Jesus, Fully God and Fully Man: Describing Jesus Christ:
Now we have the responsibility of representing God as we present the gospel to the world. This understanding of the deity of Jesus Christ is required by every Christian in order to represent Jesus really well. We are the Jesus the world is seeing now.
Christ is the Perfect representation of the Almighty God โ God invincible, made visible in Christ. He remains the most perfect representation of the Almighty God. According to how Bowman and Komoszewski (2007:75) addressed the matter in Putting Jesus in His Place, โNo one is exactly like God; Jesus is exactly like Godโ. Also Paul wrote in Colossians 2:9; โFor in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodilyโ. The writer of Hebrews also mentioned the truth of the image of God in Christ Jesus; โWho being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on highโ. (Hebrews 1:3). John 1:18 also stated that โNo man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared himโ.
Jesus is the image of God and not just another prophet or a teacher. He is the firstborn of all creatures.
Jesus Christ: The First Born of Every Creature
Christ is sovereign over all creation. He was prior to creation and he was not created. We always ought to give him all the honour and glory for his pre-eminence. Men cannot be our pre-eminent, but Jesus Christ. He is the priority over all creation. At creation, Christ was present. Colossians 1:15b โthe firstborn of every creatureโ. Bowman and Komoszewski (2009) noted in Putting Jesus in His Place; that prior to his existence as man, Jesus Christ lived as God.
Jesus Christ: The Eternal Creator
Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16-17; โFor by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consistโ. By the virtue of his position and identity, he is the architect of all creation. As recorded in Genesis 1:1, at the beginning of creation, he existed and was part of the creation process. He owns the heaven and the earth. All that have been created have been created for him and for his glory. John 1:3; โAll things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was madeโ.
Jesus existed before all things were made and this is a great evidence for his eternal nature. Everything is being held together by him and him alone. He sustains all the creation and he will do till eternity. Christ is before all things and he is sovereign over all. Jesus pre-existed in heaven before he became a man on earth.
Jesus Christ: The Sovereign Lord over the Church
By the virtue of his position as God, Jesus Christ is Lord over the church. In Colossians 1:8, Paul wrote; โWho also declared unto us your love in the Spiritโ. He is the Lord over the body of Christ โ He brings life into the church. He is director and the controller of the activities in the body of Christ.
Every church with the true foundation and belief in the gospel of peace has Jesus in the helms of their spiritual affairs. He is the leader, the head, king and has the overall authority.
Jesus Christ: Fully God
In Jesus Christ is all the fullness of God. Colossians 1:19; โFor it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwellโ.Jesus Christ carries all the fullness in God. John 1:1, Colossians 2:2; โThat their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christโ.
Jesus Christ: The Reconciler
He is the reconciler and the mediator who is reconciling us back to God. Man has a sinful nature from the days of the first Adam. Colossians 1:20-22;
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
God came through Jesus with the purpose of reconciliation. He would come down because of our sinful nature and he therefore came down in form of man to perfect the reconciliation process. Now we have the responsibility of representing God as we present the gospel to the world. This understanding of the deity of Jesus Christ is required by every Christian in order to represent Jesus really well. We are the Jesus the world is seeing now.
Excerpts from Doctoral Presentation (Christology) by Ayodele Afuye [December 2019]
