Deity Becomes Humanity

by Micah Messer

It is the greatest story ever told. It is the greatest event in the history of the universe, second only to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Time was literally divided between B.C. and A.D. after God stepped into our world. What Old Testament prophets foretold, New Testament writers recorded.

The Word became flesh and dwelled among the people. They beheld His glory—upclose and personal. God could now be watched, embraced, and kissed. He, who was full of grace and truth, was also fully human. Jesus was not part God and part man. He was completely God and completely man. In Him was the fullness of the triune Godhead in bodily form.

God paid a high price to become man. The Eternal One decided to become an embryo. The Creator of the world chose to be created in a womb. The Alpha and Omega would have a beginning as a baby. He who is omnipresent was confined to time and space. He who was omnipotent learned to talk and walk. He who was omniscient learned to read and write.

The limitless God imposed on Himself the limitations of a human body. God now had to sleep for rest, eat for energy, and go to the bathroom for relief. He experienced pimples from puberty, headaches from the heat, and calluses from the carpentry shop. His brow sweated; His back ached; His skin bled.

The infinite God identified with the finite emotions of humanity. In the Gospels, Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. He felt compassion on the crowds and frustration with his disciples. Jesus became indignant when children were mistreated and angry when the temple was abused. He felt distress and fear in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus also knew love and sorrow, hunger and thirst, laughter and tears. What God had known in perfect wisdom He now knew in practical experience. The God of Heaven was now a man on Earth.

I am still amazed at a God willing to become a man, leaving the dignity of Heaven for the disgrace of Earth. Jesus was equal with God, yet emptied Himself of the rights and privileges of deity. He denied His divine prerogatives. He was God among us, but He lived as the rest of us. He humbled Himself for humanity, being fashioned in the likeness of man. He was made like you and me in every way, with all our limitations, emotions, temptations, frustrations, and ambitions.

It was a high price with great risk. What if God failed? What if God could not handle being human? What if He yielded to temptation? What if Jesus stumbled into sin? What if Satan was victorious and Jesus defeated? He was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin. Satan found nothing in Him. He destroyed the works of the devil. Jesus conquered sin and captured the keys to death, hell, and the grave. Yes, it was a great risk—with great rewards. He came to us so that we can come to Him. He came to where we were so that we could go to where He is. We can enter Heaven because God came to Earth. And it will always be the greatest story ever told.

You might also like this:

Nothing or Anything Are You Poor? A New Creation