The person of Jesus Christ is a great mystery. He is God, yet He is also a man. The testimony concerning Him is clearly documented in the Bible. He, as the eternally existing and self-existing Word, was eternally with God; He even was God (John 1:1). The entire creation came into being through Him (v. 3). Then at a singularly momentous point in history, He entered into His own creation—He became flesh (John 1:14). Paul declares that in the great mystery of godliness, God “was manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). Jesus Christ was the incarnated God, God manifested in the flesh. He was both God and man united in the body of one Person—two distinct natures but one unique Person. He is the mingling of God and man.
The Old Testament presents the meal offering as a figure of this wonderful person: “And when you present an offering of a meal offering baked in the oven, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened cakes mingled with oil” (Lev. 2:4). The term mingled indicates that two or more elements are combined or joined with one another into one entity but that each of the elements remains distinguishable in the combination. In the meal offering the mingling of the fine flour with the olive oil typifies the mingling of the humanity of Jesus with His divinity.
These two essences, divine and human, existed and continue to exist in the one Person, Jesus Christ.
In order to become the incarnated God in man, Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary (Matt. 1:18, 20); because of such a conception, He has the divine essence, the essence of God. He is the infinite God and the complete God. In view of the fact that He was born of a human virgin, born of a woman, Jesus also has the essence of man (Luke 1:31; Gal. 4:4). He is a genuine man. Hence, He has two essences—the essence of God and the essence of man. These two essences, divine and human, existed and continue to exist in the one Person, Jesus Christ. He is the God-man, possessing both divinity and humanity mingled together. The unique God, the eternal God, has been embodied in the man Jesus (Col. 2:9). He is both God and man, perfect in His divinity and complete in His humanity. These two natures exist harmoniously in Him as one person; the two can neither be divided from one another nor confused with one another. He is one Person having two natures, which are distinct but not separated.
This God-man Jesus Christ was crucified for us, and in resurrection He was begotten in His humanity as the firstborn Son of God (Acts 13:33; Rom. 1:3-4; Heb. 1:5). Now He is our wonderful Savior. through faith in Him, we are redeemed from eternal perdition. Even more astoundingly precious is the fact that we human beings are regenerated with the divine life of God to become children of God and the many brothers of Christ (Rom. 8:29).We are the same as He is in life and nature, but of course, not in His Godhead. Now we the many sons of God (Heb. 2:10) are also the mingling of God and man. We are the extension and enlargement of this wonderful God-man Jesus Christ, God mingled with man.
For further reading, see The Person of Christ; The Move of God in Man, pp. 20-29; and The Conclusion of the New Testament, message 26, pp. 281-284, by Witness Lee, published by Living Stream Ministry.
From Issue No. 64, August 2003