Pat Arensberg: Why fully man and fully God

“Jesus paid a debt he did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.”  -Many people

This phrase has actually been popularized in Christian music.  If I threaten the life of a local teacher the city police would investigate.  If I threatened the life of the Governor of Alabama the state police would investigate.  But, if I threaten the life of the President of the United States it is a federal crime.  Who we offend can determine the seriousness of the crime.  When mankind listened to the serpent they decided that God was not their loving Father.  They, we, decided that God is an oppressor from whom we need to be liberated.  Adam and Eve did this in the Garden, but we do this every time we grasp after something that is sinful.  This offense is against God, who is an infinitely good being who is also eternal.  So the redemption for this offense must be infinite and eternal in stature.  We, none of us individually, not all of us together could rise to that stature.  Only God could redeem.

But, it was against God that the offense was offered.  It had to be a man who offered the price.  “Umm, Houston, we have a problem.”  Only God has the stature to pay the price, but only man can pay the price.  In his infinite justice and his infinite mercy God conceives a plan.  He will become incarnate.  The Incarnation must be complete.  The person of Jesus must completely be human and completely God for the redemption to occur.  The divine person Jesus is fully human, so humanity is in fact paying the price.  But, that divine person is in fact fully God and so that price is sufficient….and more.

Think about that for a minute and it should shake you to the core.  We cannot be lukewarm Christians any longer (see Revelation 3:16 too).  If in fact, Jesus of Nazareth is who we believe he was/is we owe everything and more to him.