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The not-God-enough Jesus
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Most of us have no trouble believing that Jesus is God. We have a lot of trouble believing that God is Jesus.
- Steve Deneff
It is very difficult for us as humans to keep the humanity and the divinity of Jesus in balance. On the one hand, we can make Jesus so divine that he is hardly human. Or we can split him off from God the Father so that he has a completely different nature and character.
In the lesson, Deneff mentions a classic book by Karl Barth called The Humanity of God. In this book, Barth recognizes that sometimes we draw a sharp divide between what God the Father is like and what Jesus is like. We paint a picture of God the Father as distant, vengeful, and all-powerful. Jesus, meanwhile, is loving, compassionate, and forgiving.
The Gospel of John paints a different picture. Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Jesus responds, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
God the Father and Jesus the Son do not have different natures or characters. God the Father is not vengeful in contrast to Jesus the Son who is forgiving. Jesus the Son is not peace-loving, while God the Father is always fighting. Their nature and character are the same. The God who disciplines his people in the Old Testament is the Son who will judge the world in the New Testament. The God who loves his people in the Old Testament is the Son who loves the world in the New Testament.
In Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”
Colossians 2:9
In the lesson, Deneff mentions individuals on their deathbeds who were afraid to meet God the Father. They weren’t afraid to meet Jesus. But their nagging question was, “But is God the Father like Jesus?” The resounding answer is “Yes!” God the Father is exactly like Jesus, for Jesus has revealed to us what God the Father is like.