I was recently engaged in a conversation on how odd it may seem to many that Jesus, who is God incarnate in the flesh, would be seen "praying to Himself." This led to several replies, combined into this one letter, to a couple of friends, under the pseudonyms "Shari" and "Thomas." If anyone has any further clarification or have noticed any great errors here, please let me know and I will make the appropriate corrections.
My replies were edited here for clarity, and with a few phrases or words added to help better explain my view, though not 're-written.'
Thanks,
I.M. Ulysses.
Letter to Shari - Please forgive my long-windedness. I'm trying
to be as thorough as I can be on this matter, though I must confess that I am
not an expert on it.. Anyhow to your question of how Christ can pray to God
while being God in human form. It sounds contradictory and a bit silly, if
taken to a conclusion not rightly arrived at. Many have stumbled over this APPARENT
paradox. That is what this is; AN APPARENT PARADOX.
It is NOT an a TYPO nor evidence that the
Bible is flawed, as some claim in order to plants seeds of doubt and lead many
others astray. It comes, rather, from the Divine Nature. God reveals Himself,
and has, in both the New and Old Testaments as three Personages, though not
three 'gods' as Muslims and others so deceived believe.
God's nature has
always existed in these three personages. The first being God the Father. The
Second being God the Word and the Third being God the Holy Spirit. All are what
is referred to in Christian doctrine as a UNITY, or more accurately the
Doctrine of the Trinity, working in eternal harmony and Purpose.
The Bible says, in
Genesis 1:26, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness." The "us" is deliberate, showing agreement within the
Trinity in purpose and design. Their perfect unity shows perfect function as
well. The Apostle John says in John 1:3 that through Jesus, as The Word of God "All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was
made" (see also John 1:1).
Jesus as The WORD,
before He was manifest as a man, created the world and all things. Indeed, John
1:10 says, "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the
world knew him not." King David, likewise, says of Him, "The LORD
said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool." (Pslam 110:1).
Who is King David's
"Lord?" It was THE LORD. It's not God 'talking to Himself' but David
revealing to us the hierarchy of the Unity or Trinity, the Lord who, as Jesus
His Son, He would honour by destroying His enemies. Likewise God appeared to
Abraham in three persons in Genesis 18 but Abraham called these 3 as LORD, not
"lords."
Again, I realize
this is a paradox. By the same token, look at yourself. You are both flesh, spirit and soul, yet you remain a unity in yourself. Flesh is your outward
form, soul your inward form and spirit your motivating form. But all work
together within you.
Now this APPARENT paradox that I
described is only apparent from the outside when referring to God. Within He is
ONE, as described in Deuteronomy 6:4, much like you and are 'one' and, also,
when a man marries and 'becomes one' with his wife.
By this I am stating that The Word of
God will not do anything that God the Father would not do. Indeed, Jesus said
in prayer, to God His Father, that He desired "That they (His disciples)
all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may
be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (John
17:21).
Christ didn't say that they BECOME
ONE as if Christ was 'achieving' oneness with God, for He, as God in human form,
was "....the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person,...."(Hebrews 1:3). But there is again, the distinction and the apparent
paradox, in that.
When THE WORD (John 1:1) became
FLESH, the Lord took on Human form (Hebrews 1:3). Paul tells us that when Jesus
was manifest as a man he "...made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. " (Philippians 2:7-8).
In other words, when Jesus was born
as a man, He lived as a man, without giving up His divine nature or origins.
Instead "...being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians
2:8).
I truly believe that Christ DIDN'T
have to pray unto God, any more than God had to (as I pointed out above) speak
aloud unto Himself. But this, I believe, was done so that we, as Christians,
born in the flesh, as Christ lived in the Flesh, should see in Him the right
attitude towards God that ALL FLESH MUST SHOW.
Though Christ was and remains God, He PRAYED, He ATE, He SUFFERED, and yes, HE
DIED, bodily. But even His death was HIS decision.
Christ voluntarily GAVE UP life on
the Cross (John 10:18 "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of
myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father") and took it up again upon His
resurrection.
Now we see the apparent paradox. We
see how Jesus, as the Word, as God incarnate, as creator of the World, and as
Saviour of the World, PRE- EXISTED and still exists. We see the Unity/Trinity
of God. We see how "odd" it might be that God can be both ONE and in
three personages, in the same way you and I can be both flesh, soul, and
spirit.
Regarding the Holy Spirit, He is the
THIRD person of the trinity. The word "Sophia"
or Spirit OF WISDOM comes from Ephesians 1:17 "That the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him:" The earliest OT mention of the Spirit
of Wisdom is in Exodus 28:3, "And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise
hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make
Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the
priest's office."
That word for wisdom comes from the
Hebrew "Chokmah." It is
interesting that the term in both cases is FEMININE, leading many to believe
that this Spirit is effectively "God's feminine side." I'm rather
neutral on this view, mainly because Christ calls God "the Father,"
in the male tense (see, again, Ephesians 1:17 "the knowledge of
HIM"), and not EVER 'mother' or in
any other way the female tense.
Also, Jesus said " Howbeit when
he, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he
will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of
mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:13-14).
Here is yet another apparent paradox.
In this case the 'Spirit of Truth' is "Alētheia,"
the feminine form derivative of Spirit of Truth. Yet Christ says, "When HE
the Spirit of Truth...HE will guide you." In this matter, I prefer to
believe that as Christ came to Earth as a MAN, and as God reveals Himself in
the male tense (Father, Husband), that His Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost would not
cause us confusion in suggesting that this third person of the Trinity, who is
also God, is qualitatively different than The Father and the Son, and any
suggestion is picking at straws.
The really important factor is to
know that the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity,
distinct from God the Father, and God the Son. He is referred to also as The
Comforter (John 16:7). Yet, like the Word of God/Son, He also acts within the
Godhead or Trinity as ONE with both. As it is written " But when the
Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit
of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:" (John
15:26).
Much else is made of the Holy
Spirit/Ghost in Scripture. Jesus says he "... he will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:" (John 16:8), and "...he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to
come." (John 16:13).
These distinctions within the
God-head are, to my understanding, functional, literal and complimentary. They
seem an APPARENT paradox yet work together AS ONE, for God is ONE, much as YOU
are ONE in Body, Soul and Spirit.
Since Christ's manifestation we are
to honour each person by praying TO God the Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ
BY the Power of the Holy Spirit, that, as Christ said "That they all may
be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in
us..." (John 17:21). I hope this is clears up matters in your mind a wee
bit. God bless.
Thomas - A paradox can be
paradoctored!
Thomas - So how did they
change it? Switch outdated English to current English? like switching out ye in
favor of you? or possibly the 2011 Rob Smith version?
Reply to Thomas - There is no way
to change this as far as I know, my friend. It simply exists, perhaps because
we lack the words or language to better explain how this can be.
We CAN simply choose to believe that
it is some kind of error and create false religions that explain it away, as
many do when they cannot reconcile the Bible in their minds. OR we can decide
that it IS accurate and trust that this is one of those mysteries of God in
which we are not yet wise enough to fully grasp.
I think it is better to choose the
latter so as not to contaminate the Word of God and create false doctrines or
religions that appeal to mankind yet are absent of truth. So Christ praying to
God is an APPARENT paradox because it seems he is effectively praying to
Himself, when really He isn't. "And being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross." (Philippians 2:8)
As a man, born in the flesh (but
without sin), He was fully a man. He grew up, He pooped His diapers, He was
circumcised as all good Jewish children are, He (apparently) learned a trade,
He was baptized, He cried tears, He ate food, He walked and was seen as fully
human as anyone else.
Perhaps that is why people had (and
still have) such trouble believing He was and is divine in origin, unlike us.
According to Hebrews 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower
than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that
he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
Here we see the reason for His
humanity; in order to 'taste death for every man.' As a spirit, The Word of God
could not experience death like a man. The Word had to be "made
flesh" to do that, in the person of Jesus. As a consequence of being found
or born in the flesh, Christ acted as any flesh should towards God, with
humility.
This is why Jesus was also Baptized.
Though without sin, He told John the Baptist to do so "...for thus it
becometh us to fulfil all righteousness...." (Matthew 3:15). In this Jesus
identified Himself with mankind and the righteousness of God, FULLY and
PERFECTLY. So it was as a human son, Jesus, PRAYED to the Father, as any person
would, showing His human status in the flesh. The Apparent Paradox, therefore,
is just that, only "apparent"
In truth there is NO paradox, when
one considers Christ's God nature and union within the Trinity or Godhead, AND
His born Human Nature as the second Adam, and perfect sacrifice of God who
takes away the sin of the world.
I hope that helps.
No comments:
Post a Comment