The Bible is exceedingly clear about who Jesus is, and if some of the theologians can't get it right ("He's a mythical figure, a popular teacher, a political agitator," etc.), the musicians certainly have done so, and they did it with reference to simple Bible facts, which are themselves quite clear.
The Man who said, "Before Abraham came into existence, I AM!" can no more be categorized as a mere human than a shining star can be classified as a dead asteroid. Jesus was either telling the truth, and justly classified Himself as the "I AM," or Yahweh, or he was certifiable--and His actions declare that He was not a crazy Man. Is He worth worshipping? Only you can decide, and Jesus Himself said,
"If anyone chooses to do His [God's] will, he will know about the teaching, whether I speak from God or [just] from myself." If you search with all your heart, you WILL find the truth!
Here is a propositional statement about Jesus Christ that describes His Person:
Jesus Christ is God and man. He is completely God, and completely man. Neither the human nature of Jesus, nor His Deity, is reduced in any way, and both exist in perfect harmony in one Person forever.
Here are some popular songs that express Jesus Christ's true nature well.
The Lion and The Lamb
Who is He...The mightiest of all
Who is He...Creation trembles at His call
Who is He...The lowly sacrifice, who paid a victim's price
His name is JESUS
CHORUS:
Jesus...From the Father's own right hand
Jesus...Son of God and Son of Man
Jesus...Who died and rose again
Jesus...He's the Lion and the Lamb
Who is He...With the power none can tame
Who is He...That every foe would fear his name
Who is He...Who was humbly led away, to suffer that dark day
His name is JESUS
CHORUS
BRIDGE:
He's the lamb that was slain
He's the lion that reigns
My savior and King both the same
Who is He...With the eyes that burn like fire
Who is He...Oh the wonder he inspires
Who is He...Who bore the guilt and shame, for those who'd gone astray
His name is JESUS
Mary, Did You Know?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you deliver will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would calm a storm with his hands?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
And when you kissed your little baby,
You kissed the face of God.
Oh, Mary, did you know?
Mary, did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear,
The dead will live again;
The meek will lead, the dumb will speak
The praises of a man.
Oh, Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Was Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy
Was heaven's perfect lamb?
That the sleeping child you're holding
Is the great I Am?
Jesus is declared to be BOTH God and Man in many places in the New Testament.
John 1:1-3, 14, 18.
John 8:58--[Jesus is speaking]: "before Abraham came into existence, I AM."
Philippians 2:5-11 "Let the same attitude that Christ had be yours..."He existed in the form of God, but didn't try to stay in heaven...instead, He humbled Himself, taking on the form of a man, and when he was a man, he submitted to death, even death on the Cross (Paraphrase mine).
I Tim. 3:16 (KJV and NKJV)-- God was manifest in the flesh--The NASB, ESV, NIV and NRSV has "He who was manifest..."
Heb. 1:1-3, 2:14-18.
1 John 3:2 expresses one side of this truth--Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (i. e., He is truly human).
1 John 4:9, 15 express the other side--"confess.. that Jesus is the Son of God... God sent His only begotten Son into the world."
Both of these truths are held in tension. Neither is fully explained (who could do that?), and both are always affirmed to be true, wherever they are considered. Jesus is not "only man," but He is "fully man." He is not "only God," but He is "fully God."
Fortunately for us, God does not attempt an explanation, except to state that it is this way--and indeed, the Scriptures are clear that we cannot fully understand:
Mat 11:27 All things are delivered to me by my Father: and no man knows the Son, except the Father; neither does any man know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
In other words, knowing the Son is impossible, but you CAN know the Father by revelation. I take this to mean that nobody can understand the Son, because what happened in the Incarnation is unknowable.
Because the Son is who He is, God delights in presenting Him as a series of contrasts:
1. He is the King who enters Jerusalem, not at the head of an army, but with a bunch of palm-wielding peasants. Matthew 21.
2. He is the despised Servant who died, but is the King of Kings, who will receive homage from all other kings. Is. 52:14-53:12.
3. He is the Savior who will save all who come to Him, yet He is the Judge, who will judge all men. John 5.
4. He is the mighty Lion of the Tribe of Judah, but "the Lamb who was slain," Revelation 5.
5. He is the Almighty God, but also a man born of a woman, subject to every human problem and stress, apart from sin (Phil. 2:5-11, Heb. 4:15, Luke 2).
6. He's the "Master and Lord," but the One who humbles Himself to wash our feet, John 13.
7. He is the Eternal God (Micah, 5:2, John 1:1-3), but also a man who could die, John 19:30.
God, in this way, says to us, "This Person is unique--do not try to categorize Him."
He is the "Only Begotten Son," "who is in the bosom of the Father," who "became flesh, and dwelt among us."
He Heals lepers, forgives sins, raises the dead, and death cannot hold Him, but He falls asleep with exhaustion, becomes weary with a journey, weeps at the death of a friend, and loves his mother, even in death.
Truly, "Great is the mystery of godliness..."
God did all this because He loves us with an everlasting love, which no man can measure or comprehend (John 3:16, Rev. 1:5, Eph. 3:16-21, Romans 8:31-39 ): Why He loves us, we do not know. But thank God that He does.
Love was When
Love was when God became a man,
Locked in time and space, without rank or place;
Love was God born of Jewish kin;
Just a carpenter with some fishermen;
Love was when Jesus walked in history,
Lovingly He brought a new life that's free,
Love was God nailed to bleed and die
To reach and love one such as I.
Love was when God became a man,
Down where I could see love that reached to me;
Love was God dying for my sin
And so trapped was I my whole world caved in.
Love was when Jesus met me, now it's real;
Lovingly He came, I can feel He's real!
Love was God, only He would try
To reach and love one such as I.
Holy, righteous, clothed in His shining light, Yahweh, I am, for us was crucified,
This chosen one (this chosen one) is the King of Kings, This spotless lamb (this spotless lamb) is the Lord of Lords!
Thus do the songwriters tell us things that the theologians cannot express...
