Elton Trueblood: “The historic Christian doctrine of the divinity of Christ does not simply mean that Jesus is like God. It is far more radical than that. It means that God is like Jesus.”
In other words, the doctrines of the incarnation and deity of Christ are meant to tell us that we cannot start with a predetermined, set-in-stone idea of God derived from the rest of the Bible and then extend that to Jesus. Jesus is not intended merely to fit into those predetermined categories; he is intended instead to explode them, transform them, alter them forever, and bring us to a new evolutionary level in our understanding of God. An old definition of God does not define Jesus—the experience of God in Jesus requires a brand-new definition or understanding of God. (p.114)
This was really interesting to me. I realized that I have always seen Jesus as somehow less than or smaller than God. I've had this idea of God that is big and wide and incomprehensible, but my understanding of Jesus was simpler, more finite.
Thinking this through over the last few days has started to turn that around in my mind…Jesus, in a way, seems even more complete than God the Father, in the sense that he is something new, or more—he is also human. He takes physical form. He embodies everything God is, not just on a spiritual level, but also on a physical level.
Jesus is God, and He contains everything that is God. What is God like? God is like Jesus. All the things that Jesus said. All the things that he did. That’s God.
Now, I know all of this is perception--God is not "less than" anything. And my growing understanding is still very far from truly comprehending God. But my perception of God/Jesus is very important in defining how I relate to God, Jesus, and everyone else. Lately I'm thinking that the Bible is not so much about telling me how to live my life, as it is about helping me to know God better, more personally, more intimately. And that's what Jesus helps me do--as I read of his life in the Bible, as I pray, as I strive to live out his love for God and for people.
No comments:
Post a Comment