In this message we shall continue to consider the Man-Savior’s God-man living.
The Man-Savior is a genuine man with the real human nature and the perfect human virtues. Here we use three adjectives to describe the Man-Savior in His humanity: genuine, real, and perfect. As a man, the Man-Savior is genuine. His nature is real; that is, He was a real human being, not a phantom. Furthermore, the Man-Savior’s human virtues are perfect. In order to be qualified to be man’s Savior, the Lord Jesus had to be a genuine man with a real human nature and the perfect human virtues. Because He is genuine as a man, real in His human nature, and perfect in His human virtues, He is qualified to be the Man-Savior.
The Man-Savior was not only a genuine man; He was also the complete God. As the complete God, He had the true divine nature and the excellent divine attributes.
Orthodox theologians and fundamental Bible teachers agree that Christ is the complete God. However, some will not admit that this One is not only the Son of God but also the Father and the Spirit. On the one hand, they teach that Christ is the complete God; on the other hand, they teach that Christ is only part of the Trinity. Hence, with these theologians and teachers there is a contradiction. If you say that Christ is only part of the Trinity, then He is not the complete God. Rather, He is simply a part of the complete God. The complete God is not merely the Father or merely the Spirit or merely the Son. The complete God is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
We would emphasize the fact that the Man-Savior is both a genuine man and the complete God. He is a genuine man with the real human nature and the perfect human virtues, and He is the complete God with the true divine nature and the excellent divine attributes. We have seen that with respect to His humanity the Man-Savior is genuine, real, and perfect. Now we need to see that with respect to His divinity He is complete, true, and excellent. He is the complete God, He has the true divine nature, and He has the excellent divine attributes. His human virtues are perfect, but His divine attributes are excellent; His attributes are superior, surpassing.
The Man-Savior’s divine nature and excellent divine attributes empower and ensure His ability to save man. In His humanity there is the capacity to save us, the capacity for salvation. But this capacity is empowered and ensured by His divinity. His ability to save us is guaranteed by His divinity.
When some hear that the Man-Savior’s divine nature and attributes empower and ensure His ability to save us, they may say, “Is there any verse in the Bible that says this? Have you read a book that teaches this?” I must answer both questions with a no. Apparently, there is not a verse in the Bible that teaches this, and I have never read a book that uses these expressions. Perhaps you are wondering why I have the boldness to speak this way. My answer is that this kind of teaching is the result of more than a half century of the study of the Bible. In particular, it is the result of a ten-year Life-study of the New Testament, a study that will soon be completed with the book of Acts. According to the divine revelation in the Scriptures, the Man-Savior’s divine nature and divine attributes empower and ensure His saving ability. The Bible as a whole certainly reveals that the Lord’s divinity empowers His saving capacity, which is in His humanity.
First John 1:7 conveys the thought that the divinity of Christ empowers and ensures the saving capacity within His humanity. This verse says, “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Here the name “Jesus” denotes the Lord’s humanity, which is needed for the shedding of the redeeming blood, and the title “His Son” denotes the Lord’s divinity, which is needed for the eternal efficacy of the redeeming blood. Thus, “the blood of Jesus His Son” indicates that this blood is the proper blood of a genuine man for redeeming God’s fallen creatures with divine surety for its eternal efficacy, an efficacy that is all-prevailing in space and everlasting in time.
According to 1 John 1:7, the blood shed by the Man-Savior on the cross was not only the blood of Jesus but also the blood of the Son of God. It was the blood of one with a dual status, the status of both man and God. The blood of Jesus was the genuine blood of a real man required for our redemption. The efficacy of this blood is ensured by the Man-Savior’s divinity. Divinity makes the blood of Jesus eternal. Apart from the Lord’s divinity, His redemption could not be eternal.
The Lord’s true divinity with His excellent attributes empowers and ensures His ability to save man. Humanity qualifies Him to save us, and divinity empowers Him to save us. His divinity also ensures His ability to save man.