Jesus is God

Oftentimes I have been asked about this topic, or I hear people say something like this. Yes, Jesus is great. I consider him a teacher, a prophet, a healer, maybe even revolutionary. BUT, and that is the big word, I do not consider him the son of God. Others say, are not we all children of God? So I thought I would address it.

Christ is considered fully human and fully God. Fully human, flesh and bones, he ate and drank, felt joy and sorrow, the human experience. Fully God, I will explain.

Yes, we are all children of God, made in his image. “God created man in his own image.” (Gen. 1: 27) However, we are all sinful. Don't cringe, all that means as I have written about before is that none of us are perfect, we all "miss the mark of perfection."

So why does it even matter if we are following Jesus, whether he is actually the son of God, or fully God? We can all agree he is a great role model, right? And maybe more importantly what does that even mean the son of God? Well let me explain.

I think there are many important facets. One is the idea that we are all, yes, children of God made in his image. We are all here with a purpose and a reason for being. “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matt. 10:30) So Christ also is a child of God and came to earth with a purpose and mission. The big difference and one aspect that makes Christ THE "son of God" is the fact that he came to earth already perfect, he was without sin. He did not, and would not ever miss the mark of perfection. This is one of the reasons why we say, he was of one substance with the Father.

That one substance has qualities (transcendent, eternal, incorporeal, perfect by nature). He was perfect in understanding, intention and actions. God had a plan for him and he walked that plan perfectly. He spent three years as a young man preaching and some two thousand years later still has billions of people who worship him. Clearly the guy did something right, and that right thing was to walk God's perfection mission. To demonstrate with his own life what we are to do in our lives in order to have communion with God.

So while we daily live with our actions having consequences – “Whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Gal. 6:7) – sometimes good, sometimes not so good, Christ's actions were already aligned from his birth with perfect intention, or God's will. Unlike us, who sometimes think we have good intentions, but perhaps a misguided motivation leads us to a lot of trouble. Or as grandpa Joe used to say: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions!"

So in some ways Christ IS exactly like us, a child of God, a human being, here with a God-given purpose. Yet in other ways he is not like us, mainly, he is already perfect, without sin. Herein lies the clincher of why we do not just follow Christ like a guide or teacher and why he must remain THE "son of God" (of one substance with the father).

Yes, we do follow his commandments like one would with a teacher or guide. But we also embrace the idea of literally taking him into our being, his likeness; or his one-and-same substance as God, is invited into our innermost being. Then through this communing with that one substance we are transformed. “I will give them a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 11:19). To become like him, not only on the outside by our choices in life, and exterior actions, but on the inside by a transformation of the inner being.

We make an agreement to die initially and continue daily to our own sin so that we may with faith and hope, grow in his likeness. We acknowledge our sin and repent of it as is commanded, so that we can receive his grace. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” (Acts 3:19) He does not want to punish us for our sin, he wants to love and forgive us, but we need to give it up, or perhaps more appropriately at least be willing to. (Thy will be done).

Really all that willingness means is to recognize that we are sinful, and say it's ok it's here, but I don't want it. I am sorry it is here, I want to hand it to you, let it go and become like you. “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11). This is where the mystical transformation manifests. When the will is there, the transformation begins. When we allow him to be there, by our willingness and relinquishing, then there he resides. When we ask, we receive. When we truly want to follow his will, then he will show us the way. However, we need to be willing to die, as he did on the cross, which is not easy, and was not easy for Christ either. “Father, remove this cup from me.” (Mark 14:36).

We are called to release false sense of self, or our own self-righteousness, willingly. Once we give up our own life, we are reborn. “Whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt. 16:25) We are "reborn". “You must be born again.” (John 3:7) into his perfect self, or born into his one substance with the father. So you can see why this distinguishing factor must exist. The question could be why would we die, to be born in him, if he is just another human being?

There must be something in him that is higher, better, or even perfect for us to want to become like him in our most sacred inner self. “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48) This is why it is not only important but essential that Christ not only be a great guy, etc., etc., but truly be "the son of God", that one substance with the father.

It is God's grace that gives us peace and forgiveness, inner peace. It is perfect, transcendent, consciousness, God, that one substance that we seek in our deepest interior and invite in willingly in order to rest and find comfort.