, "Jesus is our GOD?"
Answer:(John 6:14-15) Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said,
This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
[i.e. Deut 18.15,18-19]
15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force,
to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
The men perceived that he was
"That Prophet, That Prophet promised by GOD Almighty, according to the Scriptures."
So much so that they wanted to make him "king!"
However, their timing was wrong. It was not the will of GOD.
No doubt, when GOD will finally send back to earth, the Lord Messiah,
Jesus will indeed be enthroned, and rule over Israel in the Kingdom of GOD; in fulfillment of all GOD's promises.
[Luke 1.32-33, Matt 25.31, Acts 3.20-21]
So, as a man, Jesus hungered;
and Almighty GOD heard his prayer and multiplied the food.
- As a
man, He wept at the tomb of Lazarus;
but as God, He called him from the dead.
What did Jesus actually say?
(John 11:41-42) Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.
And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said,
Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always:
but because of the people which stand by I said it,
that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Jesus lifted up his eyes and said "Father I thank thee that thou hast heard me."
Is this not both prayer and thanks to GOD for a prayer which is about to be answered?
Jesus is thanking GOD for hearing him. When did GOD hear Jesus (in this context)? No doubt in the many occasions that Jesus spent in prayer to GOD, sometimes even all night in prayer! [Luke 6.12]
So Jesus had already prayed to GOD concerning the resurrection of Lazarus. But like Jesus said, he prayed yet again, so that the people would believe that GOD had indeed sent him,
that GOD had indeed sent
the man, Jesus of Nazareth!
Also, Jesus can do nothing of himself,
it is his Father that doeth the works!
[John 5.19, 14.10]
So, as a man, Jesus wept, prayed, and called Lazarus from the dead.
Lazarus, however, was raised from the dead by the power of GOD Almighty.
- As a
man, He talked with the blind and lame;
but as God, He opened their eyes and made their feet to walk.
Again, look at the testimony of a disciple who witnessed Jesus,
namely Peter.
Acts 2.22, 10.38.
(Acts 2:22) Ye men of Israel, hear these words;
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by [through] him in the midst of you,
as ye yourselves also know:
GOD Almighty did the miracles, wonders & signs
through that approved man,
Jesus of Nazareth.
So, as a man, Jesus opened their eyes and made their feet to walk,
not by any power or ability of himself;
but rather, because Almighty GOD was with him.
- As a
man, men scorned Him;
but as God, the devils obeyed Him.
Sadly demons (devils) unlike many today,
know who Jesus is!
James says that demons believe in one GOD and tremble!
[James 2.19]
So who did the demons believe Jesus was?
And why did they obey him?
(Mat 8:28-29) And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
(Mark 1:23-24) And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee who thou art,
the Holy One of God.
(Mark 3:11) And unclean spirits, when they saw him,
fell down before him, and cried, saying,
Thou art the Son of God.
(Mark 5:2) And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
(Mark 5:7) And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of the most high God?
I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
(Luke 4:33-34) And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, 34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee who thou art;
the Holy One of God.
(Luke 4:41) And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying,
Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak:
for they knew that he was Christ.
(Luke 8:28) When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
(Mat 12:28) But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, ...
(Luke 11:20) But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, ...
The demons who believe in one GOD and tremble, knew who Jesus was!
They knew he was:
the Messiah, the Son of the Most High GOD,
the Holy One of GOD.
That is why they obeyed him! Jesus spoke with GOD-given authority and cast out demons by the spirit of the Most High GOD!
So, as a man, demons obeyed Jesus because he is the Messiah,
the Son of the Most High GOD.
-
As a man, He suffered and died;
but as God, He arose from the dead.
There are at least 20 clear NT verses which categorically state that GOD Almighty the Father, the ONE GOD,
raised His Son, Jesus from the dead
e.g.
Acts 2.24,32; 3.15, 4.10, 10.40,
Acts 13.30,37; 17.31,
Rom 4.24, 6.4, 8.11, 10.9,
1 Cor 6.14, 15.15,
Gal 1.1, Eph 1.20, Col 2.12,
1 Thess 1.10, Heb 13.20,
1 Pet 1.21, etc.
Not one verse says anything about:
Jesus rising from dead as GOD
or Jesus rising from the dead
because he was GOD.
Which is senseless anyway. Why?
BECAUSE GOD ALMIGHTY CANNOT DIE!
THAT IS WHAT "IMMORTAL" MEANS!
INCAPABLE OF DYING!
(1 Tim 6:16) Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
GOD Almighty alone has innate immortality. Immortality is His to give.
Whilst Jesus is:
the firstborn from the dead,
the firstfruits of them that slept.
[Col 1.18, 1 Cor 15.20]
Jesus is therefore the first human to whom
the eternal, immortal, invisible,
the only wise God,
[1 Tim 1.17]
has raised from the dead & given immortality to.
So, as a man, Jesus suffered & died, and was raised from the dead by GOD his Father;
and now liveth by the power of GOD!
[2 Cor 13.4]
-
As a man, they laid Him in a tomb;
but as God, He came forth conquering.
See No. 12.
So, as a man, Jesus died and was buried, and the ONE GOD raised him from the dead. Therefore Jesus can now testify:
(Rev 1:18) I am he that liveth,
and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
-
As a man, He was mocked as He hung on the cross;
but as God, the whole universe trembled when He cried,
"It is finished."
Rather, the centurion got it right!
(Mat 27:54) Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying,
Truly this was the Son of God.
(Luke 23:46-47) And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said,
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
47 Now when the centurion saw what was done,
he glorified God, saying,
Certainly this was a righteous man.So, as a man, Jesus hung on the cross, and three days later ...
(Rom 1:4) And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Note: Son
As a
man, men rejected Him; It should go without saying
but as God,
He opened the way to the Holiest of
holies, when the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the
bottom.
????
Let's simply let the
Scriptures speak:
(Heb 10:19-21) Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living
way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his
flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of
God;
(Heb
5:1) For every high priest taken from among men is
ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both
gifts and sacrifices for sins:
(Heb 5:5) So also Christ glorified
not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him,
Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
(Heb
5:10) Called of God an high priest after the order of
Melchisedec.
(Heb 2:17) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be
made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the people.
(Heb 4:14) Seeing then that
we have a great high priest,
that is passed into the
heavens,
Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold fast our
profession.
So, as a man, Jesus was
indeed rejected;
but now seeing that he is the faithful,
obedient Son of GOD,
has been called of GOD, to be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to GOD.
High priests
are taken from among men.
The
man Christ Jesus is now for ever a high priest of
the order of Melchisedec.
[Heb 5.6, 6.20, 7.17,21]
As a
man, He sat at meat with His disciples;
but as God, He vanished out of
their sight.
He appeared to be a man to men;
but He proved to be the
God of the Scriptures, fulfilling His word.
Again, what
was the message of Peter,
who heard firsthand the testimony of these
disciples [Luke 24.33]?
(Acts 2:22) Ye men of Israel, hear these words;
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
...
Throughout the Book of Acts, there is simply no account, no
testimony, no sermon, no preaching,
of the 'apparent
fact'
that Jesus is actually,
their "GOD" who appeared to
them, and fulfilled
Scripture!
What about Paul? He had an encounter with the
risen Jesus.
What was his testimony?
(Acts 9:20-22)
And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God. 21 But all that
heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them
which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that
he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? 22 But Saul increased
the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus,
proving that this is
very
Christ.
Paul
(Saul) said nothing about the Lord Jesus being Almighty GOD,
but rather
that he is the Son of GOD, the very Messiah! And that's three
days after his encounter with the Lord Jesus!
What! Was Paul again mistaken?
What! Did Paul have a last error that was worse than the
first
(i.e. after firstly persecuting Jesus and his church)??
Judge
for yourselves!
Paul later goes on to say to the Athenians:
(Acts
17:29-31) Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think
that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and
man's device. 30 And the times of this ignorance
God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to
repent:
31
Because he [GOD] hath appointed a day,
in the which
he [GOD] will judge the world in righteousness
by
that man whom he [GOD] hath
ordained;
whereof he [GOD] hath given assurance
unto all men,
in that he [GOD] hath raised him
[the man Jesus] from the dead.
Paul goes on to say
...
(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God,
and
one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;
So,
as a
resurrected, immortalized man,
Jesus showed that he
was not a spirit,
but a man of flesh and
bones
[Luke 24.39];
and yet in his resurrected body, he could
vanish out of sight.
The man Messiah Jesus is indeed that promised man, prophet and
Messiah;
who the ONE GOD ordained to fulfill His words and Scriptures;
through whom the ONE GOD will judge the
world.
Jesus is that man who is the one mediator
between the ONE GOD and mankind.
As the
Son of man, He was visible;
but He was the image of the invisible
God.
As a Son, He was known to the world;
but through the Spirit,
He was revealed to His chosen as Lord of
all.
Amen!
Jesus without doubt is
the Son of man!
And we know who is not the Son of man
i.e.
(Num 23:19) God is not a man, that he should
lie;
neither the son of man, that he should
repent:...
Jesus is indeed the [visible] image of the invisible
GOD
[Col 1.18]
And an image is not the very same thing that it
represents.
And why is Jesus, Lord of all?
[Acts 10.36]
(Acts
2:36) Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye
have crucified,
both Lord and Christ.
Answer: because GOD
Almighty made him so!
Therefore, one day ...
(Phil 2:11)
And that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is
Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
As the
Son of man, He came into the world;
but as God He ascended to heaven,
to come to earth again,
as King of kings and Lord of
lords.
Jesus is still "the Son of man!"
Even after he
ascended into heaven!
As testified by Stephen before his
death:
(Acts 7:55-56) But he, being full of the Holy Ghost,
looked up
stedfastly into heaven,
and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing on the right hand of
God,
56 And said,
Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the
Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Who then had
ascended into heaven?
(Heb 4:14) Seeing then that we have a great high
priest,
that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus the Son of
God,
let us hold fast our profession.
Let's
clarify.
Who then is returning to earth?
(1 Th 1:9-10) For
they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you,
and how ye turned to God from idols
to serve the living and
true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from
heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to
come.
It is the man Christ Jesus,
[1
Tim 2.5]
the Son of man, the Son of God,
who
passed into the heavens,
who is currently
at the right
hand of the ONE GOD!
Even Jesus, the Son of the living and
true GOD
who we await from heaven!!
Can Scripture be
clearer?
Indeed, Jesus will return as
King of Kings and Lord of
Lords,
has ordained by GOD Almighty.
Nevertheless,
the ONE
GOD his Father,
will always be his GOD;
[John 20.17, Rev
3.12]
And
Jesus will always be:
the Son of man,
the Son of the ONE, Living and
True GOD!
