Christ's Bride

Christ’s Bride

I remember the first time I ever read through the story of the Woman at The Well in chapter four of John’s gospel. It really caught me off guard to read, “...and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.”

I’d never truly thought about Jesus’ humanity before. I’d always know Him as “God” in some sense, whether just head-knowledge from stories as a kid -or- from the ceremonies and reverence paid Him in church growing up. But I’d never really stopped to consider the full impact, significance, and necessity of/for Jesus’ humanity until I read that bit from John’s gospel, “...and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.”

Some churches exclusively emphasize Jesus’ deity at the expense of His humanity. The inherent problems are extensive and fatal theologically, but the point I’ll focus on here is that God’s decree (death = separation) for rebellion in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:15-17) was not just upon Adam, but all subsequent humanity.

Since God’s standard is perfect then only the perfect atonement could meet God’s standard of justice. Therefore, God Himself would have to pay the perfect penalty with a perfect death.

But how can God die?

That’s the majesty of who Jesus is as the exclusive God-Man, and also the beauty of who God is as our God of Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

If Jesus were exclusively deity and not truly and fully 100% human - then He could not have taken our (humanity’s) place at the Cross. God’s death/separation was decreed for all humanity and only a perfect human could fulfill that necessity for perfect payment - and no such human could exist since sin entered into the world through Adam (Rom 5:12)...  unless God Himself chose in His omnipotence and transcendent power to become human, which He did.

In Philippians 2:7 we read, “Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being - in the likeness of men.”

So what’s my point?

We typically think of death/separation as the “penalty” of sin, but it might be more accurate to consider it as “reality” first and foremost. God created us in their (plural) image and likeness (Gen 1:26-27). That’s eternal unfailing selfless community as Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Spirit. God made us - humanity - to be part of THEIR eternal unfailing selfless community.

God didn’t punish us with a death penalty of separation - that was self-imposed. The REALITY is that humanity literally couldn’t be part of eternal unfailing selfless community because we were/are exclusively interested in ourselves - me, my, mine, I.

Autonomy is a self-imposed death/separation reality.

Separation was/ is truly self-imposed, but because our God of Holy Trinity created us in THEIR image and likeness to be part of their eternal unfailing selfless community… One Member of that community chose to simultaneously maintain fellowship and obedience to the Father by becoming 100% human so that He (Jesus) could pay the perfect price to both demonstrate God’s unfailing love for us -AND- meet God’s requirement of perfect justice.

Jesus wed Himself to fallen, ugly, distorted, twisted, selfish, egotistical humanity by becoming 100% human because we were made by God to be part of God’s unfailing selfless community.

There Jesus is at the Cross - our perfect and eternal Champion - bearing the weight of all sin, all shame, all anxiety, all the consequences of human depravity, and He truly expired physically…

But sinless, perfect, spotless, blameless Jesus was also a member of the Almighty Trinity on that Cross - eternally unfailing commUNITY with the Father and Spirit… a bond unbreakable, unblemished, unmarred, unphased, untainted, and uncompromised by any power - anywhere - ever.

Jesus did not come to set a good example for us. He came as the exclusive God-Man to rescue and redeem depraved humanity from eternal separation from God Almighty - our Creator.

Is Jesus truly and fully human? Yes.

Is Jesus truly and fully God? Yes.

One member of the Holy Trinity ordained it through His will as the Father.

One member of the Holy Trinity joyfully obeyed as Son despite the cost.

One member of the Holy Trinity manifest the power of God as the Spirit to gain eternal victory.

One final member - Christ’s Bride, i.e. the saints Christ’s Church, has collectively been (and are being!) redeemed by the Son’s blood through the power of the Spirit according to the Father’s will into eternal unfailing selfless community.

Jesus was born, He got tired, He got thirsty and hungry, He wept real tears, He shed real blood, He died a real death so that we, His Bride, could come home.

“But whatever things were gain to me, these I have esteemed loss because of Christ. But indeed, therefore, I also count all things to be loss because of the excelling knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, because of whom I have lost all things, and esteem them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him…”

Blessings,

-Kevin